HELP, Going viewing a bike but seller said hes unaware of where serial number is...

[johnno1812]

HELP, Going viewing a bike but seller said hes unaware of where serial number is...

its CUBE AGREE RACE SL

Any help will do asap,

he said hes checked regular places but its not there.

also is there anyway of checking if the bike is stolen via seriual number?

 

[vickster]

Ask him for the receipt - it will have his name and address on

Assume you are seeing it at his house and not in a carpark

I don't think s serial number will help, if it's security marked, you can check with whoever marked it

Maybe take a more experienced cyclechatter with you if there's someone local

Listen to your gut feel about him and what he says

Do you have any reason to believe it's stolen?

 

[black'n'yellow]

frame number will usually be under the BB or thereabouts. Won't tell you much though...

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Cube says the serial number is located on the top tube and starts with WOW
http://www.cube.eu/en/service/manuals/

Sounds well iffy to me, even if he can't produce a receipt of purchase ask where he got it from the shop should have details of the sale on their records. Alternatively a dealer may be able to inform you who the bike was sold to based on the serial number

The police can check the national computer to see if its been reported stolen based on the serial number..

 

[PaulSB]

Sounds well iffy to me, ..

Why does it sound iffy? Under the bottom bracket is where most people would look.

I've got them noted down but couldn't tell you where the serial numbers are on either of my bikes.

Proof of purchase will have been issued by any reputable retailer. This is what you need to see.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Why does it sound iffy?

Every single bike I have has been registered with bike Shepard, bike register and immobilise. I can tell you the frame number, data tag number and more.
I can also produce documents at the drop of a hat showing where I purchased the bikes from.

Unlike yourself, this person does not have the numbers noted which would permit a retailer to check who the warentee was provided to. This can assist with proving ownership.
Personally to have someone produce a bike with no documentation, no knowledge of the serial numbers at all and no proof of purchase sounds a little suspect to me, in effect iffy..... what evidence so far suggests its legit?

 

[aces_up1504]

Every single bike I have has been registered with bike Shepard, bike register and immobilise. I can tell you the frame number, data tag number and more.
I can also produce documents at the drop of a hat showing where I purchased the bikes from.

Unlike yourself, this person does not have the numbers noted which would permit a retailer to check who the warentee was provided to. This can assist with proving ownership.
Personally to have someone produce a bike with no documentation, no knowledge of the serial numbers at all and no proof of purchase sounds a little suspect to me, in effect iffy..... what evidence so far suggests its legit?

Again as often happen, Internet forum 1% users against 99% of non "nerdy" cyclists.

If i asked you question about your computer serial number or say motherboard type or something similar that you might be fairly knowlegeable but not nerdy about, could you provide the information someone asked for? if not does it make it ropey or stolen? No it means the person does not know how to find or aquire the information you require.

Again reciepts are easy lost and not every one even know what bike shepard is.

My advice would be like buying anything second hand worth a few quid, have a list of questions, if the deal sounds to good to be true it probably is. If your not happy with the answers walk away.

 

[martint235]

Do people really keep proof of purchase? I haven't got it for Lelly although I could probably produce an email from Planet X to say I purchased a bike that looked similar.

As for either the Giant road bike or the Giant MTB, proof of purchase will have been thrown out the first time I got Welling Cycles to do any work on them.

 

[sidevalve]

As above most people just don't look for serial numbers etc and as for reciepts you've got more or less no chance if the bike is much over 6 months old. As aces_up1504 says 99% of bikes are sold to people who just want to ride a bike.

 

[JoeyB]

I couldnt tell you where my serial numbers are...I'd have to dig high and low to find the receipt too! There are some paranoid members on here lol. Obviously approach with caution but as someone else on here just said, just go with your gut feeling.

 

[Pale Rider]

I would spend almost as much time weighing up the seller as weighing up the bike.

If he comes over well and has a believable back story, the chances are his bike is legit.

 

[adds21]

I have 5 bikes, 3 of which I bought new, and don't have proof of purchase for any of them. None of them are "well iffy".

 

[addictfreak]

I have 5 bikes, 3 of which I bought new, and don't have proof of purchase for any of them. None of them are "well iffy".

Me too! (3 bikes)

 

[sheddy]

BTW has anyone used one of those bike website that lists pictures of 'potentially stolen' bikes ?

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

If i asked you question about your computer serial number or say motherboard type or something similar that you might be fairly knowlegeable but not nerdy about, could you provide the information someone asked for? if not does it make it ropey or stolen? No it means the person does not know how to find or aquire the information you require.

Again reciepts are easy lost and not every one even know what bike shepard is.

I can most certainly tell you the serial numbers of my computer systems, how much ram they have the speed of the ram, the make and serial number of the mobo, the OS version and the ROM firmwear for my Android Tablet and Phone but then again I am really nerdy so its probably not a good example.

The fact remains that all bikes come with serial numbers, and although I may now appear slightly obsessive and weird even if the owner does not know where to locate it, you should find out where it is located. The bike manufacturer can provide this information.
I would then advise checking the serial number with a dealer, in most cases I am aware of the dealer is usually quite happy to call the person the bike was sold to just to confirm if they sold the bike should the name not be the same as the person you are dealing with.
If the frame number or proof or purchase can not be located, I would suggest walking away, If you buy stolen goods and the person who they were taken from is identified they will be returned and you will be out of pocket

It seems strange to me not to have this information at hand and a little suspect but then again that's just how I perceive things, never ever conceived that my behaviour is a little different from the norm