I need some advice! (poor-fitting VIS CF hood)

[sonicnofadz]

I've posted about this before, but the situation has become worse. I ordered a carbon fiber hood from ******. They sent me a hood that didn't even come close to fitting, and I called them to demand a refund (or even an exhange) but they completely refused. They claim its not THEIR fault but VIS's (the manufcaturer of the hood). I don't know how it could be VIS's fault since I bought the hood from them and NOT VIS. This cost me a total of $460.00 and I am starting to think that I just got swindled. What would happen if I filed this to a small claims court? Does anyone have any advice about what I can do? I contacted ebay about this (it was an ebay auction) but I don't know what they will be able to do about this.......argh. Really sucks because I could upgrade my suspension for the amount of money I just lost!!!

 

[girlieracr4g63]

I would contact VIS and make them aware of what happened. Maybe they can do something about it. Also tell them that you figured they might want to know what kind of Co. is representing their product....This makes them look bad. So maybe they will handle it for you. Throw in there that you have ALWAYS heard good things about their products, but this makes you wonder now. I bet that gets the ball rolling! Good luck.

 

[Defiant]

First advice: Use descriptive thread titles. If it's not descriptive, it's not worth reading. (Straight from the Rules)

Second: leave off the vendor name. We don't use them here.

Finally, now that it's too late, you should have used a credit card.

CF hoods are notorious for iffy fitting. The makers know it, the sellers know it, and most of the customers know it. However, if someone chooses to sell a product, it's up to them to be the go-between for the customer and the maker. You can try the small claims court route, but you won't see much back out of your $400+ by the time you're done. Probably best to put the hood up for sale here or on eBay or the like, state straight out that you're not satisfied with the fit, and get rid of it honestly.

You also might call VIS directly and see if they'll let you do a swap if you pay the freight or something. But be aware that a replacement probably won't be much better.

 

[sonicnofadz]

Thanks everyone (sorry about the vendor thing and bad title). I THINK that the hood is for a 1.8 Liter 1G cars, so I'll just resell it on ebay. I'm gonna stop by the junkyard soon to take some measurements to make sure that this is indeed the case. The hood is obviously not eve made for my car (the dimensions are off by SEVERAL inches, see http://www.nofadz.com/~sonic/), but the design somewhat looks familiar to the stock 1G 1.8L hoods, so maybe I'll get lucky...

 

[DSMNightmare]

They usually make quality stuff. I bought two hoods from them and I have a buddy who has one as well. I would contact them about it because a company that makes that caliber of product should be willing to stand behind a bad piece

 

[Defiant]

I THINK that the hood is for a 1.8 Liter 1G cars, so I'll just resell it on ebay.

The engine bays are the same. The only difference is that the 1.8 had no hump. If it's actually "several inches" off, you have the wrong hood.

I checked your link. That's not a T/E/L hood. Maybe an RX-7? Celica? Call VIS. You're going to have to figure out what it is in order to sell it. And yes, the dealer should fix this. Get them to see the pictures. Maybe take some in daylight so it shows better.

Your first post sounded as though it was the typical CF hood troubles, being ¼" or so off.

 

[igopoopy]

find out what kind of hood it is and sell it as that or talk to the guy and say they sent you the wrong hood we know it is deff not to your car so fight

 

[leakyfaucet]

The only difference is that the 1.8 had no hump.

Most did have a hump. I believe there were a very select few built from 90-91 that didn't have a hump.

 

[sonicnofadz]

Hmmmm...I thought maybe I could resell the hood on ebay, but now I don't even know what car the thing is made for! I've already contacted VIS, they saw the pictures, they don't know what car its made for or how it even got branded with the eclipse serial #. The company that sold it to me is denying responsibility and still won't accept an exchange or refund (they too also saw the pictures). So I guess I just got scammed. I'm talking to a legal adviser tommorow and I will probably file a claim to the Maryland small claims court. Should be interesting because they will have to make an appearance in Maryland when there business is based in California I'm not sure how it will turn out, but I don't know why they are refusing an exchange because most ebay sellers of CF hoods will accept an exhange if it
doesn't fit...seems shady. THANKS for everyone's input, I really appreciate it. I didn't know the 1G hood sizes were all the same!

 

[talon94es]

Hey man. Sorry to hear they gotcha where it hurts! I'm certain I know which company your referring to since I was frequently browsing ebay for CF hoods for my 94 Talon. I intenesely reviewed this guys feedback after I noticed the Eagle Talon/Eclipse Hood he was selling had a picture of a hood that looked nothing like a hood for my car even thou it was marketed as such. I noticed the guy follows thru with most of his auctions but he likes to burn people every now and then. I'm pretty sure this is the same person. Good luck on getting some $ back out of the deal.

 

[sonicnofadz]

Heh, its been a while but I have finally solve my problem. I talked to VIS over and over again, they claim they don't have problems with mix-ups in the factory. I talked to the company I bought the hood from, and they couldn't care less. So I took matters into my own hands. The hood they sent me definitely had the Eclipse serial # stamped on it, but it was obviously NOT made for an Eclipse. So I began searching for any early model japanese cars with pop up head lights and trying to visibly come up with a match with this carbon fiber hood. Well I found that it looked REALLY similar to the 1990-1997 Mazda Miata hood (oem). I posted on a Miata forum and someone gave me the dimensions of the hood, and it matches perfectly. So VIS stamped the Eclipse serial # on a Mazda Miata hood. If you are reading this please be wary when purchasing anything from VIS Racing. I am just going to sell the hood on ebay now and hopefully get back some of my money...jesus christ what an ordeal this has been.

 

[talon94es]

^^ man sounds like a hassle.. Didn't you look at the pictures of the auction. The DSM hood is a DEAD giveaway. Big bump and all..

 

[igopoopy]

find out what kind of hood it is and sell it as that or talk to the guy and say they sent you the wrong hood we know it is deff not to your car so fight

yay he did my idea

 

[sonicnofadz]

well the auction didn't even have pictures of the hood, it just said OEM elipse hoood so I figured it WOULD have the little power hump thing, but I got screwed instead. Friggin bastards. It would be easier for me to just sell the hood on ebay and get my money back that way than to take legal (or violent) action. =) I think I am going to call VIS and tell them how shitty their product is. They must have crack monkeys stamping the labels on the hoods.

 

[Burnett03]

well the auction didn't even have pictures of the hood, it just said OEM elipse hoood so I figured it WOULD have the little power hump thing, but I got screwed instead. Friggin bastards. It would be easier for me to just sell the hood on ebay and get my money back that way than to take legal (or violent) action. =) I think I am going to call VIS and tell them how shitty their product is. They must have crack monkeys stamping the labels on the hoods.

i bought two 1g pop up light CF hoods from the same company you are talking about and never had a problem..

 

[sonicnofadz]

i bought two 1g pop up light CF hoods from the same company you are talking about and never had a problem..

Well its not the company's fault (the company that sold the defective hood to me). VIS Racing manufactured a 90-97 miata hood a placed a eclipse serial# on it. Vis Racing screwed up. Although it was kind of inappropiate to refuse me a refund...