Complaint Review: STARK CYCLES

Sam and Theresa, 

Their ad on Craigslist:

2005 Raptor 660R
Call 858-578-8193
Low Hours
Color: White and Red
Torque Monster

Engine Type Single-Cylinder
Cylinders 1
Engine Stroke 4-Stroke
Valve Configuration SOHC
Displacement (cc/ci) 660 / 40.3
Carburetor

Come See It!

Went to buy a 2005 Yamaha 660 Raptor from this place. Photos posted on Craigslist made this quad look almost brand new. I spoke to Theresa and said I wanted to buy this quad for my wife's birthday. She said "great! The quad runs great, has no problems, and looks just like the photos." We said we'd like to come and buy it right away, but since it was already getting late and the lights on my trailer weren't working, we would come out in the morning. But she said she wasn't working tomorrow and that the price would be higher if we waited until then. So we spent a lot of time and effort trying to get our trailer lights working with no luck. We even purchased $60.00 worth of lights and harnesses so we could rig it up to come out before they closed, but those lights didn't work either. So we waited until morning and I called them again. I spoke to Sam. He said sure...that quad is really nice and it's still available. We then drove all the way out to Miramar from Imperial Beach. Theresa told me on the phone the night before that she wasn't working, but she was there. 

So we go and look at the quad and every one of the plastics has deep - I mean deep scratches in them - like someone dumped the quad over and over again. Then I check out the tires and they're all worn down. As I'm looking at the engine and frame, I notice a blue paper towel folded up and stuffed in the space above the engine and tank. So I pull it out and give it to Sam. Then shortly after that I see fuel leaking onto the spot where the paper towel was. When I asked Sam if it had a fuel leak, he said "Oh, no...that's just the pressure built up in the fuel system and when you don't shut the fuel petcock valve off it's designed to push fuel out of the overflow." What?? Like pouring out fuel over a hot engine? It's supposed to do that? I don't think so. These guys don't know anything about quads. Or they're just full of crap.   

The ad also says that the quad has very low hours, which is not true. If it had low hours the tread on the tires wouldn't be worn down as they are and the quad wouldn't be in such bad shape. It had obviously been layed over many times to create that many deep scratches in the plastics. Sam tells me that the previous owner took it out to Ocotillo Wells and that's why there were so many deep scratches in the plastics. My Raptor 660 is a 2004 and we take it to Ocotillo Wells all the time and even though I ride hard and crazy, I don't have any deep scratches on any of the plastics. 

I give an A+ to their photographer that took the photos for Craigslist though. He had the sunlight hit the bike just right as not to show any of the scratches whatsoever! And all the angles were perfect to make this quad "look" like it was brand spanking new in the photos. Either that or someone really knows how to use photo shop really well. The ad they posted didn't mention anything about any scratches, corrosion, or fuel leaks nor did Sam or Theresa mention ANYTHING about any of these things when I spoke to them numerous times on the phone.

I'm really pissed off that they would try to mislead us like that and didn't tell us the real state of the quad BEFORE we made the long drive to Miramar from Imperial Beach. That's just really bad business! And the worst part about it is that my wife didn't get her quad for her birthday. Beware of this company and their false, misleading ads.