Anyone ever bought a bike from Taobao?

[ThePope]

Anyone ever buy a bike from Taobao? I'm looking to buy a cheap bike I can use on/off road around Guangdong for now. I keep looking at this "CQR250" with an original Shineray 250cc engine on Taobao:

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...19712752695%7D

I am looking at this one in particular because the seller appears to have sold quite a few of them and has more comments than any other sellers of similar biles on Taobao. I'm guessing I can't get it legally plated? When I chatted with the seller (via my Chinese wife) he said I could get the license plate and everything from Chongqing for RMB1300. Is he bullshitting or what? When I asked how I could be sure it wasn't fake his response was, "Traffic police". I've been cruising my scooter on the outskirts of Guangzhou for a year or two (Baiyun, Zengcheng). I used to ride bikes when I was a kid until my teen years but it's just recently dawned on me how much I truly love it. I can't sleep at night anymore and all I can think about is getting on a new bike and heading for the hills and somewhere off the road and the beaten path. I live downtown half the week and the other half in the boondocks where I also work, so it actually gives me something to look forward to when I head out to the boonies to work... I just don't want to spend a lot of money on anything right now because my wife has pointed out that I have a bad habit of getting obsessed with toys for short-term and then moving on to a new toy/thing and burning cash... So, basically, she won't let me spend too much...

Any thoughts or wisdom anyone can share with me on the seller/link I posted? I expect the bike to have some problems, being so cheap, but I'm wondering if I can indeed make it legal?

[Graham]

Looks very nice,

Great price also.

Now you have me thinking.

I guess one of these could be registered in Weifang.

Gra.

[Shanghaifingers]

Well keeping in mind every province is different... many of the bikes on TAobao are not Legally registerable but again TIC... so there usually a solution. Be sure to check and double check with the seller, who will probably tell you what you want to hear but at least try to confirm that plates are available... Better yet have th seller plate it and only pay your deposite until you pick up the bike, fapiao and plates...

be careful and double check

[ThePope]

Well keeping in mind every province is different... many of the bikes on TAobao are not Legally registerable but again TIC... so there usually a solution. Be sure to check and double check with the seller, who will probably tell you what you want to hear but at least try to confirm that plates are available... Better yet have th seller plate it and only pay your deposite until you pick up the bike, fapiao and plates...

be careful and double check

This is what I want to know. Has anyone bought a bike from taobao like this before? This stuff is so confusing. My residence permit is in Guangzhou, so where would I go to get a driver's license? It seems most posters on here are from Shanghai/Beijing. I don't want to get plates if it's impossible for me to get a DL.

Pope

[euphonius]

Sorry to break the news, but I don't think you'll be getting plates in Guangzhou either. There are some very active MCM posters in GZ, and a lot of this ground about licensing and plating and insurance has been covered in earlier threads.

cheers!

[ThePope]

Sorry to break the news, but I don't think you'll be getting plates in Guangzhou either. There are some very active MCM posters in GZ, and a lot of this ground about licensing and plating and insurance has been covered in earlier threads.

cheers!

I'm wondering if I could get the plates in my wife's hometown not far from GZ? Maybe even take the test there? As a last resort, I guess I'll have to just buy this throwaway bike on taobao and ride it unlicensed and unplated like I do my scooter.

[Zorge]

Speaking of Taobao dealers, and I have one question.

Are there any Taobao dealers in Chongqing, Ningbo, Guangzhou, Nanjing... who can do business with the customers from abroad without intermediaries, and deliver bike in a box to shipping company in their cites?

[ThePope]

I'm absolutely sure there must be a way to do this. I'm just not sure if I have the energy, patience and fortitude....

[euphonius]

I'm wondering if I could get the plates in my wife's hometown not far from GZ? Maybe even take the test there? As a last resort, I guess I'll have to just buy this throwaway bike on taobao and ride it unlicensed and unplated like I do my scooter.

If your wife's town is motorcycle friendly, that could be a very elegant solution. But if you don't yourself have residency there, it may require some finessing.

cheers

[ThePope]

If your wife's town is motorcycle friendly, that could be a very elegant solution. But if you don't yourself have residency there, it may require some finessing.

cheers

I have four months left on my residence permit, and won't be able to renew that until I it is renewed in June. Maybe I'll start with trying the driver's license in my wife's hometown first.

Original question- Anyone buy a cheap bike like this off of Taobao and get Chongqing tags?