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Dissapointed in a vendor

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BOXoROCKS

Jedi Knight
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I have been following the last two Ebay auctions of a TR vendor I have recomended to TR people who have asked me for a parts source.I assumed he was good because he knows TR's well.Altho he
did send a pitted chrome TR6 gas cap to a personal friend,
My question,I can see items in his auctions that are wrong and I am quite sure he knows it.As a matter of fact I brought up one very blatant discrepancy in his current TR3 auction and he didnt post it or even privatly email me back with an answer.Hey, it's his business, but should I keep refering him to people who ask me for a reputable supplier? Do you think the way he describes his cars reflects on his parts? This guy has been around for years,I cant believe he is dishonest. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
You know enough about TRs to write a book on them....I have seen your posts in the past. If the vendor is as knowledgable as you are, then there is no reason for him to deliberately enter something that is wrong. If there is incorrect information being entered, it may be because someone else is entering that information on his behalf, and maybe even handling the e-mail side of things for him.....he may not be aware! If you know him personally, a phone call may not go amiss?
 
DART is correct, if you have any hesitency don't recommend. Steve's got a good point to, a little gentle nudge might help save a good source.
 
Speaking of vendors, I just bought an Optima gel battery for my TR6 at Advanced Auto, for $129.00 + tax. A famous national LBC vendor has the same battery listed at close to $200.00 + shipping! Man, it pays to check around, even on generic parts. Even Triumph specific parts often have a rather large range. And they usually are the same part.
It would serve no purpose to go around naming names of British car parts vendors; just shop and compare, as Captain Kirk would say.....

Bill Karam
1976 TR6 RestoMod
Franklin, Louisiana
 
It's not just LBC's either - MUSTANG'S........the price changes for the VERY SAME PART!!!!!!!!!!!!!Lunacy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazyeyes.gifRandi
 
It doesn't sound like he should be recommended to anyone. His buyer "feedback" should reflect these problems and how frequently or severe they are too.

He may just be careless or sloppy.
 
Write a book? ha,if only I were that good.Couldn't write a book on TR's anyway,it would be mostly cuss words interspersed with little bits of knowledge.The vender is not a personal friend, just a fellow I have known about for years and kind of admired his collection and knowledge of stuff.Sometimes I think ethics in business has come to resemble lite beer, and still be considered beer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
OK, its clearly bugging me.The auction has just a few hours to go and he has answered a lot of questions but mine.The TR3 is represented as a barn find#4568331587 and an old resto that is mostly correct with possibly actual mileage.It clearly has a TR4 eng/trans in it.That was my question to him that that should be mentioned in the description.It still has not been addressed.I know he KNOWS.I will let the FAMOUS TRIPODS lights bit BS go.If I am wrong I will eat crow.Read his caveat,he claims to describe most of the important details,I guess eng/trans dont qualify.To those of you who hate my bitchin about Ebay,I promise to lay low for awhile.
 
Box,

I just realized who the vendor was.... I've purchased from him before. Yes, he should know better as long as he's been in the business.

I've always said: "What comes around, goes around". It may take a while, but it always does. He's lost my business for one.

You could always contact the bidders and warn them....
 
Yes, that is the sort of description you would expect on one of those "selling this for a friend, don't know anything about TRs" auctions.

At least the bidders (so far, 2 hours to go) seem to have their eyes open and not relying too much on the tale presented. Does "ground up restoration" have something to do with hamburger?
 
Re: Disappointed in a vendor

I agree that you shouldn't recommend the guy to anyone you know. I wouldn't buy from him based on this either. Just out of curiosity, is the fact that you have recommended him in the past the reason why you object so strongly to the representation in this ad. I've seen you object to others, but you seem especially unhappy about this one.

I'm no Triumph expert so I wouldn't have spotted the problems with this car - kudos to you for doing so - but I know it's not just me that feels that Ebay really does epitomise Caveat Emptor, and you can't believe a word anyone says on there.

I bought my 6 from an ad on Ebay, but wouldn't have bid unless I could have seen it in person. I'm not even sure that I'd trust a ppi without a buyback warranty - and you try finding one of those.

No one I know - and I have a couple of friends who are real Ebay junkies - trusts anything on the site. The fact that they don't bother to do anything about the scammers, let alone content, ought to be indicative of the interest that Ebay has in keeping things honest.

Are my friends and I all just cynics? Is it the proximity to NYC that makes us like this, or is this true nationwide?

btw: In my defence I don't trust used car dealers either /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
No need to lay low, Box...I get on my soapbox when I see stuff misrepresented on EBay too. I for one appreciate it when people point these situations out. When I saw who the vendor was I said to myself..."hmmmm." I've had 2 dealings with him...a speedo reset cable and a fuel tank (only vendor that had one). Both of mine went OK, but after seeing this I'll think twice before dealing with him again.
 
Reserve was met & car sold in final seconds... apparently to another eBay dealer. So we may see this one again. Will be interesting to see how it is presented next time.
 
I ordered some parts from this same vendor over the Internet a couple of months ago. About four or five business days later, I received a call from them that my credit card did not go through. I asked them to try again, and this time it worked, just as it had been working in every other place where I had used it. There was nothing wrong with my account.

I received the parts over a week later, with higher shipping costs than I had expected. With all of the other vendors who want my business and ship parts promptly, that was the last time that I will order from them.
 
Not to "defend" the seller per se, but I can't say as I see anything horribly misrepresented here, after looking at the pictures. Sure, the valve cover seems to indicate that the motor underneath could be TR4, but that's not exactly unusual. Nor is the bent shift lever that likely indicates the presence of a TR4 or later gearbox. And the tri-pod headlamps? Worst I can say about those is that they appear to be the relatively mediocre modern reproductions.

Otherwise, though, it certainly does look like a car that has sat for 15 years. Whether what happened to the car 15 years ago constituted anything like what most people would consider a full restoration, I don't know. It doesn't to me, based on what I can see.

I'm not now and never have been all that impressed with this particular seller. By comparison, though, I've seen hundreds of online auction and classified ad listings that make this one sound like the "good book"!
 
This ad from this "certain" vendor does not surprise me. I have heard some bad things about them.....

Does anybody remember, about a year ago, the tr250 that they triet to pass off as a tr5?
 
and then there is this one 4569288166 I know its an Mg but the description kinda ticks me off.

mark
 
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