Martin S.

with Wheels America in Buena Park. They straighten and refinish the wheel, inside and out to new condition, for about $130 + or -. UPS the wheel to them…let them do their magic. They'll send it back in 24 hours, good as new and they pay the return freight.

Wheels America
6430 Dale Ave.,
Buena Park CA 90621
714.670.0150

TheBen

Update #2 - after a long discussion, the seller offered me $50 which I am rejecting. I don't think we will see eye to eye on this one, and I'd rather he keep the $50 if he feels so steadfast he didn't do anything wrong.

If the seller wants to respond, and tell his side of the story, he is obviously welcome to as a member of this forum.

Martin - Wheel Enhancement, a well respected shop, said the wheel is too damaged to be straightened. They have no horse in this race, and aren't selling me another wheel.

goofballdeluxe

Wow, that's pretty ****ty.

Seller lies about not only the type of wheel, but also the condition, and then refuses to honor his word.

I guess his reputation is worth $50. Sounds about right.

timothymoffat

Sorry to hear the response. I could understand being unaware if a wheel or two weren't PERFECTLY straight but there seems to be a fair bit of misrepresentation from the seller.

TheBen

Not even close to being straight, Tim.

Both the seller and myself think we're both in the right. Obviously an untenable situation, and I've decided to reject his offer (since upped to $75). Truth be told, even the partial refund I was asking for would not have made me whole. If the seller had sold the wheels "as-is" we would not be having this conversation, but the truth of the matter is they were sold as "straight and not bent".

I have decided not to "out" him however if he wishes to tell his side of the story he can. I don't want to do anything that would make someone violate their principles, nor do I want to violate mine.

Oh well...another life lesson learned.

Todynot

I think it's time to name the perp.

goofballdeluxe

If he thinks he's right, why is he offering you some money? And why does the amount keep going up?

I understand your reasons, but by keeping him anonymous, he suffers no consequence for this shady behavior, and will do this again to another buyer....

AOW162435

Yep.



Andreas

TheBen

I left word at Wheel Enhancement. I want to get the wheel on the machine again, and make a short video of the wheel spinning noticeably out of round on their machine so there is more context than just words on a forum page. I was not in the frame of mind to do so this morning, but should have.

The seller has offered to give me $100 refund, however with the caveat that I post pics of the wheel here, and the 'rash mark'. He says "...see what the first 3 people respond...if majority say its bent and unfixable...you keep the 100. otherwise i ask you to refund me the money but i will leave that up to you..."

However this has never been about the rash mark, just the unexpected and unrepairable bend. So, everyone sit tight, and I'll get that video (either Wheel Enhancement will send it to me, or I'll go down and video it myself), and I'll upload it here, and the seller can respond at the same time.

NYC993

In seller's defense, it's very possible not to know that one rim is bent until you take it to the shop. Maybe he knew maybe he didn't. Definitely easy not to know that one is hollow spoke and one isn't.

But you took the risk in buying used rims without being able to inspect them. Did you ask him to take them to a shop to verify that they were not bent? Did you ask for part numbers? Did you ask for weight for the rims? That's basic due diligence like a PPI and looking at maintenance records.

If the seller is a decent guy, he should let you ship wheels back at your expense and refund you your money.

Todynot

I don't think one needs to look up part numbers to know if it's hollow vs solid wheel. Look at the backside of the spoke and if it's smooth, it's hollow; if it has a groove, it's solid.

When I sell used goods I tend to under promise and over deliver. Usually results in happy ending.

NYC993

Then it should have been obvious from the pictures to the buyer.

People buy stuff online without seeing and expect it to as described according to their standard. When I order 30 LEDs from China on ebay, I expect half of them not working. So when only one doesn't work, I'm happy.

Mark in Baltimore

Definitely give the seller a chance to correct the issues. Sending a bent rim when he said it was straight is wrong, but he may not have known it was straight. The onus of responsibility lies with the seller to make sure that any claims are true; it would have been better for the seller to have said that he's not 100% certain it's straight than to assert that it's not bent. Clearly, the seller was wrong with his statement.

Who the hell cares if the hollow spoke sent you is more valuable? The bottom line is that you received something different than what you bought. If he accidentally sent you a full-size McLaren GTR, then I think you can make yourself whole. Maybe you wanted solid spokes because you perceive them to be sturdier and more reliable.

No way should the buyer have to pay for shipping back to the seller. No way. The buyer appears to have done nothing wrong; why should he have to pay for anything to make this right? I also maintain that the seller should refund all or at least half of the shipping costs back to the buyer for aggravation in having to deal with this cluster. The buyer now has to find a lone wheel and pay for shipping on that item, the time lost notwithstanding.

If the seller doesn't remedy the issues, then, please, let the board know who he is. All too often, creeps, freaks, charlatans and weirdos are allowed to reside here because people are too afraid of conflict to say anything. This community and the inherent trust that is part of it can only be made safe if members make others aware of who is trustworthy and who is to be avoided.

Underpromise and overdeliver. Rennlister John H. lives by this credo, as do many others here. If you're not sure, don't make a statement that implies that you are. Having smooth transactions can be very easy for sellers if they are forthright.

AOW162435

This is gold.



Andreas

ForceReconTrojan

If you paid by PayPal you have recourse and can get all of your money back sans shipping.