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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    5

    Default Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Florida

    Hi, I bought a brand new, lifetime warranted car alternator replacement. However; my car is pretty rare or uncommon.
    It's a Lincoln LS V6, but it is equipped with a Manual Transmission. Lincoln only built 2331 units with Manual Transmission. The Automatic equipped Lincoln LS has a different alternator than Manual Transmission equipped Lincoln LS.
    So, I called the retailer and specified the part I needed, and mentioned that it was not the same as the regular Lincoln LS. They repair shop and retailer owner told me over the phone they do have the correct one for my vehicle.
    I went ahead and bought the item. After installing the new alternator, it gives errors and malfunctions while operating. So I went back to the shop for the owner to check on it. After his testings, he came to the conclusion that my car is stick shift and it requires a different alternator, which is extremely hard to find other than at a Lincoln/Ford dealership.
    So he offered me 2 options.
    Option 1. He will find the right alternator (which as of now I know wont happen)
    Option 2. He will rebuild my older alternator (but wants to charge me the same price as the brand new one even after he told me when I called the first time that a brand new one was 159 and to rebuilt mine was 119)

    I want to know if I have the right to return the part and receive a full refund.

    Thanks a million.

    God bless.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    If you hadn't installed the part your claim for a full refund would be a matter of course. Now that you've installed it, you're going to have a harder time.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    5

    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    Even tho it was his fault which could have result in a bigger damage to my vehicle, plus my having to pay now again to uninstall the part and then pay again to install a correct one?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    In the vast majority of states the only "right" you have to return merchandise is if it's defective, or if the seller has a return policy and you're in compliance with that policy. I see no indication that Florida offers any additional right to return your purchases.

    You have indicated that you got the exact part you ordered, that you knew that it was the wrong part for your car when you decided to order it, make no claim that it was defective, and you've given no indication that the seller isn't complying with his return policy (or perhaps even offering you options above and beyond what is available under the formal policy).

    How is it the seller's fault that you knowingly purchased and installed the wrong part for your vehicle?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    5

    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    No dude, you didnt get it. I didnt know it was the wrong part until I had it installed and found out it wasnt working properly. So I took the car to the guy who sold me the alternator, and HE said that it was not the correct one. So I reminded him that I did told him it was not the same as the automatic transmission equipped Lincoln LS BEFORE I purchased it. He said this one he was giving me was the correct one for the Manual transmission equipped Lincoln LS. So? he lied to me in the first place, and assumed the one for the automatic transmission LS would work, and obviously was wrong. So, to me item he sold me is defective because it does not work properly. But he says, its the wrong alternator.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    And the store's return policy is what?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    5

    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    Good question. I should have checked that prior to purchase. Dumb me, I was in a rush, had to has somebody to give me a ride to buy it, as my car was dead.

  8. #8
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    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    If the policy is "no returns", and the seller misunderstood what they were selling, you may actually be in a better position than if the seller has a nominally more liberal policy such as, "No returns once a part is installed." You seem like you're pretty sophisticated, so I'm a bit surprised that you didn't notice the discrepancy before you installed the part; I'm not sure how feasible it would have been for you to verify the appropriateness of the part based upon the packaging, information provided with the part, its appearance, issues during installation, or anything else that might have tipped you off, "This is the wrong part." The less information available to you before you installed it, the more plausible the argument that you were acting reasonably based upon the dealer's assertion that it was the correct part.

    If the issue is that the seller originally offered to rebuild your alternator for $119 and the effective price is now $159, and having the part rebuilt is acceptable to you, perhaps he'll agree to abide by the original quote. That would probably be the fastest and easiest resolution, at least for you.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    5

    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    Well, the reasons why I couldnt know it was the wrong part are:

    He didnt give me a supposedly brand new item in a sealed box. Instead he gave a generic opened box with no documents of any type in the box, is an old box from somewhere else, all white.
    The alternator is exactly the same as the correct one on the outside, thus fits perfectly. But the internal part that regulated the amp. output is different from the correct one. Impossible to notice other than either tearing it apart or installing it.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Wrong Car Replacement Part Received, Gives the Buyer the Right of a Full Refund

    And that works in your favor if he tries to argue, "My return policy says I don't have to accept a return if it has been installed". (Although we're still speculating as to what his return policy may be.) If he sold you the wrong part with no reasonable way for you to know it was the wrong part, that would appear to violate the implied warranty of fitness and justify a return.

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