Well as many of you know I was super hesistant on taking a cashiers check from a potential buyer interested in my motorcycle. Turns out my gut was dead on and the guy ended up trying to pull a fast one on me of some sort. Here's how it all went down, sorry in advance for the book.

So I've had my motorcycle listed on craigslist for months as I no longer ride it and really have no use for it. It was an 06 Honda Shadow 1100 with a whopping 2,800 miles. A few thousand in upgrades and flawless from front to back. This thing ran like a dream and had never once seen any sort of weather other than sun. Well I get an email from a guy saying his brother wants it but doesnt do email (already a red flag but I gave him the benefit of the doubt) so I called him. We have been going back and forth for a few weeks as he kept putting me off for the actual date of sale. He negotiated a lower price over the phone the first time we talked. Cheaper than I wanted to let it go for but its October and sitting on it all Winter was not in my plans.

So he originally said he would pay by cashiers check which I was really worried about as they can be faked, especially the ones from Bank of America for some reason, seems that is always the name you hear when fraud is involved. Well low and behold its from Bank of America and in the amount of $3500, not the $4700 we agreed on. He paid the other $1200 in cash which made absolutely no sense. I didnt get the point but as long as the check went through I figured whatever.

He showed up and looked at the bike for about 30 seconds (didnt even pull the cover off completely), we went to the bank and he seemed nervous the whole time and stayed away from the counter. The lady had some sort of issue with the check and asked a manager but they ended up giving it the ok.

He was super pressed on getting the title before we even went to the bank but I held off on any paperwork until money was in my hand. He made sure to tell me at least 10 times you cant fake a cashiers check and seemed reluctant to go to his bank. I'm assuming he wanted me to deposit it in my bank and even suggested to Bank of America to take my bank card as a form of ID. I declined because they then would have a direct link to my funds if the check was bogus. We filled out the title and both got a copy of a typical bill of sale. Afterwards he decides to go get lunch and then returns for the bike later hoping the rain will calm down.

About an hour later he comes back, starts it up and lets it run for a few minutes, puts on a bogus plate and goes full throttle out of the driveway into the pouring rain. Keep in mind the bike has no insurance, no inspection sticker, no town sticker and plates from another bike he claims to own.

At this point I figure done deal although I'm wondering why someone who owns a trailer would opt to ride over an hour in the pouring rain back home but figured to each his own. I go to the county buiding and notify them of the sale, stop by mcdonalds for sweet tea, a pizza place for carry out and then a chinese place for carry out (all food not for me). Buzz back home in traffic and sit down to enjoy my pizza. Well right as I'm finishing my second slice (which would turn out to be my last) I hear my bike pull back into the driveway which was well over an hour after he left.

The guy comes up on my porch and gets in my face talking some crap about how he stalled it out a few times and it didnt run right. I politely said there is nothing wrong with it you drove it out of here over an hour ago with no issues. He doesnt demonstrate the issue only gets more angry and says, well the handlebars are bent. I say no sir they are not bent. He then says I am a liar and the bike has been wrecked, again followed by no sir it has not been wrecked. Then I get some BS about how it is all over the road. Keep in mind this is a 5'3" man trying to ride an 1100cc cruiser. Well he wont let me out the door and demands his money back. I tell him I cant do anything for you since you've been riding it around in the rain for over an hour and I have no idea what may have happened to it since it left my house. He then goes all nutty and says "I'm callin 911" so I tell him "suit yourself" and close the door as he walks off outside. Well he runs out to his buddies truck (his friend drove him down) grabs a screw driver and takes his plate off and stashes it in the truck. Then he puts the cover back on the bike (my cover that was not included with the bike, just happened to be in the yard) and proceeds to dial the police.

Police show up, sort of look confused and tell him to go on his merry way. He was told to get it out of my driveway and leave it on the street and to return with a trailer to take it home. He rolls it out to the street, comes back in my yard and grabs my tarp and covers it up. The he leaves and the cops leave.

Well a few hours later back he comes with trailer in tow but by himself this time and carelessly throws the bike on the trailer, anchors it down with one strap around the headlight, throws my tarp in the street and speeds off. The whole time we were watching from the window.

I've done some research and I have no legal obligation to this idiot but I'm sure he'll try and pull some crap so it will more then likely be an ongoing headache for months to come. I cant in good conscience buy back a motorcycle that was dogged on in the rain for over an hour, I have no idea where it went, if he dropped it or what he did to it before it returned. All I know is it left in perfect running condition with zero cosmetic flaws. He wouldnt let me see it or demonstrate any issues so I have no clue if he actually broke something or if its just a case of buyers remorse. Wanting cash back after he paid more than half with a check sounds bogus to me.

I suppose I have nothing to worry about, how could any judge make you buy something back from someone? I cant offer to pay for repairs because I know 100% that it needed nothing when it left so offering to pay for anything he claims is wrong would be totally stupid.

Told ya'll it was a book. I love craigslist. I think next time I want to sell a vehicle, I'll think twice and roll it off a cliff. Much more fun to watch and a lot less drama.

 

Not to make you nervous but I would suspect the check was bogus or acquired with stolen ID. Did he get you to cash it while he stood there obscuring his face and looking the other way? Perhaps avoiding the teller window altogether? If this is the case the con will claim you were in on it "if" he ever gets caught.

Or best case, he is just a odd *****. Did you get a bill of sale for both of you with both parties signing them? Most states are as is sales, some however are implied warranty states. Massachusetts is one I believe.

Good luck with this.

 

Damn, that sucks really bad, and I feel sorry for you, I really do, for having to deal with that jacka$$.

....but $hit man, did you expect anything less from a guy that refused to use email (documented conversations) AND wanted to pay with a cashier's check for a large bulk of the payment?





If you haven't done so already, document in as great a detail as possible, every interaction you had with him, as well as every correspondence you remember, times and dates. Save your call log, save your text messages, EVERYTHING you have.

I would especially document the times he left and returned so you can "show" he was gone, with the signed title, and signed bill of sale, for an extended period of time after the sale and was riding in the rain.

GOOD LUCK!

 

if he purchased the bike, and the title is signed to him, and you have released interest, there is nothing he can do.
i had a similar problem with a bronco i sold. a week after i sold it the guy took it out wheeling and blew the engine. showed up to my house several times threatening me with law suits, yada yada yada. eventually i handed him a packet of vehicle sales laws and told him i'd have him arrested if he came to my house again. that was the end of it.
the person accepted the product as is when money was delivered to you, and title was transferred to him.
lemon laws and such ONLY apply to new car purchases.

 

I am very skeptical of those cashier checks. I only deal in Cash only.......that's how I roll. Well, with the exception of family members and personal friends, they can qualify for monthly payments...lol.

 

Yea I have no idea what that moron had up his sleeve but I certainly was not about to buy back something that left my house in flawless condition, especially with cash after he paid by check.

I took the check to the bank (not the exact branch) it came from and cashed it so it would have no ties to myself. I was not about to put it in my personal account and have it bounce in three days. In my opinion if it came from Bank of America and was cashed at Bank of America, if it ends up being bogus, it's their problem not mine.

He acted really really nervous the whole time we were at the bank, his buddy didnt even come inside with us he stayed by the door outside. The actual buyer seemed to avoid all bank employees but who knows what the deal actually was. I guess I'll never know his intentions but he has a very nice bike now and I have a fist full of cash so that's the end of it as far as I'm concerned.

I live in VA so the lemon law only applies to new car sales, third party sales are all considered as is sales unless otherwise noted. I have a bill of sale signed by the buyer stating the sale was as is with no warranty expressed or implied and that the sale was final with no return policy. He can threaten law suits all he wants if he wants to go that route, I'm not buying that crap for a second. Since the police told him to leave I have not heard from him though, you would assume someone with a legitimate problem would be more persistant, even if nothing can be done.

After looking back on it there were red flags all over the place since the beginning. I will never know what the deal was or how things were supposed to play out and I certainly will never take any form of paper payment unless it is green and has some sort of dead president on it. I thought from the beginning a cashiers check was pointless and shady, turns out I was right. Oh well they cant all be winners I guess, lesson learned all be it the hard way.

 

I'm glad the guy that bought my motorcycle paid cash.

 

Bet he wanted to get all the cash back from you. He probably only paid out the cash and was hoping to get the cash from a fake cashiers check when he returned the 'faulty' bike. I never buy back what I sell. 'As is, where is, with no guarantees or warranties' is what I tell them.

 

And remeber that their is plenty of bogus money out there, take to bank or some place where they can run one of those test pens across it....

 

Amazon.com: Universal Counterfeit Money Detector Pen: Home Improvement

Or get your own ;-)