[drainaudio]

Hi all,
Here's a fun dilemma / moral question for the weekend..

Bullets are my favourite wheels and I've kept an eye out for some without tyres for my S - wanted to come across a set that had been swapped out very early in the cars life, so not refurbed, a set of ex' cond orig factory finish wheels.

Finally found a set on eBay, "GENUINE BMW MINI BULLET ALLOY WHEELS. YOU ARE BIDDING ON A SET OF 4 WHEELS. THE WHEELS WERE ON THE CAR FOR 2 DAYS AND UPGRADED TO DIFFERENT ALLOYS. MINT CONDITION, LIKE NEW. 17s INCLUDING NUTS AND CENTRE CAPS. COLLECTION ONLY, NO POSTAGE. HAPPY BIDDING."

Pics looked great, asked a couple of questions to clarify the description, won the auction (they weren't exactly a bargain), paid (sensibly) using Pay Pal.
Go to pick them up this evening (2hr round trip) and there's a lovely Works S on the driveway so I'm immediately in "cool another Mini enthusiast" mode - I hope he's not a member of this forum.
Quickly looked at the wheels with a flashlight (it's dark outside), all the faces appear good, no kerbing etc as they should be.
Get them home however and into proper bright light and lo and behold they've obviously been refurbished, there's flaking paint in one wheel nut cavity showing the factory finish underneath and a couple of inner lip wheel weights that I didn't notice (so obviously balanced at some point post factory).

I'm normally so particular with this sort of stuff, I can't believe I didn't ask to view the wheels in proper light before I took them - then again I'd already paid for them.
It was the Works S..............and the stupid belief that 1 Mini owner would not try to screw another 1 over that put me off guard..

So where should I go with this?
I've already emailed the eBayer, making my displeasure quite clear and obviously I have "buyer protection" from Pay Pal.
The most annoying thing is that I've made the 2 hour trip to collect them and now I have a 2 hour round trip if I want to return them - obviously costing me money, hardly fair..

Cheers, Geoff...............soon to never be using eBay again..

[Paul]

It's not eBays fault you got ripped off? And at least, as you say, you have buyer protection, where else will you get that on 2nd hand wheels?

To be honest, as much as it's not your fault you were lied to, as you've already said picking something up in the dark is a risky business.

I'd call the guy up (if you have his number) so it's dealt with more quickly (you can ignore emails) and get them back, and get a full refund. If he argues, then you'll have to go via eBay buyer protection.

[drainaudio]

Hi,
Very true, it isn't Ebay's fault and certainly why I always pay with Pay Pal.

I emailed during the auction and asked for clarification that the wheels were only used for 2 days as per the auction description and therefore absolutely pristine, of course the answer was "yes".
Still, I should have insisted on seeing the wheels in an environment where a full inspection was possible.

Of course call the gent today and it's all f-this, f-that, "I work in the industry don't try and tell me those wheels have been refurbed you Muppet etc"........

So, Paypal dispute here we come..

Cheers, Geoff.

[Paul]

Have you got any photos of the areas you think are repaired? Not doubting you, but maybe sharing them will at least help you feel better/assured by the responses on here!?

[drainaudio]

Hi, I can see your point re the photo's, I've already started the proceedings with Pay Pal.

The wheels are 100% refurbished no doubt about it, in good light the signs are everywhere; adhesive where factory weights have been removed has fresh silver paint on it as does what's left of the factory weights, you can tell that the paint is obviously sprayed not powder coated, same thing with the wheel edge, when you look at it really closely you can see where the curbing has been filed out. Little bit of paint peel in one of the holes for the wheel nuts shows the very slightly darker original finish.

Ok, so they are good condition, 2nd hand wheels but they are not "as new" "only on the car for two days" which is what I bid on and specifically queried during the auction.
It will be interesting to see how PayPal view the situation particularly the seller’s instant reaction of hostility and abuse as opposed to attempting any sort of resolution.

At the end of the day I'll sell them on as good condition, refurbished wheels and loose a little money if I have to - it just really gets on my nerves dealing with people who obviously feel they have a right to screw other people over - it's just a sad, pointless state of affairs.

Cheers Geoff.

[drainaudio]

Hi,
Resolution on this, seller decided to change his attitude once he'd recieved the PayPal start of dispute email.
Returned the wheels for a full refund, he still wanted to "prove his point that they weren't refurbished".......... Strange how telling people you aren't interested in arguing is no reason to actually stop.

So, I learnt a couple of things:
1 - when silver paint is flaking off a wheel revealing a different shade of silver underneath it's actually laquer - funny, I always thought laquer was clear.

2 - the edge of an alloy wheel not being consistent and having a slight waviness to it is normal not a sign that curb damage has been filed out. Same with the lip of the wheel, BMW just randomly square off the rounded lip in the factory on some days.

I was proud of myself for returning the wheels, being very polite and nodding to all the bull I was being fed.
Almost lost it when I was told I obviously know nothing about wheels and he does because he works for the Ford Motor Company.......
Yeah mate - cleaning their toilets is what you do if you actually believe these wheels were factory finish

Oh well, resolved and once bitten twice shy, now will someone please buy a Mini with Bullets, immediately remove them and sell them to me

[oldnell]

Glad you got it resolved. My eBay wheels experience was significantly better and I got exactly the as new wheels that were described.

[Herbert Austin]

I'm glad you managed to get you money back, I didn't get any wheels after paying for them