Legal question about bike return

[MarkH]

Bought a new bike...didn't even wheel it out for me to sit on

I think some girls gotta learn to take the buying of a vehicle more seriously!

I hope your following purchases were a little more carefully thought out and you ensured the bikes would be suitable for you!

[YellowDog]

I think some girls gotta learn to take the buying of a vehicle more seriously!

I hope your following purchases were a little more carefully thought out and you ensured the bikes would be suitable for you!

That's a bit harsh. Yes of course you are right however we all know how emotional bike buying can be and if you are on your own, you expect to be looked after by the sales staff.

I have had excellent experiences at Auckland central dealerships. At a respectable dealership you don't expect to get railroaded down a track that may not be right for you.

[AllanB]

Just hope they don't go belly up before they sell the bike...

Hmmm worth considering this as there have been too many shops go under this year. It would pay to get a signed written statement that you own the bike and it's being sold on behalf from their management. Just in case...........

I had a back read but did not see it - what is the bike? interested as you stated it's too heavy but also a sport bike. A B-Kings heavy and fast!

[MarkH]

That's a bit harsh. Yes of course you are right however we all know how emotional bike buying can be and if you are on your own, you expect to be looked after by the sales staff.

If you are lucky you might get sales staff that will look after you, but I don't think it is safe to expect it. Generally I would expect to be sold to by sales staff and I try to take care not to buy something that isn't what I want. It can be worth taking a friend that is fairly knowledgeable and it is definitely worth deciding to just look and only decide 2 days after having looked at bikes. Vehicles are not the best goods to impulse buy.

[Motig]

Just curious- Harleys are fairly heavy bikes anyway so I'm thinking the sportsbike in question must be of large capacity. Sure its not just the riding position is so different that it just feels wrong ?

[Beemer]

I think some girls gotta learn to take the buying of a vehicle more seriously!

I hope your following purchases were a little more carefully thought out and you ensured the bikes would be suitable for you!

I undertook learning to ride all by myself, had no one to show me or help me when buying a bike. I was doing a lot of motorsport photography at the time and only went into this particular shop to drop off some photos for the guy who ended up selling me the bike. I mentioned I was learning to ride and he asked what bike I had and when I said none, he told me this bike would be 'perfect' for me. I said I couldn't take it for a test ride and he told me there was no need as it was a new bike...

Yes, I was bloody naive when I bought my first bike but it's not like I went in there and said "ooh, that's pretty, where do I sign?" Even the finance wasn't explained well and I discovered as soon as I got the paperwork that it had a 36% interest rate - yes, 36%! I quickly got a bank loan and paid that off to avoid the interest charges.

I think in some instances the bike shops DO have to accept some responsibility for ensuring the bike they are selling meets the purchaser's needs. If I'd taken it for a test ride, or even sat on it in the shop, I may not have bought it. I ended up loving the bike, but for the first six months I owned it, I was petrified of it. If it hadn't been for some very kind people who took me under their wing and taught me how to ride it, it would have ended up being an expensive garage ornament.

[Little Miss Trouble]

Just curious- Harleys are fairly heavy bikes anyway so I'm thinking the sportsbike in question must be of large capacity. Sure its not just the riding position is so different that it just feels wrong ?

For those of us who are a little on the short side its not just about weight, its a combination of height, weight, distribution of said weight and as you say - riding position.

[MarkH]

I think in some instances the bike shops DO have to accept some responsibility for ensuring the bike they are selling meets the purchaser's needs.

Maybe, but the savvy consumer realises that they have a vested interest in making sales (therefore making money). Since it is the buyers money they need to be careful about signing up for something that may not be what they really want. But I am sure you would have learnt from the experience and will avoid the issues you faced on that occasion, no matter how smooth the salesperson.

[White trash]

Just curious- Harleys are fairly heavy bikes anyway so I'm thinking the sportsbike in question must be of large capacity. Sure its not just the riding position is so different that it just feels wrong ?

Harleys are heavy, but also have an extremely low center of gravity and seat height. To ride they feel particularly light.

A Japanese Sports tourer such as Bandit or even SV1000S has a far higher center of gravity. Couple that with a tall seat height and a lot of women, particularly shorter ones, are going to have problems with them. Especially coupled with low speed maneuvering or getting said bike on and off the stand.

It's quite simple to see if you've ever seen a short person wrestling to get a tall bike off its sidestand.

The fact that a salesman would effectively bully somone into buying a machine they feel less than confident on disgusts me.

[Supermac Jr]

What will happen if you bin your 'old' bike? That will make the post counter work...