Motorcycles in India play an important role in the lives of millions of Indians in their daily commute.
In fact, two-wheelers seem to be a more practical way of negotiating a city commute. With a good bike, one can negotiate traffic with much better ease than a car. If you are living in a metro city like Mumbai, then a bike proves to be much comfortable means of transport. You can look for used bikes in Mumbai to choose from plethora of bike options.
Also, a bike is much affordable than owning a car and require little maintenance. This is the reason why people choose to buy bikes over cars.
However, if you are looking to buy used bikes then there are some factors that you must consider while buying them.
Factors to consider while buying second hand bike:
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Purpose:
The purpose of buying a bike should be clear. You should be aware of the fact that different types of bikes are made for a different purpose.
For instance, a commuter bike has good mileage that is suitable for daily city commute. While a cruiser bike offers a more relaxed position, which is suited to long rides. If you are looking for a cruiser bike you can go for second hand Royal Enfield bikes that offer comfortable sitting position along with great torque to climb steep hills.
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Terrain:
Different types of terrains require different types of bikes. For instance, hilly areas require bikes that have high ground clearance with wider tires to provide a better road grip.
For a metro city like Pune, commuter bikes are more comfortable which are lightweight and easy to handle in heavy traffic. There are many second hand bike in Pune that you can buy as per your budget.
In short, you must take your terrain into consideration before zeroing on the bike.
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Where to Buy From:
Nowadays, one has the option to buy used bikes from online portals. The online auto marketplace has witnessed a great surge in their transactions as today’s customers trust online platform more than the local used bike dealers. Also, these online platforms give much better services than their local counterparts. You can visit Droom to buy used bikes in India.
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Exterior Inspection:
One can tell from the look of the bike as how the bike has been used. It is extremely important to carry out bike inspection in broad daylight. With an inspection one can find whether the bike has had an accident in the past or not.
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Check for Any Rust:
Several of the bike components are made from metal that is prone to rusting over time. A bike that has not given proper care, rusts fast. You must check bike chassis for any rust, if the rust is deep you may have to replace the part soon. Do not buy a used bike whose most of the part has signs of rust.
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Oil Leaks:
It is very common for bikes to experience oil leaks. Some of common oil leak locations in a bike are – oil seal panel, cylinder head gasket, oil filter, hoses and tubes.
If the oil leakage is left unchecked, then your oil level will reduce which eventually will increase friction between the parts and lead to major damage. So, it is important to give a close look at these parts.
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Check Engine:
An engine is the heart of a bike. If the engine is dead or has had a major repair, then it is no point in buying it. Many dealers try to cheat customers on the status of the engine. Do not get duped, instead check the engine of the bike by listening to its sound. If there is a major noise coming out or you spot white fumes out of exhaust, then you should not buy the bike as it has major issues.
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Check Odometer:
The biggest fear of a used bike buyer is the odometer tampering. But their fears are not baseless as odometer tampering is something that happens at a large scale in India.
It is quite hard to spot a tampered meter, even the digital odometers that are tempered by replacing their chips from circuit-board.
The best way to avoid being stung by the odometer fraud is by checking the bike’s service history that has odometer details in parallel to the date of the service.
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Paper-Work Check:
Once you are convinced with the mechanical and technical aspects of the bike, you are ready to for the next step which is the paperwork. A used bike must have genuine paperwork and other documents. The recent imposition of heavy traffic fines makes even more necessary to have original documents. You can check the history of bike online at Droom.
A seller must possess the following important documents –
- Registration Certificate
- Tax Certificate
- Valid Insurance
- PUC Certificate
- Full-Service History Records
- NOC
- Two wheeler Model Manual
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Price and Negotiation:
The last comes the negotiation part where a buyer and seller reach a price point where the deal is closed.
You must be aware of the price of the new model and then reduce the price as per the deprecation, wear and tear for over the years. For any expenses, after purchase you need to deduct the amount from the selling price pitched by the seller.
If you have no clue about deprecation, then you can look up to online services where the portal calculates the fair and correct market price of any used bike in under 10 seconds!
Conclusion
Buying used bikes is not a bad choice if proper inspection is done. You can also look for professionals that provide used bike valuation services at nominal prices. You can end up a good deal on a bike and save lots of money with used bike inspection services that pick up any hidden faults inside a used bike.