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E-Bay purchase disaster!

vivo

vivo

Cruisin' Guzzisti
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
265
Location
Marlton, NJ
A few months ago I purchased a 1980 SP 1000 with 29,000 miles. I bid on the bike which was described as in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition, new tires, battery, pipes and runs and drives smooth and I was the successful bidder. I felt confident given the bike was being purchased from a dealer, BMW Motorcycles of Oklahoma and even though I did not see the bike in the flesh I fully expected after speaking with the owner that aside from minor faults such as fork seals the bike would be as represented! It cost $619.00 to ship my prize from BMW Motorcycles of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City to my home in New Jersey. The shipper did a good job and the bike arrived as promised and on time! The bike however, had a flat tire and would not crank! I wrote BMW Okfuckhoma through E-Bay but got no response. I then pushed the bike to my garage and decided to clean all the terminals. No luck at getting it to crank.

The next day I had the "new" Battery checked. It was flat, just like the rear tire so I had it charged and checked. It proved to be good so I intstalled the battery but again no luck.

I called to have the bike towed to Sun Cycle who have done work for me before, believing this was an easy fix, starter, relay type of thing but I wanted documentation for the work needed. This work took much longer than expected because they were busy and could not get right on the bike.

When they got to the bike and finally got it running, the starter was in need of repair which they had done, they said the left carb must be gummed up and he wanted to clean the pilot jet so I said fine. He later called me to say he wanted to do a compression check and that's when I found the left cylinder has little compression, about 25#. Ohhhhh that's not good.

So I called BMW Motorcycles of Oklahoma and after talking with Michael whom I believe is the owner I was told basically to Fuck off!

The photo posted in E-Bay's add shows the bike's fuel is in the off position and the bike is outside. The bike is on the center stand and I have come to the conclusion that this bike could not have been running at the time of sale. The rear tire was flat when I received the bike. On the center stand it does not appear flat! The battery was totally flat! The starter was NON functioning. So the owner of BMW Motorycles of Oklahoma knew this bike did not run and it's condition prior to posting his add on E-Bay.

E-Bay posted on the add that the bike was eligiable for what is called Vehicle Protection Program. That was clearly stated in the add but I was told later by EBay because the bike is over ten years old it will not be covered. Basically it's ok for a seller to mislead, misrepresent, lie, make false statements and or cheat a buyer and E-bay is ok with that! I have asked for help from E-bay and was told to get an attorney.

this type of thing just is not acceptable to me. I believe I was ripped off and it was the intent of the seller. So here is my question...

What regulates this type of trading? Who can I contact with regard to fraud over the internet. The seller is a motorcycle dealer and the bike is/was titled in the name of BMW motorcycles of Oklahoma. There is no way any dealer could not know this bike had no compression in the left cylinder and did not run, I do not believe that could be. I believe this dealer just intended to stick someone with the bike especially as Michael in a phone conversation used the phrase, :Let the buyer beware"...

So Let the buyer beware? Or do something??? Any ideas???

vivo
 
Did you pay by credit card via PayPal? If so you may have so recourse with the credit card company if it hasn't been too long.
 
I believe a personal, over the phone talk with ebay may be in order. While the vehicle is more than 10 years old, and shipping COULD cause a flat, it can not kill the compression in one cylinder. Just explain to them that the issues with the bike are NOT shipping damage, and that the item was purposely described in a way to fool the buyer into purchasing.

If still no luck, you can threaten them with the BBB. If you have a lawyer friend, now would be a good time to draft up a quick letter.

You can also call BMW's north american office and talk to them, let them know what's going on. I know the bike isn't a BMW, but i'm sure headquarters would be furious anyway, as it's the actions of the dealer in question, not the bike.

IF all else fails, you can be an ass, cause it's fun. Find the name of the guy who told you to F*** off, look up his home phone # (most people are listed in their local directories) and sign him up for time share info and updates, raffles, put his phone # in those "win a car" things at the mall etc. Call all kinds of wierd businesses, and have them respond to his phone #. Once these types of businesses have your phone #, they can phish your other info, sell it to other companies, and the nightmare begins for years to come...

When people cut me off or drive like assholes, i usually call them in for smog. Doesn't help, but makes you feel good inside...
 
I like your way of thinking Clam :lol: , we must get together for a beer to swap ,don't get mad get even stories :evil:
 
Do what Spaceclam said; call BMW North America. They should eat the dealer for lunch as they do not like this type of advertising.
 
You guys may have a point... I will call BMW North America and tell them what Mr. Tupps of BMW Motorcycle of Oklahoma has been up to. They should at least be informed that this guy is selling bikes on EBay and misrepresenting their condition. There is no way he could not have known this bike was NOT in running condition.

I could offer the bike for sale at a loss. I can also build it as a cafe racer which is what I had intended to do.

If I had any riding time with the bike I would not hesitate to throw money into a build. As it is, I'm not certain I would like the thing, never rode it...

I thought I had the bike sold but that was a dead end... I had a deal on a Triumph SpeedTriple dependant on the sale of the SP. With the shipping, doc fees and towing charge I have 3400 into the SP. What I wanted was 2500 for the bike which it may be worth if it's just a valve issue, the mechanic who has the bike believes it's the head... for sale to anyone who wants it but sooner rather than later. Later I will just commit the thing to be built...

vivo
 
Man, you're lucky!! You have some recourse. I foolishly bought an Eldo from Wayne Clifford of Provo, Utah off of Craigslist. it was represented as a good runner.
I should have thought it odd he would agree to deliver it at zero-dark thirty in the morning to my house in Las Vegas. I just had him unload it and shove it into the garage.
The motor did run, but it had some serious issues, plus it was undriveable for other reasons. If I would have asked him just to drive it up and down the street once, I would have sent him packing.

I had no recourse that I could afford, so I just ate, it and sold it as a basket case, at a huge loss to me. I've been in the Guzzi community so long, I never thought of getting screwed. Never occured to me that this guy wasn't a real Guzzisti

Over the years, I've checked out bikes for sale here for other guys.....probably a good idea for any of us to try before buying from long distance.
 
Two bits of my own experience.
My brother bought a BMW (from a dealer in another state). He took it to the local dealer, who treated him like a second class citizen because he bought the bike out of state. He got a survey from BMW on his experiences with his dealer after getting it serviced at the local shop. He told BMW about how he was treated. Apparently it got back to the local dealer, who was pissed about the negative comments in the survey. My brother told them tough sh!t, if they did not treat him that way they would not have had an issue. They were nicer to him after that (yeah, it was a pretend nice but that is better then they were treating him).
I bought something on ebay that was not as described. I said that in the feedback and gave them less then stellar feedback. They were pissed, but everything I said was true. Apparently ebay tries to act strong by weeding out sellers who get less then positive feedback. The sad part is that they then just re-register as a new seller. SO while negative feedback is a bad thing to honest sellers, it means little to dishonest ones.
 
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