HPI warning on used bikes
Added on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
HPI warning on used bikes
There’s been an influx of bike buyers from mainland Europe over the last six months, as sterling weakened against the euro, making secondhand motorcycles relatively cheap in the UK.
One of the nasty side effects of that process has been the rise in privately sold motorcycles which are stolen, or have a false identity, hidden crash history, or outstanding finance owed. Vehicle checking company HPI are warning that an estimated 1 in 5 used motorcycles may have a hidden history.
When HPI looked at their data for 2008 they saw that 1 in 10 bikes checked by them had outstanding finance owed, so a new buyer may be pursued by the finance company and lose the machine, as well as the money they paid.
As many experienced motorcyclists know, machines can be `cosmetic’ insurance write-offs, which again, is a common fact hidden by private sellers. It may have been repaired by experts, or not - but can you be sure that a potentially life-threatening mechanical fault isn’t part of the `bargain bike buy’ you’ve located online, or through a classified ad?
A HPI check will find out if outstanding finance is recorded against the vehicle, if the Police or DVLA have the bike listed as stolen or written-off, and it can offer a mileage check against infomation held by the DVLA.
If you’re buying privately this summer, insidebikes top tips are simple; ask lots of questions on the phone before viewing, never buy a bike which isn’t taxed, MoT’d, insured and DVLA registered in the seller’s name and take a mate who knows one end of a toolkit from the other along.
More at; www.hpicheck.com
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