digitaldemigod

So I recently found out that the Tein springs I got off ebay were counterfeits. I paid $130 for them including shipping. My replacement real Teins just cost me like $160 with tax. So now I spent almost twice what I should have on the springs.

Before this even happened I got ripped on my wheels. Well, to be honest I did not pay for them in the first place, my father in law got my wheels and tires for me for christmas. But here's what happened: He buys from rimone.com (or maybe rim1.com i dunno). He's bought the wheels for his mini cooper there, the wheels for my wife's xb, and my wheels. Each time there was a problem. I don't know what they did wrong with the mini wheels, but the xb wheels, they sent the wrong centering rings and lugnuts.

Fast forward to my wheels... we put them on and thought "wow they didn't screw up this time" until like a week later when I noticed that one of the center caps of my wheels was a different color. 3 are black and one is grey. It bugged me... but i figured ok it's not that noticeable. Well then like a month later I was washing my car and really getting into some wheel care. I was at each wheel for like 30 minutes cleaning the hell out of them. After staring at each wheel so close I noticed that the one with the grey cap looked really different.

I have the motegi DP6 wheels in Hyperblack. The reason it took so long to notice how different that one wheel was is that they are so shiny that you'd think it was just reflection making it look different. Well after really looking at the wheels on the motegi site I noticed that the hyperblacks have black center cap and the silver wheels have the grey cap.

So my father in law calls the place and they say they'll ship a replacement and we can send the wrong on back (now this is like 4 months after buying them, but it was so hard to tell! now that I know it's like a sore thumb sticking out at me). Well we wait and wait and the wheel never shows. We call again and again, email again and again, and don't hear back. Finally like 2 months later the owner says he was on vacation and will look into it. Well it's been another 2 months and we've given up totally.

At least the wheel itself is fairly cheap... I found Amazon.com even sells it for like $120. I'm looking for someplace locally to get one though. I'm just getting pissed because I was planning to get a new exhaust and headers and this is seriously taking away from my funds.

exturbo6

iTrader: (7)

sorry to hear. dont buy from ebay. buy from the venders on here. and be a lil more careful. i wouldnt give up on the rim either. if they fuc(ked them up sending them, then get the right one. dont let them get away with crap like that. help yourself out and other poeple. ya know!

HondaKorn

iTrader: (18)

that sucks, but not all of ebay is bad.....just do your research.....I never buy high dollar items off ebay....especially rims.

digitaldemigod

The thing is I thought I did research the springs... the seller was a powerseller and had lots of good feedback. He had pictures of the springs and the box too. By the way, AtomicStreet was his name. Don't buy from him.

Rim1 sells on ebay too but I think my father in law usually calls them to order. I think they have an actual website too and are a legitimate business.

I'm probably not going to buy much off of ebay anymore. I mean, the springs should've been ok but they were counterfeit all the way down to the box they came in was also fake. When stuff like that is going on, there is no amount of research or care you can take to protect yourself when it's faked that professionaly.

I think the shop I found in Orlando, RZMotoring is going to be where I get my stuff from now on.

HondaKorn

iTrader: (18)

there was no way of getting around the springs....im in kissimmee and I think local shops are the way to go in terms of getting the actual product.....

gaugeof12

Did you contact your seller to get your $ back on the springs? Maybe (now granted this is a big maybe) they didnt know that they were selling the fakes. But regardless I would get my money back or turn them in to Tein.

Sick Cycle

this is why people should buy stuff from reputable shops/websites instead of unknown hole in the wall shops

oi2325

buy from online outlets, same product as what they sell at shops and most of the time a hell of a lot cheaper because of no tax

Civicman1988

iTrader: (24)

bro i hear you I have been getting ripped off. bought exhaust from eddieisaricer form this site still no exhaust and thats 3 weeks ago so i am making a claim with paypal.

stephenb80

welcome to the internet. if you dont want to take the chance, buy from stores or our good vendors here like dezod or truehonda.

djrabbi

iTrader: (16)

ohh eddie... hes a character isnt he???

drew22mader

iTrader: (9)

Hate to say it, but if you order from places not well known or don't have any reviews then it's hard to say what you'll get. People complain about buying fake stuff off ebay or w/e, but it's your own fault for buying it there, you take the risk each time. Just buy from a dealer and pay the extra $20 or w/e, you'll know they are real then and not have to worry about getting ripped. If the wheel is just $120 man just go buy it. I could see if they were $600 a piece.

SLO REX

iTrader: (19)

You can get your money back, you just have to contact the seller and tell him you know they are fake. I contacted Tein and let them know I recieved fake springs off Ebay and gave them all the infomation I knew and the Ebay company sent me my money back. Here is what mine looked like. The Ebay ad even said Authentic Tein springs, in the box everything that came with them looked legit. The paper work looked straight from the Tein factory. Here is a link to the thread. http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...in+fraud+alert

digitaldemigod

Yeah those are the same fake teins I got. I actually found out they were fake when I saw the post on this site. I looked at the tein warning page and saw that everything matched up.

I remember when I got them seeing the tein sticker on the springs and thinking that was weird...

I've tried to contact the seller. I've filed a mail fraud report and a police report about it. I've done everything I can. Problem is I bought them back in January 06. So Paypal and Ebay both said **** you it's too late for us to care now since it's over 30 days. Ebay even told me they investigated the seller atomicstreet and found nothing wrong. Well yeah... ****er ain't selling the springs now. All he sells is crappy lights and accessories now.

As for the wheel... the only upside I could see is maybe using the damn silver one as a spare. lol

I have learned my lesson. I will be buying local now so I can see what I get before I pay. Ebay is a big haven for fake **** lately. My wife bought a Luis Vitton purse that turned out to be counterfeit and someone else I know bought a windows cd that was fake (had holograms and everything... looked totally legit)

Edit: I also did contact tein and told them what happened and that I planned to replace them with real ones. They told me about the dealer RZ Motoring in Orlando where I could get the real springs. Picked them up last week. There is a huge difference. I couldn't believe how much better these springs look than the ones I've been riding on for months.

stephenb80

the only things i would buy are car parts under $200 and you just gotta look at the feedback. it there is anything about fake or bad service, stay away. another big problem on ebay right now is oem vs aftermarket parts. alot of those posts will say that the item is oem whereas when you get it its some generic cheap ripoff of the real thing but you cant tell until it gets to you. another problem thats old is buying music and videos. i would never ever buy from ebay because all they do is send you a cd-r with copied music. on their auction tho they post pics of the real cd. that makes me mad.

SLO REX

iTrader: (19)

Haha I bought about 2 months before I even opened them and found out they were fake.

digitaldemigod

What really threw me off was the box... i mean it looked legit! But I have been having lots of noise and sagging issues with those fakes on my car lately. I can't wait to get them off.

Seriously, anyone that thinks that counterfeit parts are no big deal... there is a huge quality difference that I could see just from holding the real springs in my hand. I will take some side by side pics when I get the old ones off the car and you'll see how different they are. It's always worth it to be the real thing. Plus I don't want to be that guy driving the civic with all the fake **** on it.

Hmm... so now I have a dilemma about the wheel. I found some places online like Summit Racing.com that have the wheel for about $120 with free shipping. OR the shop that my inlaw goes to is 5thgear in Orlando... they can get me the wheel for $155. It's more money, but I will be able to see the wheel and make sure its correct and then get the tire mounted right then and there. I almost think it's worth the extra $30 to have less hassle.

stephenb80

summitracing is a real legitimate business. I've been to the retail store in nevada and its awesome. like a costco with car parts instead of food lol. they also have another store in new york i think.

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

That really sucks, i recently bought a set of wheels off ebay, and they turned out to be great, i only had to spend like 330 bucks for some 17's and they fit great, and look even better, as soon as i get past my newbieness i will post pics. I also bought my cold air intake off ebay, and it didnt quite fit right, even from the get go. However, it was sent in two pieces, so i just turned it into a short ram and bought an APC filter, and it works great now. You just have to be really careful on ebay.

Rob2005SEcoupe

just so you know.. the letters APC are sort of a invitation for being flamed on and called a ricer here even if it is only a filter.... just FYI

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

U know i agree with you, but it is much better than the ebay filter that i had b4, i didnt realize that it would suck so bad (pun intended), but the APC is stainless, and has no cardboard, so i thought id try it.

stephenb80

i paid for something on sunday, then 4 business days later the tard sends me a fake tracking number. and it took 2 days to reply to my email yet his feedback is 99%? how is that possible?

SLO REX

iTrader: (19)

Get friends to buy **** from them.