? about new 18" wheels

[VX Grrrl]

Hello All. I am new here (just got my VX last month) and need some advice on something. I just got some new 18" wheels off of Ebay. They arrived yesterday and 3 out of the 4 all have gouge marks. The marks are about 1/4" long and the metal is exposed. The marks are on the outside of the rim on the front, towards the edge. Each wheel has 2 or 3 of these marks. I'm wondering if this can be easily fixed? Someone suggested just getting silver touch-up paint to cover these areas. I'm concerned that the wheels could possibly rust at these spots. What do you think? :wtfb2:

You can take a look at the wheels at this link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7938247834&rd=1

Per the description, these wheels are new so therefore I was expecting them to be perfect like the picture. The seller has fairly good feedback and so I figured that if something was wrong with the wheels, he would disclose the information. Apparently I was wrong. If I had a digital camera, I would post pics of the marks to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. I don't know what would've made these marks, but there is no way that the marks occurred during shipment. I noticed there was one auction since mine for the same wheels and the seller stated that those were the last set that he would be selling.

I would hate to send them back since the seller does state that shipping is not refundable and there is a restocking fee of $35 per wheel. And if it's true that he won't be selling any more, I'd might as well keep them. The only reason I'm replacing the original chrome wheels is because the chrome is flaking and the wheels are corroding to the extent that they are making the tires lose air. Unfortunately, none of the original warranty applies (4th owner, 62K) and the warranty that I bought does not cover wheels (of course!). :sadg:

Any comments or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!!!

Tonia

[morgan-tec]

If the true quality of the product was not clearly stated or shown in pics then he is responisiable for the selling fraud. Contact him and ask if he will do anything. If not then take it up with ebay or if you paid through paypal then use your buyer protection through them. Theyre shown and advertised as new perfect wheels so i would go after his *****.

[VCrossfan]

Hey Tonia: I agree with Morgan and don't let the seller push you around. Below is a sentence I copied from the link of the auction you gave us.

YOU ARE BIDDING ON 4 NEW ORIGINAL ISUZU WHEELS.

I would let the seller know these are not new (most likely new vehicle takeoffs which means they have been mounted w/tires so that blows the new info the add had) and the damage might be from a poor tire dismount or wheel weights knocked off at dismount.... Steve

[Cobrajet]

I just had my Scorpions swapped over to a set of VX wheels that I bought from OE Wheels a couple months ago. They were in perfect condition when I got them, and I double checked when I got them back today. You may have gotten the rotten apples at their bottom of their VX wheel barrel. Although I was not happy with their shipping service (no tracking ID and wheels were sent signature-required so I had to take a day off work to receive them) I was happy with the condition of the wheels. They look like they are brand-new. There is no sign of previous use (i.e take-offs), and the chrome is perfect. Have you talked to them about replacing the wheels?

[VX Grrrl]

Cobrajet -

I'm glad to hear that your wheels are in great shape. I was lucky to not have to take a day off work to get the wheels but surprised I was able to get them at all since they had the wrong street address on the packages. I have a feeling it was done on purpose. The jerk was probably hoping that they'd get sent back to him and he could blame it on me and I'd be out my $120 shipping and then have to pay the $35 per wheel for "restocking". I just don't trust him now that I've seen these wheels and read some of his negative feedback; he seems a little shady. He has mostly positive feedback, but seems to turn things around and lie about the situation when he receives negative feedback from someone. He blames wheel damage on either UPS or the buyer and doesn't accept responsibility.

I received the wheels last Wednesday (the 22nd) and called during their business hours on Thursday (the 23rd) and left a message since no one answered. Still haven't received a call back. I have a feeling he won't be able to replace them since the auction after mine stated that those wheels were the last set. See this link to see what I'm talking about: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7940922827&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

He also mentioned in that particular auction that the wheels had some dings (no mention of that in MY auction, however). Perhaps I should be happy that I was able to get them for such a low price.... but I'm still pissed. :frowng:

[drdavidr4u]

Hi there!
If I could chime in and say you should leave him negative feedback for sure...there is too much of this going on in Ebay!

If you end up keeping them you need to find a way to seal those exposed edges created by the scratch so the road salts dont start eating away there and into under the chrome finish! I had my original rims replace due to the typical flaking chrome finish that seems to plague these rims!
Best of luck,
Dave

[newthings]

I am going to do power coat clear on the inside only, before I put on my new stock wheels. I just don't trust that new wheels are any better than the old peelers.
Roy

[NJVX]

Hi,

The fact that he said they were new wheels is what would piss me off. And I would most definitely contact Ebay about the problem. Don't settle for something you are not happy about. There are wheels for the VX for sale on Ebay all the time. See what Ebay has to say about the matter. They may be able to point you in the right direction as how to approach this deadbeat seller....Good Luck..

Dean

[SGT.BATGUANO]

I bought a set of painted from him. They were perfect, until I had tires mounted on them, which marred the wheels where the tire machine clamps the wheel (good shops have machines or installers who can mount a tire without damaging your wheels). If yours have identical marks on the inside and the packages have no damage, they probably had tires mounted on them, which makes them used, though possibly never mounted on a vehicle. You should go after him for at least a partial refund if you want to keep the wheels.

[VX Grrrl]

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for all of your responses. I finally got a reply from the seller and here's what he had to say:

"We are sorry. We had extra help during this month for the added holiday crunch. We had two auctions, one for a nicked set and a clean set. Shipping sent the wrong set out to you and the other customer. We have no more of these wheels. We were just selling them for our cost so that we did not have to move them to our new warehouse. We can either give you a $50 refund or we can pick up the wheels and when they arrive back here we can do a full refund. Just let us know what you would prefer."

Ugh....it's just my luck! I am glad that the seller is actually accepting responsibility. But I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do. I'll keep you posted.

:thanx:

[Tone]

I would bet those marks are from wheel weights that should never be used on chrome rims except on the inside edges of the wheels. Stick on weights are typically used on inside the wheel as close to the outer edge as they can.