Need help with this..I was sold a scooter that was previously stolen

[Rbates21]

Hey everyone,
I'm new to this forum, and what better way to start things off than with tales of woe. Firstly, I had my 2008 zuma stolen outside of one of my college buildings just last week. No word on it yet.

Now onto the second...
About a month ago I had purchased a black 2008 zuma from a guy in Greenville SC. It has over 9,000 miles on it, and my father had picked it up (not knowing anything about scooters). When I got it, I noticed how f***ed up every part of the bike was, from the plastic to the engine. It struggles to go 25 mph. I finally got to taking it around to my local scooter shop, and they told me it would cost 500 to 1000 buckaroos to fix it!

This whole time I couldn't help but think the bike had been stolen, as the ring around the ignition was missing, and it came with a single silver key, missing the black tip. The guy we bought it from told us a "friend" had borrowed the scooter for longer than he expected.

Obviously I am pissed because this guy ripped me off big time, and we call him today, and he admitted that it had been stolen and recovered. Not once did he mention this when he was selling it to my father.

Could anyone lead me in the right direction of what to do about this? We are going to file a claim against this guy to get our money back, on the grounds that he lied during the sale, knowing full well it had been stolen and trashed. He just wanted to make some money off of it.

PLEASE PLEASE help me out.

Thanks,
Steve

[j~scoot]

I can't really think of anything you should be doing that you aren't already. That is really messed up though.

I don't know what possesses these people that steal scooters. At the shop the other day there was a guy that brought in his scooter that had been recovered. It had like glued on carpet to seal a hole in the intake and glue in the reeds. It had pedals from a bike welded on. I'm not sure why stealing something automatically means you have to trash it. Criminals like nice things too right? no?

Good luck with all of that and let us know how it turns out.

[topographer]

When you do get your scooter woes figured out I would suggest getting a big chain and lock for your scoot. Personally I got the kryptonite "new york forget about it", the chain is heavy duty and shaped like an octagon making impossible to cut with bolt cutters. I never leave my scooter alone without chaining the rear wheel to something unmovable.:army: