Wrong descriptions of car parts on E-bay???

[Valvestem]

I was just wondering what you all do when confronted with a wrong description for a part which you may want to order for your car on E-bay?

Do you E-mail the seller VIA E-bay e-mail with what you know is the correct information about that part and ask why they are offering such a part as described in thier auction OR do you just assume that it is the correct part and likewise order hoping that you get what you want/ordered?

I am asking this because I see way too many auctions which have a general auction heading and description which leads us to believe that it might seem like it is the correct part for our application,,, but when you read through the whole auction description you find things which tell you that it "IS" the right part AND it also "IS NOT" the right part.?? ????

I am hoping that you all understand what I am asking and I would love to hear from all you E-bay people. Thanks. Valvestem

[heyitsmikey128]

Well the best bet would to definately email the seller. And it also depends on the part. If its a pretty universal part then ebay sellers usually put a certain car name the gets the most hits.

[carcenomy]

Keywording - it's a horrible trick that's employed on basically every auction site.

I'll use the example of a set of modular mag wheels - because they WILL fit multiple vehicles. The auction would read something like:

Modular wheels, 13x7, 4x113 stud pattern
Suit Corolla, Escort, Rotor, Oldschool, Rubber Chicken, Dr1ft0r, etc...

In reality yes, yes a 4x113 would fit a RWD Corolla, or an early Mk1/2/3 Escort, or an RX3. But I'd love to see modgies on a rubber chicken (yes someone actually DID use that as a keyword).

But the trouble starts when you're dealing with more specific components. Like the waterpump for a 4A-GE out of an AE86. It's a totally different pump to the AE82 onwards FWD setup, and is quite specific. But people keyword a special part like that as Corolla Drifter HachiRoku FXGT Levin Trueno Boyracer etc and that's simply retarded.

Just tread with caution when using online auction sites for specifics. Even a difference as small as NA6 Miata to NB6 Miata has a huge impact.

[zlyricist]

paypal wont help you if you get the item and it's not as described. i ordered a reman steering rack for my gt, and the description claimed it was for the turbo models only. it turned out it was for the non-turbo model. the seller wouldnt return any of my emails and then i filed a dispute. paypal wouldnt do anything for me because the item wasnt "significantly different"..........i'm like yea it is!

thats what sucks about ebay!

[heyitsmikey128]

wow not significantly difference. Thats like the WHOLE difference wow

[Valvestem]

To those who have posted this far,,>>> This is exactly what I am talking about. I look for brakes for our car(s) and I find information which is misleading and wrong. I say this because I have mazda workshop manuals which tell me what each of these vehicles have installed for each of the years in question. But the item description on some of these E-bay auctions with the parts which I am looking for ( they are vehicle specific ) are different and wrong.

I recently e-mailed a seller and told them that I have Mazda workshop manuals for the models/years for which that auction was being sold for. I said to them in that very e-mail that what they were advertising was wrong in thier auction on e-bay. (The auction was for rear brake rotors) The next day I received a reply from them telling me that the auction (and I quote) " was for vented rotors" and that was all they said/replied to me. What a bunch of bull!!! The models which they were describing in thier auction NEVER had vented rear rotors?!?! These people never even tried to take into consideration what I was telling them.

Has anyone els had a experience like this with our parts on e-bay?

I am sorry to hear that some of you have tried to claim on the wrong advertisment with items on e-bay and were just denied by e-bay because of what e-bay "THINKS". BAD,BAD,BAD on E-bay for doing this.

Sorry for going on a rant but it is completely wrong for sellers to mislead and/or just plain lie to the consumer because they either have no idea of what they are selling or are just plain money hungry/greedy shYt-heads and have no integrity/ethics/moral standards as a person. It just me off!!! Valvestem

[magik8]

The sellers simply don't care if they are advertising their parts wrong, they only really care about selling the stuff and getting it out the door. Remember you are getting most of these parts dirt cheap so you should know that with an auction site you're taking the chance they will show up wrong if you don't have a good picture. If this is unacceptable then spend the extra money and order the parts locally through a parts store or dealer who will back up what they sell. I doubt eBay staff has time to learn up on car parts and applications so you really gotta insist on pictures beforehand and know what you're getting. You should not trust or expect parts sellers on eBay to know all applications their parts are for, that is difficult and probably just asking too much given all of the makes and models and quirks regarding interchangability.

Now if the seller was showing a picture of the right part and shipping the wrong part I could see that as dishonest, but if there's no picture of what you want or the picture doesn't look like the right part it's really your responsibility to know that; you shouldn't expect eBay auto parts sellers to be experts on all parts applications and interchangability.