Remote purchase from dealer gone bad

[UnknownStuntm...]

Bought a bike unseen from a large, well known (and apparently well respected) dealer more than a few hours away from my home. The guy on the phone talked a good game alright.

Bike looked ok in the pics I'd asked for, but the pics were grainy and he didn't take pics of the obvious (after delivery!) bad spots of the bike. Like, a crazed spot in the paint on the bodywork, front hub which had obviously be given Dulux's finest from about 20 feet away with a hosepipe. All unbeknown to me until delivery, obviously.

So we'd settled on a price all in (including delivery by their agent), 3 month warranty, tax, full service, full MOT etc.

Bike arrives with the fuel tank showing empty. So I swap my insurance (£50, being a £30 charge to change and £20 increased premium) then go to fill it up. £8 fuel and it's brimmed. Which is oddly little fuel for a largeish middleweight tourer.

Take it for a ride, for 30 miles. All seems sound but the handling isn't exactly as I'd expect and still no fuel showing in the tank. Thought the handling was a character trait of the machine.

Later do some research, and test the fuel sender connectors resistance and conclude it's borked. Ok, I can call the dealer when they're open and talk about how to sort the issue without me needing to ride it there, or get a courier etc.

Take the bike out the next day, get 10 miles away from home and the rear wheel bearing collapses. I was doing about 30 on a twisty downhill B road when it started snaking and bucking around. Stranded, I put a call to the wife and get rescued (writing off a perfectly good set of cakes in the oven at the time, too...) Have to leave the bike at a local stately home and ask someone to recover it the next day for £20.

In the meantime I spoke to the dealer, telling them I'm rejecting the bike as it's got pre-existing faults, and is unfit to be on the road.

So they say yes, we'll collect and refund you.

Week later, I have to wait in all morning for a bloke to come and collect it. He does, they call the next day saying they're going to refund me the cost of the bike, but that my insurance and recovery costs are nothing they want a part of.

I feel a little bit aggrieved at this, as it's clearly something they accept isn't my fault, but the net result is that I'm £78 out of pocket for the episode.

I'm lucky I decided to get it delivered, as the route back from the shop would have put me on the M6 where the wheel bearing let go, and all the kittens etc that could have died.

For £78, it's a lesson I'll learn. Don't buy a bike unseen, ever. And don't expect any show of goodwill when the worst doesn't quite happen enough to potato oneself.

[Ste]

[UnknownStuntm...]

[Pete.]

I think the insurance charges are incidental but they should cover the recovery cost.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Rogerborg]

Good job on the rejection.

Cash the refund, then name, then invoice for anything that you feel like invoicing for, then letter before action, then ponder whether you feel like going down small claims for a laugh.

I got very mildly mugged by a BMW Motorrad dealer on a bike that I'd seen, ridden, inspected and then picked up in person. The thought of paying more than sweetie money for a complete pig in a poke just baffles me.

Was it a hard to find bike?
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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

[UnknownStuntm...]

[rubyhorse2]

Yikes, to be honest i'd be happy to get a full refund with no drama.

Out of interest did you discuss why the bike wasnt serviced and checked over properly before sale and if so what was their response?

[Baffler186]

As above, I'm glad you got a refund and to be honest I would not expect more than that. Good that you named them though. Their actions in response to your complaint were satisfactory, but selling the thing in that state in the first place is obviously something they need pulling up on.
____________________
Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[TheArchitect]

Well done on getting your money back.

FWIW I bought my current bike unseen and and delivered - it turned out to be a gem.

Key points I made sure of was all conversations relating to the bike and it's condition were in email, or where we discussed on the phone I followed up with email confirming details of the chat.
I requested specific close up photos of specific parts of the bike and insisted they be high res and in natural daylight.
Furthermore I facetimed the dealer to watch and listen to the engine start up and run. Credit to the dealer he was more that happy to comply with my requests.

Bike was delivered, washed, polished and with a full tank.
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GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
MT09 - Almost stolen

[Rogerborg]

[stevo as b4]

In the sea of 5-15year old second hand machinery floating around dealers these days, at over inflated prices compared to 10years ago, then I'm sure there is more scope for disappointment and dodgy bikes being passed as good machines to buyers. Especially as many buyers are quite happy to buy at a distance these days, after all they do it on Ebay, so how bad can it be buying a bike from a dealer 150miles away?

I do think that for some people the best options are:

1, Buy cheap and accept scuffy, tatty scraped machines, then carry out a full re-build or do loads of work on it yourself to get it up to scratch and then have a bike you know and trust underneath you.

2, Take advantage of these current 0% offers on dealer finance on many new bike sales, which are quite stagnant anyway.

[TheArchitect]

[Rogerborg]

Well, sure, most bikes are good.

What I'm saying is that I'd be far more suspicious by default of a bike that's been traded in and talked up by a dealer who knows nothing more about it then the book price, than of one that's being ridden daily by its owner.

To me, a dealer premium doesn't get you a better bike. It gets you the opportunity (in principle) to reject a bad bike, or have it sorted at their expense, very likely after some handbags.

I wish folk who buy from dealers for "peace of mind" would understand that. So many "bought a lemon, need help, what do?" threads.

Not this one, I mean. Rejection is the absolutely correct response.
____________________
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

[UnknownStuntm...]

[P.addy]

[rubyhorse2]

[UnknownStuntm...]

[nowhere.elysium]

[P.addy]

Unsure if just bad luck on his part or he's doing something wrong but it does seem quite bad

[TheArchitect]

[P.addy]

By that you mean a flat battery, then yes