hpi check disaster.

[coupcoup]

You know how i said i broke every rule in the buying a bike book and was retrospectively trying to check if it was ok?  Well guess what!!!
I did an HPI check and...
Date of Transaction: 05/01/2000[/size]Loss Date: 10/11/1999Status: CAT C EXTENSIVE DAMAGE


Bollocks. I now want to just roll it off a cliff!!!!



[/color]

[coupcoup]

I'm a twat.  I've bought a lot of second hand cars in the past and a few bikes too, but this one i did all wrong and knew it, i took a chance.  That's not to say the repairs were not done well,  but I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known.   I guess that explains why the paint doesn't feel factory (bits of dust in the finish) and there are no decals on the fairing.  Might also explain the low mileage although there is a discrepancy in that too. mileage went down by 1k between 2008 and 2010. 


Never look at a bike as the sun is going down.
always get  and hpi check.


for £5 I'd be sitting on a black fazer from a local dealer with guarantees.. Instead I'm going to have to work out what to do with this one and save up for another. 


Just glad I didn't use my service parts, or change the tyres before I checked.  every cloud eh!!!

[coupcoup]

Bike For Sale! one careful owner (me) one reckless owner and one lying bastard owner. 

 

[Gnasher]

Did you ask the owner the obvious i.e. has this bike been crashed, written off etc?

If so and he lied, I think you may have recourse to get your money back and be able to sue him/her if they refuse of course it's a pain but the small claims court is your friend here.  If it was a dealer/trader they have an obligation to disclose the truth and must sell a bike fit for the road i.e. bent MOT etc so possible room for legal action her too.

I'm not saying all this is fact I'm saying it seams reasonable and worth looking into, good luck let us know how you get on


   

[jonesthesteam]

Bloody shame mate, but if it helps I did exactly the same with my first "big bike" a lovely looking kawasaki ZR7 with low miles bought privately, it was 12 months later when I was looking to PX it that I found out it was cat C, I was gutted, but....the bike had done all that I wanted for a year, and I sold it on privately as a classified ad stating the cat C, due to the great condition and the fact that i got my local dealer to check it thru and thru this didn't seem to put buyers off and I sold it for what I paid, albeit with some extras that I had added.


But I must admit that once I knew its history I never felt "right" about it and was glad to sell it on.


Since then I always use the text check 83600 which costs around £3 and can be done from your mobile there and  then, results are virtually instant, but a little late for you now.


Bike time is rapidly approaching, and if you present it well and state the cat C honestly along with some sort of certificate / statement of worthiness from your dealer you should get most of your money back....hopefully


Jonesthesteam

[coupcoup]

it was a private sale.  says on his ad that the bike had never been dropped - but he didn't own it when it was crashed.  I just spoke to him and he said he'd done very little to the bike.  It sat in his garage more than it was ridden.  He never knew about the cat c damage or he wouldn't have bought it!!!  He also said that it rides ok and that it must have been repaired to a legal standard for it still to be on the road. 


I don't have any recourse as far as getting my money back is concerned.  Strangely I believe the guy. 


I'm not really sure where to go from here.


I could try and sell it with the hpi check available and obviously take a hit.  Or break it for spares.  Or set fire to it and get a wee heat from the flames.

[coupcoup]

thanks jonestheteam.  Makes me feel a wee bit better.  So better to get it checked over and then service it.  A letter from the dealer saying it is ok sounds like a good idea.  All is not lost then.

[darrsi]

On a more positive note, Cat C is classed as a non economical write off, but if you were to look at the price of original Yamaha parts on AJ Sutton's website for instance then a pair of wheels and tyres would pass the £2500 mark, so it may not be as bad as you think.
Worst scenario would be a twist in the frame or the like but you'd need to ride it for a while and get a feel of it to see if you can figure out any discrepancies.

[jonesthesteam]

thanks jonestheteam.  Makes me feel a wee bit better.  So better to get it checked over and then service it.  A letter from the dealer saying it is ok sounds like a good idea.  All is not lost then.

You need to make it attractive to a new buyer, recent service, 12 months MOT and some sort of assurance regarding the cat C along with a keen price should help it sell, don't auction it though as you will get screwed, a keen buy it now or classified ad is what I would do with a full description and lots of good pics, you may lose some money but its better to lose a couple of hundred and put it down to experience, just means your next bike may need to be a bit cheaper but there are some good deals to be had if you look regularly, if you can save a couple of hundred on your next bike then all it's cost you is some hassle, good luck


Jonesthesteam

[Mark YPVS]

Don't worry about it, is it straight, does it ride ok? I crashed my new R1 and that was then a cat C kept it for 7 years, it was a cat C because it was new and had a small mark on the frame so the insurance said its cheaper to replace the bike than the frame   I done a deal with insurance, kept the bike and repaired the damage (not the frame as the mark was so small less than 5mm )
My car is also a cat C its been VIC checked and done 20,000 mile since I got it and its fine.
Cat c is beyond economical repair, so if it was new (less than 6 months old when it had the accident) and it had a damaged tank, fairing ,marks on forks, exhaust, panels would make beyond economical repair ( cat C )
I know it it p!sses you off finding out its a Cat C but if the bikes ok it dosnt matter 
just trying to look on the positive side for you, I would have no issues owning a cat C bike/car
Mark

[Mark YPVS]

Well said, Darrsi   

On a more positive note, Cat C is classed as a non economical write off, but if you were to look at the price of original Yamaha parts on AJ Sutton's website for instance then a pair of wheels and tyres would pass the £2500 mark, so it may not be as bad as you think.
Worst scenario would be a twist in the frame or the like but you'd need to ride it for a while and get a feel of it to see if you can figure out any discrepancies.

[gerkin]

Don't worry about it, is it straight, does it ride ok? I crashed my new R1 and that was then a cat C kept it for 7 years, it was a cat C because it was new and had a small mark on the frame so the insurance said its cheaper to replace the bike than the frame   I done a deal with insurance, kept the bike and repaired the damage (not the frame as the mark was so small less than 5mm )
My car is also a cat C its been VIC checked and done 20,000 mile since I got it and its fine.
Cat c is beyond economical repair, so if it was new (less than 6 months old when it had the accident) and it had a damaged tank, fairing ,marks on forks, exhaust, panels would make beyond economical repair ( cat C )
I know it it p!sses you off finding out its a Cat C but if the bikes ok it dosnt matter 
just trying to look on the positive side for you, I would have no issues owning a cat C bike/car
Mark

we had our micra written off got paid out and bought the salvage back ,repaired the damage and have been using it with no issues for the last 3 years
only problem i can see is the lower resale value .if the damage was only cosmetic i keep it and use as is ,look for creases around headstock ,if it does not pull to left or right ,the the frames probally ok

[xlewisbdx]

If you don't want the bike you could strip it down and sell it for parts on here and on eBay

[DryRob]

I'm fairly sure my current bike has been written off at some point. I didn't know when I bought it but I'd fallen for it by the time I worked it out. I also got a 3 month warranty which was enough peace of mind for me at the time of purchase.

If I was buying another I'd probably get a hpi done though, especially if I was paying more money.

[Dead Eye]

Might be worth trying to find out exactly what damage deemed it a Cat C - as others have said, it happened when the bike was very young so the damage may have been insignificant to its handling / performance but was simply too costly to fix. If it rides ok and you find out this is the case and you intended to keep it for a while before hand anyway, then I'd suggest holding on to it and taking care of it.

[coupcoup]

thanks guys.. some good advice and positive vibes there thanks.  I was seriously pissed off earlier. now i'm only mildly pissed off.  


I might have no choice but to keep it if i can't sell it for close to what i paid.  I've only ridden it round the block (4 miles with some twisties and some straights) a couple of times but it seemed to ride well ( apart from the flattened back tyre affecting the turn in a little (at least i hope it is that)).  The frame is in good nick with no visible dents or marks. there is no play in the bearings anywhere.  I dunno.  maybe i should just get it checked over and keep it. put a few thousand miles on it so i can sell it on with confidence...

Where would i find out what the damage was?

All is not lost.

[darrsi]

You have to also take into consideration the age of the bike, so book value would be quite low, which is another reason that even a bit of damage would make the bike a financial write off.


Not sure if it's possible to find out details of the damage, other than asking the owner involved at the time?

[coupcoup]

well the bike looks like it was only a few months old when the accident happened.  so i'm guessing there was enough damage to run up a big bill although as you say the cost of dealer parts would be high.  all the plastics have been painted and there are no 'fazer' decals so i'm assuming the front fairings took some impact.  The rest may have been painted to match the colour.  I doubt i'll find the owner from new unless the selling dealer has a record.  we'll see what happens .

[packie]

thanks guys.. some good advice and positive vibes there thanks.  I was seriously pissed off earlier. now i'm only mildly pissed off.  


I might have no choice but to keep it if i can't sell it for close to what i paid.  I've only ridden it round the block (4 miles with some twisties and some straights) a couple of times but it seemed to ride well ( apart from the flattened back tyre affecting the turn in a little (at least i hope it is that)).  The frame is in good nick with no visible dents or marks. there is no play in the bearings anywhere.  I dunno.  maybe i should just get it checked over and keep it. put a few thousand miles on it so i can sell it on with confidence...

Where would i find out what the damage was?

All is not lost.

I have only one bit of advice.....calm down and don't make any rash decisions.


All the facts that you have now is that you were lied too....nothing else. I'm sure you were lied too before, and you got over it?


You have no concrete evidence or professional advice that the bike is dangerous to ride yet....so why throw all your energy into believing that your bike is goosed???


Is it possible....just a little bit possible.... that your bike at the moment has just an equal opportunity that it is repaired to a safe and very ridable standard as if it were not crashed at all???...... and that it could bring great joy to your life???


Actually, is it possible that it might even be better than the pre-crashed state because some of the very old parts could have been replaced with longer lasting newer parts....ever think about that possibility??


At the moment what i'm saying is calm down and don't be obsessing that the glass is more than half empty, because that leads to making just as rash decisions like the one you made first day in buying it. Now is your opportunity to check it out and make an informed and rational decision. It might just work out that the glass is more than half full.

[darrsi]

Mine has definitely taken a drop before, it has a bad fairing repair, and the previous owner obviously just abused it and used it as a toy.
I bought it very cheap but i've spent loads getting it up to scratch.
It's just cosmetic stuff that needs doing now, i'd like the engine paint spruced up a bit and it ideally it needs a replacement fairing but as it's primarily my work transport then i'm in no real hurry.
Mechanically it's very sound. 

[darrsi]

I presume you need to declare that to insurance people as well, i wouldn't be surprised if they add a bit on using the Cat C as leverage.

[robby boy]

If I read this right you have bought a 1998 bike that was damaged in 1999, I would be looking at the bikes mileage now and how many owners it has had.


My way of looking at it is if the bike was damaged when it was fairly new most of the miles on the clock have been done since the crash, if it has only had a few owners and a lot of miles I would not worry too much about it, hopefully that makes sense.


I would keep it for a while and see how it turns out, remember there are lots of bikes out there that are cat c and there are lots of bikes out there that have been damaged and repaired by their owners without the insurance and hpi companies knowing about it therefore it will not show on hpi check.

[dBfazer600]

Its got an MOT so its been looked over and it was safe on the day of inspection. Change the rear tyre and leave the rest of the work until you have taken it out. Then deside what you are going to use the bike for. After this either keep it or sell it on. There is no need to disclose to potential buyers of its past as they should do the checks themself.
 
Daz

[jonesthesteam]

I presume you need to declare that to insurance people as well, i wouldn't be surprised if they add a bit on using the Cat C as leverage.

Not sure whether things have changed lately but when I insured my cat c a few years back I had no issues, and got a good price from a mainstream insurer, but....as the bike has already been paid out on I'm not sure if that may have a bearing on any future claim?


PS : good advice about keeping it for a while if it is all okay, I rode mine for a year with no issues at all and only sold it to buy a Fazer!


Jonesthesteam

[noggythenog]

thanks guys.. some good advice and positive vibes there thanks.  I was seriously pissed off earlier. now i'm only mildly pissed off.  


I might have no choice but to keep it if i can't sell it for close to what i paid.  I've only ridden it round the block (4 miles with some twisties and some straights) a couple of times but it seemed to ride well ( apart from the flattened back tyre affecting the turn in a little (at least i hope it is that)).  The frame is in good nick with no visible dents or marks. there is no play in the bearings anywhere.  I dunno.  maybe i should just get it checked over and keep it. put a few thousand miles on it so i can sell it on with confidence...

Where would i find out what the damage was?

All is not lost.

I have only one bit of advice.....calm down and don't make any rash decisions.


All the facts that you have now is that you were lied too....nothing else. I'm sure you were lied too before, and you got over it?


You have no concrete evidence or professional advice that the bike is dangerous to ride yet....so why throw all your energy into believing that your bike is goosed???


Is it possible....just a little bit possible.... that your bike at the moment has just an equal opportunity that it is repaired to a safe and very ridable standard as if it were not crashed at all???...... and that it could bring great joy to your life???


Actually, is it possible that it might even be better than the pre-crashed state because some of the very old parts could have been replaced with longer lasting newer parts....ever think about that possibility??


At the moment what i'm saying is calm down and don't be obsessing that the glass is more than half empty, because that leads to making just as rash decisions like the one you made first day in buying it. Now is your opportunity to check it out and make an informed and rational decision. It might just work out that the glass is more than half full.

Wise words indeed packie


I'd have a tendency to act like coupcoup & be totally devastated & it's words like these that make us types put things back into perspective.


It got me thinking about how many ships sail around the coast of britain that have been holed & dented,or fire damaged,sometimes close to sinking yet most are repaired & certified as fit for purpose,many carrying dangerous cargos & lots of crew,they meet the safety criteria therefore no problem.


Most likely coupcoup's bike does too