I think it's time to ditch the bike. Very little time to ride, too many other hobbies and I try to spend most of my free time with my family. I keep thinking I will sell it and buy another when the kids are older.

I was thinking about cycle trader and the like but, I financed the bike and still owe. I don't know how easy it would be to get somebody online to payoff bmw and wait for the title. I could let the dealership sell it on consignment but that will cost me 10%. Anyone have luck with rumble on or similar service?

What is the best way to get this done without losing too much? It's not a money problem and I still ride so I am not necessarily in a hurry.

Just be clear to any prospective buyers that the finance company has the title and they'll have to wait for the title in the mail after they give you the cash. It's pretty common.

Facebook Marketplace and Cycle Trader are your best options.

I've bought and sold a few bikes that had liens on the title. As long at its financed at a local bank where the lien release can be had immediately its no big deal.

Therein lies the problem. BMW Finance holds the lien and it isn't local. I wasn't sure how that would work. BMW said the buyer could send them a check and apply for a new title. I am willing to lose a little just to be done with it and move on to other toys which is why I was considering rumble on.

Check with whatever your state title transfer procedures are. If they are anything like ours, you can't do that. The finance company will have to lift the lien, and then you - not them - still have to initiate the transfer to the new owner. After all, you are the owner, not the finance company.

You might find somebody willing to deal with all that, as long as certain considerations are made - take what I was willing to do with a car: I took possession of the car and sent a check to the finance company. When they confirmed the lien was removed (a week later or so), we went and transferred the title and he got the rest of the money.

But for the most part, I would say the majority of people buying street bikes only want to buy ones with clean titles ready to go, so it's going to be a pretty hard sell. (Dirt bikes can be different, depending on where you live.)

Anyway you can pay off the bike, receive the title and then sell the bike even if you do something like a short term 401K loan?

I can't blame people when they are leery of someone selling a bike without a title in hand and a non local lending institution anymore.

This^^

You're going to miss out on a lot of potential buyers by not having the title in hand. The back and forth with the finance company and waiting on the title would be a deal-breaker for a lot of people, myself included.

What kind of BMW do you have?

I would say most all would not go for that kind of deal.  Too many loose ends.  

1. Obtain payoff letter from BMW
2. Have buyer make 2 certified checks. One to BMW and the balance to you.
3. Give guy the bike with Bill of Sale
4. Mail check and payoff letter to BMW
5. When title arrives sign it over to Buyer and mail it to him

i did this procedure when I bought a car that had a lien on it.  It worked fine.

I’ve sold a couple bikes private party but I had the title in hand, which made it very easy.

Another option  take it to a BMW dealer or another bike dealer to see what they would give you for it? Youll get less but it would be an easier transaction.

Thanks for all the feedback.

I could probably pull money from cash reserves, not 401K, if I had an immediate buyer but prefer not to go that route. It may sound a little crazy but I have a toy budget every month that I use for whatever I feel like buying with no comment from the wife and try to keep all transactions separate from family budget.

If anyone is curious, I did submit the bike to Rumble on today. I expected a low ball offer but this was laughable. 2018 R1200 RT loaded with less the 3K miles and they offer $9700. I don't know why anyone would accept that sort of offer.

I think I will try cycle trader and see if anyone is up for a deal but I agree with the other posters in that I may have some problems getting a buyer that way. One of the reasons my last several bikes have been BMW is because the dealership has always been outstanding. I don't know that I want to give 10% for a consignment sale but I am going to ask if they will handle the transaction for a fee if I find the buyer. They did something similar for me in the past but I was buying a new bike. I found a buyer and they essentially took my old bike as trade and sold it at the same time to my buyer. That worked out pretty well for everyone. It never hurts to ask.

I bought a car with a lien on it once.  I gave them the cash, took the car, then met up to get the title later.

LOL you gave them cash?  How did you they'd pay the lien off?

Probably using a magical establishment called a bank, where you can deposit cash and then write checks.

Seller sends a check to their finance company to pay off the loan and obtain the title. Seller then gives the title to the buyer...

He never said that and I sure didn't assume it.