Hey guys, I recently purchased a driver side 89+ tail light off another forum member. He listed the tail light as excellent condition. To make a long story short, I paid $100 bucks for it since I thought it was in good shape. When i got the package, I discovered a few things that is not so kosher.

#1 There are fine scratches all over it
#2 There is a spot of paint on the reverse light
#3 The seal around the tail light is missing a chunk
#4 There is condensation inside the taillight
#5 On one corner of the tail light, the whole plastic is missing, probably got dropped or something

Do you think you can classify that as in excellent condition? Should I go back to him or what? I did email him when I received the package 3 weeks ago, but guess what. No reply......

 

Take a picture and email it too him (photo evidence). Either ask for a refund or undo the transaction (ie get your money back).

-- vaughnc

 

ok, i will take it off tomorrow. thanks. I might post it here too just so more people can judge for it

 

I'd say that's not in "excellent" condition

 

hi *****, this is Tom Mak. I am emailing you again regarding the tail light I bought from you. After sitting here for 2 weeks, I finally got a chance to take a close look at it. The item is not sold as you described (it is not in excellent condition). Here are the problems

Small ones.

#1 The rubber gasket seal around the tail light is missing a chunk
#2 There is a spot of blue paint right on the reverse light mark, but that is not too big, just a drop of paint
#3 There are a lot of fine scratches around the light

Since I bought this used, I dont really care for those. But here are the big problems

#1 There is a chunk missing on the lower left side of the tail light. What i mean by a chunk is not just the gasket, the whole piece of plastic is missing. Size is about 3x1 inches. I can take a picture of that

#2 THere are condensation inside the tail light that I cant get rid of. So now the whole light is all foggy when you view it from a certain angle.

When I bought this, I was looking to buy one in excellent condition. I didnt expect a chunk missing or condensation all over the light. I can take pictures of the tail light for you to prove it. I am just emailing you to see if I can get a refund for it. If so, I will send it back to you tomorrow. If you dont want to do that, maybe you can sell this piece to me for cheaper than $100 dollars. I mean for 100, I was really expecting something better than this one. I will pay for half of your shipping cost if you take this back. I am usually not a person that will return stuff, but this light is kind of beat. I really just want some of my money back. Let me know what you want to do. Thanks

Tom

That's what I wrote him, what do you guys think? Fair? I am just trying to get some of my money back, if not all. I really feel like I got squeezed on this one

 

thats almost not even average condition...

Excellent condition should be not a scratch, not a crack, not a flaw...

Only difference between excellent and new should be that the piece was mounted.

Too many people are selling stuff on Ebay doin the same thing...

I bought a headlight assembly last month that the guy (who is one of the bigger ebay sellers) anyway he claimed was in good condition, but the top panel of the light was very dented.

Sucks to get ripped off

 

Well, being a longtime seller of rx-7 parts myself(hello, Tom) I need to chime in here.

I think some of you guys need to be more realistic when looking to purchase used parts. There is a reason theyre called used parts...duh. IF they were new, then you'd be paying 400% or more of the used value.

All of the parts for our cars are MINIMUM 11 model years old, 91 being the last model year they were made. That means that theyre gonna have imperfections. OF course, there's gonne be dirt or scratches on something unless it sat in a garage all its life, in which case you wouldnt have the opportunity to buy parts form it.

The best advice I can give is to ask questions adn get pics up front. Ask for pics of any area you might think could conceal damage or imperfections. IN this case, I provided the following pic:
http://hypntyz.rx7life.com/newparts/DSCF0013.JPG

Granted, there propbably is some condensation inside the lens Many of the tails, as well as FTPs, are showing this with their age. Probably some surface scratching as well, from washing and cleaning, etc. I still dont think $100 shipped is unreasonable for this light. After expenses(paypal's fee plus shipping) I came out with right under $90 for the light. nNot very unreasonable to me, since I see used sets going on ebay and thepartstrader.com for $250+. And guess what, theyre 11 years old too, probably condensated and surface scratched too. You can always buy new ones form mazda for $425 each...and have a bad day the first time you run the carwash brush across your taillights and ruin the new shiny finish.

Again, these are not new parts...theyve been in the sun, wind, rain, snow, dirt, and carwash brush for 11+ years. Common sense. Unless your neighbor Joe parts out his mint one owner, garage kept, 20k original mile 91 turbo II, youre not gonna get a perfect used part...it aint gona happen.

Say I decide I need new brake calipers for my 87 t2. Common sense leads me to believe that since my car was 14 model years old and failed, and any replacement parts I can get used will be a minimum of 11 model years old, I can conclude that any parts I might buy used, regardless of what the seller might say, could carry defects or develop them soon thereafter. IF I wanted a guaranteed perfect part, Id go buy new parts, and Id pay the price for that guarantee of new-ness. I know its different for cosmetic parts, but you guys should get the idea.

With all that said, I have offered Tom a full refund upon return of the light. I also offered to accept any offer he might request for a partial refund with him keeping the light. Even though I know its perfectly fine for me to use, I dont like having people be able to run around yelling that I did them wrong, so Im willing to do what it takes to resolve the situation. Even though Tom decided to post this publicly before the issue could be resolved might I add, which is something that I wouldnt have done in case that seller found out before I got my refund. BUt Im not like that, so here I am.

Like I told him, Ill take the tail(if he wants to return it), find a cheap pass. side matching unit, and use them on my project 87 t2. Even though its not new, Im willing to bet it'll still get compliments once its done. BUt, Im just the kinda guy who's realistic enough to know im not gonna find a perfect set of tails, or anything else used, so Ill use what's at hand. IF I wanted that perfect set, I could shell out the $950 that mazda asks.

You guys hold a different opinion of things, am I being unreasonable here or fair?

 

See the scuff mark and the missing chunk i am talking about

 

hypntyz7,

Chill bub - we're not upset here

Just be sure to take good pics for future ebay auctions and acurately portrary what your selling.

On the ratings scale, I think:
- new (still in the box never used)
- immaculate (near flawless)
- excellent (no visible damage, very little fadding, used)
- good (slight wear, still in great shape)
- average (minor scratches, fading, discoloration)
- fair (no external damage, but very fadded, lots of scratches, dings, etc..)
- poor (damaged but usuable or restorable)

Note I believe you can both refinish these lights or order a replacement front surface (remove using a heat)gun).

-- vaughnc

 

TMak26B, You're very lucky that you're dealing with Hypntyz7. If you had purchased that light from most anybody else on eBay you would be either out 100 dollars or have to make due. While I agree with you that the light isn't in "excellent" condition I think you should have immediately contacted him like the day you got the package. Anyone else would have used the fact that you waited 2 weeks to complain against you.

 

Yeah I've done that before too. Left it in the box for 2 weeks and then realized it was damaged after finally opening it (doh!).

 

How can you consider something half the area of your fingernail a chunk. I'd think chip would be a slighly better description.

Let's see the rest of the assembly.

 

Neither am I, I just think from time to time its good to have a bit of a reality check. You wouldnt belive the number of emails I get every day from buyers wishing to find, brand new, mint condition rx-7 parts for little of nothing. IS there a source for new parts Im not aware of, or are these people just not thinking before they speak? Hell, I get 5 emails a week asking for the traingle dash vents. Why, on god's earth, would you dare try to use a 11+ year old piece of plastic, and pay to ship it, when you could buy a brand new one for nearly the same price as you could ever find a used one?



I dont auction much on ebay truthfully. I usually deal direct person to person. I answer any and all questions a buyer might have to the best of my ability, and when requested I take pics. IF you ask to see pics of X section of Y part, then I take closeups of that particular section. But only when asked. I even have my personal phone number listed on my parts webpage in case potential buyers would rather talk to a person.

AnywayI hope the deal has been resolved properly. I refunded part of Tom's payment today as he requested. Actually he asked for a $25 refund and I sent $30 just to be extra fair.

Thanks for the vote of confidence

 

I've purchased many times with hypntyz7, and I plan on doing so in the future, sure some things I get won't be *exactly* as described, but damn he sure does do a good job at describing what I will be getting to the best of his abilities! Btw, find any halfshafts?

 

SonicRat,
I have one NA halfshaft, pm me for price.

 

Oh, I was talking to hyp, he's looking for some T2 halfshafts for me

 

Sorry, man....just trying to save you some money with shipping, but it's the wrong part anyway.
Hyp is gonna be a busy man here in a couple of weeks. As soon as my tax return check gets here, he's building me a SP. The IRS is very willing to take money out of your check, but when it comes time to get it back to you, they take their sweet old time. I was supposed to have it directly deposited, but they screwed up my account number and it was deposited into another account . I called the bank and thankfully the account was not a legitimate account, so the money was sent back to IRS and now they have to send a check to me in the mail. Dammit, I wish they'd hurry up.

 

Likewise, I'll be ordering like mad when I get my return! $700 woohoo!

 

Hey, I need a pair of triangle dash vents...