VIN Number Does Not Match Engine Number

**Reed us** · 03-30-2012, 05:07 PM

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: California
I am a used motorcycle dealer. Last June I bought a dirt bike off of Craigslist from a private seller. He gave me a valid title that matched the vin number on bike frame. I took the bike to California and sold it through the auction. The auction cut me a check and all good till a month and a half later. Auction calls me and tells me buyer brought back bike and said engine is stolen. They claim the number was "scratched out". Auction wants me to give money back and come pick up bike. I said no and now they are threatening legal action. My case for not taking bike back rests on 2 points. 1 - auction was responsible for checking and clearing all vin/engine numbers before bike is put on auction block. 2 - auction sold bike and it left their facility for over a month before being brought back. No way to tell if buyer simply had buyer remorse and scratched vin out himself as an excuse to bring bike back. Let me know what you guys think

jk · 03-30-2012, 05:11 PM

have you verified the claim? Tell them to provide you the VIN on the stolen engine and check for yourself.

**Reed us** · 03-30-2012, 05:30 PM

That's the problem... They claim since it is "scratched out", it is illegible. They actually have no way of proving it is stolen if indeed the engine number is illegible.

jk · 03-30-2012, 05:58 PM

Quoting Reed us

That's the problem... They claim since it is "scratched out", it is illegible. They actually have no way of proving it is stolen if indeed the engine number is illegible.

well, since they cannot read the number, they cannot possibly determine if it is stolen. Obviously it is quite suspicious but in itself, it proves nothing.

I would tell them to enjoy the bike.

If the auction house does check the VIN's, I would stand on the argument that they presumably had checked the engine VIN and it was all cool. To make a claim now is suspicious and unless they can prove it was scratched out at the time of the sale, I would refuse the demand to rescind the sale.

For them to demand you rescind the sale would require them admitting they failed to perform as they are required to. Now, their failure would not relieve you of any responsibility you would have here but I suggest shaming them into either admitting they failed to perform as they claim to and possibly harming their reputation or shame them into dropping the claim to rescind the sale and allow their poor practices to remain unknown.