Paranoia over motorbike purchase

[jonny.boyd]

Hi all,

So I'm not normally the paranoid type, however, thought I'd come to the org looking for some advice!

I recently put a deposit down on a VFR800 FI (1998 ) from a dealer in North London. Since placing this deposit I've been looking through the VFR forums a bit and yesterday stumbled across a thread in which the owner of a VFR was talking about how he's crashing his bike and destroyed the forks, along with some electrical problems.

Now the coincidental part is that the bike is pretty much identical to the one I've just put a deposit down on:

Colour: Black (Same)
Age: December 1997 (Same)
Milage: The post was from 2 / 3 years ago, and i'd been told by dealer it'd only done a few thousand in the last few years, so this adds up.
Location: London (Same)

Now this is when my paranoia kicked in... could this all just be a coincidence or could there be something the dealer isn't telling me?

Since this, I've emailed the dealer for a bit of clarifications regarding my concerns and have tried to hunt down this previous owner to see if it's the same bike (but to no avail).

So what would you do:

1. Walk away and hope the dealers nice enough to give you back the deposit
2. Ignore the paranoia - the bikes coming with 6 months warranty, so fall back on that.
3. Think, yes it could be the same bike, but it's probably been fixed up well enough for a dealer to sell it as perfect condition.
4. something else

And the obvious choice would be to go and check the bike out fully but with me being on the other side of the world and needing a mode of transport when I land back in UK that just isn't possible

Advice would be amazing!

[timwilky]

Get a HPI check done

[jambo]

Firstly, London's a big place and there are a lot of black VFRs out there. I used to see a black bandit 600 that was sold from the same dealership as my old one on my commute sometimes. The first 3 letters of our reg plates matched and both bikes were 7 years old and bought 2nd hand. I'd be pretty sure we could dig up a crash thread for any year and colour of SV you'd like on here.

While it might be the same bike, some damage or issues would be expected on just about any bike that was 15 over years old. Provided it's straight, and runs well, you should be OK. You can do an HPI check, though if it was never repaired or written-off through an insurer this won't help. Me, I'd be between an option 2 & 3, but I'd ask the dealer completely straight up if the bike had any electrical issues or if there were any signs it had been badly crashed in the past. If you ask a straight question (preferably by email or similar), and they tell you that it checks out fine, it strengthens your case if there is an issue later. When I got the bike I'd inspect very carefully the areas that get dinged in a crash, making sure the forks, radiators, sub-frames, lock-stops were all good.

Jambo

Edit: Then, most importantly I'd enjoy riding my new bike. Weeeeee.

[Littlepeahead]

How about asking if any Orgers who are mechanically savvy and North London based could have a look at on your behalf? You could tell the dealer you are sending a representative.

Or maybe send Sid Squid (who knows his stuff) a friendly PM and ask his advice to see if he knows of the dealer and their reputation.

[jonny.boyd]

Thankyou for your replies!

Firstly I have already done an HPI which comes up clean, incidentally in the same thread on the VFR forum the owner states that he's not going through the insurance so unfortunately that doesn't clear anything.

Jambo, thankyou! That's pretty much the confirmation that I needed! Can't wait to get my hands on it :)

LPH, fantastic advice! I will pop him a PM, and if there happens to be anyone else in North London that wouldn't mind helping me out with a little bit of their time I'd happily compensate you with a case of beer, or a nice bottle of two of wine when I get back to the UK :)

[jonny.boyd]

SO,

Murphys Law - it's the same bloody bike! Just spoke to the dealer and he's confirmed who the previous owners where and first owners name matches up to user name on VFR forum!

Here's the post from the VFR forum listing all the issues the first owner had. He crashed it and bent the forks, and also had a load of electrical issues (http://www.bikersoracle.com/vfr/forum/showthread.php?t=108993)

Spoken to the dealer and told him i'd have a think about my options.

Should I still go for it, or walk away and look for another one?

[chris8886]

i'd walk away, plenty more of them out there surely?!

[Speedy Claire]

OMG what a horrendous situation for you. Buying a new bike should be a happy, joyful and exciting time, not one full of doubt and indecision.

I`m the first to say I don`t know much about bikes and have to rely on others to check it over for me prior to buying but personally i`d try and walk away from this one. To air his thoughts on an internet forum was a ridiculous step but he obviously thought it wasn`t worth selling it on to another rider and was worth more breaking it down for parts.

Would the dealer you`re buying from not have any come back on the original owner now this has come to light? I don`t know for sure but if you`re buying a bike from a dealer wouldn`t you have a warranty period and now you know the bikes faults could you not take it back the following week saying you want all the problems repaired?

Again if you have proof that the bike is damaged and has faults can you not insist the dealer rectify everything prior to you buying? At the end of the day i`m sure he bought the bike in good faith.

[NTECUK]

Walk away.
Plenty more fish .

[jambo]

15 year old bike in historical issues shocker!

I understand what people are saying. I would want to make sure that the money you're paying reflects that this is not the perfect example of the breed that's done only dry miles. But I'll play devil's advocate here:

1) His post is 2 1/2 years old, with bent forks (which he's already replaced), panels (which he's just replaced), grabbing brakes and a bike that won't start. My first question would be, at time of purchase are the forks and frame straight, do the brakes work efficiently, do the panels look good, and are the electrics reliable?
2) Does the bike come with a no-quibble warranty with the dealer? Would you feel confident enough to take it back if there were issues?
3) Hands up everyone here who can buy a 50,000 mile bike, and guarantee that it's never had a shunt. The next bike will not be this one, but that's not to say it'll be any better.
4) Are you mechanically competent? Can you tell if a bike isn't riding correctly? If not, point 2 becomes very important indeed. If so then you can assess this bike on your own terms before buying it.

Bikes have issues. People crash them, things break. What we've proved is that the last owner, at a point 2 years ago had got fed up and wanted shot of this because he didn't have the time and patience to fix some panels, a brake caliper, and an electrical fault. A good mechanic may have been able to put all of that right in a day. A bad mechanic could have left a bodged mess that you don't want. So, we're back to point 2 again really aren't we?

Jambo

Edit: If you don't think you'd trust it you can walk away, some people get quite emotional about these things and it'll nag at them, sometimes I forget this as it's not how I think. And all this said, it's your money, and you're the one who's going to be riding it. So is it a good deal, or too much for a bike that might be less than perfect?

[NTECUK]

Jumbo . it's already playing on his mind .
Something you don't need when your buzzing about is that constant monkey on your back.

[fizzwheel]

Should I still go for it, or walk away and look for another one?

If it were me, I'd walk away, plenty more bikes out there...

[jonny.boyd]

Okay, I've decided to walk away.

Just to give you all the shock and awe, the dealer was looking for £3,000 for this bike! with over 50,000miles on the clock. I considered knocking it right down due to crash info, but have instead decided to walk away.

Like you say, plenty more bikes out there and you can get alot more buck for that kind of money!

Cheers for your advice org :)

[Terah]

Just went through this buying a car, which turned out to be a Cat C. Was hard to walk away as it was otherwise exactly what I wanted, but glad I did in the end. Have now got something in better condition and with a better history.

[SvNewbie]

Jesus, I'd seen plenty of early VTech examples for less then £5k, and even post 2006 (clear indicators and modified VTech timing) for just over that, I can't believe a Fi one would fetch that price, much less with what would effectively have been a Cat B write-off had it been declared.

[Speedy Claire]

Glad you reached your decision.... can`t really put a price on peace of mind. Good luck with the search for another bike

[jonny.boyd]

Thankyou :)

I think i've already found a replacement :p

Again, thanks for all the advice! You've helped save me buying a potential money pit!!

[jambo]

Glad you're sorted, fingers crossed that the new one is straight, true and honest, and you can enjoy the summer on it :)

Jambo

[jonny.boyd]

Yeah I'm hoping so! It looks much nicer, has less miles, and is 6 years newer! :)

It is an early VTEC, but hey ho, it's still mint!

[NTECUK]

Yeah I'm hoping so! It looks much nicer, has less miles, and is 6 years newer! :)

It is an early VTEC, but hey ho, it's still mint!

But still a Honda :p.
Just kidding .
btw does it come with a pipe and slippers ;)

[jonny.boyd]

But still a Honda :p.
Just kidding .
btw does it come with a pipe and slippers ;)

Ha!

I'm still a young'un yet!

[SvNewbie]

It is an early VTEC, but hey ho, it's still mint!

Congratulations, to my eye the VFR800 Vtech is still one of the best looking bikes on the road. Certainly doesn't look like a 12 year old design. Though I don't suppose that should come as a surprise given the old VFR is still not a bad looking bit of kit!

[jonny.boyd]

Yeah, the styling is incredibly up to date for over a decade old design!

Love the shape and look of them! And the double tail exhaust look... mmmm...

[SvNewbie]

Yeah, if you go to my local Honda dealers you would not realise it is supposed to have been replaced by the VFR1200. They generally have half a dozen in stock and I don't think it is because they can't get rid of them. It will be a shame when they do stop making them, it seems to me that there is almost certainly a place in the market for a Sports Tourer which isn't a full-on 1200cc monster.