Did you explain the Baines Racing bit to him?If he thinks the bike has been ragged to death,wouldnt a Baines Racing is just the name of the firm that imported the bike,perhaps calm his worries.Also adding that ALL Ducatis were "imported"in the day,as there was no official dealers.Maybe he would see sense and go ahead.
£50/hour. 1 hour a day for 4 days=£200 this is the bare minimum I would hold back. If he doesn't like it he is more than welcome to take the issue to small claims court. He cannot prove the bike had been raced, therefore his reason for stepping back doesn't stand any ground. Not sure if your "loss of sale" stands any ground...the other buyer might have stepped back as well.
Dont know how she parks but sniffing seats to find out it was owned by her, but driven by her driver 'big Dave' would be disappointing. Anyway... To the topic... I've always paid deposits knowing they are non-refundable.
I missed out on an sps several years ago for 6.5k.....it still annoys me i didnt buy it, stunning bike that anyone should be proud to own.
These bikes are all around 20 years old, I would be more worried how it has been treated since then. If it was my bike that was being sold, then the buyer would have more to worry about. . He obviously has been misinformed about the parallel importing situation in the late 90s. I'm not sure how much you are selling it for, but from appearances it shouldn't stick around for long.
Loads were parallel inported at the time, as they were £1000's cheaper. Doesn't make them shady. They're 20 years old now ffs!
Quite an angry thread... Can see both sides to an extent. Grey imports have a perception of being harder to insure / more expensive to insure so it's reasonable that this buyer is looking for an "official" UK Ducati, however doesn't seem very well informed about what that looked like at the time of manufacture. Likewise with the deposit, I can understand the seller feeling that his time has been wasted and a bit aggravated. The deposit situation is a weird one, because none of us were there during the conversation. I am always very explicit about the terms of deposits and whether they're returnable or not (and any conditions attached), and will always give a receipt with these written on it and the balance to be paid... otherwise things rely on perception, assumption and memory. I can't see that the seller has incurred any direct losses, nor does it sound like the terms of the deposit were discussed properly. So it all comes down to conscience and karma. I don't think that naming and shaming is appropriate and might be a bit wobbly legally if the seller was vague about the terms of the deposit... TBH in the seller's position I'd return the deposit and chalk it up to experience, but be clearer in future about the terms of sale and the retention of deposits.
I’m not angry, yesterday I was annoyed and frustrated as I felt my honesty had come in to question. Regards to direct losses, the only actual direct losses are a lost sale from an alternative buyer, lost time and re advertisement fees. I would never withhold a deposit under duress, however can you imaging going to a dealer and asking for your deposit back as you had changed your mind after committing? Don’t think that would wash.
