Buying an imported bike - things to look out for?
Discussion
Hi,
I am about to buy a '02 Triumph Sprint RS. So far, I know that the first owner was in the army and stationed in Germany, where it wasn't registered until 2005 and lived there until last year.
The current owner brought it back with him last year when he was repatriated. It's now been registered in the UK and I've run a HPI check on the V5 which has come back clean.
Is there any other documentation I should be asking for as this has been imported back to the UK? Having asked the owner this myself, he explained that all documentation is handed over to the authorities when registering it to the UK. On condition it looks like a fantastic low mileage bike with lots of work done to it recently, but at the moment I have no way of officially confirming (say with a German DVLA equivalent) that it is not accident repaired from its life in Germany. All I have from that time is two stamps in the service bike by two seperate German garages (confusingly, its 12k service was done in July 09, and its 6k service a month later)
If anyone has any experience with this and could share a few opinions it would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Alex
I am about to buy a '02 Triumph Sprint RS. So far, I know that the first owner was in the army and stationed in Germany, where it wasn't registered until 2005 and lived there until last year.
The current owner brought it back with him last year when he was repatriated. It's now been registered in the UK and I've run a HPI check on the V5 which has come back clean.
Is there any other documentation I should be asking for as this has been imported back to the UK? Having asked the owner this myself, he explained that all documentation is handed over to the authorities when registering it to the UK. On condition it looks like a fantastic low mileage bike with lots of work done to it recently, but at the moment I have no way of officially confirming (say with a German DVLA equivalent) that it is not accident repaired from its life in Germany. All I have from that time is two stamps in the service bike by two seperate German garages (confusingly, its 12k service was done in July 09, and its 6k service a month later)
If anyone has any experience with this and could share a few opinions it would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Alex
ktm301p said:
at the moment I have no way of officially confirming (say with a German DVLA equivalent) that it is not accident repaired from its life in Germany. All I have from that time is two stamps in the service bike by two seperate German garages
You'll have to put up with that I think and take the risk.There probably won't be anything dodgy but a bike like this will always be worth a bit less than the equivalent UK original.
An MOT will show if its bent and your eyes will tell you if there is something else to worry about.
Thanks both.
Yep, planning to do as thorough inspection as I can - I'm definitely no mechanic but I've got a rough idea of what to look out for.
It's on the low side of market value, about 40% less than other Sprints with mileage as low as this. But I think most of that is down to it being a private sale.
The only other thing I'm sketchy about is that there was an advisory for the engine running rough and the EML light being on. The owner has said that the light is now off and it's running sweetly after changing to new plugs as the previous were perished and changing the oil and filter.
He sounds like an honest guy on the phone but clearly it's something I'll be listening out for when it gets started up.
Yep, planning to do as thorough inspection as I can - I'm definitely no mechanic but I've got a rough idea of what to look out for.
It's on the low side of market value, about 40% less than other Sprints with mileage as low as this. But I think most of that is down to it being a private sale.
The only other thing I'm sketchy about is that there was an advisory for the engine running rough and the EML light being on. The owner has said that the light is now off and it's running sweetly after changing to new plugs as the previous were perished and changing the oil and filter.
He sounds like an honest guy on the phone but clearly it's something I'll be listening out for when it gets started up.
ktm301p said:
Thanks both.
Yep, planning to do as thorough inspection as I can - I'm definitely no mechanic but I've got a rough idea of what to look out for.
It's on the low side of market value, about 40% less than other Sprints with mileage as low as this. But I think most of that is down to it being a private sale.
The only other thing I'm sketchy about is that there was an advisory for the engine running rough and the EML light being on. The owner has said that the light is now off and it's running sweetly after changing to new plugs as the previous were perished and changing the oil and filter.
He sounds like an honest guy on the phone but clearly it's something I'll be listening out for when it gets started up.
Both my Triumphs (one similar vintage to this) get the EML if you disconnect the battery or allow it to go flat. Provided there's nothing else wrong it goes out by itself after 3 heat cycles.Yep, planning to do as thorough inspection as I can - I'm definitely no mechanic but I've got a rough idea of what to look out for.
It's on the low side of market value, about 40% less than other Sprints with mileage as low as this. But I think most of that is down to it being a private sale.
The only other thing I'm sketchy about is that there was an advisory for the engine running rough and the EML light being on. The owner has said that the light is now off and it's running sweetly after changing to new plugs as the previous were perished and changing the oil and filter.
He sounds like an honest guy on the phone but clearly it's something I'll be listening out for when it gets started up.
Where's the bike?
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