Purchasing woes
Discussion
Hi all,
I've just bought a bike privately and the V5 has arrived which states "this vehicle has been salvaged because the estimated cost of commercial repair was more than the value of the vehicle".
It is buyer beware and I should have checked properly so I am more annoyed at myself than anything else. However I am a bit hacked off because it wasn't mentioned anywhere in the advert and when I asked the seller if it had ever been crashed he said not to his knowledge. The purchase price of the bike wasn't 'too good to be true' either, i.e. it didn't reflect a bike which had been written off.
I had checked the MoT history online and everything looked fine. It has low mileage too for its age. The bike passed an MoT a few days before I purchased. There is no obvious damage from when I looked it over.
To some extent, given that it has passed an MoT, rides fine and appears to be in good condition I am happy just to live with it. The vin and engine number matches the v5.
However, I have never bought a salvaged bike before so I'm not sure what category it falls under. How do I find this out?
Thanks all
I've just bought a bike privately and the V5 has arrived which states "this vehicle has been salvaged because the estimated cost of commercial repair was more than the value of the vehicle".
It is buyer beware and I should have checked properly so I am more annoyed at myself than anything else. However I am a bit hacked off because it wasn't mentioned anywhere in the advert and when I asked the seller if it had ever been crashed he said not to his knowledge. The purchase price of the bike wasn't 'too good to be true' either, i.e. it didn't reflect a bike which had been written off.
I had checked the MoT history online and everything looked fine. It has low mileage too for its age. The bike passed an MoT a few days before I purchased. There is no obvious damage from when I looked it over.
To some extent, given that it has passed an MoT, rides fine and appears to be in good condition I am happy just to live with it. The vin and engine number matches the v5.
However, I have never bought a salvaged bike before so I'm not sure what category it falls under. How do I find this out?
Thanks all
Did you, or have you since, HPId it?
Check if it shows, it will at least tell you when and what (maybe) happened.
If it’s a private sale, there’s no duty to declare it. And owner saying not crashed to his knowledge may be correct. It could be stolen recovered, engine locked eg flood damage, etc etc.
What type of bike and year? If it is say a 1998 bike, written off in 1999, but run ever since, does it really matter now?
Check if it shows, it will at least tell you when and what (maybe) happened.
If it’s a private sale, there’s no duty to declare it. And owner saying not crashed to his knowledge may be correct. It could be stolen recovered, engine locked eg flood damage, etc etc.
What type of bike and year? If it is say a 1998 bike, written off in 1999, but run ever since, does it really matter now?
It depends what the value of the bike is, I dropped my Africa Twin off road a couple of years back, it broke one radiator, a fan, a lot of plastic around those and the fairing piece. It cost me about £400 to fix with second-hand parts, but I can imagine a quote to fix in a shop with new parts would have been a few grand. Only cosmetic though (the radiator didn't leak), so once fixed you can't tell anything ever happened.
Hopefully this was the same sort of thing!
Hopefully this was the same sort of thing!
WinstonR said:
Good idea - just purchased HPI check now. Cat C in August 2014, only details provided says damaged area offside, cause of damage accident. 7 year gap would suggest any issues from the crash have been long resolved.
Yes, and if the guy you got it off had it since then, he may not know. I’d not to be two concerned, cat c could be real minor stuff on a new bike. What year is it?
WinstonR said:
It's a 2008 bike so in 2014 it would have been 6 years old when the accident happened. Without knowing any more detail, it could have been written off from a 'minor' crash which damaged indicators, fairings, exhaust, pegs, mirrors etc.
Yes a few panels and appendages on a 6 year old bike, parts still available at dealer prices, bike worth possibly 40 percent of new price, it soon gets written off. Check it over good an d proper, if it is ok, ride and enjoy it. Worry about it’s ‘value’ when you sell it!
I’d be annoyed myself but like you I’d probably rely on the seller to be honest if you asked him outright if it had been in an accident.
Ironically I was sideswiped in my GS a week or so ago. It drives and looks fine but the insurance estimate is £12.7k which is going to write it off.
If I wasn’t going through insurance I could fix it for less than a grand. I might buy it back but if I do sell it on I’ll be honest about it.
I wouldn’t bother about your’s too much. It doesn’t take much to write off a modern bike.
rigga said:
Was it cat c in the previous owners possession? If so he'd have known about it ......if it wasn't, did the v5 he received on purchase also state the same thing yours now does, again he'd know about if.
Exactly this.I’d be demanding a refund or legal action.
You asked and he lied, end of.
Nick928 said:
Exactly this.
I’d be demanding a refund or legal action.
You asked and he lied, end of.
How do you know he lied. I’d be demanding a refund or legal action.
You asked and he lied, end of.
Even if he knew it was a cat doesn’t mean it was crashed. Stolen recovered? Flood damage? Vandalised? Fire damage?
It goes to show how useful a 10 quid HPI check is when buying any vehicle. You could have knocked him down on the price a fair chunk
poo at Paul's said:
How do you know he lied.
Even if he knew it was a cat doesn’t mean it was crashed. Stolen recovered? Flood damage? Vandalised? Fire damage?
It goes to show how useful a 10 quid HPI check is when buying any vehicle. You could have knocked him down on the price a fair chunk
Its a bit off to be asked if its crashed, and deny it (may not know the cause of the cat marker) but to not declare its status ....Even if he knew it was a cat doesn’t mean it was crashed. Stolen recovered? Flood damage? Vandalised? Fire damage?
It goes to show how useful a 10 quid HPI check is when buying any vehicle. You could have knocked him down on the price a fair chunk
But I'd have asked to see to see the V5 on inspection anyway, verify location, numbers etc
In the OP's shoes, id have a bad taste in the mouth over it.
These notifications didn't always appear on motorcycle V5's - more usually on cars.
I'm wondering whether the seller actually owned it in 2014 (possibly not) and the 'marker' on the V5 only caught up with it on the document change. If they didn't hpi it on purchase they might not have even known.
I'm intrigued whether my written off van will show this notification when I next update the address on a forthcoming house move. I didn't bother sending the V5 off to DVLA when I bought back the salvage as I was instructed
As part of buying a bike I'd certainly check it against the V5 - chassis and engine numbers, colour etc. Before sending it off to put it into my name I'd also definitely photo it - new rules on GDPR etc means you lose loads of info on previous owners and dates of ownership change etc
I'm wondering whether the seller actually owned it in 2014 (possibly not) and the 'marker' on the V5 only caught up with it on the document change. If they didn't hpi it on purchase they might not have even known.
I'm intrigued whether my written off van will show this notification when I next update the address on a forthcoming house move. I didn't bother sending the V5 off to DVLA when I bought back the salvage as I was instructed
As part of buying a bike I'd certainly check it against the V5 - chassis and engine numbers, colour etc. Before sending it off to put it into my name I'd also definitely photo it - new rules on GDPR etc means you lose loads of info on previous owners and dates of ownership change etc
As far as I know there is a legal obligation for a dealer to notify a potential buyer of a category/salvage marker against a vehicle but no legal obligation for a private seller to do so.
However, I believe if directly asked, they must provide the truthful answer about it being written off though how you prove they knew is a different one.
Caveat, I am not a lawyer.
Also a hpi check to see if it is written off costs £1.99. Even on a £300 snotter of a bike its still worth doing!
Use the cheapest total car check option. Saved me a few times
I'd approach the seller, tell them what you know and that you're disappointed in having bought the bike for £xvalue. Had you known the vehicle was a write off you'd only have been prepared to pay £xvalue. Therefore would they consider a partial refund of £x
You'll be playing to the good nature of them, which if they hid the fact they knew of the Cat C is not existent but you won't know without trying.
Also a lot of lawyers/solicitors offer a free half hour I believe to consult on whether you have a case. Could be worth it if the value of the bike is high enough or its annoyed you enough
Best of luck OP.
However, I believe if directly asked, they must provide the truthful answer about it being written off though how you prove they knew is a different one.
Caveat, I am not a lawyer.
Also a hpi check to see if it is written off costs £1.99. Even on a £300 snotter of a bike its still worth doing!
Use the cheapest total car check option. Saved me a few times
I'd approach the seller, tell them what you know and that you're disappointed in having bought the bike for £xvalue. Had you known the vehicle was a write off you'd only have been prepared to pay £xvalue. Therefore would they consider a partial refund of £x
You'll be playing to the good nature of them, which if they hid the fact they knew of the Cat C is not existent but you won't know without trying.
Also a lot of lawyers/solicitors offer a free half hour I believe to consult on whether you have a case. Could be worth it if the value of the bike is high enough or its annoyed you enough
Best of luck OP.
My Crossrunner was written off after cosmetic damage that included a small dent in the tank. I took the money and have kept the bike. It now owes me nothing. When it comes to selling it I'll be up front about what happened but by that stage it will only be worth a grand or two anyway.
Just to clear up some points on this:
I did see the V5 before buying but it was open and the disclosure about the vehicle having been salvaged is on the front page, i.e. the page facing down which I didn't look at.
The person I bought from had only owned the bike for 6 months so wasn't the person who had the accident.
It's likely, although I cannot say for definite, that the salvage disclosure would have been on the sellers V5.
I think it's just one of those life lessons to learn from. At the end of the day, I have a fully functioning bike and if I hadn't looked at my own V5 I would never have been any the wiser.
I did see the V5 before buying but it was open and the disclosure about the vehicle having been salvaged is on the front page, i.e. the page facing down which I didn't look at.
The person I bought from had only owned the bike for 6 months so wasn't the person who had the accident.
It's likely, although I cannot say for definite, that the salvage disclosure would have been on the sellers V5.
I think it's just one of those life lessons to learn from. At the end of the day, I have a fully functioning bike and if I hadn't looked at my own V5 I would never have been any the wiser.
call the DVLA
Insurance companies are getting majorly rapped for not actually adding the note to dvla databases.
They ought to be able to tell you when the information was added rather than just the date of the write off, will confirm whether the seller should have been aware or not. If hes not read the V5 but it was on there that's his fault.
unless you want to take the seller to court for a refund you're probably going to get nowhere
Insurance companies are getting majorly rapped for not actually adding the note to dvla databases.
They ought to be able to tell you when the information was added rather than just the date of the write off, will confirm whether the seller should have been aware or not. If hes not read the V5 but it was on there that's his fault.
unless you want to take the seller to court for a refund you're probably going to get nowhere
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff