Beware of Gonefishing69, rodspartdealer, Gearhead Enterprises

On 6/26/08 I purchased 4 each American Racing Torque Thrust "D" 15" diameter x 7" wide wheels from a company on e-bay which does business under names of gonefishing69, rodpartsdealer, Gearhead Enterprises and possibly others I am not aware of. I understand they also have booths at some car shows. When I ordered I specified 5 x 4.75" bolt circle and was later sent an e-mail asking to verify the sizes and also asking what size lug nuts I needed. I responded immediately that I needed 12 mm lug nuts for a Chevy application. After receiving the wheels I opened the boxes and inspected the wheels for any shipping damage and then stored them in the boxes to prevent damage. As car projects sometimes go mine was delayed. After starting back on the project I recently had tires mounted on the wheels and balanced. This story would end here except when I went to mount the wheels on the car they wouldn't fit. After making some cardboard templates for different size bolt circles it was discover I was shipped 5 x 4 1/2" wheels instead of the 5 x 4 3/4" wheels ordered.

When I called gonefishing69 on 8/10/09 a women named Karen said they would have to pull my original order to verify what was actually ordered and she would call me back. After a day and a half with no return phone call I called Karen. She said the order could not be found. She then told me because tires had been mounted on the wheels they considered them used and they could not be returned. I asked her directly if her company took any responsibility for shipping something different then what I ordered. Her Response was "It doesn't make any difference rather we shipped the wrong wheels or not because we do not accept the return of used wheels". "It is your responsibility to determine if the wheels fit properly". I asked to speak to the owner of the company or for her to give me his phone number and she replied "That is not possible". After much persistence on my part she did finally give me a phone number for their Customer Service.

I called Customer Service and spoke with Craig who listened to my story and was very polite. After talking for maybe ten minutes he put me on hold and then came back and said "Our policy is to not accept back wheels that have had tires mounted on them because we consider them used". I reminded him we would not even be having the conversation if his company had shipped the right wheels to begin with. After additional conversation he took the e-bay auction item number and said he would look up my invoice and call me back. To Craig's credit he did call me back several hours later and informed me they could not find my invoice or record of shipment. My personal opinion is that is a lie or at least a convenient excuse for not looking up the paper work because they never had any intention of exchanging the wheels. As a businessman I can tell you a list of past customers for potential new sales is worth its weight in gold. Finally Craig told me that it was "my fault" for mounting the wheels and in addition it had been a year since the purchase. I agreed I shared some responsibility for it being so long and then offered to pay all freight charges for shipping the old wheels back and new wheels to me if they would exchange the wheels for what I ordered to begin with. He then said "Our policy is to not accept back wheels that have had tires mounted on them because we consider them used". I tried to explain the wheels were perfect with absolutely no scratches, dings, etc.but he said it made no difference.

I told him if that was their final answer it was my intention to write letters of complaint to E-bay and PayPay, as well posting my story on the HAMB and Gr***roots Motorsports forums as a warning to others. I told him it would be a fair representation of what happened and if he gave me his e-mail address I would copy him on the e-mails and provide links to what I posted. He gave me his e-mail address. It seemed to bother him about my threat of posting to a forum and he then asked me to wait 24 hours and he would get back to me. After waiting 24 hours with no return call I called Craig. The receptionist said that he would call back shortly. He didn't. After another 24 hours I called Craig and his response was "Do what you have to do". I verified his e-mail address and am proceeding as I told him I would.

In my opinion an exchange of the wheels is warranted since they sent the wrong wheels to begin with. I offered to cover all shipping cost ***uming some responsibility. I will let all of you come to your own conclusions as to who's right or wrong. I'm sure many of you will have opinions and state them. . As for me I am out $665.00 for the wheels, $67.49 for mounting and balancing plus what it will cost to have the tires removed from the wheels and put on new wheels. I will probably be able to sell the wheels but certainly not for what I have in them.

A Internet Goggle of "Gearhead Enterprises" will reveal I am not the only dissatisfied customer and that Customer Service is probably not their priority. I certainly would like to see these companies lose business as a result of this posting but that is up to you. I personally will never buy another item from gonefishing69, rodpartsdealer, Gearhead Enterprises or any other company ***ociated with them. My advice is if you are going to purchase anything over the Internet you would be wise to do some research into whom that company really is and what kind of track record they actually have if you are not happy with the purchase

 

um.... sounds like it was your fault sorry.

 

shady deals all over the internet..gotta really watch who you deal with now a days..
this place is not exempt either

One thing my 'ol man said to me and we are in Business together is this..(its old school) i know its hard to do this these days..but this is what he has said

"I like to do business with people close enough to me that i can wrap my hands around their neck if i ever need to"

its worked good for him..and most all of my local deals have always come out good..

sorry to hear about your bummer..wish i would have known about it before now, i might have bought them from you..but i just scored a set like you have recently

first thing i did with my wheels when i got them..i walked out and set them on the axle of the project they were to go on..way before i bought any rubber or spent any more time with them sitting in the boxes..gotta look out for yourself these days

 

I don't think Summit Racing takes back wheels after you mount tires on them, either.

 

I dont think anyone does..

I think ya ****ed up

 

I'm not sure that I would accept a return after over a year either.

 

I've done business with Gearhead and have returned items ( still in original packaging ) and have had no problem. Misunderstandings are sometimes hard to sort out.

 

I've bought a few things from ATV parts to hotrod parts from both "Gonefishing69 and Gearhead Enterprises" without issue.

That said, I have a garage full of stuff I've bought and can't return due to time. If I had ordered wheels like you did, I would have verfified against damage, verify the width and offsett were correct, and verify the BP was correct, not wait 14 months to find out something was wrong and expect a return.

 

...would you buy a set of used wheels at a new price? or any other part for that matter? Vendors do make mistakes, I know 'cause I have a box full of new, very incorrect, parts right now. But I would not attempt to install a part without first verifying the application. And, I would not accept a return if the part had been installed, or otherwise messed with.

If you still want to run the same wheel, ask real nicely if they will accept your wheels on a pro-rated value exchange.



.

 

I had a simmilar issue with a disk break upgrade kit I purchased through dearborne cl***ics. I had been in the middle of a multi year restoration (like most of you) I installed the kit and everything seemed fine. On my maiden voyage to get the car aligned I and a horrible wobble turns out tone of the spindles was smaller than the other one! it had been a couple of years since I bought the kit and Dearborn no longer carried it. When I called Dearborn they gave me a simmilar answer so I got my club involved and things worked out they covered a local company fixing the issue. I received appologies and honestly I felt pretty good about the whole thing. I will do buisness with them again. I think the HAMB can have the same effect. Good luck man ill keep and eye out and not make purchases from those names!

 

yea thats pretty much standard practice,Iv'e been on jobs where a shipment has came in and the person did not check the load but sighned for it any way, well if you are short or whatever it dont matter you signed for it. check the packag ,check the fit and quality first thing afterall its your money take care of it! the days of good ole boy honor and caracter are fading fast.but if I tell ya the moon is made of cheeze and were going you better bring crackers!

 

I would have not taken them back either!!!! I worked for a wheel company for several years!!! No returns on mounted wheels!!! ALWAYS TEST FIT! and there is always a warning on the wheels, YOU MOUNT EM YOU OWN EM...This thread should be deleted!

 

I don't agree that it was all your fault but it is a bummer that you didn't check the bolt pattern when you 1st got them.... that said I will not buy any wheels from them and I am in the market for a set........

 

I also think that their policy is reasonable and standard for the industry. Sorry, but it was your responsibility to verify that the wheels fit the application before mounting, and should have been done immediately upon arrival.

 

Sorry chief, But if I did pinstriping on somebody's rig and a year later they wanted their money back because a color or something was wrong, I'd tell them to pack sand!
My advice: Bite the bullet, sell the rims, and move on.

 

had the same thing happen with a harley chain bought new 106 link on box 102 in box long term project year later was told run 2 master links and extra link happens to most of us at one time or another

 

nobody i know of does....especially a year after the fact

 

one small mistake on venders part one big ***ed mistake on your part you nlose no wheel vendor takes back wheels when tires are or have been mounted on them. Plain and simple they are used rims aint there fault you screwed up. Quit crying and get over it..Using the HAMB to strong arm someone for your mistake is not right either. My two cents worth after have been an owner and dealer in parts
Kenagain

 

The very first thing I do when I get wheels or anything else for that matter is to make sure that it is what I ordered. Every place that I have looked for wheels has a disclaimer somewhere in print that says if you mount em you own em. But I do think it is odd that they can not come up with any invoice. Sorry about your luck man.

 

Let me see if understand this correctly...

They sent you 4 new wheels, and it had no Info written on the Boxes?

What about the Invoice?


Other than that, it seems to me the difference between 4 1/2 and 4 3/4 is pretty obvious.
Its not that hard to spot. ( or at least, if it doesn't look right, a reason to start measuring...)

And its only one of the things that can go wrong.
Offset, width, dia, etc.

I'd check them all...
( and I'd want to see how they'd look on the car anyway...)

 

that is common practice with wheels and tires these days. I dont take back any tires that have been mounted up even if they haven't been driven on.

I always tell customers to test fit before mounting them.

And dont get me started on the people who cut/paint/modify a part only to find out it won't fit their application.

Sorry. Test fit then modify

 

My opinion; You should have verified the shipment upon arrival. Possible solution to save you money, adapter plates.

 

now what are you going to do when the guy reads all this?

 

Right, wrong or in different its piss poor customer relations. As years p*** you see more and more of companies printing polices that it takes a Lawyer to explain to you. If there is no damage to the wheels the company could have taken them back and discounted them to a customer that had the proper bolt pattern. Seems a double mistake was made and proper handling could have made a satisfied customer.

 

Contact the Alabama Attorney General's office.
Alabama has some outdated laws on their books, but in this instance, those outdated laws work to your benefit.

If you can find the original email where they verified the BP size with you, then they are screwed.

 

When I buy wheels (new or used) the first thing I do, right after checking for obvious damage, is to check size, bolt pattern and backspacing. This avoids a whole bunch of problems down the road.

Steve

 

I agree on double mistake...However if I owned a company I would not accept wheels that had been mounter either..your bad for not checking...you could have corrected this ......I dont think its poor customer service....my 2 cents

 

I think your screwed dude.... 14 months later? come on... If I owned the business I would have told you the same thing.

 

I used to work for a wheel manufacturer. We had a large bright orange sticker on every wheel - "You mount them, You OWN them"
And every other wheel company i know of has the same policy.
Lesson learned

 

you know....I just bought a set of Cragar SS wheels...and the first thing I saw when I opened the box was the "test fit before mounting tires" statement....and I'll be dammed if I let a year p*** by before I do so.....I feel for ya' Bro....but like the man said...you gotta keep it real.....