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/foru...d.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?!

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?