Important lesson to be learned!

[monkeyking118]

I know Everybody tells new people this, but please, please be investigative to the point of paranoia when purchasing a pre-owned bike!

I'm now in the unenviable position of having to investigate why the frame No. doesn't match my registration number on my second hand Bike... and I only bought it yeaterday!
so I just wanted to post some of my mistakes on this forum to warn other new bikers of what to look out for!

1.obvious really, but do an HPI check on the bike you are interested in... but do it with BOTH the VRN (REG) AND VIN (normally chassis serial)... I didn't use both until I had the bike, now I've found that they apparently don't match

2.never pay cash.. again i did, so if the frame is stolen or illegal in some way I lose a bike and a small fortune

3. Avoid Ebay... this point may be harsh to the genuine people on ebay, but the scammers and other less than honest people make it too risky when dealing with the sums of money for a bike!

[monkeyking118]

update no.1!

4. Keep any written (including email) correspondance... makes it easier for you to prove things if things do go wrong, or in my case makes it easier to prove that i had asked some questions and am not a complete fool!

5. Ask even the seemingly stupid questions, if you do not like the answer don't bother with the bike! ( i know this gets said often, but its true really... why buy an ok bike when you can find a perfect one?)

6. When you view the bike ask to see the V5 doc too and compare the chassis numbers, that way hopefully you'll avoid my current situation!
It's probably worth checking the engine serial too.

[mike_neon]

doesnt the v5 document protect you against this, so the person selling the bike should have this document to prove this. i dont know if im wrong. i am looking at buying a second hand bike very shortly, so yeah thanks for the advice and heads up still

you know these HPI checks etc, is it something you can do when your looking at the bike, i.e just before you buy it phone up and get the check done.

or when phoning up about information of the bike your interested in, do you ask them for the reg and serial number, are people funny aout giving this info?

[monkeyking118]

Hpi Checks can be done online, they cost anywhere between £25 and £40, i did mine from a link at www.motorcyclenews.co.uk its under service providers. bike trader offer one for £25. they can be done with just the vehicle reg, although the more info the better. they should be done before you buy the bike, otherwise you may find you've bought an expensive drive ornament!

to be honest, if you contact the seller and are genuinly interested in the bike, they should be ok with giving you the info... if you view the bike in person, note both the reg and the frame number on the headstock (this is usually the VIN), compare them to the V5 and then run a check. If they are dodgy about you doing this in person, walk away! again any inconsistancies in the documentation, walk away

be warned though that they are not always as accurate as they make out... see my other post "VIN and VRN numbers do not match" in the workshop section for details on other peoples experiance with HPI Checks!

[G]

Although I haven't always, as you say, you should always check that frame number matches the V5 etc.

Ebay offers a cheap HPI facility.

If you're buying from ebay the important thing is to always ask questions regardin the state of the bike and to check these out before you actually hand the cash over.
If you want to avoid being scammed, I'd personally sugget you avoid motorcycle garages more than ebay.

Paying cash doesn't off you much less protection than paying in other ways.

[monkeyking118]

[G]

Note that there are cheap HPis listed in bike trader I believe - definitely in autotrader, for about the same price.

I wasn't aware that ebay are that good at sorting problems, it's just as with a bike you generally go and collect it, it's not really any more dodgy than other methods if you're careful .

[tribal_tiger]

Also check on here.

People like me will tell you it's their old bike and they sold it to someone on this forum with the name mr.tattoo

People like me even link to his profile to make sure you get the right person!

I think i still have his details from the documents he filled out somewhere. I know the bikes not stolen though as I sold it around the 27th Jan if i remember right. He needed work to do on it, so this would be about right.

He seemed a straight up guy and I know other people on this forum have dealt with him.
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All of it.

[veeeffarr]

Hi,

When I bought my bike, I took the V5 from the seller (After running a FULL HPI check with the frame no, engine no, MOT doc no, and VRN) and got my girlfriend to read the numbers from the headstock and engine.

[monkeyking118]

I Honestly have nothing against Mr.Tattoo, the bike is fine, I guess i started this post in a bad mood, with the puzzling connundrum of HPI flagging the VIN!
I'm sure everything will check out once the V5 comes through, and if not i'm sure there will be a way to sort it.

like Tribal says, if there's a bike for sale on this site that looks very similar to the one you've just bought there's no harm in contacting the person.

I did and got a whole world of info.... cheers Tribal!
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Baimo RSR125(sold), Suzuki En-125 '06 (sold), Honda VFR400 NC-30 '92(sadly stolen), Kawasaki ZX6R Ninja '96 (sadly stolen), Kawasaki GPZ500s '93 (sold), KTM rc390 '16 (f***ing stolen), Kawasaki Z750R, Triumph Daytona 675

[mchaggis]

Motorcycle dealers are out to make as much profit from you as they can, so diverting your attention away from bad and dodgy items is a plus point for them. Their job is to make you pay more money than the bike is worth, so you are very likely to get screwed over or to have them try to screw you over.

Most private people selling machines are there to make enough money from selling their bike to afford their next one. They don't get paid on commission and they might be less likely to have the lack of moral fibre to deliberately screw someone over.

You can't trust either of them, they are both after your money.


Me: "So, do you know of anything wrong with this machine which I haven't yet seen?"

Them: "Oh no, well look at it this way, you're getting a 500 for that low price, that's a lot of bike for your money!"


Well, it seems he was talking out of his arse. It really pays to inspect the machine meticulously. They mis-stated the MOT status on the original advert too, something I stupidly managed to overlook. A copy of the original advert and any questions you have asked will help you.
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I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[monkeyking118]

I am actually a rather paranoid git, so I tend to keep records of just about everything, as it may be useful later.

(pretty soon I'll need a house for receipts and letters alone!)

It does help to keep these things sometimes, at the very least it shows you have not blindly accepted what is said to you!

I'm also an ex law student (thats probably where the paranoia comes from!) so i tend to keep anything written out of habit!
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Baimo RSR125(sold), Suzuki En-125 '06 (sold), Honda VFR400 NC-30 '92(sadly stolen), Kawasaki ZX6R Ninja '96 (sadly stolen), Kawasaki GPZ500s '93 (sold), KTM rc390 '16 (f***ing stolen), Kawasaki Z750R, Triumph Daytona 675