Selling a bike: can I safely allow people to test-ride it?

September 5, 2009 4:01 PM

Selling a bike: can I safely allow people to test-ride it?

(I could have sworn I've seen this question covered, but I couldn't find it.)

I'm planning to sell a bicycle, and potential buyers may want to take it for a spin. I assume I can protect myself by holding their driver's license or something, but do I have to worry about liability issues? Is it safe for me to allow them to take test rides?

posted by fermata to sports, hobbies, & recreation (5 comments total)

I work for a bike shop. We never make people sign waivers for test rides. The advice legal we've received is that it would be very difficult for someone who hurt themselves to successfully sue us, assuming that the bike is in working order. But, as you know, the lawsuits can be a real pain even if they are unlikely to succeed. So if you're worried, have a friend be there to witness you doing all your due diligence.
posted by randomstriker at 6:01 PM on September 5

geez...I managed to mangle almost every sentence there. that's what happens when you watch TV and surf at the same time.
posted by randomstriker at 6:02 PM on September 5

You're asking about legal issues, and IANAL, but consider that you may lose potential buyers if you do not permit test rides.
posted by d. z. wang at 1:22 AM on September 6

I had a friend who test rode a bike and the front fork broke!!! He didnt get hurt but man if he did... I dunno what he would have done.

Moral of this boring story? Make sure the bikes in good working order without and cracks / breaks.
posted by crewshell at 11:43 PM on September 6

Also, make sure you are holding something of value. There was a case of guy letting people hold his backpack, which turned out to be full of old clothes.
posted by mikepop at 6:33 AM on September 8