buying a second hand dryer on tori(.)fi

[Piet]

Hi guys 'n gals,

Just wanted to share my experience of today..with buying from a regular Finn.

My partner has been nagging for a dryer for some time now and was thinking of getting a new one...which is quite expensive, even for someone that does not care for money that much (me )

So I thought to be smart and get a second hand one in good condition, from tori piste fi. I saw a good looking BOSCH on the website and asked my partner to call the guy (better Finnish )

Upon asking the guy told the machine was about 4 years old and was getting a new one after a bathroom renovation so this one would be sold. He wanted to have 120€ for it, so not that much for a 4 year old one.

So I went to get it and then I should have noticed already that there was something fishy about this... he did not give his name and only the apartment main address, he told me to call him when I was there....hm I wonder why...

So when I arrived, he already brought the machine downstairs and plugged it into the wall socket in the hallway to show it was in working condition. The machine looked in the dim light real neat and tidy and it got warm so..I thought it would be a good buy (I normally check first everything) and because I was in a hurry to get back home, I paid the guy and left with the machine.

!!#¤&¤%&#¤"&&"%¤&@€ !! When I brought the machine inside, my partner immediately told me it smelled nicotine..Damn...then I checked the filter and it read 20/05/2002
so 10 years more age than told before the buy and never ever changed the filter of the machine... I checked the model and serial number on the internet (which I did not know before I bought it) and found out it was sold between 2002 and 2003 in Germany and the Netherlands and until 2004 in Finland.

So of course it is my own mistake, how dumb could I have been not to check this

So what now? well...I guess I have to take it apart all the way and clean everything.

Guess what I just did the past 6 hours.... and I am only half way, tomorrow the top part with the drum and control module... all other bottom parts are cleaned now... damn what a mess builds up in there... and I also found the reason for the strong nicotine / cigarette stench.
Someone had repaired or serviced it before (screws were missing) and did this while smoking and dropped a lot of ashes from his/her cigarette at the inside of the cold airflow duct, probably while emptying the water pump reservoir ... no wonder it smelled that much...

So I guess I will be more careful next time..and think twice about buying a 2nd hand dryer... (besides the fire hazard risk with those machines when they are neglected)

The bright side.. soon I will have a dryer that is almost cleaner than when it comes from the factory checked all moving parts and play of the engine.. all in mint condition (now) and lubricated.

Of course it will need some trick with vinegar as well (cigarette smell does not leave that easy).

Summarized: I ( well everyone I think) should be suspicious when buying 2nd hand stuff from "trustworthy" Finns too ...(not only the Nigerian Princes screw you on-line )

[biscayne]

Yes - always be careful. S.O. is obsessed with that Boknas stuff (ok in the right type of house, imho does not suit our house), and has bought a fair bit of it second hand. Saw adds for another few pieces of it, went to see it with cash, he barely checked it which surprised me, as he is an engineer on the quasi autistic scale in terms of doing everything "right", hand over 300e and gets tiny 46kg me to lug it to the jeep..... It was Russians selling it, I felt it was dodgy, but he knows everything ....... Get home and I checked it against the other stuff, several differences. It might be "Borknas" which is similar. But the stuff looked like it had just been brought to that house, it didn't seem like it was their furniture at all, it was just packed into a small living room with heaps of other stuff- I reckon it was nicked, and she was just the go-between. Hate, hate, hate the feeling I have bought someone's hard earned things.

[Jukka Aho]

(not only the Nigerian Princes screw you on-line )

(Oh, I thought you said something about "Nigerian princess" and "screwing". Never mind. Carry on.)

[Piet]

(not only the Nigerian Princes screw you on-line )

(Oh, I thought you said something about "Nigerian princess" and "screwing". Never mind. Carry on.)

But seriously, I finished cleaning and rebuilding it and I sold it yesterday with a 55 euro profit. So things could be worse...

Just 55 euro for 8,5 hours of work (it was as clean as a operating room)...well at least it is better than having to throw it away and lose the 120 I already paid for it.. (yes I sold a 13 year old dryer for 175).

Guess who bought it? an Estonian family. Finnish people never react on my adds, not even on emails if I want to buy something... guess my last name in the email address tells them I am not Finnish by birth and that seems to be enough reason for them not to react at all....
Everything I sold online so far has been bought by a foreigner, so I welcome all immigrants...bigger market for me..

Oh and speaking of Estonians, I found out the guy I bought it from was not at all a Finn. I tracked his phone number and it seems he is an Estonian too and he just moved from Estonia to Finland in July. So he really was a big scammer... I guess he bought it in error too and quickly tried to sell it again... I fell for it....but at least I corrected the error and made someone very happy with a dryer that will probably work for another 15 years... (it had a new belt and the motor was running smoothly, no axle play at all, good bearings).. I totally refurbished it.. I dare to say that there has not been a same clean dryer for sale on Tori(.)fi for the last 20 years...