Ebay Auto Parts

[just bob]

If you're a regular on here you'll know there are a lot of problems with some of the knives sold on Ebay. What you may not know is that the problem with auto parts is far worse. The check engine light came on for my truck. I had it coded and they said I needed a purge solenoid valve. I talked with my mechanic and he showed me where it went and said it was kind of a pita because the fender well had to be removed. $100 labor and he said I could save some $ if I bought the part on Ebay and then brought it to him to install. He said get an OEM part because they were better and would last as long as I had the truck. I did just that and came home did an Ebay search and brought one of several that were new, OEM, and in the USA. Curiously none of these came in the original packaging and were sold loose in a plastic bag. I couldn't tell by looking and thought they were fine. When I took it to the mechanic he laughed, he told me it wasn't OEM, but an aftermarket part that was defective. He showed me the OEM part number that was supposed to be on the part and the number on the part I ordered was different and he also showed me it wouldn't hold vacuum. His guess was this was made in China or Mexico, failed QC and was thrown in a hopper and sent to the good old USA to be passed off on unsavvy customers - like me. Good thing my mechanic caught it or else I would have paid to get this done twice. How can you sell something on Ebay as being OEM and new when it is used and aftermarket. In a court of law that would be called fraud on Ebay it is called business as usual. The seller had over 1500 positive feedbacks in the last month and about 75 negatives. Some of the negative comments were - selling used parts as new. I'm their latest sucker and soon to be the newest one to leave them negative feedback. Remember that warning ebay used to place on each auction listing - caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware. By all means do and don't trust ebay to weed out the problematic sellers. The aftermarket part was $22 and the right OEM part was $33. Really not worth the few dollars involved trying to save money. A gas cap or something that you can install yourself might be worth trying to save $ on, but if you're paying labor get the right thing the first time around and you'll be better off.

[rea1eye]

You are spot on. About 3 years ago I bought a part for my wife's SUV. The dealer wanted over
$100.00 to order and install the part. I saw on YouTube how to install the part- they made it
look so easy.

Well I did a lot of research on eBay and got the correct OEM part. The install however was
close to being abandoned. What they showed on YouTube was the removal of a part that
apparently was not rusted and heat destroyed ( usual wear and tear of the part).

Moral of the story it may not be as easy as you would think.

Bob

[XX Case XX]

Very sorry to hear of that. Hopefully you can get this ratified quickly and get your truck back in running order. That being said, as a general rule, there are certain things I won't buy on eBay.

I'm very selective about who I buy from and what I buy. So far, that strategy has served me well. Of the 900 or so items I've bought on eBay, I only had one issue. Needless to say, I never bought from that guy again.

There are reports of counterfeit items on Amazon as well. As with any on-line commerce though, there's always that chance you could have a bad experience now matter how careful you are.

Hope you get it all sorted out Bob. Thanks for letting us know of this experience.

__________
Mike

[just bob]

They gave me a 100% refund and told me I didn't have to send the part back. I could keep it. Guess they are trying to avoid more negative feedback. I just wish Ebay would clean up situations like this where a seller would have to use specific terms in selling items. New means in original factory packaging. OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer and not any part that will fit on your vehicle made by anyone. Huge difference in terms.

[fergusontd]

Having fairly new vechicals I always buy from my dealer, but in the past for my older cars I always bought from local parts stores. Morale of the story never buy on line, have part in hand before you pay. ftd

[Gunsil]

I have bought used auto parts on ebay, never had a problem with them. Bought some new auto parts also, never had a problem. I did not buy the cheapest part I saw, I know the really cheap stuff is generally low quality. I usually try to buy OEM parts being sold at a discount. I think the problem arises when folks see a price that is too good to be true and get suckered. The old saw "if a price is too good to be true it usually is" rings true here. You get what you pay for in most cases and often trying to save a few bucks with a cheaper part only ends up costing wasted time and money. Oh, I am a master mechanic (retired) and have also had to install crummy parts for customers who then complain when the cheap part they insisted on my using was defective and did not solve their problem. Ends up costing more when twice the labor is involved. Many think that a dealer supplied part which is more expensive than an aftermarket part has an inflated price just because that part comes from a dealer. There are many unseen differences in parts that may appear the same when on looks at them. Often parts made in China may look the same but the steel isn't as good as OEM parts. On electronic parts often the internal components are lower grade than OEM parts. For instance diodes are made in many qualities from ones that are used in throw-away items to those items that are made to last a lifetime. When you buy a cheap electronic part that part may be made with inferior transistors, capacitors, solenoids, diodes, etc. and may last far less longer than the same part built with top grade components.