Tips when looking at a bike from private seller

[MayallRob]

Hi guys,

In a couple of weeks I'll be going to look at a bike I'm interested in. It's a 2 hour drive away, so I want to make the most of my visit there.

I bought my first bike from a garage and had all the warranties and guarantees that come with it. However, the bike I am going to look at in 2 weeks is being sold by a private seller.

What should I be looking for, and what questions should I be asking when I go and look at the bike besides the obvious things of electrics, chain and sprockets, tyres etc?

The bike costs nearly £10k, and he doesn't want me test riding unless he has the cash in his hands, so whats the best way to make sure it runs as it should? I was considering asking him to ride it round the street so I can see / hear that it works as it should. He assures me it is in perfect mechanical and cosmetic condition (besides a couple of stone chips to the lower front).

Thanks for your help guys!

Rob

[Wes]

Ive only every bought from private sellers, I usually take someone with me, just for an extra opinion. Service History, make sure it hasn't missed anything major, whens the next one due? If soon, you could ask for a price reduction to cover this.
Make sure its started cold, not warmed up before you get there. I usually run a background check as well beforehand, and check over the engine/chassis numbers to make sure they match.

[Berniebloke]

Well worth running a background check. Last one i went to look at was a lovely lookimg bike and seemed in great condition. Ran a check and the nice shiny black bike I was looking at was silver according to the check (s) I ran.

[WR6133]

Get a good look at the rear shock, particularly if it's hard to access that can give a good window as to if the owner has cared for it beyond paying a Polish guy to wipe over the visible bits.

Few hundred quid no test ride, who cares....... 10K?....... I'd at least want a pillion ride that works up and down the box more than once, that's a lot of money to ride it off in to the sunset and find it jumps out of 2nd.

[wheelers]

thats a lot of money without a warranty . do a text check to see if its recorded or has hp on it.
check chain, try pulling off of sprockets. check fork legs if its been sat on side stand unused the seals can distort.

[Gerry]

All the above :-)
I try and find as much about the seller as well, Google street map his house, do a Facebook search, if you can find a bike forum he's on all the better.
Sometimes you can find out that he's been asking for parts for the bike or asking for help to solve a problem etc.
I'm buying a trackbike at the weekend but I know when he bought it, what he's bought for it that he lives in a decent area etc. When I met him to have a look at it everything he said was confirmed by what I already knew.
It gives you a better feeling of confidence.
Saying all that, I keep my fingers crossed too ;-)
Hope you like it.

[Snowy]

You don't mention the brand of bike but I assume for £10K its a fairly new model. Check the manufacturers warranty, for instance, the standard for a BMW is 2 years and automatically transfers to a new owner. Most bikes these days have a forum based around them, so as Gerry says, get on there and do your due diligence on the owner as well as the bike. Try and get someone who knows that particular bike well to go along with you for an opinion if you're not confident to do that yourself. And remember there's always another one around the corner so walk away if your gut tells you to.

[Mitch9128]

Pretty good checklist; http://www.therevcounter.co.uk/threads/98133-Secondhand-Motorbike-Buying-Checklist

I normally do that, haggle price, give cash to owner on basis bike rides as described, if it does it's a sale, if not and i don't crash it, i get cash back and walk.

[MayallRob]

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it. I'll definitely do all of the checks mentioned above, and thanks wheelers for some good tips!


Few hundred quid no test ride, who cares....... 10K?....... I'd at least want a pillion ride that works up and down the box more than once, that's a lot of money to ride it off in to the sunset and find it jumps out of 2nd.

I get that it's a lot of money to spend on a bike without a test ride. I'll definitely want to see it running (and will ask to see a cold start as Wes suggested) and will either ask for a quick pillion ride or to see him ride it round the streets. I'll at least be able to hear the gear changes that way.


if you can find a bike forum he's on all the better. Sometimes you can find out that he's been asking for parts for the bike or asking for help to solve a problem etc.

I originally found the bike for sale on a forum for that specific bike. I've been through all of his post history and can see that he's fixed some of the electronics already in the past and took it in for a recall.


You don't mention the brand of bike but I assume for £10K its a fairly new model.

It's the bike I've dreamed of owning for years, and been saving up for it relentlessly. I haven't seen one up for sale in a very long time! Its a 2012 BMW S1000RR in the rare blue fire colour :D :D It looks like it's been meticulously cared for.

[MayallRob]

Pretty good checklist; http://www.therevcounter.co.uk/threads/98133-Secondhand-Motorbike-Buying-Checklist

I normally do that, haggle price, give cash to owner on basis bike rides as described, if it does it's a sale, if not and i don't crash it, i get cash back and walk.

Hi Mitch, I've just checked out the checklist that you posted - thats a pretty comprehensive list! I'll probably print off a copy and take it with me to fill out.

[shiftyblake]

Mate brought a bike looked mint, ran well bloke was really genuine he brought it off in Birmingham. Got to the petrol station and filled up, dead battery and wouldn't start. Electrical problem not charging didn't have a clue though when he went to see it. I would never ever buy a bike I hadn't ridden.

[DaytonaDog]

If you spending that amount of money on a bike, consider getting an AA or RAC check done on it. (If they do them on bikes). It costs money, but surely worth paying a bit extra for piece of mind.

[BikeTreads]

Would be worth getting a mechanic/mot tester to go with you to look it over. Check the owners forums and look for common issues with the bike so it gives you an idea of what to look for. BMW as a whole build very reliable bikes and the finish is second to non. Look for the obvious, tyres, drive train, bounce the suspension front and rear, give the forks a wipe to check for leaks, check all the lights work, check engine for any noises that shouldn't be there, pay attention the the owner of he's all about knee down on a track chances are its been used hard so check for hidden crash damage and do a hpi check which will show any finance or insurance records.

From experience the S1000RR seems a very well built bike and we have seen no problems with them as of yet.

[Kevinb]

As above check on forums for common faults but also for any manufacturers recalls, do a history check as £10 is a lot to pay privately. Check on E-bay, MCN, etc.. to make sure the price asked for is under dealer prices (especially this time of year when they will be discounting)
If in any doubt walk away as there will be others. If it is in a few hundred quid of a dealers price for the same year, mileage a few hundred quid is worth it for peace of mind.

[Julie_S]

whatever you do don't take the asking price with you for a test ride. The seller maybe honest but that is way too much to have about your person. Somebody must have caught out by now and mugged when taking a wad along to look over a bike, or had their car broken into

You haven't mentioned how many miles it has on it

Chances are at £10K for a secondhand bike you are talking about a 1 or 2 owner bike? If it's 1 owner and the seller is that original owner it takes a lot of worry out about it being the bike they say it is.

I bought my Street Triple under similar circumstances from the 1st owner via the Street Triple Forum, took some cash to show willing and paid the owner by direct bank transfer once I'd looked the bike over

I recently bought my Daytona from a chap up in Manchester via Ebay. To check him out I looked into his account, found a pic of him and his lad, he looked sound. I asked him to scan and send over the paperwork to me for the bike, with that I google earthed his house, which matched his photo on EBay. He was the first and only owner which made it easier, pretty unlikely the one and only owner is going to rebuild a wreck or stolen bike as that is normally done the other way around - i.e buy a legit frame or bike and built it back up with stolen parts...I really can't see much dodgyness going on with first owners

[Conehead]

one engine that goes vroom vroom.
Two wheels
one seat

Joking aside, look for leaks after it has been idling for a while. Check the engine is cold then get the seller to start. Pay attention to what he/she does, do they immediately show you it revs through the range (this would tell me they rag their bike as they are not letting it warm up) Does the rear tyre has chicken strips. this give you a good indication how it has been ridden. General condition, smoke from exhaust, etc. rips oin seat, milage, etc, etc etc.

Start from the front wheel and work your way around bit by bit checking everything including chain tension and the other stuff you might not know. Check its clean but not too clean, etcetcetc.

Good luck and enjoy the experience

[gibbo]

Hi Rob
I can remember you testing an RR at The North Oxford Road Garage a while back now. Good advice from other members especially taking someone else with you who knows bikes inside out or a full AA/RAC inspection. Buyer beware!!! You have no rights or guarantees buying private.

[MayallRob]

Hi Rob
I can remember you testing an RR at The North Oxford Road Garage a while back now. Good advice from other members especially taking someone else with you who knows bikes inside out or a full AA/RAC inspection. Buyer beware!!! You have no rights or guarantees buying private.

I'm really impressed that you remember my test ride!! It certainly stands out in my head as being one of the best days of last year :) Theres been some really great advice from everyone. I should be going to look at the bike on Saturday, so I'll update you all then!

[Jon_W]

General tips are:

Be a bike geek. Know everything there is to know about the bike you are looking at. Owners clubs, other riders and forums such as this are excellent sources of information.

Make a checklist and go through it. If it fails badly it's probably a dud.

Does the owner have all the paperwork in his name.

Are you at the owners house. Sounds silly but if it's unloaded from a van into a layby ask why?

Ask how long its been owned, check this against the V5, why it is being sold, how much it was ridden etc... get chatting to the owner about his/her riding.

Has it been serviced? Look at the general condition. Is it clean. A good indicator of use are the fork legs. If these have high degrees of salt pitting, the bike has been used in the winter. This may give lie to any claims of dry/summer use only.

Does it start properly, no blue smoke, no coughing, do all the bits (lights, brakes etc) work. And ride it. Check it goes in a straight line, stops properly, pulls well in all gears and has no nasty habits. Away from the owner go over it with a knit comb.

Finally if you have any doubts walk away. There are plenty more motorcycles in the world.

Good luck!

[MayallRob]

Hi guys,

Many thanks for your help with tips for looking at new bikes. I went to see the bike yesterday and it looks immaculate - it looks like it was rolled out of the showroom and if the checks all clear I'll go for it.

My question now is what online checks can I do for the bike that anyone knows of? I know there is HPI check and the gov.uk has a few checks you can do. What else is there?

Thanks!

[Wes]

Theres a couple of companies which offer full background checks, the more you pay the more indepth the survey, they do also offer a guarantee covering the results if anything turns out to be incorrect.

[Snowy]

The HPI check for sure - loads of Beemers are bought on finance. You can also go to your BMW dealer and if you ask nicely they can look up all the service history, recalls etc.

[MayallRob]

Hi guys,

Viewed the bike on Saturday and it looked immaculate. I've now finished all the checks and they've all come back fine!

I've decided to go for it. I've been dreaming of this bike for 3 years, and saving up for a sportsbike for even longer. It seems unreal that I'll actually be getting it. Hopefully with the help of Conehead I'll get it transported home before the end of the month!

I'll post some pictures when I have it. Excited is not even the word.

[BB]

Woohoo, go for it. Enjoy :cool:

[Oakley]

I'm pleased for you mate - but your last post raises a question...

Have you paid for it yet..?

If yes - is it a good idea to wait a month to get the bike..? Especially when you are exposed to the tune of 10K with a complete stranger..?

If no - what's to stop him selling it to someone else before the end of the month..?

I'm sure you've probably got this covered in some way not mentioned - but just in case...

[MayallRob]

I'm pleased for you mate - but your last post raises a question...

Have you paid for it yet..?

If yes - is it a good idea to wait a month to get the bike..? Especially when you are exposed to the tune of 10K with a complete stranger..?

If no - what's to stop him selling it to someone else before the end of the month..?

I'm sure you've probably got this covered in some way not mentioned - but just in case...

I've paid him a deposit for the bike (500), and have said I will transport the remaining money to him a day or two before I go to pick it up. Unfortunately Im not free to pick it up for another couple of weeks, or I'd have been and got it already!

It's just one of those things I guess where I've got to make a judgement call and trust him. He seemed like a really genuine guy, so I'm sure everything will be fine. He wasn't planning on advertising it until April, it was pure fluke really that I found it he was considering selling it.

Thanks for your concern though!

[Oakley]

I've paid him a deposit for the bike (500), and have said I will transport the remaining money to him a day or two before I go to pick it up. Unfortunately Im not free to pick it up for another couple of weeks, or I'd have been and got it already!

It's just one of those things I guess where I've got to make a judgement call and trust him. He seemed like a really genuine guy, so I'm sure everything will be fine. He wasn't planning on advertising it until April, it was pure fluke really that I found it he was considering selling it.

Thanks for your concern though!

Ok - good luck...