A moral dilemma!

[vegan_virgin]

ok so, i had a scooter which i just sold via trademe so i have money towards my new bike, figured i could cycle for a week or two. guy comes round, has a look, has a ride, says ok and hands over the money. that was two days ago.
just had a message on my phone asking me to ring him as the scooter has just broken down.
whats the etiquette with such things? do i just say sorry not my problem? or do i offer to take the scooter back and return his money?
i doubt he would have done anything stupid with it or be trying to kid me.
i dont watn to be a twat or have him think i sold him a lemon but at the same time i dont want to be $500 out of pocket either! :shit:

[mattian]

He looked at the scooter and agreed to buy it from you. Money exchanged hands and in the eyes of the law its a done deal. Its not your fault it broke down straight after he bought it. Thats why you should get a mechanical appraisal of a vehicle before you buy it. Thats a lesson he learnt today.

[avgas]

Not your responsibility. At $500 he didn't buy a warranty. Help him as much as you can without spending a dime.

[Slyer]

Trademe sales are strictly as is unless you have given some sort of guarantee, or if you lied about something.
Help him out if you can but yes, don't spend any money.

[steve_t]

Get his email address and keep as much of the communication in writing as you can. Sincerely sympathise with the issue and ask what has broken. Explain that you had no idea there were any potential issues otherwise you would have said so. BUT at the end of the day, there really isn't any legal or moral obligation on your part. Stink situation to be in but buying used vehicles really is 'caveat emptor' - let the buyer beware

[toycollector10]

If the buyer is new to the game it could be something really simple and silly, i.e. forgot to turn on the petrol tap or it has run out of gas. If it's a two stroke did he put oil in the oil tank so the engine didn't seize?

[vegan_virgin]

thanks for the replies, waiting to hear back from him, hoping it was just something silly and things dont turn into a feud!

[BoristheBiter]

All of the above.
You have no idea how he has ridden it in the last two days.
As said unless you knew there was somthing wrong not your problem,

[vegan_virgin]

was totally sold in good faith,ive been seen coming a few times in the past by dodgy dealers and lost money, wouldnt deliberately do that to somebody else. dont suppose anybody knows a scooter savvy mechanic in christchurch i could point him towards? at least then i'll feel like ive done something helpful!

[RentaTriumph]

Street and Sport on Manchester Street do scooters.

[CookMySock]

Money is in the baaaank darlin', ~oooo money is in the baaaaaaaaank!! oooh yeh baby, money is in the baaaaaank.

Yeah thats a bit embarrassing isn't it, but legally and every other way, it's not your problem. Buying bikes, cars, houses, etc is strictly YMMV. We've all been ripped one way or another, and when it's not YOU it's cause for celebration! :drinknsin

Steve

[crazyhorse]

Hey! It could've broken down on you as well, but it didn't. You sold it in good faith, and he purchased it in good faith. Done deal. Really has become his problem. Try not to feel bad, its just one of those things. Sounds like you're a nice genunine bloke :niceone:

[Mikkel]

From your username and the thread title I thought the question was going to be: "Spit or swallow?"

:devil2:

[rapid van cleef]

i would say, tough shit. you didnt offer a guarantee did you? youre not a store with warranties etc?

thats the gamble you take when buying second hand privately

[AllanB]

The buyer was probably a southern cousin of Carvers - no wonder it only lasted 2 days!

You could always suggest the buyer join Kiwibiker .........

[IdunBrokdItAgin]

If you are like me then you most probably said something silly when selling the bike like "give me a shout if anything goes wrong". This is why I should never be a salesman. Procurement manager for sure but not a salesman.

What it boils down to is this: I could have bought your scooter off you and then ridden it like it was stolen for the next couple of days. Well good old me I had a bit of fun but I managed to bugger the engine up in that time - now I'll just go and take the seller up on that nice little promise they gave me when I bought it.

So - even if you did say something to that effect, you should just try to help him ruling out obvious stuff (have you put the key in it etc..) but in no way offer any money to fix. Any private sale is "as is, where is" hence the point of test rides (unless you are a member of the MTA, like most bike shops - which you are not). You sound like a good person but don't let people take advantage of you.