|
|
|
Has anyone had this on eBay parts they've bought?
I got a coil pack for my S-Type and it's broken within a year (it was brand new). Contacted the seller who is saying I need a letter from a mechanic saying what the problem is before they will replace it...what?
On closer inspection of their terms and conditions, it say that there is no warranty for parts unless fitted by a qualified mechanic.
Has anyone seen this before? Is it even legal to sell on terms like that?
It's only a £10 part but it irritates me...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You sayin ‘broken within a year’ I know it’s nothing to do with your actual question but I’d have thought they are quite within their rights to only give 6 or even 3 months warranty on a part like that, if they wish to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I reckon if you buy it on ebay you've just got to hope for the best, if you want a warranty you need to get the part from a main dealer or motorfactors
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have very low expectations of cheapo Cheap parts from eBay. I bought a front suspension arm kit for my BMW, for a ridiculously low price. The bushes didn't even make it a year before disintegrating, but what did I expect? Lemforder or Febi parts cost four times the price, and there's a reason for that. If their component failed I feel like I could contact the manufacturer directly and sort a replacement even if the seller was reluctant. At a tenner for a coilpack I think the fact that it worked out of the box is about all you can hope for. It's annoying for sure, but I'd just chalk it up to experience and buy branded in future where possible.
|
|
|
|
Phil H
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,448
Club RR Member Number: 133
|
|
|
At a tenner for a coilpack I think the fact that it worked out of the box is about all you can hope for. It's annoying for sure, but I'd just chalk it up to experience and buy branded in future where possible. Sometimes new parts from ECP don’t make it from their car park back home...a SAAB DI cassette being one.
|
|
|
|
fogey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,614
|
|
|
£10? Life's too short. learn and move on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OK, it seems my point has been missed entirely.
My question is not about the longevity of the part or what expectations one should have about that, but rather the imposition of rules regarding who can fit a part that affects it's warranty.
I hadn't seen such a thing before and thought others might have, or might want to be on the lookout when buying on eBay as it my appear on more expensive parts that you really wouldn't want to get stuck with.
The sellers ad prominently displays a "2 year warranty on all parts" message, but the stipulation about having no warranty at all if you fit it yourself is down in the T&Cs so it is easily missed.
|
|
|
|
vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,243
Club RR Member Number: 146
|
|
|
Depends on the location of the seller, and the contract, etc. There are distance selling regulations that apply to international sellers and warranties, etc. vary. Generally, if the part fails within 6 months you can expect to be able to return it for replacement or refund. More than that and it's down to the individual seller. However, it does vary depending on where the part was sold from and certain parts aren't covered due to their nature. In this instance, I would expect that since you're both outside of that 6 month period and you've fallen foul of their particular terms and conditions, you won't be getting anything back from them. Requesting you have proof from a professional garage to ensure the part was fitted correctly is annoying but perhaps understandable since they don't know if you're capable or hamfisted. For more information on consumer rights, the gov.uk site has some useful stuff to help you out: www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights and Citizens Advice is usually quite good at helping you decypher this sort of thing and point you in the right direction for future reference. Shame your £10 part didn't work out this time, hopefully it wasn't your only parts option and you can afford something a bit better to replace it with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I always look for the seller with a 'top rated' status on eBay. I scroll down to the contact details and make sure I'm buying from a business that seems legit (ie VAT no, Co Reg No). You can do this when there's hundreds of sellers selling what you need. However, you can't be so picky when buying something rare.
|
|
|
|
fogey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,614
|
|
|
OK, it seems my point has been missed entirely. My question is not about the longevity of the part or what expectations one should have about that, but rather the imposition of rules regarding who can fit a part that affects it's warranty. I hadn't seen such a thing before and thought others might have, or might want to be on the lookout when buying on eBay as it my appear on more expensive parts that you really wouldn't want to get stuck with. The sellers ad prominently displays a "2 year warranty on all parts" message, but the stipulation about having no warranty at all if you fit it yourself is down in the T&Cs so it is easily missed. OK then, to answer your question: yes I have come across this before. Is it reasonable? Well there are plenty of hamfisted amateur mechanics out there and some parts can be buggered quite easily if you don't know what you're doing so I can understand it to an extent.
|
|
Last Edit: Jul 2, 2019 20:37:04 GMT by fogey
|
|
|
stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,926
Club RR Member Number: 174
|
|
|
You can stick whatever conditions you want on a warranty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Any part bought on ebay should be treated as having no warranty at all. If you want quality parts with a proper warranty buy from a trusted motor-factors.
|
|
1988 Mercedes w124 superturbo diesel 508hp 1996 Mercedes s124 e300 diesel wagon 1990 BMW E30 V8 M60 powered! 1999 BMW E46 323ci project car
|
|
|
|
|
yes its very common, I'd say almost pretty standard for that kind of caveat on car part warranties.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The good thing about ebay is that you can pick your seller. As an example, I needed a pair of gas tailgate struts. £17 for a non-branded pair from Latvia, or £32 for Stabilus branded ones from a UK seller who provides a VAT invoice. I chose the UK seller in this case. With a paper invoice in my hand, I'd feel more confident about pursuing a warrantee claim.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hmm, I wonder who their intended buyers are then, given that almost no mechanic will fit parts supplied by the customer these days?
It just seems to me a little disingenuous to plaster the warranty on the ad when in most likely circumstances it's meaningless.
Still, as long as people are aware of it then I guess it's fine.
BTW this wasn't some back-street Eastern-Europe outfit, it's a London-based supplier with over 10k positive feedback.
|
|
|
|
ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,256
Club RR Member Number: 170
|
|
|
It seems you expected miracles for peanuts. Most buyers who go cheap on eBay, especially at sub £20, don't expect it to last. Think about it. For that £10: -It was posted (£2) -It was made (God knows for how little) -It's got some packaging it comes in that won't be free -There's the admin to list the thing. When you do a Value Stream Map (VSM) like that, what did you seriously expect for the cash? Apologies for being blunt, but I do see it all of the time, especially at work. Generally, it will also cost what you paid for the part to send it back. I do some off eBay more now, but I do also tend to go with half decent vendors. I see what you mean about the outfit. As for feedback, it can be bought . Christ, you can even buy 'Twitter Farms' to make yourself look popular . FWIW I'm a bit of a stickler for ignition systems and have been caught out before. Some stuff has failed for me which hasn't for others, but here is what has failed and what hasn't. Failed/IffyBosch : It worked fine to be fair did the HT leads but they were miles too long ; they were the correct P/N for the car too. Magnecor : I've had them go back on me twice; Once on the Mondeo and another time on the RST (It came with them). On the former, they were a pig to seat right, and that was out of the box, compared to genuine or BERU leads. On the latter, it had the same issue, which cost me a £100 Group A coil on it :/; it melted the terminal where the lead attached due to severe arcing. I think luckyseven had a similar issue on his FD RX-7 Intermotor : Tons and tons of examples. For an almost untraceable iffy idle, to rotor arms leaving me and friends stranded countless times. Oddly, the American Intermotor part I last got County : their coils IME tend to be fit for the bin once they see a bit of heat. DecentGenuine : It's pricey but I've never had an issue and I've done huge mileages on stock leads (as in post 100k). BERU : As above ; compared to Magnecor, the connectors are far far superior, with a real positivity to the 'click' of the lead Denso: Not quite as good as the above, but not miles away either. I'd buy them again . NGK : As per Denso. Bosch : Coils are pretty good, but I've heard they're not quite as good these days either Pertronix : The Merc system and other people who have similar setups have impressed me, especially the E-Core/Wax coils they do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It seems you expected miracles for peanuts. Most buyers who go cheap on eBay, especially at sub £20, don't expect it to last. Think about it. For that £10: -It was posted (£2) -It was made (God knows for how little) -It's got some packaging it comes in that won't be free -There's the admin to list the thing. When you do a Value Stream Map (VSM) like that, what did you seriously expect for the cash? Apologies for being blunt, but I do see it all of the time, especially at work. Generally, it will also cost what you paid for the part to send it back. I do some off eBay more now, but I do also tend to go with half decent vendors. I see what you mean about the outfit. As for feedback, it can be bought . Christ, you can even buy 'Twitter Farms' to make yourself look popular . FWIW I'm a bit of a stickler for ignition systems and have been caught out before. Some stuff has failed for me which hasn't for others, but here is what has failed and what hasn't. Failed/IffyBosch : It worked fine to be fair did the HT leads but they were miles too long ; they were the correct P/N for the car too. Magnecor : I've had them go back on me twice; Once on the Mondeo and another time on the RST (It came with them). On the former, they were a pig to seat right, and that was out of the box, compared to genuine or BERU leads. On the latter, it had the same issue, which cost me a £100 Group A coil on it :/; it melted the terminal where the lead attached due to severe arcing. I think luckyseven had a similar issue on his FD RX-7 Intermotor : Tons and tons of examples. For an almost untraceable iffy idle, to rotor arms leaving me and friends stranded countless times. Oddly, the American Intermotor part I last got County : their coils IME tend to be fit for the bin once they see a bit of heat. DecentGenuine : It's pricey but I've never had an issue and I've done huge mileages on stock leads (as in post 100k). BERU : As above ; compared to Magnecor, the connectors are far far superior, with a real positivity to the 'click' of the lead Denso: Not quite as good as the above, but not miles away either. I'd buy them again . NGK : As per Denso. Bosch : Coils are pretty good, but I've heard they're not quite as good these days either Pertronix : The Merc system and other people who have similar setups have impressed me, especially the E-Core/Wax coils they do. I agree with all you said, apart from £2.00 postage. I run a mail order motorcycle parts business. If you post 1st class (I ALWAYS do) & it won’t go though Royal Mail’s slot (approx 25mm) & lets be honest 99% of car parts won’t, no matter how light it is, then it’s £3.55. That is now the cheapest ‘none letter’ you can post anything 1st class
|
|
|
|
ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,256
Club RR Member Number: 170
|
|
|
I agree with all you said, apart from £2.00 postage. I run a mail order motorcycle parts business. If you post 1st class (I ALWAYS do) & it won’t go though Royal Mail’s slot (approx 25mm) & lets be honest 99% of car parts won’t, no matter how light it is, then it’s £3.55. That is now the cheapest ‘none letter’ you can post anything 1st class I agree with that. I put £2.00 for the Hermes users. I rarely use it now unless the part is a spares part or sturdy. I've seen them throw stuff over a gate without a care in the world. For me, that was an Escort RS Turbo fuse box cover. Not something that is exactly easily or cheaply available.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I would say some of the terms sellers might put on are due to buyers taking the absolute pee as much as some sellers .
I expect plenty of people buy stuff and get it dirty and send it back wanting a refund saying its unfitted etc .
Believe me , i work on the other end of stuff like that sometime and about 40 % of returns are people taking the pee . Damaging it and then saying it arrived like that , blowing things up because they cannot read simple wiring diagrams or trying to swap it for one they bought last year , not knowing it had a date code.
For £10 for a cheap part i would say thats good going . For coils , something that could leave me stranded i would have personally bought branded .
|
|
|
|