Purchased a 2nd Hand Engine off eBay but Seller Sent a Faulty One, Now I Have to Pay 2x Labour Costs.

Wakety-Wack on 10/10/2017 - 20:12
Last edited 11/10/2017 - 09:30 by 1 other user

Hello :)

I recently purchased a 2nd hand engine from a seller on ebay.
It was listed as condition: Used “Good second hand, in working condition.” and "This engine is in good condition, workshop tested working order before removal."

The engine arrived and I had the mechanic remove my current dead engine and replace it.

However, I received a call from the mechanic explaining the engine was not running good at all and was undriveable. He asked for the sellers phone number and gave them a call. He said they were not very helpful and just said "our engines can sit on the floor for years and we dont know."

I have contacted the seller and they have sent a replacement which should arrive in a week or so.

My problem is, I now have to pay labor costs for an engine removal and installation for a second time as well as charges for more oils, coolants ect.

As the Item did not match the description of the one I paid for being “Good second hand, in working condition.” I asked the seller to pay for the extra costs incurred due to them sending me a faulty item, but only got a response of "thats how all second hand engines are you only get warranty for engine not for labour".

So i asked ebay, who replied with "its up to the sellers discretion".

Does anyone know if I am entitled to the extra costs being covered by the seller for their error? and how I would go about it?
It just doesn't seem fair that I have to pay twice the labor costs for an item they sent that didn't match the description of the one I paid for.

Any assistance would be much appreciated,
Thank you.

Automotive

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 10/10/2017 - 20:15
    +3

    Not assistance, advice. Unless you’re driving a 1950s Ferrari, if your car needs a heart transplant, let it go. It’s not worth the hassle. Buy a new car next time.

    • whooah1979 on 10/10/2017 - 20:29
      -1

      Unless you’re driving a 1950s Ferrari

      it looks like a v6 commodore from smithfield.

  • oscargamer on 10/10/2017 - 20:42
    +5

    caveat emptor

    if you know what that means

    • Wakety-Wack on 10/10/2017 - 20:57
      +2

      Thank you, however item was interstate.
      I thought I could trust a big ebay seller to be true with their item condition/description.

      • oscargamer on 10/10/2017 - 22:21

        you were wrong

        next life lesson?

        • Wakety-Wack on 10/10/2017 - 22:54
          +2

          The item came with a warranty and money back guarantee…

          Information asymmetry

          If you know what that means

  • spackbace on 10/10/2017 - 20:42
    +4

    Nope, seller isn't responsible for the labour to install it.

    Was it that hard to source an engine from a local wreckers, or did you chase down the absolute cheapest option?

    • Wakety-Wack on 10/10/2017 - 20:55

      I just thought as the item was described differently to what was sent, incurring extra charges that could have been avoided given the correct item was sent initially.

      Yes I tried over 10 wreckers in my state and none had the correct engine in stock. So I had to order interstate with a large delivery cost, so no not the absolute cheapest.

      • Kenb0 on 10/10/2017 - 22:20
        +2

        They will never be responsible for consequential costs as a result of a faulty item. Even if you had bought the engine brand new from the factory, gave it to your mechanic to install, and it turned out to be faulty after it was installed, the seller will only replace the engine. They won't be paying for your mechanic's labour costs

        If however you asked the factory to source and replace the engine on your car, and the first engine they sourced and installed was faulty, then they would absorb the labour cost to remove and reinstall a working one as they're responsible for the whole replacement

  • aussieprepper on 10/10/2017 - 20:43
    +2

    My mate had a blown gearbox on his 94 civic and we bought a reco gearbox from Tempe Tokyo years ago now. It had issues changing gears we changed the solenoids and it didn't help and changed the oil again nothing still. So we asked Tempe Tokyo they said they would get us another gear box and will send the car to the gearbox mechanics to be changed so we dont have to pay double. This was a reco so it may be different. It is your sellers fault because they said the engine was tested and working and you bought it in working order. If you can make them pay may be a different story. Any way you can get the new engine and make a PayPal claim?

    • Wakety-Wack on 10/10/2017 - 21:01

      It sounds like your mates seller was much more cooperative :)

      Thank you, I will look into a pay-pal claim once it arrives and is fitted and hopefully works this time. But I think the seller may still have to approve it on their end?

  • chumlee on 10/10/2017 - 20:49

    You could go through small claims tribunal but you need written report stating why engine was undriveable etc.

    Will cost you more than the labour

    • Wakety-Wack on 10/10/2017 - 21:03

      Thank you, could the mechanic provide this report?

      Why is that? I thought the fees were only $10 for <$5k claims?

      • chumlee on 10/10/2017 - 21:10
        +1

        You most likely will have to pay the mechanic for a detailed report as you need to cover all your bases.

        What if the ebay seller says your mechanic could have damaged the engine when installing it? You need to remove any doubt

        • Wakety-Wack on 10/10/2017 - 21:12

          Thanks for your advice chumlee, much appreciated!

  • MITM on 10/10/2017 - 20:50
    +5

    Should've got your mechanic to source the engine and pay him the premium price to save all this hassle. False economy.

    • Wakety-Wack on 10/10/2017 - 21:16

      Good point, I guess I've learnt the hard way :(

      I just expected the "Good second hand, in working condition" item to be Good second hand, in working condition.

      • Elppa8 on 10/10/2017 - 21:52
        +1

        It’s all in the wording. “Working order” doesn’t describe the engine condition. I would rather see “second hand, in good working condition”.

  • dcep on 11/10/2017 - 11:54

    geezz , your mech is either dumb or dodgy

    your mech should know better if the engine is going to run, before putting it into your car
    the seller's "working order/tested" could just be a compression test.

    and never plonk in an un-recond engine
    you could have paid a small price to reco the engine when it's not in yet.
    much cheaper/easy to open open up, check & recond, when it was out.

    • Wakety-Wack on 12/10/2017 - 18:52

      Thanks for the advice! :)

  • godofpizza on 11/10/2017 - 12:40
    +1

    what type of engine would have forced you to source it interstate? was it for a rare car? did you go to a generic mechanic? he/she should have checked before installing the engine.

    • Wakety-Wack on 12/10/2017 - 18:55

      After doing a heap of research I found it had to be the exact model engine code as the one I had.

      None of the ones I contacted in my state had this engine code in stock. all though they had a heap of others for my model of car, they didn't match.

      • spackbace on 13/10/2017 - 01:35
        +1

        What car?

        • godofpizza on 13/10/2017 - 11:00

          OP doesn't want to be identified as must be the only car in the state, fair enough

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join