Being ripped off

poppasmurf_bewdley

When buying from a private seller, the Latin words 'caveat emptor' are paramount. It means 'buyer beware' and means what it says.

It was your responsibility to check that the machine was in the condition you thought it was before parting with your cash.

Also, keeping it under cover in the garden will have done the electrics no good at all.

I'm afraid going to court will be a waste of cash unless you can prove that the machine had these defects when it was sold, and that the seller knew it had these defects. I don't think you can do that, so will be throwing even more cash away.

I think your best course of action is to have the machine inspected by someone who knows what they are doing and see how much it will cost to get it fixed.

£250 may well be a lot of money to you, but unfortunately it's a small amount when it comes to mechanised transport of any kind. You have been unlucky, but it may not cost too much to get the thing roadworthy again.

Looking on the brighter side, you will be better prepared if and when you buy another scooter or other form of transport.

SilverSaloon

see if there is a club/internet forum for bikes/brand of bike in your area.

hop along to a 'meet up'... I'm sure there will be some friendly bikers who will have a look, especially if you follow it up with a few pints at their local.

as above, £250 isnt going to buy you a problem-free bike even if its a lot of money to you. Its entirely possible the bike was indeed fine when he delivered it and keeping it in the damp conditions in your garden has made it require a bit of a attention before its running reliably again.... points, spark plugs, wiring etc.

Strider590

SilverSaloon wrote: »

see if there is a club/internet forum for bikes/brand of bike in your area.

hop along to a 'meet up'... I'm sure there will be some friendly bikers who will have a look, especially if you follow it up with a few pints at their local.

as above, £250 isnt going to buy you a problem-free bike even if its a lot of money to you. Its entirely possible the bike was indeed fine when he delivered it and keeping it in the damp conditions in your garden has made it require a bit of a attention before its running reliably again.... points, spark plugs, wiring etc.

Especially as it was kept under a cover, condensation and high humidity are much worse than direct rain water.

nuttyprot

Thanks for all the info. Good new I managed to sell the bike at £190 a little loss but tbh I think could have been a lot worse. The new owner knows about every fault I was aware of. The owner before me obviously took advantage of my lack of knowledge.

I have learned the hard way not to buy private and because of this never will again I am now looking to actually buy new.

lol just realized it put crb not cbt

AdrianC

I think the lesson is not to avoid private sales, but to avoid buying at the very bottom of the market unless you're prepared to get your hands dirty.

I don't even want to know what sort of motorbike £250 would buy you from a trader, but I suspect you'd need to collect it in bin-bags. SOGA would certainly not have given you any additional rights, and you'd need to be prepared to take the trader to court to even attempt to enforce anything.

MEM62

nuttyprot wrote: »

I have learned the hard way not to buy private and because of this never will again

There is no reason not to buy privately. Your mistake was not checking the bike out properly before you parted with your money. You'll get the hang of it when you have been around bikes for while.

bod1467

Unless you're familiar yourself, always take someone with you (if possible) who is familiar with motorbikes. Better still if they're familiar with the model you're considering buying.

forgotmyname

If your thinking of buying new avoid the cheap Chinese bikes.

AdrianC

forgotmyname wrote: »

If your thinking of buying new avoid the cheap Chinese bikes.

Hence me asking way up there if this WAS a Chinese bike...