How to Buy a Used Enfield

How Much to Spend

Alot of people come to India and buy a 20 000Rs Enfield, which are typically 15 years old or more. This is just asking for trouble, alot of hassles and you will end up wasting alot more money than you thought you would with a 'cheap' buy. Ask yourself this question, would you buy a 15 year old vehicle in your own country..?

As an American friend of mine said "My [20 00rs 1970 something model] Enfield is like a dog. I push it out for a walk and it shits all over me..."

Most 20 000Rs Enfield have had the engine rebuilt. But this causes only more problems.

One guy had to rebuild the engine again, spending another 15 000Rs because when the engine was rebuilt the spare parts were not genuine and the metal literally fell apart after a few thousand kilometers. It has destroyed even more of the engine.

Another guy just told me he spent another 8000Rs on his 1996 Bullet to have the engine repaired even though the guy he bought it off recently spent thousand of rupees to rebuild the engine.

One couple I met in the Himalayas, where they bought a 20 000Rs bike, actually sold it back to the mechanic (discounted ofcourse!) because the motorcycle kept breaking down and was thus too unreliable to ride! Believe me, getting stuck in a 2 rupee town (which will never have an Enfield mechanic) and wondering how your going to get your bike fixed is a real pisser, not at the least to say, a waste of your time.

And the problem with a 20 000Rs motorcycle is that whatever you spend on it to fix it you will not get back on resale. Its lost money. To illustrate my point more clearly with real life data, see the Running Cost Statistics section on this webpage.

My advice is to spend atleast around 40 000Rs. This should give you a year 2002 plus model. They ride so much better than the earlier models, are safer to ride and, the big thing, you will enjoy it so much more. You wont have to spend much money in repairs so when you re sell it you will actually have more money left over in your pocket than if you had a 20 000Rs bike.

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