2nd hand engine scams

[Cuban8]

15 minutes ago, Chris Walby said:

Off topic, but all is not lost with society yet.

 

Took the dogs for a walk last Friday and after the +3 mile loop I returned to the car...then discovered I had dropped my car key (with the house key on it). This will be the first time in +50 years. I did have a few choice words with myself and set off to walk the entire +3 mile loop again looking for the keys.

Plan B was to walk an additional 6 miles home, get the spare key from the neighbour, get the spare car key and retrieve the car assuming its still there. Of course whoever found the key could use the satnav to head home and use the front door key to get in..oh double poo!

 

Anyway about half way around I met a couple walking in the other direction and asked them to look for the keys, unfortunately they were not walking the same extended route, but you cannot really ask complete strangers to recover a route I had covered.

 

Never found the keys on my second loop and back and at the car it was going to have to be plan B, but the couple had indeed found the keys and left them sort of hidden on the car. Thinking about this not only did the couple find the key, but walked the extra distance to leave the key on the car and back again onto their intended route.

  

Its spotting the scammer before being scammed is the knack.

Unfortunately, we are bombarded by bad news, crime and dishonesty on a daily basis by the press and MSM in general. It sells papers and boosts ratings which is why a 'good news' media would be doomed to failure. My experience is that our fellow citizens are basically honest and would not knowingly cheat or rip off others. Sadly, a few rotten apples do spoil it from time to time and it's right to protect oneself from the professional con artist. The second oldest profession maybe?

I know a few club mates who are terrified of the on-line and cashless world and refuse to interact with it at all because of the worry about scams. Pointing out that there is still a significant risk of losing one's wallet, having snail mail with cheques go missing and buying a dodgy used car or whatever either in-person privately or from a dealer is still very possible, doesn't cut much ice with them. Fair enough.

[Andy Stephenson]

I have bought a number of 2stroke engines by mail from the classified ads and never had a bad one but I also haven't spent much on any of them.

If you are spending a lot of money on an engine, may I suggest it's actually worth travelling to view it before committing to buy.

[Brian Cooper]

Once upon a time I sold two engines on eBay. 

One was really nice and in excellent condition. 👍

 

The other was an engine I had inherited and it was pile of worn out crap.... I only advertised it for a joke. 

But honestly and comically highlighting the faults was great fun to compose. 

 

Strangely, the worn out engine sold for more money than the good one. . . Weird, eh. 🤣

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

I guess doom n gloom makes for a better story, there is masses of stuff sold every day, the vast majority sold and bought by decent honest people, the for sales section on just this outlet alone is quite active, not a complaint to be seen in my experience. The world ain't out to get you, the odds on you making a fair purchase are very much in your favour.

[Cuban8]

Over 40 years ago I drove all the way from Essex to Oxford to view a Yamaha XS650 motorcycle "in excellent condition and well cared for". The chap sellling it was very pleasant and genuinely thought that his bike was fairly described and priced...............to me it was a heap. His garage was a mess, his garden was a mess and he wasn't too neat himself. However, he really was a likeable guy but simply had no conception of tidiness or keeping anything in reasonable condition and probably didn't give a thought to it. I was annoyed at the wasted journey but it was a lesson about people.

[Jon H]

5 minutes ago, Cuban8 said:

Over 40 years ago I drove all the way from Essex to Oxford to view a Yamaha XS650 motorcycle "in excellent condition and well cared for". The chap sellling it was very pleasant and genuinely thought that his bike was fairly described and priced...............to me it was a heap. His garage was a mess, his garden was a mess and he wasn't too neat himself. However, he really was a likeable guy but simply had no conception of tidiness or keeping anything in reasonable condition and probably didn't give a thought to it. I was annoyed at the wasted journey but it was a lesson about people.

 

I had a similar experience trying to buy a guitar. The fact that it, and its owner, smelt of rodent urine (he had pet rats) did not encourage me to buy it. 

 

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Many years ago, several of us packed into a seven seater car and drove from Dunstable to an airfield 50 odd miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne (around 550 miles round trip) to view/purchase a K6e glider described as in excellent condition. 
 

To a man - and including the BGA inspector we’d taken with us for expert opinion - we couldn’t believe the state of the tatty object we were shown.  It had a current C of A and maybe it was airworthy but nobody fancied a test flight…

 

The owners seemed genuinely proud of the glider and to be honest, several other gliders on site were far from pristine so it was a lesson in how standards can vary. 

[Nick Somerville]

4 hours ago, Brian Cooper said:

Strangely, the worn out engine sold for more money than the good one. . . Weird, eh. 🤣

I am afraid I can top that one Brian. Many years ago I purchased a second hand camper-van. It came with a, still in a sealed wrapper, compact Portapotti. As we didn’t want it I asked my daughter to list it on Ebay. There was another Portapotti of the same model being sold at the same time but this was listed as ‘Used and a Firm Family Friend’! To our amazement it fetched more money than our new one. Figure that one out if you date!

[Geoff S]

9 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

Unfortunately, we are bombarded by bad news, crime and dishonesty on a daily basis by the press and MSM in general. It sells papers and boosts ratings which is why a 'good news' media would be doomed to failure. My experience is that our fellow citizens are basically honest and would not knowingly cheat or rip off others. Sadly, a few rotten apples do spoil it from time to time and it's right to protect oneself from the professional con artist. The second oldest profession maybe?

I know a few club mates who are terrified of the on-line and cashless world and refuse to interact with it at all because of the worry about scams. Pointing out that there is still a significant risk of losing one's wallet, having snail mail with cheques go missing and buying a dodgy used car or whatever either in-person privately or from a dealer is still very possible, doesn't cut much ice with them. Fair enough.

 

The 'news' is just that - new and unusual. The time to get worried is when all the 'news' is good because it implies that 'good news' is a rare occurrence.  It's the way I try to keep a reasonable perspective  - it works but not always.

 

In my time I've bought lots of s/h stuff from motorcycles, pedal cycles, racing dinghies and, of course model aeroplanes. On the whole it's worked out well.  We bought our first tandem (a very old Sun Wasp) from a guy who needed the money to fund equipment to rig a James Wharram catamaran he was building in his back garden (he planned on getting a crane to lift it over the house after it was finished).  We spent 30 minutes buying the bike and a couple of hours talking about sailing 🙂

[Richard Acland]

I  must have been lucky. I have bought many engines some from E Bay, some from the BMFA site never had a real lemon. If it is an older engine I would normally strip it and replace the bearings anyway.

[Jon H]

Just now, Richard Acland said:

I  must have been lucky. I have bought many engines some from E Bay, some from the BMFA site never had a real lemon. If it is an older engine I would normally strip it and replace the bearings anyway.

 

Not everyone has the technical knowledge to strip and rebuild engines. This is not a criticism of anyone, just a fact. While i agree that bearing replacement is more or less a starter for 10 when it comes to engine maintenance this is beyond the ability of many modellers and it should not be a requirement that every engine bought 2nd hand needs this sort of work. 

[GrumpyGnome]

I think it's only a problem when it's more than bearings... e.g. when I was stripping my TT54 carb, I looked at an O ring set.... more than 50% of what I paid. (thankfully, only one needed replacing and the clubs 'engine whisperer' had one in the bottom of his field box...) Bearings are cheap, and an easy fix that everyone is capable of..... YT has loads of guidance.

 

Buying second hand always was, is, and always will be a gamble that some are happy to take.  Personally, I won't spend more than £100 on a used engine. Even if I've seen it used week in and week out.  Which, unfortunately, means no Lasers for me...... I'll just drool over Kev's.....

Edited February 17, 2023 by GrumpyGnome

[PatMc]

6 hours ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

Many years ago, several of us packed into a seven seater car and drove from Dunstable to an airfield 50 odd miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne (around 550 miles round trip) to view/purchase a K6e glider described as in excellent condition. 
 

To a man - and including the BGA inspector we’d taken with us for expert opinion - we couldn’t believe the state of the tatty object we were shown.  It had a current C of A and maybe it was airworthy but nobody fancied a test flight…

 

The owners seemed genuinely proud of the glider and to be honest, several other gliders on site were far from pristine so it was a lesson in how standards can vary. 

Martin, I'm pretty sure I know the particular glider you refer to. IMO the reason for the tatty condition was down to most members of the owning syndicate relying on mainly one fellow member doing the bulk of of the maintenance work on his own. In fact I had a couple of flights in one of the club trainers with a mind to joining but the apathy amongst some of the syndicates & general run down conditions at the club put me off. 

On the bright side, the club has since moved a short distance to a new site (I believe with a cash injection from the new owners of their old site). A few years ago I visited the new site along with a mate who had dropped out of the club for health reasons & we had a guided tour. The place is completely transformed with impressive facilities & excellent well organised hanger space for more gliders than I imagined, most of which were modern machines.  

[mikem65d]

Well I am simply amazed at the antics on your guys side of the pond. I always thought it was just here in the US of A that we have this type of nonsense. As a kid growing up here I was always affiliated with real modelers that were gentleman and honorable..............course from the 60's to now things have changed.

This topic is really interesting too in that all of you who have posted here would be trusted.................I guess we're just a dwindling group.

 

Really sorry to here the opening reports.

 

My buying experience as of late with Jon has been so pleasant, it really makes me wish I lived there again.

 

Thermals,

Mike