TheBen

The Rennlist has been an absolutely wonderful community, I'm sure many, many of you will agree. I've made some virtual friends, as well as some ones in real life through the forums here. I've also bought and sold Porsche parts that were great experiences for the buyer and seller...until last week.

I was offered a set of 993 WB Turbo Twists that were represented to be solid spoke and straight and true, just needing refinishing. After some back and forth with the seller, we agreed on a price after he sent me some pictures. I would also agree to pay shipping, but he would dismount the tires which were of no use to me. Fine. No problem.

First problem - when I received the wheels, the rear was a hollow spoke rear. I spoke to the seller, and he said he didn't know anything about it, but congratulated me on getting a rare and valuable wheel that was worth more. Ummm, thanks, I guess.

Second problem - When I took the wheels to a well respected wheel shop, the other rear was bent badly. Out of round. Not able to be repaired. Its junk. I sent a mail to the seller. The hollowspoke is round but has some gouges in its lip. The ship was dubious about refinishing it. No word back yet, and I do wonder if he will respond.

I haven't name shamed the seller (yet) and am still hoping he will do the right thing, but what would you do in this situation?

Quadcammer

Well he is correct that the hollow spoke is much more desirable.

That said, it really comes down to the seller's description of the wheels. Not knowing its a hollow spoke is one thing, not disclosing bad gouges or noticeable bends is another. If he represented these wheels as in perfect condition, its a problem. If he described them as needing some work, I think you will eat it.

If you are really unhappy but there was no material misrepresentation, I think the seller should take the wheels back with shipping costs both ways on your dime.

TheBen

I asked him if they were straight and true and he said they were. I took him at his word, and I knew the faces needed refinishing going in.

The front wheels checked out OK so I suppose there is some salvation to be found in that, but looks like at least one rear is a complete loss.

TMc993

Shame on him if he misrepresented the goods.

Shame on you if you didn't insist on photos of the part numbers on the wheels and didn't confirm them against the seller's claims before making the deal.

Do you name-shame him? As Ron White once said, "I promised Sears I'd tell this story at every show I do until the lawsuit is settled." Just make sure you include all the facts.

goofballdeluxe

Well, that sucks, Ben.

Give the seller a chance to make things right.

If he doesn't, let his reputation be known here publicly, so that others will know he sells fraudulent goods. He may also have his membership revoked and permanently banned if he's not playing by the rules, so hopefully he/she will return your money and you can be done with this.

Sorry to hear this, buddy.

TheBen

He did include pictures (mostly of the faces and a "group" photo) and part numbers (but not of all the wheels). I'm sure now he must have known one of the rears was mismatched. Obviously one can't tell from the pictures that one of the wheels is out of round.

ZX9RCAM

subscribed

TheBen

Directly copied from my Rennlist PM from the seller's first message to me. A site moderator I suppose could check the veracity of this -

"Hi, saw your post from the guy selling the chrome 993 wheels. I have a set of solid spoke 993 18" turbo twist. Wheels are straight and not bent, but plenty of rashes and need to be refinished. let me know if you have any interest."

Wheel Enhancement, a respected wheel shop, says otherwise about his statement. Also, the fact one is a hollow spoke says otherwise too.

LexVan

Ben, you should edit your post above and delete the PM quote. We are not allowed to post PM's since they are private. I'd hate to see this cause you any problems with a Mod.

TheBen

i didn't put the name of the person, and I wanted people to see what the first communication was. If the mods want to delete it, they can of course do so, and I'll just paraphrase it. Or I could pull some text directly from an email the seller sent to me. Makes no difference IMO.

mpruden

To me, there is only one deciding issue - the bent wheel.

The question is... should the seller have known that the wheel was bent? If so, seller should make it right with a fast refund, return shipping, and a big old "I'm sorry, I should have known...". A little humbling for the seller, and out the cost of shipping, but not a big deal. Seems like a no brainer to me.

If not, (Wheel Enhancement should be able to answer this question) then honest mistake. Easy for me to say this, but I'd still refund as the seller even if an honest mistake. Seems to be within the spirit of the RL community.

For now, I'd be patient and transparent. Perhaps the seller just doesn't check email/PMs very often?

TheBen

I will keep you posted if he does of course.

AOW162435

Ben,
Sorry to hear this. The seller sounds like a charlatan - even Helen Keller can tell the difference between a solid spoke and a hollow spoke 993 wheel. He knowingly sold a mismatched set of wheels and hoped that the buyer was both blind and a double-arm amputee.

Shame on him.



Andreas

Cemoto

I recently had a similar experience.

Look at the wheels that are described as excellent . . .

https://rennlist.com/forums/for-sale...ing-475-a.html

I'm wondering if it is the same guy . . .

Best of luck!

I ended up getting a partial refund and then sold the junk wheels on CL and did just a little better than breaking even.

The guy I bought them from deleted his for sale post after shipping ... kinda sneaky, eh?

Regards,

.

TheBen

Thanks, Andreas.

It is hard to remember how many things I've sold or bought through Rennlist, but I've never had a problem before this one. I've sold some mufflers, an FD Motorsport 200 cell catalytic converter, some headlights, a wheel and airbag...

It would be great if Rennlist had some type of function like Ebay where users could get points for successful transactions.