ER6 Sold in dangerous state

[user-y40f2]

Hi All,

So I recently purchased a kawasaki ER6n from someone who had advertised it online. On contacting them and arranging to see the vehicle, i looked it over mechanically and all seemed fine, and so I decided to take it. Unfortunately, just over a week later i discovered it has a cracked frame on the underside, something which is extremely unlikely to have happened during this time. I noticed this because on coming out of work i could see it was leaning over on the side stand significantly more than is normal. The crack itself is hidden on the underside, where I (and i think most) wouldn't have thought to check.

The item was 'sold as seen' but it is my understanding that although this covers most mechanical issues, the seller cannot actively deceive (he stated it had a few scratches but generally in good condition, and reiterated this at the viewing) NOR can he sell me a vehicle not as spares/repairs which is unroadworthy or in an unsafe condition (this fault could literally have caused me to crash).

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do?

[PGNSagaris]

unfortunately you are going to have suck it up, admit that you made an error in inspecting it and move on with your life.

The seller will tell you to jog on.

[kiethton]

Yep, unless its a dealer that sold the bike (and even then you'll have a fight) you don't have a side stand to lean on

[anonymous-user]

''Section 75 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states that it is illegal for anyone to sell a vehicle that is not roadworthy. This applies equally to private sellers and vehicle dealers. It is a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy vehicle''

if it was me i would be getting an engineers report but first advising the seller if he knew about it and that you will informing police and taking court actions to recover costs.

[p4cks]

kiethton said:

Yep, unless its a dealer that sold the bike (and even then you'll have a fight) you don't have a side stand to lean on

Superb sir

[iphonedyou]

Thesprucegoose said:

''Section 75 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states that it is illegal for anyone to sell a vehicle that is not roadworthy. This applies equally to private sellers and vehicle dealers. It is a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy vehicle''

if it was me i would be getting an engineers report but first advising the seller if he knew about it and that you will informing police and taking court actions to recover costs.

Not a hope. Don't do this OP - seller will tell you it was fine when you bought it and you'll be unable to prove otherwise. You'll just have thrown good money after bad with the engineer's report.

[CubanPete]

If you hadn't noticed it sat funny whilst on the stand when you inspected it, it may well have happened in your ownership.

The cost of getting it repaired will probably be less than an engineers report, which still won't be definitive when it occurred.

[Spx]

See if you can work out who has worked on the bike.
Ask the seller if he can recommend a mechanic then go ‘round and do some detective work, you’ll be able to work stuff out from their reactions.

[anonymous-user]

iphonedyou said:

Not a hope. Don't do this OP - seller will tell you it was fine when you bought it and you'll be unable to prove otherwise. You'll just have thrown good money after bad with the engineer's report.

a few hundred quid against several k loss, doesn't compute civil action is balance of probabilities as well, op investigate all options don't listen to posts like I've quoted, haven't a clue, you have rights .

[eldar]

Thesprucegoose said:

a few hundred quid against several k loss, doesn't compute civil action is balance of probabilities as well, op investigate all options don't listen to posts like I've quoted, haven't a clue, you have rights .

The loss isn’t several thousand, it is the cost of a repair. You need reasonable proof the problem was pre existing and known about.
You need to know that the vendor has sufficient assets to cover any award.

In short, don’t listen to any internet expert, pay a professional for proper advice.

[anonymous-user]

eldar said:

In short, don’t listen to any internet expert, pay a professional for proper advice.

my advice is better than most and never insinuated i'm an expert, you just end up with parrots saying caveat emptor etc, the op should get proper advice but i'm sure he would gave if he could, information is available to make best assumptions, but he has a recourse if the facts are met.

[PGNSagaris]

Thesprucegoose said:

''Section 75 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states that it is illegal for anyone to sell a vehicle that is not roadworthy. This applies equally to private sellers and vehicle dealers. It is a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy vehicle''

if it was me i would be getting an engineers report but first advising the seller if he knew about it and that you will informing police and taking court actions to recover costs.

Poor advice and likely to cost OP unrecoverable monies.

[ZX10R NIN]

Not sure what year your ER6 is but the a new/used frame is cheap.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Wednesday 1st May 21:24

[Whatsmyname]

Was it New Mexico?

[anonymous-user]

PGNSagaris said:

Poor advice and likely to cost OP unrecoverable monies.

what monies?

it is a law, the op asked a question. we don't know what the advert said, condition of bike etc, but offering no advice is poor advice..

[Rubin215]

Going by the photo on your other thread it's a simple welding job.

Chasing a private seller for anything just isn't worth it; he can just sit back and say there was nothing like that wrong with the bike when he sold it, you can never prove otherwise.

[Jazoli]

Just get it welded, it will cost less than 50 quid, bike will be fine after the repair and you'll be no worse off really, it will also be unnoticeable after a while if that's how dirty your bike usually is in the pic posted earlier, it'll take longer to clean the bike to weld it than weld it, st happens., ignore the armchair experts, its a load of bks and you have no recourse against a private buyer,

Edited by Jazoli on Wednesday 1st May 22:20

[smcapstick]

As some of the other chaps have said, just weld it up.

The option to return is for those who buy from dealers. If you buy private, you’re pretty much on your own unless there a genuine and traceable deception.

The meagre cost of repair renders a prolonged argument with the vendor wholly unnecessary. If you were happy enough with the bike to buy it, an extra £50 to make it right is not the end of the world.

[jamiehamy]

'ER6 bought in dangerous condition (allegedly)'.
I'm with the 'get it welded and move on'. Never mind money, the time to get almost certainly nowhere is not worth it in my opinion. Such are the perils of used bike sales.

[CousinDupree]

If the welding doesn't work out, get on the speed, plot and law forum and ask for advice. There are some experts on there that will be able to help.