When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Back Ground story... Friend of my wife's family Had 2013 Heritage Softail Classic. He wound up with medical issues and they just kept getting worse. His Dr finally told him he would not be able to ride anymore. He made the decision to sell his bike. My wife talked him into selling it to me, and he was willing to take payments. He told me I had to come get the bike the next day. I reserved a uhaul trailer near him and headed over the next morning. After a short test ride, we agreed on $11k, shook hands I gave him the first $100 and loaded up the bike in to a uhaul trailer. That was November 2nd of 23 . I had $5000 paid by end of December. I sent the next $1000 western union ,as we had done on all the previous payments, first week of January and it never got picked up. After 2.5 weeks I pulled the western union back. We tried every way we knew to get in touch with him, and feared he may have passed away. Then a week later we get a message from his son. turns out he had a massive stroke and was in the hospital. after 3 months I called the hospital to check on him , and found no sign of him. Then he calls me just into May wanting his next payment on the bike. I drove him over the $3000 in person so I could talk with him about the title. Turns out he said the title was in the name of a friend of his sons who was suppose to live not far from me and he would work on getting it while I worked on the final $2900. I got him his final payment but he was not able to get his son to get me the title or arrange meeting her at the title office. He even came back and gave his dad a title...that turned out to be for some old car.... weeks of getting the run around, it turns out his son was the issue and messing things up every time we tried to get together with his friend. Finally I got a bill of sale from the guy I bought the bike from, and went tot he local licensing office. I told them the story and that I wanted to go the tree year registration without title route (they call it ownership in doubt). The guy at the counter told me it wasn't in a girls name it was some guy in Standwood WA. Which makes sense I guess as the guy I bought it from lived there a couple years before his medical issues and got arrested there. So it looks like he had put it into this other guys name out there because he didn't want it in his name for some reason...something about a bad license when he got back from AZ. I was able to get the process started for the ownership in doubt process, and got the paperwork for state patrol inspection. Then i found out the inspection stations all across WA are so understaffed that it could take a couple months to get an appointment. I checked every station in the state and found no availabilities. Reading their website, it seems that they open up a new block of appointments every Tuesday at 11am. So I was clicking the check for available appointments button at about 15 mins till 11. at 3 mins till I got a list of availabilities. I clicked on the first, it came up I clicked accept and it was already gone... I clicked on the second appointment available and clicked accept and it was already gone.... so I clicked on the very last one and hit accept....and got the appointment! I then looked at the date and time I got, and found it's only 2 weeks away...July 3rd at 7:30 AM about an hours ride north of me. I am so ready to ride the bike there, I haven't had it on the road since that brief test ride in November. I will get the trip permit in next few days, and a new battery so that I am ready when the 3rd comes along. Once the inspection is done, I can register the bike....and get plates and tabs. After that the fun starts and I can finally enjoy my new Harley!
Sure is a good looking ride, glad things are looking in your favor, but seems you got a run around on the title. Try to make sure if ever again that they have title in hand before forking any money out.
Sure is a good looking ride, glad things are looking in your favor, but seems you got a run around on the title. Try to make sure if ever again that they have title in hand before forking any money out.
Thanks Hawg runner, I agree it's a beautiful machine indeed! And the run around has indeed taught me a valuable lesson! I will never enter into a deal without seeing the title, as the guy I bought it from said he had it but I didn't verify beyond that.
I hate Shakey deals like that and $11,000 is way to high for that bike in my area . I just gave $15,000 for a super nice low mileage 2022 model . I learned a long time ago if there's no title present don't buy it .
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
Long Road...but no miles yet!
