Ebay debaucle

So as you may remember, I posted last week about Tom and his motorcycle. He found this Goldwing on Ebay, and he won it. He paid the deposit, and on Sunday morning I took him to the airport to fly to Boston to pick it up and drive it home. We arrived at the Newport News airport at 5:50 am. He checked right in with ease, and he arrived at Logan early at 8:09 am. Here is where everything takes a turn for the worst.

The guy who owns the motorcycle lives 45 minutes from the airport, but he had agreed to pick Tom up and take him to the bike. Tom agreed to give him gas money and a few bucks extra for that inconvenience. No problem. He arrived, and they drove to the bike. It was NOT as described. He had said that it "runs great" and had "no leaks" (and I quote) When Tom started the bike it immediately had an exhaust leak, and it was missing on at least one cylinder. Not good. Tom refused to take the bike as it was. He suggested that the guy have these items fixed, and then he would buy it. The guy refused. Tom could not drive it home in that condition even if he were to buy it.

They negotiated back and forth and finally reached an agreement. The guy would return Tom's deposit of $500 (which he had refused up until then) and Tom agreed to not leave negative feedback on Ebay. When Tom bid on the bike, the guy's feedback was 100% positive. However, after they agreed on the money, the guy refused to take Tom to the airport.

Tom called a cab to take him to the train station. He waited for 2 and a half hours for a train. It was Sunday, and they do not run as frequently on the weekend I suppose. He changed trains 3 times and finally arrived at the airport. He was shuffled back and forth between counters, and he never was able to get a flight home despite three and a half hours of line waiting. He spent the night in Logan. He refused to spend anymore money for the hotel room.

When I talked to him, he said that he had to go. He had to find a comfortable chair before they were all taken. The last thing I heard Sunday night from him was a brief text message which said, "I've taken to drinking with Yankees." If you know Tom, you can understand the significance of this message.

His return flight the next day was delayed twice. And of course, what would an airline stay be without being selected for additional screening. When I picked him up at 2 Monday afternoon, he hardly even spoke. Hope his bike dependency is cured!