deeman101

iTrader: (34)

In early August I was searching for a RR IX front bumper for my evo. I posted a WTB at the time looking for factory RR or just any IX front bumper that can be resprayed. I stipulated it must be in great condition. I am a complete stickler for things being "proper" on my car, not just looks ok but IS the way it should be.

I got a PM from vipevo9. He said his friend has a IX RR bumper that was in "real nice shape". He wanted $550 shipped which I thought was completely reasonable. I was hesitating on using greyhound but in the end he convinced me it would be fine. All the PM's are listed below.

I paypal'ed him in mid-Aug, waited for the bumper to come which came in early September. I picked it up and immediately I noticed there were some paint scratches on the edges and the grill was missing on one of the intercooler holes. The fact that the bumper had these flaws was not that big a deal, but the fact that he neglected to tell me though annoyed me. I sent him a PM but no response. I left the bumper in my storage with the shipping plastic still on it since I was too busy to go into it.


I did not get a chance to install it until a couple weekends later. By now its end of September / early October. As soon as I took the plastic off I saw the mad orange peel. The bumper had been resprayed, and this is the first I'm finding out about it. The paint is also flaking off, especially from the places it was sprayed too thick. Then I started noticing the self-tapping screws holding the edges of the lip on, the missing tabs for the splash shield and under shield, the right fender mount being some ghetto tab from home depot but also the fact that the actual plastic in that area was split and wouldn't hold the bumper up properly. Worst of all is the license plate bracket, which had the regular 3 OEM holes to mount it already drilled into the bumper....but for some reason or another the previous owner decided to completely disregard that and directly screw 2 self-tapping screws right into the bumper instead. And since I live in a place that doesn't need a front plate....those 2 self-tapped holes (in addition to the 3 OEM ones) are just nasty to have on your front bumper. In summary the bumper was at best in fair shape, nowhere near "good" and he really should've told me about it earlier.

I contacted the seller and asked for half my money back considering how dishonest this whole deal was. The bumper is a 10ft+ bumper, you wouldn't want to put it on your car unless it was a ****box to start with. I thought I was being very reasonable with that since shipping it back was not really going to help me or him at this point. I could sell it locally to someone that doesn't mind these flaws and make back the rest. But he refused to do that and said its been 2 months, insinuating I could have damaged the bumper and want him to pay for it. He instead offered some gauges that he would ship at no-charge, which I had zero interest in considering I was lied to on the first transaction. The last thing I need is a set of potentially useless gauges that may be knock-offs or whatever else that I personally wouldn't put on my car anyways.


At this point I know I don't have much recourse cause I went past the paypal 45day limit. Ironically I always pay the 3% pp fees so I can dispute if needed, but this time I was just too slow in filing the dispute. So this is more of a public service announcement to other members on this board about vipevo9. I bought from him once before (a evoIX head) which had a lot of broken parts but I didn't care since I only wanted the core. He was very shady back then too, but this time the damage to this bumper was clearly not because of shipping, and he just blatantly failed to disclose the damage.

Below are all the PMs we exchanged as proof of what exactly was communicated.

deeman101

iTrader: (34)

Here are some of the many pics I have:


One of many brackets missing. This one secures the grill.



Self tapping screws that looked so ugly I took them out. Broken tab on the lip itself.



More self-tapping screws, including a little divot where it looks like a self-tapping screw was about to be started.



The self-tapping screw really messed up the bumper.



The paint is literally flaking off....and seeing as this looks like basecoat and clearcoat mixed together was it spray can paint??



Bottom tab completely missing. Middle tab actually cracked and the crack is extending to the outwardly visible part of the bumper. That top tab attaching to the fender is actually cracked through and through. I can't actually tighten the bolt. Its just kind of loosely snug.

golgo13

iTrader: (134)

PM sent to seller.

gsrboi80

iTrader: (38)

It'll cost close to what you paid for it at a body shop to get all of that repaired

Minus the broken tabs of course

Thats a 200 bumper IMO

markspd6

iTrader: (23)

Buying this kinda item used is a total nightmare, I would have skipped this deal based on the poor license plate holder placement, it's a solid inch too low.. Looks like the pic he sent, wasn't really gonna reveal all the flaws.. Good luck on this

vipevo9

iTrader: (23)

First of all you are trying to make the bumper look bad by taking it apart , the paint on the bumper was actually really good,so why don't you post a pic of that and not the parts you took apart. It's been over 2 months and now you trying to make a dispute, who the hell doesn't open a package and leti it sit in wrapping for that long. How do I know you didn't break any tabs when you were putting it on, even Paypal won't do anything because they give you 45 days to make a claim ,after 45 days its the buyers problem because they didn't inspect it.so it shouldn't be my problem, I have sold a lot of things and have a great rating,with no complaints and allways work with buyers if I have too.but this is way out of hand trying to make a claim after 2 months.

Blue91lx

iTrader: (44)

Seller:

I don't see how time has anything to do with the situation, other than the Paypal aspect. Dishonesty doesn't become okay if someone doesn't notice it for two months.

OP:

I feel your pain. Repaint, self tappers, broken brackets. I bet you wouldn't even have thought twice about purchasing it had he mentioned those things from the get go.


Hope the issue gets resolved.

deeman101

iTrader: (34)

Vipevo9, I still have one recourse that I am choosing not to exercise if you just own up to the fact that this is a ****ty bumper you sold me and reach a settlement with me. Otherwise I can have visa issue a chargeback at any time to paypal as long as its been at least 30days since purchase (thats why I always pay through my visa even on paypal). You will lose every cent you got from me and paypal cannot protect you from it....they can only fight a chargeback if I was a scammer that a) got the item but claimed I didn't get it and issued a chargeback, or b) I intentionally make the purchase but falsely claim it was credit card fraud. For some reason I am choosing not to be a jackass and do that because it would leave you pennyless for this bumper that is actually worth something at the end of the day....not $0. If you still think I'm scamming you......

I asked you $275 of the $550 back to split the losses on both sides.

BTW orange peel is very hard to take a pic of. I took 2 months because I was busy...not busy breaking the bumper, just busy with things like life/career/family. And I have sold way more things on here than you with a better itrader rating for the people that even bothered to leave itrader feedback. That argument just doesn't fly.

deeman101

iTrader: (34)

Yea I learned my lesson. I'm actually replacing this POS with an OEM one from mitsu after the winter. If he told me any one random tab was broken that would've have ended it. I hate ghetto fixing that kind of stuff.

Iowa999

iTrader: (1)

Do you know the rules that apply to chargebacks? Maybe they are different in Canada, but for disputes about the quality of the item, as opposed to mere non-delivery or refused delivery, the FCBA has some specific requirements for the buyer.

edit: I am not taking sides at all; I am merely pointing out that getting a chargeback when the item was ordered and was received is a bit more complicated than implied above

ikt

iTrader: (18)

I'd second that, in fact that's a spot on assessment. Buyer offering $275 is quite generous I thought.

As for being $1000 from the dealer...okay well they're about a third that price, all day long, from collision supply places

OP: is that a wellnut (license plate holder) just shot over with red paint? They didn't even take it off?

If you're handy with a scotch pad, I can send you a can of actual car paint, in that red, to spray it yourself. It's not awesome, but it's cheap.

deeman101

iTrader: (34)

Yup. A lot of places was just sprayed over like that. Apparently the 15sec to take it off was just too much. Its alright I don't think this bumper is worth keeping given all the cracks and other damage. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing with it, maybe sell it locally to a lancer kid looking to do an evo bodykit. They are not so discerning on quality if the price is right.