This is somewhat longish so please bear with me.

Two weeks ago I sold my motorcycle to a guy we’ll call Joe. The transaction was very smooth; there was no haggling and no fighting of any kind. A good transaction between two fair individuals.

I was financing the motorcycle so I needed to pay off the loan for me to receive the Ownership Title of the motorcycle. I paid off the loan and came to find out that the bank that was financing me did not have the Title. I had refinanced the bike about a year ago, and the original lender did not have the Title either. Long story short, the Title was lost. This is no big deal but a duplicate Title takes four to six weeks to process. These are four to six weeks of precious riding time that would be lost for Joe – the new owner – because he didn’t have a Title. When he bought the bike he was under the impression that the Title would arrive very soon (within one week), which is what I also thought.

I was feeling bad about this (although I did not operate maliciously in any way) so I offered Joe that I would lend him my license plates so he could ride the bike while the Title is reprocessed and mailed. Now, realize that this is a big risk that I was willing to take because any moving violations or trouble with the police could be tied back to me because MY license plates are on the motorcycle. I called Joe today to schedule a time when I would give him my license plates and he says…

“I saw a friend of mine get in a motorcycle accident last night and now I’m afraid of motorcycles so I would like to return the motorcycle to you”. He is offering to pay me $300 for my “troubles”, he will advertise the bike for me, he will keep it in his house, and he will pick me up and drop me off when there is an interested buyer.

My question is: What should I do? If I don’t help him, am I not acting in the Certain Way? Where do I draw the line – I don’t think anyone would accept his terms.

The motorcycle is now HIS property. He already paid for it and we have signed the paperwork. If he no longer wants it, he can sell it himself, right? The only thing he needs is the Title which should arrive in approximately one week.

Thanks in advance for your insights,
-J

Julius, I know nothing about the market of motorcycles and how hard it would be to find a new buyer.

What are the options? Seems to me you are pretty stuck. You payed off the financing so you cannot return the money to Joe until after you found a buyer who paid for it. It seems that it is in both your interests to find an eager buyer as soon as possible. Maybe an opportunity for an Temporary Alliance of the JJ Sales Team?

If the Title remains in your name, I assume that you will have to make certain payments. Here in the Netherlands, I would have to pay taxes and liability insurance. How does that cost compare to the $300? Is Joe making a reasonable offer to you? If not, maybe you need to explain to him that you would run a risk of much higher costs than $300.

Why does Joe believe he cannot sell the motorcycle himself?
Is his fear blocking him from seeing his own potential?

The Higher Power is giving you an opportunity to help another person who is living in fear. Maybe undoing a previous transaction can also be an example of giving more in use value than in cash value.
Maybe you are not helping Joe if he has a pattern of avoiding responsibility.

One more caveat. Suppose you sell the motorcycle but for a lower price than you sold it to Joe. Who takes the loss? Since he already bought it, it does not seem fair that you should take the loss.

Faith and gratitude will help you find the right answer. I hope I helped some.
Caroline

wherever a motorcycle is lost,
a vacuum is created in which a much bigger
shinier one can arrive!

Enjoy!

Thank you for taking the time to answer.

Selling a motorcycle is very easy - especially during this season in New York, so I have no idea why Joe wouldn't want to sell the bike himself.

Maybe all he wants to do is shift the burden of responsibility from his shoulders to mine - which doesn't seem right.

-J

Selling easy? Well then, CONGRATS on earning an extra $300!!!

Just a thought, could he have damaged the bike in some way? On the other hand I saw three bike accidents in one day---I sold mine the next.
Martin