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bought a motorcyle that doesnt run right

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justdizzle

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? new jersey

hi. hopefully someone can help me. i bought a bike from this guy off of craigslist that was advertised as mint condition and perfect running order. however, i got the bike home and found out there were many problems with the bike. when i bought the bike the guy told me that i could return it to him if there were any problems besides turning the idle up, which i was notified about. i called him the night i bought it and explained to him that my fiance and i went over the bike to see why it wasnt idling properly and he said that since i took the plastics and gas tank of we ruined it and he refused to take it back. i have a text message from him that says we could bring it back. we tried to bring it to his house but he didnt answer his door so we told him we would see him in court. with the text message, do i have a solid case to have him uphold the verbal agreement we made prior to the sale?
 


Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? new jersey

hi. hopefully someone can help me. i bought a bike from this guy off of craigslist that was advertised as mint condition and perfect running order. however, i got the bike home and found out there were many problems with the bike. when i bought the bike the guy told me that i could return it to him if there were any problems besides turning the idle up, which i was notified about. i called him the night i bought it and explained to him that my fiance and i went over the bike to see why it wasnt idling properly and he said that since i took the plastics and gas tank of we ruined it and he refused to take it back. i have a text message from him that says we could bring it back. we tried to bring it to his house but he didnt answer his door so we told him we would see him in court. with the text message, do i have a solid case to have him uphold the verbal agreement we made prior to the sale?
Did you damage the bike by removing the gas tank and plastic?

Why do you want to return it?

It sounds like your agreement excluded the idle problem, and that you want to return it because of the (excluded) idle problem. If this is true, you would probably not win in court.
 

xylene

Senior Member
You bought a motorcycle as-is.

The craigslist advertisement and the text message do NOT entail a warranty or a contract with an enforcable return.

Get it fixed and enjoy your bike.

I have hunch this is a case of vicarious buyers remorse... that is your wife objects to your vintage bike purchase. :rolleyes:
 

justdizzle

Junior Member
no i did not damage the bike. its in the same condition as when i got it. i understand that the bike was bought as is but he gave me an agreement that if ajusting the idle didnt fix the problem we could bring it back. that didnt work so my fiance, being mechanically inclined, checked the hoses and spark plugs to see if that could be the issue. once we found that it wasnt those things we put the bike back together and called him to tell him we couldnt keep it idling. he sent me a text message, which i saved, that says "pat i told u guys u could bring the bike back if u couldnt keep it running." he said the exact thing before i gave him the money. i wouldve never bought it if he didnt give me the option to return it to him.
 

xylene

Senior Member
i wouldve never bought it if he didnt give me the option to return it to him.
Next time you want to buy something with an option to return, be sure that option is part of your purchase contract.

The text message is not an amendment to your purchase contract.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
The bike was dismantled and then reassembled. Unless the person doing that was a bona fide mechanic (not just a backyard tinkerer), then even IF the later agreement were valid, you have have invalidated it.
 

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