DK Cycle Sold a non-working used electrical device to a non-English speaking friend of mine Miami Florida

I hope no one else buys from these guys!

On Saturday, Nov. 22, a non-English Hispanic speaking friend of mine calls me up and tells me his Daelim 49cc E-Five scooter just turned off on him while riding. He asked for my help. I hopped in my car and took some tools. When I got there I checked it for spark and it had none. I checked the coil and no voltage was reaching. So I told him let's take it to a scooter store 3 blocks away from where I live. A mechanic fumbled with it and said the CDI (a timing device for the spark) was bad. He said we don't sell it you will have to get it somewhere else. This great guy didn't charge anything.

So we went to my home and did some internet search. We found a place called DK Cycle in Miami Beach, FL. I called up to see if they were open and they said they close at 8:00 pm. They told me the price of the CDI would be $96.00 + tax. We went over to the beach but could not find any parking spaces. So I told my friend I would stop on the street in front of the store, he would get out and purchase the CDI. He goes inside and tells an employee in an arm brace that we recently called for a CDI. He goes to get it and comes with the device. He tells my friend it is $96 + tax but to leave it at $100. My friend pays $100 cash and walks out. After getting in the car I ask him where is the receipt. He says he was not given one. I asked him where is the box of the CDI. I didn't get one. I asked him is this a new or used CDI. He said he didn't know. I cautioned him next time he buys anything in this country in a store to get a receipt. I was already suspicious of the device since it appeared dusty, greasy black and definitely used.

So we went home and plugged in the CDI. NOTHING HAPPENED! The scooter would not start. I checked for spark and there was none. So we looked at the clock and saw we still had time to make another 10 mile trip to the beach and exchange the CDI. We went and this time I parked and got off with my friend. We approached the same employee and told him the CDI he sold my friend did nothing to start the scooter. I requested another one. He obliged. I noticed the second one he gave us was smaller but he said the size does not matter, only the pin configuration. So we left and got home. We plugged in this second CDI and this time the scooter started. But when my friend went out for a test ride, the scooter would not exceed 5 mph. What a disappointment! We saw that it was too late to return so we left it for the next day.

On Sunday, we go to the store and ask to speak to the owner. Out comes Kiko Sitbon. I tell him that we purchased this device, plugged it in, but the scooter only goes 5 mph. He said that something else is the problem. Perhaps you have water in the tank or your carburator is bad. I told him that was impossible since the scooter was running fine when it just died. I have been tinkering with mechanics since my teens and what he said did not make any sense. He told me it may not make any sense to you but that is the way it is. Then he said to bring the scooter in to the mechanic and give him one hour that he will have it fixed. I told him that was not probable since we live too far and were not about to rent a trailer hitch to transport the scooter. We told Kiko we will see what we are going to do and left. My friend really needs these wheels since it is the only method of transportation he has.

On Monday I had to drive my friend to work. While I ran a few errands in the morning I noticed on Flagler street there were other scooter stores opened. So I stopped in three stores and showed them the device that I needed. The first store said they were out of stock. The second store also said they were out of stock and to leave your phone # and they would call us as soon as they picked one up. The price would be $40. The third store was the farthest from home but they had three used CDI's in stock. I was excited and called my friend up and told him the good news.

On Tuesday I took my friend to the shop that had three CDI's. He held on to my car while I pulled him on his scooter. When we got there the mechanic plugged in the CDI and the scooter fired up. My friend went for a test spin while I waited and came back with the good news that the scooter reached its 35 mph. The mechanic informed us that the other CDI that was sold to us did not work because it was for a 4-stroke engine or it was defective. The Daelim is a 2-stroke. That made perfect sense. He also mentioned that the CDI we had now came from a Yamaha. We paid the $65 for the used CDI and we on our way. On our way to the beach to recover my friend's $100 for a used defective POS that was sold to him.

When we got to the beach Kiko came out calling me "engineer, engineer" because I had opened up the original CDI of the scooter (and shown it to Kiko) to see if I could repair any burned out resistor, capacitor, or diode but to no avail. I told him that the CDI he sold my friend was for a 4-stroke or defective. He said Daelim does not make a CDI for a 4-stroke and that there is no return for electrical parts. I told him that policy only applies to NEW electrical parts in good working order, not used parts that never work right from the beginning. I also told him that the part was also exchanged on the same day that we brought it back since the first one sold did not even start up the scooter. So if what Kiko said was true, the first CDI purchased would have never been exchanged. But that is not the case. I told him if he did not refund the money that I would personally sue him and serve as proxy to my friend. My friend and I left displeased.

To sum it up I am going to file a small claims in court. And because he provided no invoice or receipt I suspect he pockets the sales taxes and does not report any income taxes either. So I will also report him to the State Sales Tax and the IRS. I am going to keep you posted on what happens in court. My friend works too hard and struggles too much to be out of $100 from a scammer. I hope the judge will be sensitive on this matter and rule in my friends favor. I am taking this matter personally!

Max
Miami, Florida
U.S.A.