Seller honesty

[blink]

I love how there are 2 types of sellers; honest and then the...unhonest!
My friends little brother wanted to go buy a 250 to learn on so we venture onto kijiji to look for a 250. We find a guy close by and see in his add "selling my bikes" look at the picture and theres about 3 bikes, 1000gixxer, 750 gixxer and 250. We say "he lives close by, lets just go check it out"
We get there and pretend we are CLUELESS about bikes to see if the seller is good and honest or not.

When we get there we discover that the 250 is his wifes and it only accidentally got into the picture...we say "yeah no problem, are the other bikes for sale?"

"Oh yeah for sure, both!"
He looks the my friends brother
"This for you"
-"Yeah, my first bike"

Alright so he turns to the 750 and says, that one is for sale and its a lot of fun. Good to learn on, just don't get it over 6000rpm he says.

Me and my friend kind of look at each other with a bit of an unsecure feeling and ask for the hell of it "what about the white bike over there?"

He goes "that would be a better bang for your bike, just make sure to buy him a good helmet!"
Big smile on his face.
We say thank you well think about it and walk away =p

Funny and pointless story to some, but I just think you really have to be careful and some times act clueless to see if the seller is good or not!

[rodeo]

I once drove 2 hours to buy this 2009 special edition that was supposedly "like new" "never dropped" blah blah.

When i got there I could clearly see one of the fairings had been replaced, there was a crack in the front cowl, and the frame sliders were scratched... and much more. oh yeah; and the turn signals didnt work, AND there was a nail in the rear tire.

Dang sellers sometimes!

what was funny was the guy stuck to his story that it had never been dropped even though i was pointing out all these obvious damaged areas.

I didn't buy it... didnt even offer a lower price. =)

[money]

I'd like to see more of this type of seller :

http://huntsville.craigslist.org/mcy/2434482007.html

2000 zx-12

I will only consider experienced riders, this is not a bike for beginners.

[phr3ek]

Originally Posted by drsketch

how could you tell a fairing had been replaced?

the fit, HK fairing arent the best quality fit
commenting on your post, so you're trying to point out that the seller was honest or dishonest?

from my experience
i went to look for an 04 636 about 1 hour away from me
the bike looked pristine, and i mean pristine!, in the pics
but when i got there.....
it wasnt in the best shape
all unpainted metal was oxidized (lived in beach area)
gash in the frame (which translates to wrecked bike from insurance POV)
dented tank
fairings didnt fit right and were clearly spray painted to cover scratches
hoses were brittle

didnt give him an offer.....

[LazinCajun]

Yeah, it's amazing what you can learn in a selling/buying situation by either playing dumb or staying silent. When I bought my ninjette, I could see that it had been dropped, but not while moving (minor scratches on the mirror plastic and the shifter knob.) I asked the seller if it had ever been over, of course he said no. (It was his daughter's motorcycle, so maybe he didn't know...) After a few minutes, I touched the damage without saying anything while he was standing there. Negotiating a better price was extra easy

[blink]

Originally Posted by phr3ek

the fit, HK fairing arent the best quality fit
commenting on your post, so you're trying to point out that the seller was honest or dishonest?

from my experience
i went to look for an 04 636 about 1 hour away from me
the bike looked pristine, and i mean pristine!, in the pics
but when i got there.....
it wasnt in the best shape
all unpainted metal was oxidized (lived in beach area)
gash in the frame (which translates to wrecked bike from insurance POV)
dented tank
fairings didnt fit right and were clearly spray painted to cover scratches
hoses were brittle

didnt give him an offer.....

Haha sorry =p
dishonest! Like trying to sell a 750 to a new rider let alone a 1000

[phr3ek]

Originally Posted by blink

Haha sorry =p
dishonest! Like trying to sell a 750 to a new rider let alone a 1000

i didnt get that from your story

what i got from it is the 750 was a decent bike, though not the best for beginners, but the better choice of what he had for sale
then when you asked about the 1k, and based on the "buy him a good helmet" comment, he seemed genuine in the "warning"

but i guess we have different standards

[SSR]

As a general rule, I never believe "it's never been dropped" line. Maybe tipped over from a stand still and no cosmetic damage, I'll give you that. But a bike by it's very nature fights gravity. And we know which one will always win!

[phr3ek]

Originally Posted by SSR

As a general rule, I never believe "it's never been dropped" line. Maybe tipped over from a stand still and no cosmetic damage, I'll give you that. But a bike by it's very nature fights gravity. And we know which one will always win!

chuck norris?

[rodeo]

Originally Posted by drsketch

how could you tell a fairing had been replaced?

You could compare the color of the paint and wear of the fairings at the seam behind the front wheel. It was totally obvious. =|

["A"]

Seems to me you were dishonest in the first place to 'pretend' that you were 'CLUELESS about bikes'.

Originally Posted by blink

I love how there are 2 types of sellers; honest and then the...unhonest!
My friends little brother wanted to go buy a 250 to learn on so we venture onto kijiji to look for a 250. We find a guy close by and see in his add "selling my bikes" look at the picture and theres about 3 bikes, 1000gixxer, 750 gixxer and 250. We say "he lives close by, lets just go check it out"
We get there and pretend we are CLUELESS about bikes to see if the seller is good and honest or not.

When we get there we discover that the 250 is his wifes and it only accidentally got into the picture...we say "yeah no problem, are the other bikes for sale?"

"Oh yeah for sure, both!"
He looks the my friends brother
"This for you"
-"Yeah, my first bike"

Alright so he turns to the 750 and says, that one is for sale and its a lot of fun. Good to learn on, just don't get it over 6000rpm he says.

Me and my friend kind of look at each other with a bit of an unsecure feeling and ask for the hell of it "what about the white bike over there?"

He goes "that would be a better bang for your bike, just make sure to buy him a good helmet!"
Big smile on his face.
We say thank you well think about it and walk away =p

Funny and pointless story to some, but I just think you really have to be careful and some times act clueless to see if the seller is good or not!

[Kevin2109]

All I know is, phr3ek was a very good honest seller (I own his 250 )

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by N Ja

Seems to me you were dishonest in the first place to 'pretend' that you were 'CLUELESS about bikes'.

I hope that was intended as a joke.....

[HKr1]

Originally Posted by SSR

As a general rule, I never believe "it's never been dropped" line. Maybe tipped over from a stand still and no cosmetic damage, I'll give you that. But a bike by it's very nature fights gravity. And we know which one will always win!

Never dropped it, but crashed it for sure

["A"]

Originally Posted by Kevin2109

I hope that was intended as a joke.....

No joke, why do you think someone should be honest to you if you are not honest with them in the first place?

For OP to 'pretend' that they were 'CLUELESS' about bike to determine the seller's honesty, that is just as dishonest.

I don't pretend to know things that I have no knowledge of, I let seller know if I feel he's not telling me something I should know.

[Kevin2109]

I think you missed the point.....
Posted via Mobile Device

[phr3ek]

Originally Posted by Kevin2109

All I know is, phr3ek was a very good honest seller (I own his 250 )

i forgot to tell you that i drag raced it
had an unfortunate accident on one of the drags
engine blew up and i crashed into the wall going 125 mph
the bike was FUBAR, but i manage to mend it back to life with some elbow grease and hubba bubba max bubble gum
the engine is from my lawn mower, i just supped it up and added a turbo to give it a little more oomph

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by phr3ek

i forgot to tell you that i drag raced it
had an unfortunate accident on one of the drags
engine blew up and i crashed into the wall going 125 mph
the bike was FUBAR, but i manage to mend it back to life with some elbow grease and hubba bubba max bubble gum
the engine is from my lawn mower, i just supped it up and added a turbo to give it a little more oomph

Thats why it sounds like a lawn mower?! Should have known

[CynicalC]

IMO, that's what you get for acting like a clueless buyer. It's not the guys job to school anyone on what kind of bikes they should be learning on.

[peachdiddy]

Originally Posted by CynicalC

IMO, that's what you get for acting like a clueless buyer. It's not the guys job to school anyone on what kind of bikes they should be learning on.

+1

[miss_syn]

Guy could have been clueless. Some people think starting on super sports is completely reasonable.

[Cazper]

Originally Posted by SSR

As a general rule, I never believe "it's never been dropped" line. Maybe tipped over from a stand still and no cosmetic damage, I'll give you that. But a bike by it's very nature fights gravity. And we know which one will always win!

Not sure I get this... my bike has never been dropped... the only time it's been tipped over is to carve the canyon roads... the plastics have only touched the ground when I remove them for maintenance or modifications. Are you really honestly saying every bike has been in some sort of accident?

[BlackNinja]

I see your point, and you definitely have a valid reason. HOWEVER, my question is:

Who's more at fault in a scenario like that? A seller who doesn't give a crap about who he sells his bike to, or the guy who didn't do a damn bit of research in buying his first bike? I'm all for honesty, but I'm still all about America's "Land of the free", where you're free to do whatever you want. If you don't want to research something you're about to drop thousands of dollars into...why should I give a crap? Do what you wish...

[gt_turbo]

the guy i bought my 09 ninja from claims he never dropped/dumped the bike either. even tho there was a small chip on the side of the gas tank and paint tape with paint on it sticking out of the fairing tab. he claimed the damage on the tank was from a rock chip which also damaged the fairing so the the dealer had re-painted the whole right fairing. i bought my ninja on a rainy day so the lighting was not good in his garage. it wasn't until a few weeks later that i noticed both fairings were slightly a different red from the gas tank and front headlight fairing. it doesn't bother me too much tho, because I got it at $500 below what they normally go for in my area after some negotiating. and now i plan to track it next season so if i dump it it wont bother me too much. but yea sellers trying to play dumb or hide things from you that are obvious is pretty low.

[min nin]

I looked at a bike with DEEP gouges on the engine. The guy told me it happened when his 4 year old son knocked it over in the garage.
I said he must have dragged it a long way.
BUSTED !

[Live2ride]

I bought the first bike I went to look at; it was also at least the 20th person I had contacted about buying their bike and the only one who I decided sounded like a well informed, good owner. It wasn't my first color choice but the price was great for the condition it was in. The only thing wrong with the bike was a very small dent in the gas tank which he pointed out to me once I got there (I didn't even notice it when I went over the bike). A week later I took the fairings off to find that 1 fairing bolt and 1 air box cover bolt were missing; other than that I had found nothing wrong with the bike. It even came with shogun frame sliders, a free inspection, oil / filter change, free bike cover and 1/2 a tank of gas. Maybe another thing or two I'm forgetting; bottom line is that the guy I bought it from was a great buyer and I even did diy background check by searching him up online, facebook helped out a lot. I found he sold me the ninjette to buy himself an 04 r6 that he fixed up; kinda cool.

p.s. I took my father with me (he has a pickup truck). He just wanted to gtfo of there and said two or three times "You know your gonna buy it, just give him the money already" right in front of him. Needless to say, he will never be going with me to buy a bike again if I can help it. That was just stupid of him to say and he said it right after we got there. Imo it gives the seller an "I can scam the hell outta this sucker" feeling.