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304 Posts
I am having the worst luck. 
Long story long, I find an 04 Matrix with 2200 miles on it at a large dealer in NC. They don't sell Ducati any more, but they used to and they carry several other large lines of bikes. It has half termi system, carbon fiber everything, open clutch cover, TBR risers, and some other misc stuff.
They said it was a one owner trade in, no accidents, tipovers, crashes, etc... It was described by the sales manager and salesperson as in mint showroom condition with excellent tires. The only blemish disclosed was the passenger side carbon air duct was messed up.
So they send me some pics and we agree on a price of 11,400. I'm thinking this is a good deal and it's from a major dealer up there so it's got to be legit.
Well, we do the all night drive from FL to NC and get there around 930am. They were not ready for me and for some reason thought I wasn't showing up till 5pm. Good thing I was early.
They were in the back wrenching on the bike because they couldn't get it running. They worked on it for an hour and half before they got it running and claimed it was a bad set of plugs. Took a good look over the bike. Found a 4 inch scratch on the left side lower. Lots of small scratches and rock chips. A large chip (4mm) down to the bare metal on the gas tank. The front of the triple tree was scratched and scraped (who knows how that happened). The brake resovoir was rubbing on the windscreen. The tires were mismatched with different brands. And to top off, the clutch lever is scraped up on the end. What do you know??? It's been dropped. Son of a bitch.
They panic and apologize. I take it for a ride. It runs goods. I ask about the service records and the original owner and the owner's manual. They give me some song and dance about not being able to get in touch with the original owner. I'm calling bullshit on this one as they took the Matrix on trade for a $50,000 chopper. They know how to get a hold of him.
They offer me the bike for 10,400. This is what they claim to have in it on trade. I tell them to forget it. They've been completely dishonest at this point. I tried to rationalize with myself about getting it, but I knew it wasn't right that I had to talk myself into getting the bike. It should be a no brainer. For an 04 with 2200 miles, this bike was very very rough around the edges. Even the oil cooler and radiator were kind of beat up, not to mention the front portion of the lower fairing was completely peppered. Just didn't look like a 2200 mile bike.
So there you have it. I'm now hosed on my 3rd bike. I can't believe how dishonest people are with these bikes. I've never seen anything like it. Had I know about these problems up front, I could have thought on it some and maybe gone for it or had Ducati inspect it. However, them putting me on the spot put me in a bad position to make such a large financial decision on a very iffy bike.
So now I'm out $250 in gas and 22 hours of driving time. This blows. Sorry for the rant. Had to let it out I'm about ready to give up on this. What is up with Ducati owners not being able to keep the rubber side down?
Long story long, I find an 04 Matrix with 2200 miles on it at a large dealer in NC. They don't sell Ducati any more, but they used to and they carry several other large lines of bikes. It has half termi system, carbon fiber everything, open clutch cover, TBR risers, and some other misc stuff.
They said it was a one owner trade in, no accidents, tipovers, crashes, etc... It was described by the sales manager and salesperson as in mint showroom condition with excellent tires. The only blemish disclosed was the passenger side carbon air duct was messed up.
So they send me some pics and we agree on a price of 11,400. I'm thinking this is a good deal and it's from a major dealer up there so it's got to be legit.
Well, we do the all night drive from FL to NC and get there around 930am. They were not ready for me and for some reason thought I wasn't showing up till 5pm. Good thing I was early.
They were in the back wrenching on the bike because they couldn't get it running. They worked on it for an hour and half before they got it running and claimed it was a bad set of plugs. Took a good look over the bike. Found a 4 inch scratch on the left side lower. Lots of small scratches and rock chips. A large chip (4mm) down to the bare metal on the gas tank. The front of the triple tree was scratched and scraped (who knows how that happened). The brake resovoir was rubbing on the windscreen. The tires were mismatched with different brands. And to top off, the clutch lever is scraped up on the end. What do you know??? It's been dropped. Son of a bitch.
They panic and apologize. I take it for a ride. It runs goods. I ask about the service records and the original owner and the owner's manual. They give me some song and dance about not being able to get in touch with the original owner. I'm calling bullshit on this one as they took the Matrix on trade for a $50,000 chopper. They know how to get a hold of him.
They offer me the bike for 10,400. This is what they claim to have in it on trade. I tell them to forget it. They've been completely dishonest at this point. I tried to rationalize with myself about getting it, but I knew it wasn't right that I had to talk myself into getting the bike. It should be a no brainer. For an 04 with 2200 miles, this bike was very very rough around the edges. Even the oil cooler and radiator were kind of beat up, not to mention the front portion of the lower fairing was completely peppered. Just didn't look like a 2200 mile bike.
So there you have it. I'm now hosed on my 3rd bike. I can't believe how dishonest people are with these bikes. I've never seen anything like it. Had I know about these problems up front, I could have thought on it some and maybe gone for it or had Ducati inspect it. However, them putting me on the spot put me in a bad position to make such a large financial decision on a very iffy bike.
So now I'm out $250 in gas and 22 hours of driving time. This blows. Sorry for the rant. Had to let it out
I'm about ready to give up on this. What is up with Ducati owners not being able to keep the rubber side down? 
