Car Parts Value..???

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nodemon

nodemon

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Not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but I have a dilemma and I'm hoping someone here has an answer or can point me in the right direction.
I recently purchased a 72 Demon grille from a private seller. Condition was "near mint". No broken/cracked/damaged "fins".. ALL mounting tabs, not only there and intact, but in phenomenal condition, however, there is a previous repair done to one tab....not disclosed by the seller(AssClown). Seems that most tabs are brittle and ready to fall apart on most grilles I've seen...This grille appears to have been off the vehicle and/or out of the elements for a long time. The Bezels are in "near mint" Condon as well.
I paid $400 for this grille, which I thought was a really good price, but I did also pay for shipping($114) and "professional" packaging($60) from an authorized FedEx shipper, Mailboxes Plus. Total for grille and bezels, $574. Shipping cost included extra insurance, which I put a declared value of $1000 on it.
When grille arrived at my office, I set up my camera to record opening the package (something I've always done because of past issues). I recorded condition of box, which there was some obvious "crushed in" areas at the ends of the box. As soon as I get the grille out, I immediately noticed one end of the grille was loose.. After removing several layers of the large bubble wrap and cardboard bracing, I found the break...about the last 5 inches of grille was broken in two. The other end of grille was cracked in about the same area.
I filed a claim with FedEx, which is a pain, and sent in a boatload of pictures, including the invoice from PayPal(friends and family, unfortunately). I informed FedEx that I had a complete video of unpacking and was told to upload it to the claim page, but there's a 4mb limit so I wasn't able to.
My claim has been denied several times because they keep asking for specific pictures etc.. Now that I think they have all pictures needed, they're asking me to prove the value. So, after that long, boring story, HOW DO I PROVE THE VALUE...?
At first they were telling me that it's based on what I paid, but I explained that if I buy an item worth $10,000, but get a deal and only pay $1000, the value of the item is still $10k... That's why I put a declared value of $1000 on this grille. Based on what I've seen with prices and conditions, I wanted to cover my cost of grille, shipping, etc...
I mean, if they want to find me another grille in near mint condition and call it good, be my guest and good luck..! I looked for almost 2 years for a grille that didn't have to have some repair or some issue.. This was the best one I've seen..and again, to me, at a good price.. So, how do I "prove" value on a hard to find, classic car part..???

Thanks,
John
 
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nodemon said:
So, after that long, boring story, HOW DO I PROVE THE VALUE...?
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That's going to be a tall order probably. You would likely need to find other sellers asking a grand or better. Maybe do a search for new old stock grilles. Just my two pennies.

nodemon said:
including the invoice from PayPal(friends and family, unfortunately)
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If tied to a card, can the card company reverse the transaction. Again, just a thought.
 
Good luck. I went through the same thing with them. Had picture and all. The box my grille came in looked like they tried to fold it in half. They never did pay and I ended up repairing it, put in it while I looked for another one. I have never used FedEx again.
 
Sorry you're going through this. I mulled over the dilemma of buying an original grille or a repop for quite some time but in the end decided to go repop. The simple truth is, these 50 year old plastics are brittle no matter how they have been stored. Had I found one, I could have spent the money only to break tabs when installing on my car...let alone worrying about it arriving in one piece after shipping.

I would show them the value of a repop. This way you will get back the money you actually paid. This is the one I bought. JEGS had them cheaper with a code. Hopefully you get acceptable resolution. Good luck!
 
4spdragtop said:
Maybe show them the list price of repop? There are repop shark tooth grilles.
Sorry about your dilemma...
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True, and I see the repop ones, with bezels, for around $650.. I could be wrong, but a near mint original would be worth more.
Hellrats said:
Good luck. I went through the same thing with them. Had picture and all. The box my grille came in looked like they tried to fold it in half. They never did pay and I ended up repairing it, put in it while I looked for another one. I have never used FedEx again.
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They never paid and you had proof..? They scares me. Well, they've seen all my pics and now they're asking for proof of value, so maybe that means they're going to pay.? Or, did they do you the same way..?
 
j_anderson said:
Sorry you're going through this. I mulled over the dilemma of buying an original grille or a repop for quite some time but in the end decided to go repop. The simple truth is, these 50 year old plastics are brittle no matter how they have been stored. Had I found one, I could have spent the money only to break tabs when installing on my car...let alone worrying about it arriving in one piece after shipping.

I would show them the value of a repop. This way you will get back the money you actually paid. This is the one I bought. JEGS had them cheaper with a code. Hopefully you get acceptable resolution. Good luck!
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Thanks for the input..!
How was the repop..? Fitment..? Color..?
 
Why is the seller a “assclown?” Maybe he missed the repair? He did say “near mint”...did you ask for extra pictures of all the mounting tabs and grille? Surly if you had seen pictures then you would have seen the repair.

I would say whoever packaged it up should refund the money, after all you did pay to have it “ professionally“ packaged. I’d be pissed too, shipping grilles is not fun, but I have received many that survived the trip including a 1971 Dart grille from Texas to Minnesota. Another problem is people using friends and family, then something like this happens and it’s harder to make a claim. Sucks it broke too, I know how hard they are to find and it’s almost impossible to get one without a broken or repaired tab. Finding a 72 grille is tough, might be best to get a repop one. I hope you can get a refund, good luck!!
 
Stop using fed x. Over priced, careless employees, especially around holiday time with part time help and their drivers are dumber than rocks. All they care about is an empty truck and go home with a pocket full of money. Not once, folks that sent me parts using them have made it to my mail drop and they are an authorized fedex shipper. The truck stops there multiple times a day. Stupid. 3 times I had to drive 20 miles out of my way to the distribution center to pick up parts to have a supervisor look at me like this is all my fault. One time they delivered it to a similar address a block away, took me and the mail drop owner a week to figure out where it went.

I use and request USPS. Stuff gets there on time undamaged and never gets lost.

On big stuff I use Fastenal 3rd party shipping, good folks to work with.
 
JMO, you are going to be stuck with getting what you paid for the item. The insurance is to cover loss of value to contents, not replacement $ value.

This isn't car insurance.

Have the seller send you an invoice or bill of sale. Hand write it with date and method of payment/total/paypal email account, scan it and send it to FE. That is proof along with your F&F payment

I know UPS is self insured up to a certain number, FE may be the same. FE used to pay out quickly. If it goes over a number they will send out an investigator to check out things sometimes. Last time I had a big $ item killed by FE I settled on the masx which was about $750 and sold the remaining broken up stuff to cover the loss. PIA.

You have to stay after them and escalate the claim at every push back. An FE authorized agent packaged it, that is a nail in the coffin for any denial of claim. Their own agent, didn't pack it properly. If all else fails, small claims court.
 
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66340SEDAN said:
Why is the seller a “assclown?” Maybe he missed the repair? He did say “near mint”...did you ask for extra pictures of all the mounting tabs and grille? Surly if you had seen pictures then you would have seen the repair.

I would say whoever packaged it up should refund the money, after all you did pay to have it “ professionally“ packaged. I’d be pissed too, shipping grilles is not fun, but I have received many that survived the trip including a 1971 Dart grille from Texas to Minnesota. Another problem is people using friends and family, then something like this happens and it’s harder to make a claim. Sucks it broke too, I know how hard they are to find and it’s almost impossible to get one without a broken or repaired tab. Finding a 72 grille is tough, might be best to get a repop one. I hope you can get a refund, good luck!!
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lol... I say he's an assclown because he didn't disclose the repaired tab when describing how "super nice", "no cracks or breaks" , "no broken tabs" ... Pictures weren't detailed/close enough to see the repair, but quite obvious in person. He knew of the repair, no doubt about it. Integrity, that's why I say he's an AssClown.. He knew what I was looking for and how picky I was being. He had seen my story on a different grille I purchased and how the seller of that one was completely misleading. AssClown, is about as mild as I can be, considering what I would say face to face with him. Look, I'm not saying I got ripped off, per se, but he has yet to respond to any of my messages. If he would have mentioned the repair, which seems solid, it may or may not have changed my decision, I just would have liked that opportunity.
Yes, friends and family came back to bite me.
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crackedback said:
JMO, you are going to be stuck with getting what you paid for the item. The insurance is to cover loss of value to contents, not replacement $ value.

This isn't car insurance.

Have the seller send you an invoice or bill of sale. Hand write it with date and method of payment/total/paypal email account, scan it and send it to FE. That is proof along with your F&F payment

I know UPS is self insured up to a certain number, FE may be the same. FE used to pay out quickly. If it goes over a number they will send out an investigator to check out things sometimes. Last time I had a big $ item killed by FE I settled on the masx which was about $750 and sold the remaining broken up stuff to cover the loss. PIA.

You have to stay after them and escalate the claim at every push back. An FE authorized agent packaged it, that is a nail in the coffin for any denial of claim. Their own agent, didn't pack it properly. If all else fails, small claims court.
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Again, if someone sells you something worth 10k for 1k, that's not the value. I paid extra for the value, not what I paid for it. If they feel the 1k declaration I put on it is too high, maybe some compromise and negotiations can take place. Also, if I gifted a $10k item to someone, does that mean there is no value..?,
 
nodemon said:
Also, if I gifted a $10k item to someone, does that mean there is no value..?,
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Different situation altogether. Gifting someone something, they haven't sent you an amount to consummate the exchange, doesn't create an exchange of value. You could claim an item is 100x actual value and try to collect. Problem is the insurer will push back, question the stated value, and want to see appraisals of same type of item.

You paid $X for the grille + shipping and handling/packaging. Your total loss is exactly what you paid. You generally don't get the benefit of an inflated value just because you say so. There is a legal concept called unjust enrichment. You mention that the grille was impaired... so what is the actual value of said grille purchased? UCC is the legal controlling statutes here. I'd almost bet there is language in the fedex bill of lading/shipping agreement that addresses "value" as well.

I understand your position, it's a losing one IMO because the insurance isn't stated value. Otherwise the industry would be out of business from people sending $5 trinkets, claim they are worth $1000 and inflated claims being paid. Notice they want proof of payment/invoicing for a reason.
 
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crackedback said:
Different situation altogether. Gifting someone something, they haven't sent you an amount to consummate the exchange, doesn't create an exchange of value. You could claim an item is 100x actual value and try to collect. Problem is the insurer will push back, question the stated value, and want to see appraisals of same type of item.

You paid $X for the grille + shipping and handling/packaging. Your total loss is exactly what you paid. You generally don't get the benefit of an inflated value just because you say so. There is a legal concept called unjust enrichment. You mention that the grille was impaired... so what is the actual value of said grille purchased? UCC is the legal controlling statutes here. I'd almost bet there is language in the fedex bill of lading/shipping agreement that addresses "value" as well.

I understand your position, it's a losing one IMO because the insurance isn't stated value. Otherwise the industry would be out of business from people sending $5 trinkets, claim they are worth $1000 and inflated claims being paid. Notice they want proof of payment/invoicing for a reason.
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Perhaps, and maybe it is a loss on my end, but why even offer "extra insurance" or ask for a declared value if it ultimately comes down to what you paid for it. Doesn't make sense to me.
 
Fed. X sucks.
All those "pro packaging stores over charge like nuts. If I am buying a part from an idividual, I always tell them I will not pay for that.
 
You really need to try and source those kind of parts locally (swap meets) you are just asking for trouble (rolling the dice)..deep in your mind you probably expected this to happen...I have to do the same...sourcing parts on your own takes a skill...you should really try it if your that picky of a person...I'm very sorry bout the grille you bought but sellers aren't like buyers....
 
nodemon said:
Perhaps, and maybe it is a loss on my end, but why even offer "extra insurance" or ask for a declared value if it ultimately comes down to what you paid for it. Doesn't make sense to me.
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It's not EXTRA insurance. They have a base of $100 coverage free, you are allowed to up that number. Claiming more than what you actually paid is a waste. Your loss is the $ you put out for the part. If you already told them that you paid 400 for the grille, that is going to be the settlement + shipping and possibly the packaging (I would include that number into the price of the grille). If you are lucky, they will let you keep the grille.

Want a friendly suggestion... get a quote to "fix" the grille. If it comes in at $300-350 or so, you can get that, and keep the grille. Think outside the box. It's all about creating an environment where the insurer has to pay out less and you still get a win, so to speak.

Gone round and round with UPS, FE and USPS with claims over the years. Stick with the claim, follow up, jump through hoops, being reasonable regarding your expected reimbursement.
 
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A few years ago I bought a mint 70 Cuda’ grill. I drove the 5 hours 1 way to pick it up load it up and drive the 5 hours back. The seller couldn’t believe it when he seen I had blankets and a comforter in the back seat of my truck. Kim
 
oldkimmer said:
A few years ago I bought a mint 70 Cuda’ grill. I drove the 5 hours 1 way to pick it up load it up and drive the 5 hours back. The seller couldn’t believe it when he seen I had blankets and a comforter in the back seat of my truck. Kim
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I too have driven hours to pick up parts.. I actually enjoy the road trip.
 
Even with insurance, I always make sure that I "bomb proof" fragile parts when shipping them. Even if it that means spending some time putting together a cheap wooden box/framing, the piece of mind knowing that it will arrive undamaged is worth it. All shippers will make damage claims difficult to collect on.
 
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