So that time has finally come around. The bike has been serving you for years and you need to get rid of it. Either you’ve outgrown it, you’re a new parent, financial difficulties, moving abroad, or any other reason.
Although selling a motorbike isn’t complicated at all, there are certainly tips and measures you ‘re going to skip if it’s not something you do regularly. Here I’m going to go, step by step, on the best way to sell your used bike. Let’s hope that it helps make your job easier when the time comes.
Even if you don’t need this right now, I would suggest that you bookmark it for future reference. If you own a motorcycle, it will eventually come in handy and you won’t remember where you saw it.
This guide also assumes that the bike COE still has some balance, or at least you can renew its COE. If you or the previous owner has already renewed the bike CoE for only 5 years (not 10 years), then it cannot be renewed. For this case, you can just ask our towing guy Segar (+65 9135 2000) to export the bike for you and get back some money – much better than just scrapping it and having to pay $50 extra.
You need to download a copy of your vehicle information sheet (or logcard) from LTA. It contains all the bike’s official information that the buyer will need to see.
To download the logcard, simple go to this LINK.
If the bike was under installment plan in the past, you will need to unblocking the LTA transfer by giving your shop a call. If all payments are done, the finance block will get lifted.
Now is the time to tackle all the work you’ve been procrastinating about for the past year.
If you’re not an avid mechanic, that might be little more than checking tire pressure and shaking the bike around for anything loose. If the chain is really loose and you don’t know how to adjust it, take it to the mechanic. I would recommend you to come to our workshop partner HKL Lim or Sanfu Motor. They are really the experts in what they do.
Here is a simple checklist for things that you can try to do yourself:
– Adjust chain tension and rear tire alignment – $0
– Adjust throttle, brake and clutch play – $0
– Replacing any burnt out or malfunctioning light bulbs – $5-10
– Change brake fluid (if over two years old, it’s most likely absorbed water)
– Test the battery and replace if it has trouble staying over 12 volts.
– Clean/replace engine air filter – $12
– Check brake pads & Rotor condition
– Inspect tires – This is a tough one. If they are blatantly in need of changing them, change them. But if not simply decide on a discount you’re willing to give the buyer so they can put the tires of their choice on it.
– Lubricate control cables – <$1
– Change Engine Oil
A motorcycle sale is like a job interview. If you don’t come in groomed, you’ve probably got other issues, too. The number one reason people prefer to buy new over used vehicles is that they can never be sure how that bike was treated. If you aren’t taking care of something so trivial as washing, then forget about basic maintenance.
If you don’t want to wash the bike yourself, our shop partner Sanfu Motor would do that for you at the price of $12 only.
There are a few ways you can do this in Singapore:
- Sell it to a motorbike shop, or a bike dealer: They are making a living by buying low, selling high. Expect to spend a lot of time negotiating with many of them. Choose at least 3 random shops so you can get the best out of it.
- List it online on Carousell, or some online motorbike marketplaces: You can get good price, but expect to arrange a lot of time for the buyers to view it. You may even get scammed, and some frustration when the deal get cancelled in last minutes.
- Export the bike by asking a towing guy to do it for you (Segar – contact above). You will get back some small amount of money plus the COE balance for the bike. You will also get $3,500 if your bike has a NEA rebate.
- Sell the bike to AloRide. Yes, we can buy it if matches our demand. Just fill the form HERE, then wait for a few hours for confirmation from us. Deal is very fast, maybe within a few hours from initial conversation until the deal is completed. Pricing is transparent, and we are a registered company in Singapore.
The time has come. You bring the bike to the buyer, ask them for an immediate payment through Paynow (it’s free). Then you will need to initiate the transfer by using your Singpass at LTA website, and then buyer need to accept it too.
One thing to note: The buyer has to buy insurance for the new bike before they can receive the bike ownership. You can try to contact your insurer to get back some insurance refund.
That’s all you need to do. Selling and buying a motorbike in Singapore is quite simple, thanks to our smart nation movements. If you need a temporary motorbike after selling it, why not rent a motorbike from us? Just visit aloride.com 😉