Fault with just purchased motorbike. Is it the road worthy tester's liability?

Lk005h on 07/04/2014 - 14:36

Hi guys, so I just bought a second hand bike for commuting to work. Since bikes are notoriously hard to sell, I decided to buy a bike that would last me for awhile rather than an el cheapo bike. So long story short, I bought a bike two Saturdays ago and on my way back I discovered that the left indicator light wasn't working. I wasn't sure cause it was a bright day and I couldn't really see the instrument cluster clearly.

Once I got home, I determined that the fault was not a faulty dash indicator, nor was it blown globes. The left side indicator was not coming on when I flicked on the indicator switch, but it came on when I hit the hazards. I opened up the indicator switch and it wasn't a loose connection either. I called the seller immediately and told him of the fault but he was adamant that it was working when he sold it to me.

Now, my question is, is the seller liable? Or, would the road worthy tester be responsible, seeing how they passed the road worthy test and the bike is still within the RWC's 30 day effective period. Or, would I be responsible? I'm not trying to blame anyone since anything could have happened to the indicator at any point in time, but in my opinion, faults like that don't develop overnight.

Rang up VicRoads and was advised to either get it fixed on my own dime, or get a second road worthy test done, have the bike fail the test, get it fixed, and then chase up the matter with VCAT to get the first workshop to pay.

I'm broke and kinda depressed due to personal problems. Hope to get some advice on this matter. Thanks for reading fellas!

Automotive

Comments

  • nuno on 07/04/2014 - 14:48

    Something as trivial as an indicator not working is hard to apportion blame to anyone. I doubt any respectable RWC would allow a faulty indicator to pass. Hence I dont think the dealer would be responsible unless you bought the bike on a warranty period. Which if memory serves me correct licensed motorcycle dealers in VIC are not obliged to supply.

    Sounds like a faulty switch of broken wire. Try jumping the switch or indicator wires and then clean the beejesus out of the switch with contact cleaner. You may have to emery cloth the contact points to remove the white.

    • denuto on 07/04/2014 - 15:05

      I'm with nuno. A RWC isn't a 30 day guarantee, but a certification that the vehicle/bike tested OK on the day of the test. If the seller is not too far away and knows anything about bikes, maybe you could ask him to fix it, but if he says it was working you don't have anywhere to go really. These problems are part of the joys of owning a car or bike and a good opportunity for you to learn a bit about fixing things, or finding inexpensive ways to fix things. Hopefully it's an easy fix.

      • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:45

        Yeah, I realised you're right. It wasn't an easy fix, although we(my cousin and I) kinda managed to isolate the problem area by ourselves. Hopefully that helped the mechanic cut out some labour time and costs. Came up at about 2hrs worth of work, or $230+. WIll get the details tmr when I pick up the bike. Thanks for your help and advice mate. Appreciated!

    • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:31

      Thanks for your reply mate! I ended up going to a mechanic to get it fixed. I ran it by my cousin who's a bit more technically inclined than myself, and he determined it wasn't the switch nor the relay. Apparently it's a fault in the wiring. Will pick it up tmr from the mechanic and get the details then. Thanks for the advice!

  • BuyoTheCat on 07/04/2014 - 15:06

    it could just be the switch for the indicator box. should be cheapish trying to get one from a wrecker
    give vic wreckers a call.

    • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:32

      Oh, we checked the switched and the relay, it wasn't either. Mechanic said it's something to do with the wiring. Gonna pick up the bike tmr, will know the details then. Thanks for the advice bud!

  • Dumax on 07/04/2014 - 15:07
    +1

    Considering the bike was bought as a private sale (atleast you posts sounds like it was) - you're barking up the wrong tree if you're thinking the previous owner liable.

    You need to approach whoever did the RWC - the very least that they can do is check out the problem.

    • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:34

      Yes, it was a private sale. I did call the road worthy tester but they said it was working when they tested it, so there really wasn't much I could do with them. Had to suck it up and foot the bill ($230++) for 2 hours worth of work at the mechanic's.

      Thanks for the advice anyway mate!

  • xyron on 07/04/2014 - 15:15

    geez, it'll most likely just be the relay. calm your farm - motorbikes are generally much easier to diagnose and repair electrically than their four-wheeled brethren.

    • BuyoTheCat on 07/04/2014 - 16:47

      depends. If you are like me. It will not be.
      new battery, didnt solve the problem.
      new rect/reg, still faulty
      New stator. yeah that was the problem.

      I am hopeless at things like this.

      • xyron on 07/04/2014 - 18:35

        welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycle ownership. after a few more niggling problems you'll be replacing wet clutches and doing entire engine rebuilds in no time :D

        • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:36

          haha, I've been riding for 4 years now. While I have gotten a bit more mechanically inclined, I still don't trust myself enough to do that and more. Nonetheless, that's something to work towards! Cheers! Ride safe, and ride hard!

      • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:42

        I'm way more hopeless than that. We should start a club. And hire a mechanic on a retainer to share.

    • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:35

      Yes, I suppose it is easier but it was still beyond me. Ended up being some fault with the wiring. Breakage or something. Will know the details when I pick it up from the mechanic's tmr! Thanks for the suggestions!

  • Peace Maker on 07/04/2014 - 15:30

    I'm with Dumax, I can't see how it would be the seller's problem. They have sold it with a RWC and you'd assume the tester checked everything. Sometimes things go wrong or can be intermittent problems. As long as the seller and tester have been honest, it seems like bad luck. Could be a lot worse though in having something go wrong.

    Hope things pick up for you. Enjoy your bike and have fun!

    • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:37

      Yeah Peace Maker, you're right. I suppose it's just my luck. Oh well, I'm out of pocket some 200ish bucks. Just glad it wasn't more. Thanks for the advice and kind words! Cheers mate!

  • blitz on 07/04/2014 - 18:48

    Most second hand sales of this nature come with a Gutter Warranty:

    Gutter Warranty: (n) a complete warranty which expires once the item passes over the seller's gutter.

    You will have difficulty getting anything out of the seller if they are uncooperative.

    • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:38

      Yeah, but the seller was nice enough to keep in touch with me and touch base to see how I was doing, so yeah just gotta blame my luck. Thanks anyway!

  • c64 on 07/04/2014 - 19:11

    got a multimeter?

    • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:39

      Oh yeah, got some help from my mechanically inclined cousin. It wasn't the switch or the relays. Left with wiring fault which was beyond us. Hopefully that helped shave some time off at the mechanic's. Thanks dude!

  • Elppa8 on 07/04/2014 - 22:45

    Google the problem with the bike model, chances are someone has had the problem before with a solution.

    Second option, find a way to get to your destination by only doing right hand turns. :)

    • k005h on 09/04/2014 - 03:41

      1) I tried, but strangely it doesn't appear to be a common problem. SO there wasn't anyone with the solution or the reason for the fault.

      2) haha, yeah, I've been doing that lots in the past few days!

      Thanks for the help and advice! I went to the mechanic instead cause it was a wiring fault, something I couldn't fix by myself. Gonna cost about $230+, can't do much about that. Thanks anyway!

  • Elppa8 on 09/04/2014 - 08:42
    +1

    +1 for your update

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