Hey I’m about to buy a sick mtb very soon off of c’s list. I was wondering, what do you guys do to prove the purchase for insurance purposes?
I’ve heard of bills of sale for cars. What about for bikes?
I would at least have a handwritten (or typed) bill of sale. Have space to describe the bike (including the serial number), as well as the dollar amount, date, buyer and seller names and signatures. Bring two copies, one for you and one for seller.
Regarding craigslist: a lot of bad things happen there. Bring a friend. Bring two friends if you have them. Don’t go alone. Meet someplace public (and ideally with video surveillance). Ideas are the local police station parking lot, or Target/Walmart/Safeway/etc. You may want to meet inside first, like at the coffee shop just inside the store (so store surveillance cameras catch both of you). Have a digital recorder running and describe the person to yourself as he approaches. Or be ‘on the cell phone’ (or have your friend be on the cell phone), but in reality just leaving a voice memo describing the person and his vehicle (don’t forget the license plate). If you get a bad feeling, bail out and trust your instincts.
Rocco’s a little paranoid. Just meet somewhere public like the parking lot of a busy shopping center.
Make sure the bike is as described and in good working order…don’t sweat small stuff it can be repaired easily.
If you don’t know bikes well enough to evaluate it, bring a bike friend that does.
For insurance purposes, I would think that a simple photo would be fine. Make sure you have all photos needed to establish all the components unless it’s a bone-stock model.
I’ve already met with the guy. He’s legit, and so is the bike. X.9 on a Yeti ASR. Word!
Thanks for the tips!
A little paranoid, yeah, but I’m also in the industry where I see a lot of bad things happen, and there are a lot of bad things on craigslist. Not all of them of course, not even many of them, but still enough of them. Ain’t nothing wrong with being prepared and not setting yourself up to be a victim.
If he already has met the guy, then coolio. If it were a stranger, I would still say meet someplace public and bring a friend.