I worked on 2 bikes for a guy in town. All his checks for parts cleared...over $700 between the 2 Hondas, $300 for one $400 for the other Clutch packs, a head, a piston and rings, chains, wheels and 2 tires, a sprocket, throttle and clutch cables, fuel lines and carb rebuild kits.....too much. They were junk piles when he brought them to me. I didn't offer, he asked.

$15/hr ..$300 labor for one bike, $600 for the other(that one was a ground up rebuild). I didn't rape him...our local Honda shop estimated 60hrs @ $65/hr for both. That's why he brought them to me.

The dilemma is his labor check bounced.
I repo'd the things and gave him 15 days to make it right. I did the official forms and filings. Friday the 15 days plus a few is up. Saturdays and Sundays don't count.

What would you all do?? I won't take a reputation screwing but I don't want to be labeled a chump. His brother screwed me bad..parts and labor on a 4wd S-10 repair in '07. That was just $200 but I'm a poor SOB.

I lean towards giving a few more weeks...but I know the next idiot will expect a "few more weeks".

This is all I've got as a cripple. Stuff I can do on my porch or in my yard, from a stool or chair. I can't keep counting on being paid and giving a "few more weeks".
They both run like new puppies. I have to admit..I'd like to keep 'em...yes I do have titles. I can't ride them far but...it's a man thing!

 

How long will it take you to sell them? Our pastor here in town had a couple of nice bikes up for sale and he sold one in a couple weeks and the other one didn't sell at all. It seems to me that if you put them up for sale, they'll still have an opportunity to come up with the money. They'll just have to do it before they sell.

Seems like you've been pretty generous already.

 

It's nearly Oct...can't sell bikes after 4July in NY. No market. He knows that.

 

Put the bikes on craigs a.s.a.p. Another month or two people are gonna be more interested in snowmobiles and those bikes will just be taking up space.

Shouldn't be too difficult to get $1100 to cover what this guy and his brother owe you. If you want to be ethical you can try and sell them for a fair price and give him what's left over. Any business wouldn't even think twice. Check bounces, you get hit with a $35 nsf fee. Don't pay your mortgage, bank takes your house.

Personally wouldn't waste any more time on this guy. For starters, his brother owes you $200... so it probably runs in the family. Second of all, it's hardly a case of hardship. If he needed these bikes fixed so he could get to work or whatever, he could have brought in just one bike and said "hey I got $700 can we get my bike running with that". Instead he spent all his money on parts to fix two bikes, leaving nothing to pay for your work. Tells you where his priorities are.

 

One question Carl. When you repossessed the bikes, what was his response? Did he act contrite? Did he say he'd make it right, offer to make payments?

If he made any attempt to "make it right" I would lean towards letting him have a little more time to make it right.

I've been working for myself for over 15 years and I usually try and work something out with slow or no pays. If he hasn't tried to make it right, sell the bikes.....

 

Surprised...I'd say Don
Friday is still a bit off and he has that window...but I've heard noting from the day the Deputy and I picked them up. He came up twice a week when I was rebuilding them.
Right up here the day I called and said "ride 'em home". Not a peep since I went and got them back. 3 weeks Friday.

 

Sell them........

 

After Friday, I'd put an ad on craigslist for whatever you think you can get for them.

If the owner shows back up and wants to pay, I'd offer them to him for cash money plus a reasonable amount of interest and your cost to repo them.

 

thats what i did to my race car sold it.

 

Sell 'em as soon as you are able to. Cash only.

 

is that a CM400?

I got one that was wrecked, was rebuilt for the most part but the front rim was off a different model that looks different its also a tube rim.

If you would consider parting out I might would consider taking the tach, and front rim off your hands

If that is the maroon colored gas tank I would also take that and the side panels as well. When this bike was wrecked a wrecker picked it up and crushed part of the gas tank. Honda wants a fortune for a replacement in the correct "berry" color (I think they said the name of it was berry)

 

sell them. i wouldnt give it a second thought. people like him and his family are always going to take when they think they can get away with it . its a way of life.

 

I dunno, I'm not a social worker. To me it stinks to high hell that the labor check bounced and the parts to make them run flew. But you're right - it's a MAN thing.

A MAN doesn't make a deal for someone to do work for him, knowing what it costs, and then welsh on the deal in the end.

You did your part, and had to go to extra lengths to reclaim them when you were unpaid.

I myself would not have let EITHER bike out of my sight until they were paid for, but being a check - that's another thing. You wouldn't have known the check was bad right away unless you had a way to verify it with the bank beforehand.

NOW CONSIDER THIS: the boy (YES: "Boy") who stroked that check knew good and well that it wouldn't fly. I bet he was more than suprised when you came with the law and repo-d them - in fact I sincerely hope he peed himself. As far as I ever heard doing what he did constitutes fraud, and doing that to a disabled person in the first place is absolutely disgusting.

Some other points that occur to me are that you are entitled to a $30.oo bounced check fee, and any company that had to go through the legal system for recourse as you had to would instantly slap on an additional $120.oo for legal and filing fees (minimum) - plus your time and trouble. The guy was making out on the deal in the first place because what you charged was far and away less than the shop he talked to first, but your work is no less valuable. I can't say that his failure to pay up was in any way connected with the earlier deal with his brother - however there is no way on earth you should ever accept a check from either of them again (stipulated!), or perform any services without any and all monies to be charged paid in full before anything is done at all.

In fact: if you ever do anything for either of them again you're nuts...

OFF THE BIKES
If he can't afford to fix 'em, he doesn't need to have them

*Bangs gavel*

~Next case please...

 

Liquidate these bikes into cash asap. How would the Honda have handled this moron?

If the bikes don't sell in a timely fashion, I'd slap a judgement against this fool. Take his a$$ to small claims court or do what you can to place a burr under his saddle.

Good luck with your decision my friend. I believe you've been above board and extremely generous. You should have NO hard feelings what so ever about this person.

 

OK the guy is in to you for $900 labor plus the returned check fees. You have the bikes.
Have you filed with the district attorneys bad check department?
You probably have a legal requirement to hold the collateral for a set time before disposing of it.
There are also requirements as to notifying the public as to the sale of property such as listing a legal notice in the newspaper.
Once you have satisfied the legal requirements SELL THE BIKES!!!
Get your hard earned money .