shinypurple
06-01-2007, 09:41 AM
My girlfriend recently purchased a bicycle that we found on Craigslist. The "mechanics" who sold it to her assured us of its quality, using words like "overhauled" and "awesome" when we asked them reasonably specific questions regarding things like the wheels and bottom bracket. We took it to several shops to have it looked at and determined that the frame and wheels were unsafe. After the guarantee that we could return it if we weren't satisfied was reneged and their repeated hang-ups when we attempt to telephone them, a friend suggested we look to the bike community for support. We feel that to represent oneself as an expert and represent a product as safe when perhaps neither is the case is intentionally misleading and the community deserves to know about these "mechanics", one of whom works at a shop here in town. The story, in painstaking detail, follows.
As stated above, my girlfriend purchased a bike. It was a green 5-speed Peugeot mixte style from maybe the 1970s. The price was $200. She sent an excited email to the seller and received a phone call within the hour. She scheduled a time to look at it later that evening at the man's shop at 22nd and SE Hawthorne. We met Willy in the Hot Lips parking lot, which I indicated to my girlfriend was shady. I asked if he had any frames for sale, and he took us around the corner to a small garage filled with bikes in various states of repair. There was a woman who identified herself as Mary in the garage. They were friendly, and the operation seemed legit. They referred to themselves as "Mechanics". I looked at some frames and decided not to get one at that moment. He said everything was a bit disorganized because they were moving to a shop on MLK behind a "black man's barbershop". (His words, not mine. I presumed he meant Reggie's.) Meanwhile, my girlfriend was riding the bike around and had some questions for Willy. Her first question regarded the brakes, which made a loud noise when applied. Willy said it was because they were new pads. While she was riding around, I asked him about what sort of work they'd done on the bike, specifically regarding things like the bottom bracket, the headset, and wheels. He said they'd done what they could with all three, including overhauling the BB and headset and scouring the wheels of rust. I got on the bike and rode it around, immediately noticing the shaky front wheel. So I asked if the wheels had been trued, to which he responded that they'd again done everything they could. Never was the phrase "as is" used that evening. He then said that if we weren't satisfied with the bike we could return it within one week. Also he said we should contact him about the wheels because he knew a guy who could get some interesting wheels, but he might have to charge us more if they were really unique. He said he was going to his friend with the wheels' shop the next day. She decided to purchase the bike. Willy and Mary gave us their business card, which simply says "Building Bikes" and has their phone number, and told us we could call any time we needed work done on the bike.
The next day we took it down to the City Bikes Annex to have it looked at. Her first response was that the headset was "shot". Regarding the wheels, she said they were "crap" and may as well be placed "in the free bin outside". She pointed out two broken spokes and that trueing would be impossible without a respoking. She told us we'd "paid too much" and that if returning the bike was an option we should take it as the bike was "unsafe" to ride. My girlfriend decided to keep the bike and pursue replacing the wheels. When she initially called them, Willy said he'd be going to look at his friend's wheels soon and to call back the next day. When she called back as requested, Willy said he had the wheels and that they were "awesome" and he would come by and put them on soon. He said they were moving so it had to be done that night at 7:30, at which point he'd call and arrange a meeting. When 8 rolled by, we called and got no response. When 10 rolled around, I called from my phone and received no response. We called a couple more times, thinking that perhaps they didn't hear the ringing or feel the vibrating of their mobile phone. When my girlfriend called the next day, Willy answered, told her he wasn't sure if he'd be able to find the wheels, said something about another call and hung up. She called him back an hour later, to which he responded by telling her to "fuck off", "stop harassing" him, and hanging up. I called him the next day and said that perhaps my girlfriend's excitement to get the bike on the road was mistaken for impatience. He said they were busy because of the move. I said I understood this and he abruptly said bye and hung up. I suggested to my girlfriend that we give them a day to get everything together because it sounded like they felt we were putting unfair pressure on them. So we did. She called the day after next and Willy said to call back the next day. When she did this, he said she should call him after we'd eaten dinner--it was my girlfriend's birthday, so we went out--and perhaps we could arrange something. When I called after dinner, he told me to leave him alone and hung up, saying he'd told her to call him the following day. We discussed it for a moment, and I decided to send a text message. I said "You told her to call you after dinner. The bike is unsafe. Let's resolve this or I'm involving an attorney I work with." (I work at a law firm.) About ten minutes later, Mary called me. She said we were harassing her and that we should leave them alone. I said that all we wanted were the replacement wheels they'd promised as part of the return-it-in-one-week-if-you're-not-satisfied promise. She said they'd never made either of those promises. I said they had. She said all we needed to do was get the wheels respoked because the rims were "awesome" and the hubs were "classic". I told her what the woman at City Bikes said, to which she responded that City Bikes doesn't know what they're talking about and that she'd had the wheels looked at by someone at Weir's who said they were great. I told her I'd gladly get a second opinion on the wheels if that's what it would take. I said it seemed like everyone was just trying to feel like they were being treated fairly, with which she agreed. We settled that we'd have the wheels looked at by someone else and then figure it out from there.
The next day I took the wheels to Northwest Cycles, where the mechanic pointed out cracks in the rear rim and rusted out spokes. He said respoking would cost about 80 bucks with parts and labor and would definitely not be worth doing to these specific wheels, as they were "shot". They asked where we'd purchased them, and we said Craigslist from some people identifying themselves as mechanics. He asked their names, and when we told him, he and the other mechanic indicated that Willy had an outstanding debt at the shop and they'd been trying to locate him for a while. We told them what we knew about Willy and Mary, about their new shop possibly being on MLK behind Reggie's and their phone number. They said if we wanted to talk to Mary, she worked at Weir's on Mondays. The next day we took the whole bike to the Bike Gallery to get looked at, where the mechanic pointed out the cracked rims, rusted spokes, and bent rear triangle. She also described the headset as "shot" and the bottom bracket as "loose", saying that no mechanic had recently worked on this particular bike. She recommended reversing the sale, if possible. We called Willy and Mary and left a message with what the Bike Gallery mechanic told us. We received no response. The several times we've called them since then have gone as follows:
Willy: Hello?
Me: Hi, can I speak with Mary?
Willy: Can I tell her who's calling?
Me: This is Shaw, Celeste's boyfriend.
[the sound of someone hanging up]
We've heard nothing from them since then. We've come to terms with the fact that we are down 200 bucks and stuck with an "unsafe" bike, but it pains us to think that it could happen to someone else. So we're bringing it to the community for support. Any suggestions on what to do?
As stated above, my girlfriend purchased a bike. It was a green 5-speed Peugeot mixte style from maybe the 1970s. The price was $200. She sent an excited email to the seller and received a phone call within the hour. She scheduled a time to look at it later that evening at the man's shop at 22nd and SE Hawthorne. We met Willy in the Hot Lips parking lot, which I indicated to my girlfriend was shady. I asked if he had any frames for sale, and he took us around the corner to a small garage filled with bikes in various states of repair. There was a woman who identified herself as Mary in the garage. They were friendly, and the operation seemed legit. They referred to themselves as "Mechanics". I looked at some frames and decided not to get one at that moment. He said everything was a bit disorganized because they were moving to a shop on MLK behind a "black man's barbershop". (His words, not mine. I presumed he meant Reggie's.) Meanwhile, my girlfriend was riding the bike around and had some questions for Willy. Her first question regarded the brakes, which made a loud noise when applied. Willy said it was because they were new pads. While she was riding around, I asked him about what sort of work they'd done on the bike, specifically regarding things like the bottom bracket, the headset, and wheels. He said they'd done what they could with all three, including overhauling the BB and headset and scouring the wheels of rust. I got on the bike and rode it around, immediately noticing the shaky front wheel. So I asked if the wheels had been trued, to which he responded that they'd again done everything they could. Never was the phrase "as is" used that evening. He then said that if we weren't satisfied with the bike we could return it within one week. Also he said we should contact him about the wheels because he knew a guy who could get some interesting wheels, but he might have to charge us more if they were really unique. He said he was going to his friend with the wheels' shop the next day. She decided to purchase the bike. Willy and Mary gave us their business card, which simply says "Building Bikes" and has their phone number, and told us we could call any time we needed work done on the bike.
The next day we took it down to the City Bikes Annex to have it looked at. Her first response was that the headset was "shot". Regarding the wheels, she said they were "crap" and may as well be placed "in the free bin outside". She pointed out two broken spokes and that trueing would be impossible without a respoking. She told us we'd "paid too much" and that if returning the bike was an option we should take it as the bike was "unsafe" to ride. My girlfriend decided to keep the bike and pursue replacing the wheels. When she initially called them, Willy said he'd be going to look at his friend's wheels soon and to call back the next day. When she called back as requested, Willy said he had the wheels and that they were "awesome" and he would come by and put them on soon. He said they were moving so it had to be done that night at 7:30, at which point he'd call and arrange a meeting. When 8 rolled by, we called and got no response. When 10 rolled around, I called from my phone and received no response. We called a couple more times, thinking that perhaps they didn't hear the ringing or feel the vibrating of their mobile phone. When my girlfriend called the next day, Willy answered, told her he wasn't sure if he'd be able to find the wheels, said something about another call and hung up. She called him back an hour later, to which he responded by telling her to "fuck off", "stop harassing" him, and hanging up. I called him the next day and said that perhaps my girlfriend's excitement to get the bike on the road was mistaken for impatience. He said they were busy because of the move. I said I understood this and he abruptly said bye and hung up. I suggested to my girlfriend that we give them a day to get everything together because it sounded like they felt we were putting unfair pressure on them. So we did. She called the day after next and Willy said to call back the next day. When she did this, he said she should call him after we'd eaten dinner--it was my girlfriend's birthday, so we went out--and perhaps we could arrange something. When I called after dinner, he told me to leave him alone and hung up, saying he'd told her to call him the following day. We discussed it for a moment, and I decided to send a text message. I said "You told her to call you after dinner. The bike is unsafe. Let's resolve this or I'm involving an attorney I work with." (I work at a law firm.) About ten minutes later, Mary called me. She said we were harassing her and that we should leave them alone. I said that all we wanted were the replacement wheels they'd promised as part of the return-it-in-one-week-if-you're-not-satisfied promise. She said they'd never made either of those promises. I said they had. She said all we needed to do was get the wheels respoked because the rims were "awesome" and the hubs were "classic". I told her what the woman at City Bikes said, to which she responded that City Bikes doesn't know what they're talking about and that she'd had the wheels looked at by someone at Weir's who said they were great. I told her I'd gladly get a second opinion on the wheels if that's what it would take. I said it seemed like everyone was just trying to feel like they were being treated fairly, with which she agreed. We settled that we'd have the wheels looked at by someone else and then figure it out from there.
The next day I took the wheels to Northwest Cycles, where the mechanic pointed out cracks in the rear rim and rusted out spokes. He said respoking would cost about 80 bucks with parts and labor and would definitely not be worth doing to these specific wheels, as they were "shot". They asked where we'd purchased them, and we said Craigslist from some people identifying themselves as mechanics. He asked their names, and when we told him, he and the other mechanic indicated that Willy had an outstanding debt at the shop and they'd been trying to locate him for a while. We told them what we knew about Willy and Mary, about their new shop possibly being on MLK behind Reggie's and their phone number. They said if we wanted to talk to Mary, she worked at Weir's on Mondays. The next day we took the whole bike to the Bike Gallery to get looked at, where the mechanic pointed out the cracked rims, rusted spokes, and bent rear triangle. She also described the headset as "shot" and the bottom bracket as "loose", saying that no mechanic had recently worked on this particular bike. She recommended reversing the sale, if possible. We called Willy and Mary and left a message with what the Bike Gallery mechanic told us. We received no response. The several times we've called them since then have gone as follows:
Willy: Hello?
Me: Hi, can I speak with Mary?
Willy: Can I tell her who's calling?
Me: This is Shaw, Celeste's boyfriend.
[the sound of someone hanging up]
We've heard nothing from them since then. We've come to terms with the fact that we are down 200 bucks and stuck with an "unsafe" bike, but it pains us to think that it could happen to someone else. So we're bringing it to the community for support. Any suggestions on what to do?