Car part went bad after 6 months

[taypell-28]

I bought an alternator back in October and it went bad. Now i'm having problems getting a refund from the seller after contacting them. The ebay help articles are not helping and the start a refund feature is not working due to it being older than 90 calendar days. It states clearly on the product info that there is a 1 year warranty on the item. How can I talk to someone at ebay about assisting with the refund? 

[lakefor94]

@taypell-28 

eBay has a 30 day Money Back Guarantee,  end of story there. It don't matter what the seller advertised. 30 days from the delivery date, not a day more.

You can contact the seller and if they will not help go to your payment source which was hopefully PayPal or a Credit Card and see if they can help you.

[taypell-28]

Thats a bummer because I've bought other car parts from ebay before and the sellers normally are very helpful and understanding, I guess this one is not one of them. I find the seller not honoring the manufactures warranty or at not willing to deal with it a little crazy. Thank you for the information and the advice.

[ebooksdiva]

eBay's Money Back Guarantee is for 30 days post receipt of the item.

PayPal and most credit cards offer up to 180 days to open a chargeback or payment dispute for defective or not as described, but the window of opportunity may have closed there as well.

Sorry, but it appears you are out of luck.

[stainlessenginecovers]

A 'warranty' for a vehicle part is typically NOT going to give you any money back- they will 'test' the item when you ship it back (shipping back would be on YOUR dime) and if bad, they send you a replacement. Same as most any Auto Parts Retailer (and they test it because MANY times it is NOT the part, but another issue (electrically) with the car.

Many times its the wiring of your car GOING to the Alternator. Alternators have 2 parts that 'go bad', the 'brushes' (become 'short' over years and don't touch anymore) or the Voltage Regular (if internal)

Alternators typically either have integral (built in) voltage regulators or external separate voltage regulators. Which type is yours?

Have you had it checked?

Could also be the battery.

Have you checked the voltage?

Did you have the alternator checked by a local mechanic/auto parts retailer? (they will 'check' it for free)

[dryophelia]

@taypell-28 

Here is the eBay Help page about offering warranties. 

[taypell-28]

I did take it to an auto store and had them test it and the battery. It tested bad and because of that I've already bought a new one and had it installed because the issue happened while on a road trip. Needed to get home some how haha. The part that seemed to fail was the pulley where the belt attaches. Not sure if it was a bearing or what caused the problem but the mechanic made sure to show me where the fault was. 

[taypell-28]

Guess you get what you pay for with a $100 alternator. 

[taypell-28]

Thanks i'll take a look at that link. 

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@taypell-28 wrote:

I did take it to an auto store and had them test it and the battery. It tested bad and because of that I've already bought a new one and had it installed because the issue happened while on a road trip. Needed to get home some how haha. The part that seemed to fail was the pulley where the belt attaches. Not sure if it was a bearing or what caused the problem but the mechanic made sure to show me where the fault was. 

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and like I said, nobody is giving you $$ back on a 'warranty' regardless of the 'reason'. If you bought it at Trak Auto or Orielly's or anywhere similar, and had the same issue 6 months later, even though they have a Lifetime warranty, they will ONLY give you 'another one' and NOT refund your $$. 

[kensgiftshop]

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@taypell-28 wrote:

Thats a bummer because I've bought other car parts from ebay before and the sellers normally are very helpful and understanding, I guess this one is not one of them. I find the seller not honoring the manufactures warranty or at not willing to deal with it a little crazy. Thank you for the information and the advice.

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If it was a manufacture warranty, you have to contact the manufacture.

If it was from a China seller, you would have to ship the item back to China, which would cost more then the item.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

When I buy electrical, electronic or mechanical items on Ebay, I assume the warranty does not exist. It often does not, even on "NEW" name brand items.

Obviously, I only buy when the price is low enough that a DOA warranty is acceptable.

As every poster seems to point out, the Ebay MBG ends at 30 days.

Recent posts on this forum have also pointed out that the aftermarket warranties sold on this site are sometimes not being honored.

[1786davycrockett]

@taypell-28 

"Guess you get what you pay for with a $100 alternator. "

That price should have sent off alarm bells for you.

Was this alternator yet another wonderful product manufactured in China?