Shanghai riding

[euphonius]

Just to clarify for those not in the know... the above statement varies by ones geographic location, since not all things are equal in PRC. In many provinces/cities plates are taken back by the traffic management bureau/PSB where bikes/vehicles current plate was obtained... then after payment of fees, then either transfer to new documents and plate for the new owner or transfer of file in sealed envelope given to the new owner to take to another jurisdiction which will issue new documents and plate etc to be completed within 3 weeks.

Thanks for the useful clarification, BD. My comments were Shanghai-contexted because that's where Jenn is based, but your post merits further exploration, some of which should go into a sticky. There are basically three (legal) ways to get a bike and become legal yourself:

1. Buy new from a dealer, who will take care of getting you a plate and getting the plate registered to you and to the bike. Those of us who bought Jialings here in Shanghai bought directly from the factory in Chongqing because there's no dealer here in Shanghai, but there was a factory-assigned agent here, Liu Zhidong, who helped us with plate acquisition and registration, as you'll have seen in the Getting Legal thread.
2. Buy a second-hand bike with a legal plate, and transfer ownership of the bike and plate to the new owner. As Bikerdoc has noted, this procedure may vary from city to city, but basically involves a re-registration of the bike and a plate to a new owner. Don't forget that registration of a new bike starts a 12- or 13-year clock ticking toward the mandatory scrapping date, which is marked clearly on the registration card. The clock is not reset upon resale, so the Vehicle Management Bureau 车管所 will keep that aspect unchanged as the new registration/plate is processed.
3. Buy a second-hand bike from a seller who wants to keep the plate, as is not uncommon in Shanghai where the 沪A or 沪C plate is a valued investment. I have no experience with this, but I'm guessing it's the least convenient of the three ways of buying a bike. The 车管所 will be involved in the disassociation of the bike from the plate, and the association of your newly procured plate to the bike, and presumably this will require that you have full documentation for the bike.

Anyone who has experience with No.2 and No.3 above should feel free to chime in, especially with reference to Shanghai.

I'm starting to think we've original poster Jenn. Is it my aftershave?

euphonius