Selling a motorcycle can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve never done it before. Having to deal with flaky people and meeting up with strangers will draw anxiety for anyone.
A lot of people may wonder how they can ease the pain of selling their motorcycle. One question often asked is what time of year is typically the best to sell their motorcycle to help ease the agony of doing such a task.
When is the best time to sell a motorcycle? The best time to sell a motorcycle is during the spring (March – May) months. When the weather starts to warm up, more people will begin to take an interest in riding a motorcycle which offers more competition among buyers. When there’s more competition, a seller will likely be able to sell their motorcycle for more money.
Having sold many motorcycles myself, I have seen firsthand that selling in the spring and summer months yield the best results. This article will help explain why these months are the best time to sell and why you should avoid the other times of the year if possible when selling your motorcycle.
Why Spring Is The Best Time To Sell
Having to sell a motorcycle is never a fun thing, especially when it’s not something you want to do but need to for financial reasons. Having to deal with everything that accompanies selling a vehicle doesn’t make it that much better.
To ease the burden you may have to endure, understand that selling a motorcycle in the spring and summer months of the year are the very best times to sell. This will be from late March to early September in the United States (that have cold winters). Out of those months, March, April, and May are the very best times to sell.
Spring time marks a sense of renewal, and it’s no question that people can feel that when they’re finally able to come out of the hibernation of their homes from the cold winter and feel the warm air outside. When this happens, motorcycle enthusiasts get “the itch” or the desire to get out on the road with a motorcycle.
Essentially, more people are increasingly interested in the purchase of a motorcycle come the spring time. The cold is over which is the biggest obstacle to riding a motorcycle. There’s more competition among buyers when you have more people interested in buying a motorcycle. When the amount of people who want to buy a motorcycle increases, that means the price you sell your motorcycle for could be either non-negotiable or could possibly increase.
You will likely get the best price for your motorcycle by selling in the spring and summer months, especially from March through May. Alongside that, it’s likely you’ll sell it much more quickly compared to selling your motorcycle in the colder months. Society will have a higher demand in motorcycles because the conditions they’re in permit them to enjoy one.
Why You Should Avoid Colder Months
If possible, try to avoid selling your motorcycle during the colder months of the year. Sometimes it’s not always possible to do this when situations arise and call for some quick cash from selling a motorcycle. But just know you may have a harder time selling your motorcycle in the winter for the price you want.
One reason you should avoid selling in the winter is due to the time it’ll take to sell it. When I sell a motorcycle, it usually only takes a few days during the warmer months to have it gone whereas in the winter it takes a few weeks or even a few months. There just aren’t that many people in the market for a motorcycle when it’s cold because they can’t picture themselves on the road when the temperature isn’t that inviting.
It’s possible for a seller to become desperate and tired dealing with flaky people when selling a motorcycle and this is a higher likelihood during the winter and colder months of the year. Because it takes longer, sellers will lower the price because they think it’ll sell better or that they have it posted for too much. You won’t get as much money from your motorcycle if you sell during the winter.
Lastly, you’ll probably deal with some pretty obnoxious people when selling your motorcycle during the colder months of the year. You’ll already deal with unpleasant people no matter when you sell, but you’ll run into more during the winter. People who are looking to buy when it’s cold know they can get away with haggling the price down to an unfair amount because they assume the seller is desperate. This can be exhausting and disheartening.
If possible, hold out and wait for the right time to sell your motorcycle. You’ll get more money out of it, it’ll sell quicker, and you won’t have to deal with rude people near as much when you sell in the spring and summer.
How To Get The Most From Selling Your Motorcycle At The Right Time
If you are planning on selling your motorcycle during the spring or summer, especially during the months of March through May, there are a few things you can do that’ll make your motorcycle much more desirable above the others and will sell much more quickly.
You will have some competition in the spring because a lot of motorcycle owners are aware that this is the time to sell in order to get the most money out of it. Check online to see how much motorcycles similar to yours are selling for. Post your motorcycle at a slightly lower price if possible. Even if it’s just a few dollars lower, people see it as a deal and will likely contact you first.
Though this is kind of a no-brainer, I can’t go without mentioning how important it is to give your motorcycle a good clean. You’d be surprised at how many sellers don’t do this. Cleaning a motorcycle will make it stick out just a little more than other motorcycles posted for sale. Someone who is interested in buying has a higher likelihood of going through with the transaction because they see that you’ve taken good care of the motorcycle.
Lastly, take some new pictures of the motorcycle in the fresh warm weather. Find a place that represents the warm months coming ahead, such as a road in a campground, canyon, or garden, and prop your motorcycle to show everyone how good it looks in the anticipated comfortable weather.
This will help people imagine much easier what the motorcycle will be like on the road and how it’ll be for them. This is very much a psychological approach to selling a motorcycle in the warmer months and I can assure you that it’s a tactic I’ve tried many times with successful results. Make sure to take a lot of pictures with different angles of the motorcycle so people aren’t left questioning if you’re trying to hide something on it.
A Few Exceptions
There will always be a few exceptions to this rule. Everyone’s circumstances are different and you’ll need to assess you specific situation to know what’s best for you. One exception includes the fact that you need cash quickly. If it’s the winter time and cold outside, it’s still completely possible to sell your motorcycle, you just won’t get as much if you’re in need of some extra income quickly. Use the tips previously discussed to get the right buyer faster.
Another exception to this rule is if you live in an area where it’s warm all year round. If this is the case for you, there really is no specific time that is best for selling a motorcycle except perhaps around the holidays. When warm weather is constant, there’s no predicting when society will get the “itch” to go out and buy a motorcycle to enjoy the warm weather.
Lastly, if you have a rare motorcycle you’re trying to sell, the time of year you sell it doesn’t matter as much. Rarity is something people are constantly looking for no matter what time of year it is. People like to own rare motorcycles just to say they have it and not so much use them as something to cruise around on for transportation.