Nightmare buying parts on-line

mgdavid

arcon5 wrote: »

You purchase 'shop soiled' rubbish from two different sellers -- so it was probably fine and not soiled, just of poor quality.

<sigh>
you haven't read the thread properly; same actual item from a business at same address operating with two different identities.

east_yorkie

arcon5 wrote: »

You purchase 'shop soiled' rubbish from two different sellers -- so it was probably fine and not soiled, just of poor quality.

How was I to know the items were shop soiled/damaged? Both sellers showed a photo of a specific brand but sent an inferior one which were much worse then just poor quality.

As a rule I buy branded goods to ensure good quality for as the saying goes you only get what you pay for!

OddballJamie

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Just to say I have this week had the exact opposite.

On Monday I needed three 40amp blade fuses (similar to car fuses) for my inverter.

Halfords were £2.49 for two, plus fuel to get to me nearest branch £4 plus £1.50 parking.

Ebay - £1.31 for a pack of 10 post free. Ordered Monday, arrived Thursday.

You can't beat that.

I got a tub of fuses from Poundland about 5 years ago, still haven't used them all.

Jakg

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Just to say I have this week had the exact opposite.

On Monday I needed three 40amp blade fuses (similar to car fuses) for my inverter.

Halfords were £2.49 for two, plus fuel to get to me nearest branch £4 plus £1.50 parking.

Ebay - £1.31 for a pack of 10 post free. Ordered Monday, arrived Thursday.

You can't beat that.

But if you do need a fuse to get your cars xyz working again, Maplin - 40p!

poppasmurf_bewdley

Jakg wrote: »

But if you do need a fuse to get your cars xyz working again, Maplin - 40p!

Yes, but near me Maplins is next to Halfords, so I'd still have the same costs to get there. That makes the fuse very expensive.

Strider590

londonTiger wrote: »

ebay is the last place id buy parts from. They dont even name the brand!

Well, strictly speaking your not buying from Ebay.

When I order parts for my VX, I often find one of several very clever dealerships that are selling genuine VX parts online.
But saying that, my second from last air filter element was MUCH better than a genuine VX item, the element was covered in an alloy mesh to stop large objects tearing through the filter. It felt like a really well made item..... My current one is genuine VX (came boxed and sealed), has no such device and bends/flexes like you wouldn't believe.

Weird_Nev

I've had similar problems with online parts retailers;
Paid an extra £4 a shock for a pair of Bilstein rear shocks.
The large parts company shipped out cheap pattern parts instead.
I had to call them, they sent out the correct parts I'd ordered, but I then had to wait in for a courier to pick up the incorrect parts.

I bet they make a few quid off of people who can't be bothered to wait and just need the parts fitted and the car back on the road.

Buzby

I source all my parts on eBay. In the last 3 months I made 28 purchases, and only one was not as ordered. It might be the luck of the draw, but if I went to Halfords, I would have paid 800% more and that includes postage.

Hard-to-get parts are a life-saver, especially if it means the difference of scrapping and moving on. Thanks to eBay, this is no longer an issue.