Warning to anyone looking at buying a rebuilt transmission

[97White'nSilver]

I just wanted to share my experience and warn others so that they don't lose money to this scammer. To start, I am having a shop swap my old, slipping e4od for a rebuilt zf 5. I had originally purchased a donor truck to have the trans rebuilt but with both cases being cracked I was forced to buy another transmission so I began shopping. I found a seller on ebay with perfect feedback and the best price so I called him, got an invoice and purchased the transmission. It was shipped quickly and arrived on time, but I quickly found out how it was shipped out so fast. My shop called me and let me know that the transmission didn't look rebuilt to them and that there was rust and sludge visible through the top of the transmission. I immediately called the seller and told him what I had been told. He flat out said that was impossible and that the sludge could be from the fact that they test each transmission in a shop truck and reuse the transmission oil between tests. I asked about whether or not he would send a new rebuild if there was rut and he said they would not do that and that I could make a warranty claim but I would pay shipping. I went to my transmission shop to see for myself and it was worse than I imagined, with sludge on the shift forks that was too thick/hardened to scratch off with my fingernail and surface rust on every visible gear. The rust was thick enough to be raised off the gear in one large spot and the fluid in the transmission was dark grey with a metallic sheen like there was metal particles in it. My shop guy said that he sees this a lot and thinks that this was a junkyard transmission with the case cleaned and repainted. Needless to say I'm offended that the seller told me to put it in the truck at all knowing the condition of the trans and I wanted to get the word out since for some reason ebay won't let me leave feedback on the seller's page because I bought it through an emailed invoice and paypal so there's not a transaction on my ebay account. The seller's name on ebay is hogg789 and here's a link to the transmission I purchased http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-GAS-OR...ash=item4afb0af183:g:MsMAAOSw0e9UtIMY&vxp=mtr

I have some pics of the transmission but the photobucket link isn't uploading but here's a direct link to the pics on my photobucket
http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/d...oads/20160603_154425_zpsxm93lu0u.jpg.html?o=2

 

[m_j]

so you circumvented ebay to buy direct?
PayPal dispute the charges
and next time dont rip off ebay

 

[97White'nSilver]

so you circumvented ebay to buy direct?
PayPal dispute the charges
and next time dont rip off ebay

Didn't realize ebay took a cut, the seller did it that way cause the listing is for a 2wd transmission with a core and I didn't have a core and needed a 4wd. And yeah it should be easy to get the main part back but I'll be out the 400 for shipping.

 

[m_j]

I think its 3% for a perfect rated seler and goes up a lot if they have any negatives

 

[Lt.Dan]

That sucks, i had a similar problem with my e4od thats in my truck, mine was slipping and really rough going into gears, so with 340,000 miles on it, i decided to replace it. Well a friend of a friend was parting his 96 f250 out, and he tells me the trans "only has 4-5000 miles on it, with a fresh rebuild, and new TC." So i jumped on it for $800. Only to crack open the pan and the magnet be full of shavings and the fluid was dark... Looked like it had 40-50,000 miles on it, not 4-5000... I was SOL, and ended up just praying that it was okay and put it in anyways. Ive put 10,000 miles on it so far, and its still holding up. But there will always be people out there trying to screw over others for a few bucks...

 

[Zmann]

0 negatives on the sellers rating


doesn't seem like somthing he would do ?

 

[97White'nSilver]

0 negatives on the sellers rating


doesn't seem like somthing he would do ?

Which is why I felt comfortable buying through him. He seemed like a good guy over the phone too but actions speak louder than words. Also gotta wonder how many others he has circumvented ebay while selling to who couldn't leave negative feedback either.

 

[97White'nSilver]

That sucks, i had a similar problem with my e4od thats in my truck, mine was slipping and really rough going into gears, so with 340,000 miles on it, i decided to replace it. Well a friend of a friend was parting his 96 f250 out, and he tells me the trans "only has 4-5000 miles on it, with a fresh rebuild, and new TC." So i jumped on it for $800. Only to crack open the pan and the magnet be full of shavings and the fluid was dark... Looked like it had 40-50,000 miles on it, not 4-5000... I was SOL, and ended up just praying that it was okay and put it in anyways. Ive put 10,000 miles on it so far, and its still holding up. But there will always be people out there trying to screw over others for a few bucks...

So did your friend know the Trans was bad or was it a bad rebuild from the start?

 

[old man dave]

If you bought the trans through ebay then there is the ebay guarantee where if its defective or not as advertised, ebay makes the seller pay for the return shipping and refund the cost of the item. Go to the bid auction and check off the ebay guarantee. This links to and starts ebay's buyer guarantee process. If the vendor doesn't respond then ebay will take further action.

I just went through this process for an item listed as a new OBS fan clutch and it turned out to be for a SD.

If you bypassed ebay then contact paypal and and contest the transaction. Neither ebay or PayPal likes vendors who rip off buyers. This works if you did it as a buying transaction and did not send the money as a gift to save the transaction fee. If he had you do it as a gift then you are out of luck. Do this as soon as possible since there is a time limitation for contesting a transaction.

Ebay says to never bypass the ebay bid process with a side deal because then they can not guarantee the deal. Never bypass ebay. An honest vendor will work with you and post another ebay auction with the item you want. This protects you with eBay's buyers protection plan.

PayPal generally refunds your money and then goes after the vendor. Fairly painless for the buyer, not so much for the vendor especially if its a bad buyer.

Been there and done that. Good Luck.

 

[97White'nSilver]

That's really nice to know about ebay but yes I did buy through PayPal as a transaction not a gift and am currently disputing through PayPal. Fingers crossed it'll be an easy process.

 

[old man dave]

The important thing is to strictly follow all time limits set by PayPal for any required actions.

Take pictures of the problems and have it crated so you can send it back when PayPal says.

 

[97White'nSilver]

Figured I should update this, PayPal is taking care of the refund so I'll be shipping it back and only have to pay return shipping out of pocket so I'm glad I went through PayPal in the end.

 

[old man dave]

For the cut that paypal and ebay takes, they add safety to the deal.

I once sold something online through a ford forum ad for $300. Buyer then cancelled check, didn't answer his phone and fortunately the forum owner was able to intervene (after much struggle) to get me my money after six months. Turned out the guy sold the rare Ford part for a $1000 on ebay and still tried to screw me.