Hmm just bought a buggy off someone and having problems...
 

Ok, so I was looking on ebay for a nitro buggy when I find 1, its still got a few days left (its also on another RC forum) so I asked the guy if he would consider a buy it now, he said yeah and said £120, I agreed and he ends the ebay auction and I pay him through paypal. He didnt manage to post it when he said so I said I would go pick it up. Got to his place at 11pm and hes stood outside with it all ready, he said its in perfect condition and runs really well.

I got home and put the buggy on the table, the next day after work I try to start it, oh, theres no glow plug...no worry ill use mine, still wouldnt start. I decide to contact the guy and he said it should work, he had it working the previous morning and tells me to make sure the screws are tight on the engine, they are so I told him I would take it to my local model shop.

I get it to the model shop, the first thing the guy says is theres hardly any compression...Oh...Why is that? I ask, he takes the engine out and takes the back plate off, and the piston out. The piston and piston liners are both worn down and will need replacing...also theres a crack in the crank case...the engine needs replacing. The engine that this car has costs £120!! the same as what I paid for the car.

I try calling the guy I bought the car off but his mum answers and says hes gone out because its his birthday and left his mobile at home....At this point I start to get more worried.

Is there anything I can do? Ill keep trying to contact him but if worse comes to worse have I lost my money? or can paypal get it back as hes sold it saying its in perfect condition when really its not?

I do hope you didn't send a Paypal "gift" - because then you have no protection.

If the seller is unwilling to settle with you, then you can try a Paypal dispute. I'm afraid that making the deal outside of eBay probably won't help your case.

Private sales are ultimately "caveat emptor" - buyer beware. I'd never pick anything up outside someones house at 11pm - well dodgy - and if something runs well I'd like to see it running first if I am there in person.

Good luck.

sounds like a sold as seen sale

unfortunately I don't think you have any come back on this one. I don't think paypal will help on this one. Good luck with any route you decide to take.

How can it be sold as seen? it was advertised as ready to run and when i asked him if there was any problems with it he said no it runs really well

sale
 

was the sale completed on ebay or out side of ebay

the auction was ended early and I made a direct payment for "goods" through paypal, like i said, the buggy was also listed on another RC forum (MSUK)

Ive raised it as a dispute with paypal now. The first stage is to send a message to him through paypal and we have 20 days to resolve otherwise paypal will start their investigation

Judging by the first post I would say outside of ebay, no leg to stand on I wouldn't have thought

does the fact that he sold it to me as fully working and no problems make any difference at all??

I don't think so as it is just your word against his.

Even though his advert to sell the buggy is still on the other forum stating that the car is ready to run?

stupid question but if you collected it you know where the kid lives go get your money back;)

would do but i dont want to get done for harrassment lol

Might potentially have a leg to stand on legally, depends on who'd decided not to test it and the whole sold as seen issue. I'd doubt Paypal would get involved for this though!

The other thing is, he might still be kosher and it really be his birthday, fond out tomorrow hopefully!

Good luck anyway!

the sale
 

you've obviously been ripped off, go back to his house with a base-ball bat and give him 120 quids worth of knee cap damage. :mad:

just got a response off him through paypal resolution centre, he said he would not replace the engine and would not pay money towards a new 1. Hes saying the car started the morning before I got it (he did add that the cars are supposed to crash(sounds like he has crashed it, which probably caused the crack!)).

If I would have sold someone something that turns out to be broken id be really embarrassed and offer a refund straight away, not to mention numerous apologies!

I suppose if worse comes to worse I can sell some of the spare parts, does anyone know how much the front and rear ends for a Hong Nor X1 CR sell for?

name and shame
 

name and shame him on the forum as a dishonest seller so no one others get scamed by the scum bag

Should I do that now? or when the paypal dispute is over?

You do have redress under the Sales of Goods Act. Even though you purchased it from a private seller it still needs to be properly described S.13.

You need to provide evidence as to the description, the forum advert or the ebay listing will do, but it would need to state that it was working, a good runner etc.

You may also need a statement/letter from an expert, say the guy at the LHS on when/what/why the failure of the engine happened etc.

Then I would write to the seller giving 14 day to either offer a refund or replacement engine and state if he does not comply you will pursue legal action!! Send this letter recorded and keep a copy.

If he does not respond you will ultimately have to start legal action at the small claims Court (not that expensive and no need of a lawyer).

Hope this helps, but my civil law knowledge is very, very rusty

Alex

I still have the links to the ebay listing and the MSUK forum advert. On the MSUK ad hes put image shack pics of it, some related pics on there are of the same car with a different engine that appears to have broke

You need to secure the evidence. Then write the letter, you should be able to find letter templates from consumer direct, or a local trading standards web site.

Just escalated to a claim with paypal but they automatically closed it because they can only do something if i never received it.

If you buy anything from the MSUK forum dont deal with *J4K3*
His ebay ID is blade1110_0

He will rip you off!

I feel for you mate. I once bought an X1 CR from a kid in Sowerby Bridge and just like yours I couldn't get the bloody thing to run at all, same problem, the "perfect working order engine that has had 5 tanks through it" was absolutely fecked. You could turn it over by rotating the crank between thumb and forefinger with the barest trace of compression. I ended up buying another very cheap X1 CR and making the best out of 2 and flogging all the spares off to recoup some money. Then I decided electric was far cleaner so the whole nitro thing was a bit a a blind alley for me in the end anyway.

Ive just posted on the nitro forum the bits ill have to sell to see how much people thing I will get, if anyone has an idea how much the parts are worth please have a look at my post on the nitro forum and let me know. I need to sell these parts to replace the engine on this car that i was ripped off on :mad:

Dude, rather than getting all irrate, you should of given the seller a chance to prove the engine starts, if he can't start it either, he is screwed. Now you been to a model shop, and they have had the engine apart, you no longer have a leg to stand on.

Rather than sell, and lose your money, buy another engine, Picco P3B would be a simple engine.

I have given you the advice you need to get your money back, why don't you start the legal process instead of bleating on about it.

^^ The man has a point ^^

go and tell his parents!!! sucks thay you got ripped off :cry:

Having looked at the pics of your spear parts , i would keep them and buy a cheap engine , you can pick one up for about 80quid

John

sorry fella, most parents would tell you to go away, in short jerky motions.

Like I said above, now you have had the engine apart, careless of who done it, or how experienced, you can not expect the seller to give you your money back, and take the car back, either.

As much as you don't want to be told, but now you have had the engine out, and apart, the problem is yours, and yours only, yes, in the first place, the seller should of been more helpful, but it also sounds like he didn't know what he was doing.

without having the engine back plate taken off ther was no way of telling whats wrong with it, the split in the engine case goes along the line of the engine mount.

The guy has said hes not willing to give me anything.

The parts ive put on the forum are spares, so no point in keeping them as the damn thing doesnt work to get damaged, and yeah I know a new engine costs £80 but the problem is paying for this cleared out my funds in my paypal so I cant afford a new 1.

When I rang him just after I found out about the problem his mum answered and said "oh well it was working when we had it" - Yeah Right!

That's incorrect. From the posts he seems to give the seller an opportunity to take back the car. Taking the car to a LHS does not negate your legal rights.

When the car wouldnt start I spoke to him and he agreed with me that it was ok to take it to a model shop to be checked over

Unlucky mate, I once bought a HPI RS4 nitro thing via ebay from the USA, it wasn't as it was described and the engine was shafted. I probably should have opened a paypal dispute but I chalked it up to experiance and chucked it. I haven't bought anything anywhere near as expensive from ebay since and I won't buy something second hand with an engine without seeing it run first.

if it didn't start, you should of taken it back to him, so he could show you how to start it. A model shop would be more than willing to write off an engine. If you buy something second hand, it is very difficult to get your money back, as unless you see it working there and then, they will say, it was, you will say it wasn't, who would a small claims court believe.

I am not taking sides here, just trying to be rational, as that is what is needed, not knee-capping him, or threats. If he is a minor, then maybe a trip to his house, and a chat with his parents may get you something back, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Who said anything about knee-capping or threats??

The messages I have sent him have been friendly.

The guy at the model shop said hes not interested in selling me an engine and if it was working or fixable he would say.

But its hard not to write off an engine that has a 2-3cm split in the engine case and a worn piston and piston liner where the piston itself will go in and then quite far out the other side of the liner...

up above, not you dude, you asked for advice, and thats what some have said.

Just out of curiosity, do you have any nitro knowledge/experience?

I have a 1/10 nitro touring car

2-3 cm split in the engine case?
I have no idea what this is, but it sounds like it should have been spotted at the time of purchase...

like i said earlier, the split was along the line of the engine mount, you can only see it by taking the back plate off or getting a magnifying glass on it, taking it out of the car and looking at the joint between the bottom of the engine mount and the crank case