craigslist jipped
 

I've been searching craigslist for a trek my size. Well wouldn't you know one day I read this ad TREK 4300 mountain bike 19.5 nice shape $325 I emailed, made arrangements and went and picked it up, yep nice bike. I took it to the shop to have new disk brakes, and rims put on it because it had v-brakes, $300 for everything. Well the shop called and said we can't upgrade your bike it's not a 4300 it's a 820 ST older bike nice paint job frames good. Not a bad beginners bike for trail riding. I might be able to find a buyer for $325 but I don't want to jip them like I've been jipped. Live and learn. Watch out for people that advertise something that it's not.

Ouch!
Sorry you got ripped off. It is very important to know a lot about what you are buying when buying used bikes.

Something I don't understand about your story -- wasn't the model number visible on the frame somewhere? Or was it a total repaint?

If it's an older steel Trek 820 (I think it used to be called the Antelope), it's a decent older hardtail/non-suspension mountain bike. I see them in use every day as commuters around Seattle (though usually available on CL for a lot less than $325).

Is small claims court a possibility?

Just TREK and the letters ST are visible, everything else was painted over. I touched the frame with a magnet, it stuck to it. I suppose I could have the frame modified to accept disk brakes but for the money I would have to invest, I certainly could have picked up a newer model. I'm not happy with the deception, and my lack of knowledge.

It is a possibility, I kept a hard copy of our email conversations prior to my purchasing of the bike.

What does the seller have to say about your discovery?

Just a couple questions need answering before you can say the seller ripped you off:
-Was the seller the original owner? If not maybe the seller didn't know either. Not unusual for a seller to think they have one thing when in fact it is another.
-Could you have seen the identification data had you actually inspected the bike? After all the LBS did. If you could have discovered the facts by a reasonable inspection you are in a poor position to take legal action.

I don't know if you were ripped off or not. But, so far nothing has been posted to substantiate that.

I typically see Craigs List ads with the wrong model, wrong year, almost always the wrong size, even the wrong brand. Its really up to the buyer to do proper due diligence unfortunately. I've gotten to the point that I just assume everything in the ad is wrong. Sometimes this ends up working in the favor of the buyer, sometimes not.

They pulled the ad, and so far no response to my email

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=138298 When I saw TREK I believed him. But the bike shop said NO that is not a 4300.

I can usually sell a Trek 820(usually straight gauge Chrome moly main frame-maybe chrome Moly fork also) for about$150- $160 or so in decent condition.
I buy/sell lots of Chrome Moly framed Treks-820,830,850,930(DB fancier tubes) etc- because they are good reliable urban/suburban/do anything bikes and folks appreciate the good Chromo frames.

At the very least this seller should answer your emails.If he was dead honest he would have at least answered and said," I was the second owner, guess I was ripped off also."

Well live and learn.It is a nice bike, but probably 2-3 lbs heavier-about 30 lbs- than the bike you tought you bought.

Luck
Charlie

Sue the bustard! I agree NOS88. But it becomes problematic because getting the judgement is one thing, collecting the money is another. They used to hang horse thieves....

Yep, I've bought a couple things in my life that weren't what I thought they were. Probably most people have done the same. But, that doesn't mean the seller was dishonest. On the ethical edge maybe, but not out and out dishonest.

As far as not answering your emails/phone calls it reminds me of some people I know. In their opinion once money changes hands the deal is done and they don't want to revisit it. You probably aren't one of them. But there are lot of people out there who are never satisfied with a deal. If you let them they'd be renegotiating for eternity.

By the way; have you now thoroughly examined the bike and are satisfied you have it correctly identified as to Make, Model and Condition? Or, are you now taking the bike shop's word for it?

From other posts it looks like although the bike isn't what you went to market for it is a fine machine that could serve you well.

Too bad you didn't do that before you bought it or this could be a thread about the guy who tried to sell you a bike that wasn't what he claimed.

I've had time to think and evaluate my position in this matter. And after receiving some rather good suggestions, and some constructive brow beating, I returned to the LBS and carefully looking over all the new bikes in stock. The options, colors, styles, and the prices. I liked the new Gary Fisher 29er's, they were going for a little over a grand, super light, carbon, the works. And the Trek 8000 fuel I think he called it was also quite pricey at a couple grand. I asked him about customs, and the talk eventually settled in the thousands range, two thousand, four thousand, six thousand dollars and up yikes!!! That 820, chrome moly frame is going to get a custom make over. I have a friend up in Sanitaria Springs "Lord's Welding" He can weld a front fork to an Ice cream cone (extremely exaggerated here but I hope you get my point) and I have another friend who is a teacher at BOCES Auto body repair, for a donation, and the paint, I can have a student custom paint my frame, everyone benefits here. These guys certainly wouldn't mind the extra business either. I'm sure there are better frames out there to customize, but I think I'm starting out with a pretty good one. Bike Forum has links to some of the top bike parts sites around. I'll be riding before summer.

Good choice, I think.

I rode my 820 to work this morning. 25F with 10mph headwind, ice rippled across the road in several locations and several pot holes...and the bike ate it all up. My 820 has served me well for 22 years, that's right 22 years. I bought it new in 1988 and have put thousands of carefree and trouble free miles on it. (and my idea of maintainance on it has been just keeping it kinda-sorta lubed and replacing chain and gears as I wear them out.)

Keep us posted as it sounds like it will be an interesting and enjoyable project.

+1 This was a private transaction. You saw the bike, made a decision upon inspection to accept the bike for the dollar amount you paid.

+1

I have had one really bad Craigslist experience, and it was all my fault -- I was searching for a bike for my son, and we wanted to do a bit of restoration work together, and we saw a likely candidate posted on CL for $65 (an old Trek 400). We went across town to a pretty bad neighborhood, and found a guy, reeking of alcohol and unsteady on his feet, selling a bunch of stuff out of his garage. I was a little uneasy about sticking around for long, so we paid the $65 for the bike and left .

When we got home, I realized that the only reason the Trek appeared to fit is because it had an absurdly long seatpost and stem -- but that the basic frame and many of the parts were in good condition under a bunch of grime. We decided in a few minutes that it wasn't worth our time to fix up a bike that wouldn't fit, so we cleaned it up and donated it to a local bike co-op.

We felt good about the donation, and learned a good lesson that cost us only $65 and some time.

I've been fortunate to have had good luck purchasing from Craigslist.

I bought our EZ Tandem from a local Craigslist ad...a really fun bike in great condition for a fair price.
I also bought my Volae Tour from a Craigslist ad from downstate, about 3 hrs. away. This bike was being offered by a very active participant on BROL though I was unaware of who he was until much later, but I got a quality machine at a very good price.

I just recently purchased an English 3 spd. and a B.O.B. Yak from local Craigslisters, again honestly represented and priced fairly.

Like any other used marketplace, you've got to know your equipment and it's value and ask the right questions. There are some diamonds among the stones out there.

Yes, all those Trek Chrome Moly framed MTBs are really good all around bikes.I kinda' wish I hadn't sold the last one- it was a girls frame 820, and it was really easy to pull out and ride-sometimes you just don't feel like swinging your leg over a high top tube.
I like to ride my bikes for a couple of minutes -during breaks/commercials in the evening.I think it helps me lose weight to take short rides a a couple of minutes in the evenings-the little Trek was great for that. It had twist shifters which I love. For some reason-all my bikes have trigger shifters-never got around to changing them to twist shifting.

Charlie

Charlie

Don't all Trek 4300s have a suspension fork? And an aluminum frame?

Even a 3 year old 2007 4300 had a brand new list price of just $350. Used it would be worth around $200.

At least you got a decent bike out of the deal. I'd rather have an 820 than a 4300.

A brand new 820 has an MRSP of $330.

And a brand new 4300 Disc has an MSRP of $640.

OUTSTANDING!

Anyone can look good when things go well. It takes a character to look good when there is a problem. You're looking good.

Brand new 820s are but a pale shadow of the old 820s. Low end high tensile steel frame, low end shock, low end components.

Way back in 1993, the 820 was a full cro-moly steel frame with a price of $390. If they still made it like back then, it would sell for hundreds more.