Missing VIN
 

Went to look at a CBR600F that a work colleagues husband owned last night. It was a 1988 bike but in good nick but no MOT or tax. However the price was only £300.

This guy had the bike 4 years and he knew the previous 2 owners the earlier of which is now a copper and was a bike instructor previously.

My mechanic mate had a good look round and started it etc and all seemed fine. Then he happened to notice that the VIN number was only partly there and looked as though it had been ground away. There was a plate with it on next to it and it had been stamped on various other places.

My mate reckons MOT stations will not MOT a bike with this missing now? Anyone know.

What should I do? The bike also needs about £150 of stuff done to it and if there is no VIN I could end up with something which is not resellable?! Perhaps I should take it off him for £150 so my total cost is only £300 assuming I can get it MOT'd of course.

Walk away from it.

Oh yeah forgot to mention the current owner has had to request a duplicate V5 as he does not appear to have ever received it....

AVOID!!!

Walk away quickly then..........................very smelly, lots of agro!

I know its always tempting at a price like that but don't bother. Even If you break it and sell the parts there is a chance you could find yourself in hot water.


A

HI Ozz!
Is it a stolen/ recovered at some point in its previous life? If so, it's possible that the VIN may have been partly ground away by the thief before the police got to it and has had to have been restamped on it. Some years ago I bought a stolen/ recovered KMX125 via a police auction that needed the number stamping on again. It was a new bike so didn't need an MOT but I sold it to a dealer with no problem. Maybe you can talk to your local friendly MOT man and see if he'd be happy to do it on production of the V5 at the time of the MOT. If you are struck on having the bike I would strongly suggest you wait until the V5 appears......
Alternatively, I'm sure there are plenty of other CBRs about if you can do without the a**e factor if you decide to move it on at a later stage. :D
Regards,
Gary.

Gary

That is something we don't know at the moment! I am hoping the previous owner will let us know.

My mechanic mate is going to check with the MOT station so that bit may be ok....

There are plenty more fish in the sea though.

Wait for the V5 to arrive and then HPI it - this will show whether or not it's a stolen/recovered bike.

As long as all the details are absolutely spot on with the paperwork, you are happy with the story from the previous owners and you get a receipt then you should be ok with it, but if there is the slightest doubt in your mind about anything to do with the deal, look for another. Good luck with it.
Regards,
Gary.

HPI check sounds like a good idea...

I agree with the HPI suggestion.

Beware that there *are* faked V5s out there, and apparently they're pretty damn good as well.

The only real way to check it is through the DVLA and to get it HPI'ed. I wouldn't recommend taking it on the face value that you've got a V5, especially if the engine/frame numbers look odd.

Maybe a word with your local Police? I don't know if they'd deal with this sort of thing or laugh at you down the phone - maybe one of our locals could comment on what would happen?

Just spoken to my friend who is a copper and he may be able to check but will have to do it discreetly.

The strange thing about that is that the previous owner who is now a copper works with my friend aswell!

Out of interest as the HPI check is £40 and bike is only £300 anyone got any discount voucher codes? There was a place on the site to put one in. Not that I am tight or anything...

If one of the previous owners is now a policeman he should be able to verify if the info on the V5 when it arrives is genuine. The Dorset Constabulary stolen vehicle squad should have updates from the DVLA about any fraudulent V5s doing the rounds.

Don't have a discount code, but if you can't find one, it's better to spend £40 than lose £300............:)

Sometimes local cop shops run "vehicle check" weekends where they'll check paperwork etc if you think something is dodgy. Might be worth seeing if there's one in your area?

Have a look at the numbers which are stamped on it now.
If any of them contain LVLO then it's had a new frame no assisgned by DVLA ( the letters stand for Local Vehicle Licensing Office ) if the original could not be verified.
If this is the case then providing you get the V5 then there should be no problems.
Then again, if you're not happy now then you'll probably never be happy with it.......

These might be worth a try?

http://www.carwatchuk.com/

Oh, that also has a "free" check - dunno what it entails though.

And the RAC also have a free check on the licence plate:
http://www.rac.co.uk/web/carbuying/vehicle_data_search

I better check I have the right VRM as both say number not found!

RAC one appears only for cars.

Found a known bike reg on biketrader and that one is found on carwatch.

As I am pretty sure I had the reg no right that worries me further that neither search found it.

You'll struggle to MOT it without a VIN. Most of the stations around here are now on the DVLA computer system and require the V5 for an MOT. They have to enter the VIN, reg number etc. before the "system" lets them commence with the test, and then only if all the info tallies with the records held by DVLA.
Unless you can verify the info, i'd walk away now...........

My friend found one who had no problems MOTing it as it has the plate on it but no stamp (or very little).

Still think I am walking away though.

Unless you can prove beyond doubt that it is kosher, I'd walk away.

Then I'd phone the cops.

I trust the last owner and 2 before that (as I said one is now a copper) and there may be a legit explanation but strange the current owner didn't know about it. Also strange the reg no did not register on that site (I may have reg no wrong).

Been to look at another CBR tonight which was £650. Wow what a misdescription in the ad. It forgot to mention that it had no fairing and renthall bars. Apart from that seemed fairly ok but not for me.

So I think what I am going to do is:

Get correct reg no for the CBR that I saw originally
Get V5
HPI it.
Try and buy for £100-£150 instead of £300 on basis will be hard to resell, may not always be able to MOT and needs £200 of work done.

See how we go.....

Let us know the outcome Ozz. :)
Gary.

Quick update:

No V5 yet but the bike does exist. Found I could do an enquiry on DVLA site which told me make, model, date last RFL etc, date last V5 issued. And it matches what I have been told so far.

Things don't look too bad then! I'd still check the bike over very carefully as it doesn't stop a stolen frame/engine being used to rebuild a legit bike - but that's true of any bike up for sale.

Hopefully! They have requested a new V5 and I will do an HPI. The price had better take into account the hassle though!

Looks like despite an a**e factor of 10 it's shaping up OK. With the hassle discount as well it could work out to be a good deal.

Yeah I still technically will be buying a bike with an erased VIN and therefore potentially at least unresaleable.

Can you not get it re-stamped? If fit's the right number in the right place it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Trouble is Ozz, because it's a Honda, you'll never be able to kill it with neglect either :lol:

if you want a bike to ride in to the ground it could be a blessing

AND! Don't forget, according to the adverts you meet the nicest people on a Honda................:rolleye:

I just want a bike to start back with really. Didn't really want a Honda cos I have always hated them with a passion but there you go!

I guess the number could be restamped. I recall it had been stamped in about 3 other places on the frame!?