Newbie, need some help

MetallicaMatt said:

hey guys

I'm from Ohio, and a coworker, his g/f is selling her Ducati. Its a '98, yellow bike. He only had one picture of it, it has some stickers on it, so those will be coming off. But it has "944" on the front.

I'm not really sure on the miles yet. I know, not a lot of info. As far as I know the bike has never been put down.

He is offering to sell me it pretty cheap. I was wondering if anybody here would be interested in it...whats it worth?

hell...i don't even know what the 944 is...a special model?

it looks like this bike i found, i believe
http://members.aol.com/TBoling125/ducati_st2.html

again, not knowing much about it yet..what would she be worth?

I'm considering buying it just to sell it and maybe make a buck or two, i gotta finish my car project first before i get a bike collection

Click to expand...

Steer clear, as you do not know what you are doing. Aside from the info you provided is minimal, there are too many factors that determine the value of a particular bike.

Just because it is a Ducati does not mean it is worth what you think it might be worth. Unless you are getting it for $1500, I would not buy it.

If you are bound and determined to see if you can turn a quick profit, your better bet is to go to your local classifieds, eBay and other sites on the Net to see what that model and year bike is worth. But keep in mind that then you have to know what to look for to determine if this particular bike is worth the selling price. E.g., what good is a "mint condition" price or value if this bike's condition is only "fair" or "good?"

For example, one member in here confessed that he bought a Ducati with damaged fairings. He did not know anything about such things, so he bought into the seller's statement that "Oh, go on eBay, you can get new fairings for $100." The guy was saddened that his check on eBay, after buying the bike, indicated used fairings might cost him $2000.

All of this does not even get into questions that need to be answered, even if you know what you are doing: why is the person selling the bike, what are the "bad things" inherent in that model and year, what is the condition of the engine and other expensive parts, what is the condition of the hidden areas of trouble [e.g., rust].

Good luck.