Why Are Dealers Taking the 4iss!?

[BikerGirlonGi...]

So, a motorbike dealer in West Hampstead in London decided to help sell my bike, with an agreed commission of £300 for the dealer.

They collect my bike and put it for sale in their showroom. I pop in a few days later and see my bike is not there. When asked where it is, they said that a customer has taken it for a test ride since Saturday and will be returning it on the following Tuesday.

I was uncomfortable with this as I've never heard of bikes being loaned out for test rides of 4 days. I told them that I wasn't consulted and felt uncomfortable with it, to which the sales person responded

"it's a good customer of ours we've known a long time, and will probably buy it; this is how we work to sell bikes".

Unhappy with it, I bought his line and said I'd call back to see if the customer bought it. I call back on Tuesday only to be informed that they forgot about it and will call me back in a few minutes. Loyal to their word they called me back and informed me that the customer was returning it on Wednesday and had a deal in progress with the owner of the concerned dealership.

I called on Wednesday at approximately 15:30hrs and the owner answered the phone. He has been the one I have mainly dealt with in prior purchases and exchanges.

Conversation went like this, and I censor no wrong-doing on my part:

Dealer - "Good afternoon [X] motorcycles"
Me - "Hi, it's [so and so], you lent my bike out for five days, and I was wondering if the customer is interested..."

of course he interrupted me by the time I finished saying "five days"

Dealer - "You want me to help you sell your bike, well that's how we sell it, I've just come through the door and off an airplane...I'm doing you a favour helping you sell it"

Me - "I understand, but I didn't know about giving my bike out to someone I don't know, who might put on extra miles on the clock and decide not to buy it - no one asked me; and You're making £300 off the sale, so I'm well aware that this is business and not favours"

Dealer - "He's a good customer and is disabled, he rode it home and it has been sitting outside his door until he could return it"

he rode it home until he could return it...6 days later?

Me - "All I'm saying is that I would have preferred it if I had been consulted about it"

Dealer - "I don't like this conversation, how many favours have I done for you, and you question me?"

Me - "You did me no favours, you made £1000 on my first trade in..."

Dealer - "I bought your [third] bike back off you and kept it for you for a year"

Me - "You bough back the bike from me and made £700 on the buy-back, and your colleague said that it was in your shop for a year because no one wanted it, and I bought it back off you at another profit to you, with no service included - one that you said wouldn't cost a lot but ended up charging me £250!"

Dealer - "you know what, I'll wash the bike and return it to you in the van tomorrow, even if the customer turns up with the cash I'm not going to sell it to him"

Me - "That's spiteful of you, don't you think?"

Dealer - "Spiteful!? And you're not being spiteful by cross-examining me?"

Me - "How am I being spiteful by asking you what's within my right to know about my bike?"

Dealer - "You crashed my £1500 bike..."

Me - "a crash that I paid the agreed excess of £350 - I signed that in the declaration before I test-rode it"

(I know, embarrassing - have been a rider for three years and I crashed a bike on a test-ride, albeit an already used and previously crashed CBR 600F - but the point is I paid my dues and he's scraping the barrel to turn it around).

Dealer - "I can't claim on that bike as the insurance is too high...I don't like this conversation, I won't sell it to him even if he brings me the cash tomorrow; I'll drop it off to you in the van."

Me - "You're very spiteful"

Next day he delivers my bike to me, but not in a van - a guy in gear rode it down from wherever....

A fellow biker tells me that he was out of order. My friends say the same thing too. But you riders, being a forum, what do you think, was I correct to have been uncomfortable with my bike being loaned for a total of 6 days without my knowledge? Was the dealer justified in his reaction to my enquiry?

[MarJay]

Find another dealer. If I crashed a dealers bike I'd never go back there - I'd be too embarrassed.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Rogerborg]

I get why you're unhappy, and I've encountered that "I'm doing you a favour by letting you give me money" bollocks from plenty of dealers.

But to be fair to them, you're paying them for their expertise in selling bikes. If you don't trust them or wanted to control the process, you could and should have sold it yourself.

Personally I wouldn't give a bike to a dealer on trust. I've heard horror stories of dealers going under and owners being told by the administrators "Bike was sold, cash has gone. You might get 5p in the pound in a couple of years after we've feathered our nests."

One other thing that would bother me is: how does the insurance work? If your bike gets nicked from outside a test rider's house while (presumably, and again we're on trust) covered by the dealer's insurance at their premises... urgh, I wouldn't fancy resolving that one.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Eddie Hitler]

How hard is it to stick it on gumtree and/or ebay? £300 to sell your bike.. fucking hell.

[metalangel]

Go stand under his window in the rain and call his name, maybe if you bring flowers you can make up with him and be extra special friends again.
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Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[-Matt-]

Bitch fight aside.

Argueable they were entitled to do this as you paid for their 'services' to sell the bike via commission - however, they're methods are at best risky.

I'd wonder what kind of insurance they have in place should the 'trusted customer' crash/nick the bike as i'm sure you're personal insurance if even still active wouldn't like the fact the bike was given temporary control of to a third party whom then 'lent it out' to fourth party.

As others said - in future better to deal with it yourself, even with the costs of ad's etc, you know directly who and what you're dealing with that way and its not all that bad so long as you get the bike in decent nick and don't try bullsh-t potential buyers.

[N cee thirty]

Souunds wheeeeeey too complicated

shoulda just put it on ebay.
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[JP7]

It sounds to me like a relief you got your bike back, and in one piece. I wouldn't be very impressed to see my bike loaned out to someone for six days without my permission. A test ride, perhaps, but six days is ridiculous. Presumably they are a reputable dealer with decent insurance in place, but I still wouldn't be happy. For all you know it could have come back with scrubbed tyres and another 500 miles, and the test pilot decided they didn't feel like buying it after all. I would have expected a phone call from them first. "...He's one of our regulars, a chap who looks after his bikes. He'd like to try it for a couple of days, would you mind?"

This is why I like to sell my bikes myself, so I know who I'm talking to and have some level of control over the process.

Perhaps deal with someone else in the future, it sounds like there will be too much animosity there now.

[BTTD]

Have you asked him for a six day test ride of something, or rather something you'll bring back when you get around to it?
You could even promise not to crash it.

[-Matt-]

[Rogerborg]

[BikerGirlonGi...]

Thanks for the contributions; some were wise, others amusing.

For the record, I had my bike advertised (and still is advertised) on Gumtree; MCN; and Autotrader a week before he phoned me and offered to help me sell it using the then convincing argument that being in the showroom (the same one that had difficulty selling it for the last 12 months, til I came back) with finance incentives would help bolster the chances in selling. He said in uncertain terms - yes, UNCERTAIN terms - £200 or £300 commission, but we'd "talk about that once sold".

I am of the view that the only fault I am willing to concede here is that I agreed to his offer.

[Az]

You have every right to be annoyed that he lent out ur bike without consent.. at the end of the day it's YOUR bike not the dealers, they're just advertising it for you... and unless you signed something saying you agree to your bike being given out for test rides he had no right to, as it's not his bike to allow test rides on.

And for him to then say that he's done u favours, the impression i've got is that you've done him favours buying bikes back off him and letting him take the piss out of u by charging u for £250 services that "wouldn't cost a lot".


Which dealer is this? The owner sounds like a c*nt to me.

[-Matt-]

Ironic he said it being in the showroom would help sell it and virtually as soon as it was in the showroom it was out again.

But of course that was him being generous amd helpful lending your bike to mr potential buyer.

Aka his mate dave / bob the courier / john who needs to rent-a-bike.

Shady 'dealer' id say.

[Nick 50]

I would of been very pissed off with his attitude and I wouldn't of waited for him to deliver the bike back, I would of went down and got it and spoke to him face to face.

So out interest, how many miles was put on the bike whilst it was "on loan" *coughs* him or an employee had the bike *coughs*????

[Lord Percy]

Name and shame please so we can all avoid.

Lending your bike out for 6 days is bullshit. I say he gave it to a mate for jollies. No dealer lets a customer use something for that long as a test. Maybe the customer was a mate. So whoopidy fuck. What a shite-arse salesman. No integrity whatsoever. 6 day test ride?!?! The bike could have gone to Moscow and back!

Name and shame

[Rogerborg]

Thinking about it, I'd suspect it was used as a loaner/courtesy bike. Why put miles on their bikes when they can put them on yours?

You might as well link to your advert(s) and we'll see if we can spot the problem.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Sako]

Have you advertised it in the for sale section on this website?

There is a HUGE pool of bikers on here, one may be looking for a bike just like yours.

[sickpup]

Well theres only one shop in West Hampstead I can think of, same one that was selling off ex-courier bikes as well looked after Blood bikes.

West End lane by any chance?

[Eddie Hitler]

I'm glad my comment amused you. May I remind you, it's no skin off my nose you got fooled around by a dodgy dealer.

The fact you crashed his bike and then returned to sell yours.. now that's amusing.

[nowhere.elysium]

OP sounds like an idiot. Why in the hell would you keep going back to the same dealer if they talk to you like that? More to the point, why would you go back after binning a bike on a test ride?
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[stevo as b4]

I've known a few people that have let dealers sell their bikes for them, and it's been fine and the bike has sold quickly without need for 6day test rides etc.

They usually have a few quid off you for their time, but I'd say £300 is more than steep if they are genuinely doing you a favour, and especially if you've had one or more brand new bike's from them in the past.

[Wonko The Sane]

I was looking at selling my varadero through a dealer, price it would have been advertised for would have been around £2000, the dealer would have been taking about £200 of that.

Didn't do it in the end.

[Skudd]

How much mileage did the customer/dealer put on the bike?
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Alpha-9]

sounds like a cunt
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Fzr-600 1999