Sold my bike....now in a quandry. Advice needed please mighty .org

Hi All, I need your advice!!

My bike recently sold on ebay. Item number 170227788511. Last night the new owner came to collect.

After the new owner got home, he gave me a call to tell me that the front wheel is buckled!! He is saying that if the weather hadn't been so bad (was pi$$ing it down) he would have rode it straight back!! He also said that he would like me to source him a new front wheel.

Now if you read the advert, I think I've been pretty honest with the description. In fact I have been as honest as I can be, and I know that.
Now if the front wheel is fubar'd, then I honestly didn't know it. But I went out on it last week, on a good thrash up the twisties, and I don't think there is anything wrong. He said to me that there was a huge wobble around the 50mph mark, but it smooths out at 70mph.

So having slept on it, and thought about it, I have come up with the following thoughts:

1) The wheel may indeed be fubar'd, and I'm too crap to notice! In which case I would replace the wheel. I'm an honest guy after all!

2) He is trying to pull a fast one and get some money back from me (although he said he would be happy if I sourced him a wheel). I don't think this is true though.

3) He could be totally wrong in his diagnosis. Could it be a wheel bearing, or a warped disk? If I buy him a wheel, and he gets the front bearing out, he may discover that needs replacing! There is actually a tiny ding on the front rim, which I didn't mention in the advert, but I honestly didn't think I needed to. The bike came to me with 12months MOT - surely it wouldn't pass with a buckled wheel?

So....what should I do? I believe these are my options:

Buy him a new wheel, have done with it.

Take the bike back, and give him his cash back (less the cost of a new log book and ebay fee).

Tell him to go forth and multiply!

The guy was in his 50's, and seems to have had many bikes. He came with his son & son-in-law, both SV owners. They were also, quite local (within 30 mins drive). (And yes they could post on here, but I dont think they do.)

What really is f00king me off, is the fact that they were close enough to come look at the bike before hand. But they didn't. I didn't recieve any e-mail asking me to clarify anything else about the bike.

They waited until the last minute, came in with one bid which as seen as there was no reserve, they won it.

I did state in the advert also that I would put 12 months MOT on the bike if any potential buyer contacted me before hand with any concerns. But like I said, he never got in touch before hand.

AND....what if I get him a wheel and he isn't happy with it?? Where do we stand then?

What ever happened to buyer beware??

So, any thoughts very welcome. Also, if anyone can define a buckled wheel, I'd be grateful too.

I did have another thought - we could take it to my MOT tester for an independant opinion, and go from there?

sold as seen.


did you get what you wanted for the bike? you could offer him a small refund towards a wheel

I got £950. I was hoping to at least get a grand to be honest.
He di say to me on the phone he saw one on ebay for £50. So I could offer him £50 back, and tell him to sort it. Like I said, what if I buy him a wheel and he isn't happy with it?

Not even sold as seen though.....sold as photographed and viewed in ebay!!

How do you buckle a motorcycle wheel...I know you can bend the spindle...Tell him to knob off! Sold as seen!

Camel, its nothing to do with you now, the advert you placed has to reflect the condition of the bike which they come to see on completing the sale. The buyer was obviously happy with the condition of the bike on seeing it and has therefore completed the sale and taken it away.

Who is to say the wheel is buckled? Perhaps it needs balancing again? Are the forks slightly out of alignment in the yokes? I wouldnt budge on buying a new wheel for him, it was sold as seen in a private sale. You take your risk

Originally Posted by Camel

Not even sold as seen though.....sold as photographed and viewed in ebay!!

did he check the bike b4 he left?

Originally Posted by robchester

Camel, its nothing to do with you now, the advert you placed has to reflect the condition of the bike which they come to see on completing the sale. The buyer was obviously happy with the condition of the bike on seeing it and has therefore completed the sale and taken it away.

Who is to say the wheel is buckled? Perhaps it needs balancing again? Are the forks slightly out of alignment in the yokes? I wouldnt budge on buying a new wheel for him, it was sold as seen in a private sale. You take your risk

I think you are right Rob....it may just need balancing (I posted the same on VD, and I got the same response, surpising really as I expected everyone on there to say a big **** Off! ).

When I call him tonight, I will politely point out that fact that it could just be a balancing issue, and I will offer to pay for it to be balanced. But thats about it really.

Originally Posted by hovis

did he check the bike b4 he left?

I went over the bike with them, showing all the bits as described on the advert. They seemed happy enough.

As I was going though all the lights, it emerged that the electrical connector under the front brake lever is a bit dodgy. It was news to me, and I offered there and then that if he wanted to back out of the purchase, I would not be offended.

But he was happy to take it.

add seems ok........ and he has had a cheap bike

I wouldnt even offer him the price of balancing, unfortunately its sold as seen. It is a risk buying privately but you take that risk because its cheaper than buying from the dealer. Its only about £8 anyway to get the wheel balanced.