Bad deal with Mike Gaines

[BIG-A]

Mike has responded tonight and states that he will consider my proposal for a partial refund, he stated that he would let me know with in 48 hours. I'll update with the outcome.

 

[Coronet 14]

Hope it works out for you

 

[Car Nut]

Hope you don't lose too much $$$$

 

[BIG-A]

Quick update, Mike messaged me last night and agreed to refund $150. This will at least get the heads ready to bolt on and then I can deal with the valve covers and intake. I talked to a local powder coat shop and explained the situation and he said he would help me out on cleaning up the valve covers and intake.

 

[lewtot184]

single rocker arms are available from summit.

 

[Bruzilla]

I don't know either party in this, but it seems to me this is a good case to review how we do business with one another, especially with used parts. The ad states the heads are ready to bolt on, not "ready to fulfill all your hopes and dreams". Also, the referenced posting refers to lower than expected performance results, not that the engine wouldn't run. The purpose of heads is to enable your engine to run, not get you through the 1/4 mile at a specific speed. In the legal world, there is a definition known as Intended Purpose, which means whatever a vendor sells must be able to fulfill it's intended purpose before a claim of fraud or misrepresentation can me sustained, and if the heads could be taken from the box, bolted to the engine, and the engine would run, I would say those heads met their intended purpose, and unless that rocker arm or that chip off the corner prevented the engine from running, then the seller is on firm ground.

This is exactly why I quit selling used parts this year and switched to trades only. You talk to a 100 car guys and say "well, you know, used parts are used, and they ain't like new parts, so they're gonna work but not be like new", and 100 guys will say "yeah, we know that!". But it seems like about 70% of them will get a used part and bitch because it's not new enough. Used usually means it's going to be functional, not functional and pretty, not functional and no imperfections, etc.

I saw this all the time when I was working at the Ford dealership. Someone brings in a used car to trade in and has a fit because they lose trade-in value because of every tiny scratch, ding, dent, tear, stain, and other imperfection and whine about how we're screwing them, but they don't see the buyer we're going to have to deal with who even though they are buying a used car they expect it to be like new and want to pay less because of every tiny scratch, ding, dent, tear, stain, and other imperfection they find. Little imperfections that owners stopped seeing or caring about months or years ago become major issues for new owners, and that's what I'm seeing in this case.

Worst part is I don't see any easy fix for this problem aside from what I did, which is stop selling used parts because it's not worth dealing with guys who want to pay for a used functional part but want something that is functional and meets all their expectations. We all want to help our fellow Mopar fanatics, but some things just aren't worth the hassle.

 

[Coyoteduster]

Hey BigA, if you would like, send me those valve covers and I'll make them shiny again.......no cost at all and i'll ship them back for free. You'll just need to pay for the ride to me. I'm here to help any way I can.

This is exactly why I love this hobby, you're a class act Bro!

 

[super-bee_ski]

Way to go 5.7hemi!


Way to go Mike Gaines!

 

[Budnicks]

Glad to hear you guys worked it out