The 'how far would u go 2 view 2nd hand bike' thread?

[Old Git]

See advert for 2nd hand bike I am looking for, but it is in Carrick Fergus (sorry if its spelt wrong) like 300 miles from me.
Want to look & if it was good, would buy, but is that to far for a maybe?

Am I mad not to go????
Would anyone buy on only seeing pics???

To be honest, even if I see it & start it, not experienced enough to know that much anyway, is a tactile thing, touch it, feel it like it yes/no then buy or not.
Is it any worse to look at pics on an e-mail than ride 300 miles to maybe buy a bike?

Anyone been that daft before?

[noob-saibot]

See advert for 2nd hand bike I am looking for, but it is in Carrick Fergus (sorry if its spelt wrong) like 300 miles from me.
Want to look & if it was good, would buy, but is that to far for a maybe?

Am I mad not to go????
Would anyone buy on only seeing pics???

To be honest, even if I see it & start it, not experienced enough to know that much anyway, is a tactile thing, touch it, feel it like it yes/no then buy or not.
Is it any worse to look at pics on an e-mail than ride 300 miles to maybe buy a bike?

Anyone been that daft before?

Plenty from over here head over there to buy. Big savings to be had

[Nick_69]

If i looks rele good and is a good price i would go, but its still a 600 mile round trip

[christopher]

Aren't you in Worcester? So you'd need to take into account ferry costs as well, for a maybe I personally wouldn't bother unless I couldn't find anything like it over here. If you were 95% certain you were going to buy after seeing it and could justify the distance/costs (i.e. you really want this bike) then go for it.

edit: or get someone already over there to take a look for you to help make your decision?

[wow]

Is there no-one you know who could have a look for you first? Someone from a forum?

[hovis]

when looking for boris, i found one in york, but i could not be bovvered to go that far, in the end i only went 10 miles for him, it took a few months, but i was not in a rush

the problem with going too far, if you dont like it, its a waste of time and money

100 miles round trip is the most i would do

[Old Git]

Aren't you in Worcester? So you'd need to take into account ferry costs as well, for a maybe I personally wouldn't bother unless I couldn't find anything like it over here. If you were 95% certain you were going to buy after seeing it and could justify the distance/costs (i.e. you really want this bike) then go for it.

edit: or get someone already over there to take a look for you to help make your decision?

Bloke said was in scotland, between Edinburgh & Glasgow (sorry again for spelling, so no ferry, although I may have to take my passport if i go:smt081

[Old Git]

Is there no-one you know who could have a look for you first? Someone from a forum?
Good idea, but don't know anyone that far up, all family are back dan saf round London/Essex, typical all in totally the wrong direction.

[wow]

How about friendly people from the scottish contingent on here? You know someone who knows their stuff.

[christopher]

Ah fair enough, thought you meant N. Ireland (hence the ferry!).

I travelled 300 miles return trip to get my bike, distance didn't bother me as it was everything I wanted for the right price (after substantially negotiating it down over the phone). Before I went up to get it I'd only seen 4 pictures and spoke to the dealer, everything was fine when I saw it so I bought it.

[hovis]

what is it?

surly theres somthing closer?

[Old Git]

what is it?

surly theres somthing closer?

All I will say is its a twin, not IL4.:driving:

[hovis]

there should be plenty of tractors round Worcester, tis farmers land

personaly i would not go that far

[sv-robo]

Not really about me personally,but i was just about to put the bike away yesterday t-time when an old bloke(must have been pushing 70)came up & started asking me questions about the rr, it's on an 04 plate,but has had quite a few grands worth of work done on it.
A few minutes into the conversation i said maybe just maybe i might this time next year i might think about selling it on.His eyes lit up, he then asked, that being the case how much would i want for it?I replied probably around the £4/4500mark.He then went on to ask if i was selling now,how much?i replied probably around £5000.He then shocked me & said tomorrow he was taking delivery of a Ducati 750 but would cancel it right now & give me 5k for mine if i was willing to sell now.

Gotta say i had to think for a minute,but at the end of the day i'm just not ready to let it go to someone else yet,also i really don't think it would be the right bike for him(he did'nt really look in great health & might have been to much for him??)But the guy was definately willing to pull out the stops to get it.

[Sally]

Put a post in the Ecosse section, sure someone from the Central belt will have a look for you.

[ian505050]

I did

359 mi – about 6 hours 47 mins Leeds to Aberdeen

To pic up a yahaha r125. YES a 4 stroke 125

I only saw a few photos but it had warrenty and was a grand less than the going rate.

[rusty76]

I think I did 400 miles round trip to get mine

I recommend chatting at length with the current owner, it's quite easy to get a feel of how much they've looked after the bike before committing to visit

Also factor in the cost of getting the bike if you view and do buy, whether it's train tickets or van hire & fuel

[petevtwin650]

I don't like travelling too far to look at a bike. The seller will know you're desperate, so negotiating a reduced price is difficult, plus your own state of mind may make you more inclined to buy it after all that trouble.

Relevant cautionary tale here

http://www.ducatisti.co.uk/forum/ducati-chat/32698-our-wasted-day-yesterday.html

[svdemon]

I live in between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Carrick Fergus is in Northern Ireland. I'm confused!

[GavinD]

come and buy mine!

[SuzukiNess]

I live in between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Carrick Fergus is in Northern Ireland. I'm confused!


:scratch:

me too.

[mkz9876]

took a mate to lands end last year to get a bike 300+ miles each way, but would only take him on the condition he sorted out to see it at 9 on a sunday morning and to arrange viewings on other bikes on the way back just incase it was a dog got there and it was an overpriced heap with ground off engine nos and things, ended up looking at a gsxr600 on the way back which was a bargain would have come home empty handed otherwise plus the first guy thought he had us over a barrel having come so far when the story was relayed to the gsxr seller he realised he wouldnt have us over a barrel with it ,

so my advise is go for it but make sure you get there early in the day and take phone nos of other bikes to look at on the way back in case its a dog and dont be scared to walk away weather the bike is wrong or the price is wrong

[Old Git]

:scratch:

me too.
OK, maybe not Carrick Fergus, but defo said Scotland between Glas & Ed.
No ferry ride but still a bloody long way (especially on an SV)

[petevtwin650]

OK, maybe not Carrick Fergus, but defo said Scotland between Glas & Ed.
No ferry ride but still a bloody long way (especially on an SV)

Surely it's better to go in a van or car with trailer than taking the bike? Means if you do buy it, you have to do the journey again, plus you either leave a deposit and may never see the money again, or shake on it but then someone else comes along and gazumps you.

Our first Sv was bought about 120 miles away but I had a works van, so having bought the bike which, waving pound notes under his nose and the promise of taking it then and there, I got substantially cheaper than advertised, I rode it home and he drove the van. Meant I had to do the journey again of course to run him back and it was the longest 240 miles ever, but it got the bike safe and sound where I could see it.

[metalangel]

I did 70miles round trip to get my car and 80miles round trip for my bike. Twice each (first to go and view and decide I wanted, second time to pick up). The second time is always the biggest hassle as you have to be taken there by someone else as otherwise how are you gonna get back? (unless you have a trailer)

[Alpinestarhero]

I wouldnt go further than 100 miles, and thats only if the seller has given me sufficient enough evidence that the bike is 1) very well looked after 2) completly legal and 3) worth my time going there.

I wouldnt go on a chance it might be worth buying but probably a heap of crap

[454697819]

depends on the rarity of the bike in question...

Ill go as far as I need for the right bike,

I have gone 100 miles and bought a lemon but have also gone 200 miles and bought great bikes.

[PsychoCannon]

I went 250miles for my bike based on a single photo and some blurb :)
But then I was 99% certain I was going to buy it and boy was that a fun ride home!

[s7uyj]

one thing to make sure ( as i have done this in the past) dont buy it under the thoughts of "well i've come all this way, it will be a waste if i dont" if your not prepared to walk away and have a wasted trip, DONT GO!

[JamesMio]

OK, maybe not Carrick Fergus, but defo said Scotland between Glas & Ed.
No ferry ride but still a bloody long way (especially on an SV)

Bet it's Clackmannanshire

[speedplay]

Im doing 70 miles round trip to look at a bikes later today..

[krhall]

I went from Dartford to Morpeth, luckily bike checked out so I rode it home and have loved it since.

Was worth the journey as it is worth more now than I paid for it a year and 8k ago.

I did as much checking as I could before travelling though, tens of pictures, vehicle check etc. I even got the bloke to take photos of the chassis no on the bike to ensure they matched up with the checks.

[Milky Bar Kid]

I love this thread! "I wouldn't go mre than a 100 mile round trip..."

Feckin hell, I need to do a 50 mile round trip to get to nearest Tescos and tht is only a wee one! If I want to go to a big on I have to do a 115 mile round trip!!

[dizzyblonde]

I went from Halifax to some small village in the middle of nowhere in Norfolk for my black SV. Not sure I would do it again....unless it was for an Xtra Raptor!