When is a sale final?

[Nathans_Dad]

I have a dilemma I'm dealing with and I'm leaning towards taking the hit on it but I wanted to run things by the group first.

I purchased a set of Fuchs wheels off Craigslist about two weeks ago now. They are 16x7 and 8. I saw the ad on Craigslist and the list price was $250. I texted the guy and asked what the price was for all 4 wheels, assuming he meant $250 each (but hoping he meant $250 for all). He texted back and said he would take $225 for all 4. I asked him what the size was and he said they were 16 inch wheels. I told him I would pay him the $250 and I would be out to look at them that day.

When I arrived at the address he provided it was an auto shop dealing with Porsches and exotics. The guy selling the wheels was an employee at the shop and he said the wheels came off a car the customer was having made into a race car. He said the customer had no use for the wheels and they were taking up space in the shop so he was told to sell them off. I inspected them and found they were real Fuchs. I told him they were real Fuchs and asked again what the price was. He told me $250 for all four. The wheels were obviously used for racing, they are pretty dirty and have some scratches on the centers. They would need to be refinished but I still thought $250 was a great deal so I bought the wheels.

On Monday (10 days later), the guy texts me and says he wants to buy the wheels back. He said that he made a mistake, he was supposed to sell another set of wheels that were 15 inch and that these wheels were a customers wheels that were not supposed to be sold. I called him and we talked about it. He wants me to return the wheels and give me back my $250 that's it. I suggested that I would prefer to do a swap, wheels for wheels. He said he didn't have any Fuchs in the shop right now but would "put me on the list" and let me know if he got any in.

So, I'm torn on what to do here. On one hand, I have been looking for a set of wheels for my car at a good price for years now. These are good wheels and I was planning on having them refinished. On the other hand, I understand that the guy made an error and I feel badly for the owner of the other car (although he did say the owner has three sets of these wheels for his car). The guy at the shop flatly refused to find me more wheels, he also refused to pay any premium above my costs to return the wheels to him. I explained that to replace the wheels I bought would be more than $250 but he did not want to "pay any profit" to get the wheels back. It irks me that he is not willing to do anything to make this right on my end, I asked him if I should talk with his manager about the issue and see if that would help and he quickly said "No, no, this is between you and me." He texted me shortly after we hung up and said "Sorry about the confusion, don't worry about the wheels." I also called him today and asked him if the situation was resolved and he said "Yes, don't worry about it. I'm going to figure something out with the customer. I appreciate your call."

I'm leaning towards just taking the things back to him and moving on with life, what do you guys think? I really want to keep the wheels but I'm not sure it's worth the stress.

[Jferr006]

Well.... what if he realized he sold them too cheap and wants them back to sell for 4x the price?

I dunno.. my first instinct was take the wheels back, get your money and act like it never happened but, it sounds like it was a screw up and I'm not sure i buy the thing about him accidentally selling the wrong wheels... I think he's up the creek for pricing them wrong and is covering his tracks.

[Nathans_Dad]

I thought about that as well. Unfortunately there's no way to tell whether he is lying or not. The fact that he adamantly said he did not want his manager involved at all makes me very suspicious.

[dtw]

Be a hardline dick: "Sorry, I already sent them to the wheel shop for restoration"

Be a nice guy: "Sure, I'll bring them back right away".

Expecting any extra payment or asking them to find you a set of wheels strikes me as odd, though.

[BE911SC]

Probably got told by a buddy that he screwed up and sold them way too cheap. If it were the other way around he'd likely tell you to get lost.

[fastfredracing]

It would be hard to part with those 16X 8 wheels for me, but I think , in this situation, I would make a deposit in the Bank of Kharma, and return the wheels. the Porsche gods are good, and they will reward you later for your good deed.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by dtw

Be a hardline dick: "Sorry, I already sent them to the wheel shop for restoration"

This. A deal is a deal and the deal is done. If the guy has to go out and buy another set for the customer, so be it. If he sold them too cheap (which he did) it's a lesson in business.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

He texted me shortly after we hung up and said "Sorry about the confusion, don't worry about the wheels." I also called him today and asked him if the situation was resolved and he said "Yes, don't worry about it. I'm going to figure something out with the customer. I appreciate your call."

What's the problem? Sounds like he is OK with the situation as is.

[Jferr006]

Yeah, the sale IS already final... unless they were stolen then sold. Anything you do from here on out is you being a very reasonable and nice guy. I'm very skeptical of the motives of this other guy though.

[Evans, Marv]

The sale is final. The guy changing his story back & forth says he's not being up front with you. If he says he's good with it now, take him at his word.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

What's the problem? Sounds like he is OK with the situation as is.

I agree, there is no "situation" remaining.

I would have made no further contact after receiving the text saying "Sorry about the confusion, don't worry about the wheels." That's the end. The only reason to call back is to manufacture your own continuing drama and stress.

[mreid]

While I'm also skeptical of his motives, I really appreciate that this is a moral dilemma for you. So, I will sell you the stock Fuchs on my 84 911 for that price, if karma causes you to return them. I'm in TX, so shipping would be involved, but I will support a fellow pelican with a conscience any day.

[Zeke]

If the 15 inch wheels were also real Fuchs, you couldn't get there fast enough to make the exchange. That is if the rears are 15x8.

What to do is in your heart. I, myself, might call the boss and ask him point blank if the matter is too low of a price or if the wheels belong to a customer. Knowing that he may very well lie to you, that is when you make the decision.

There is the outside chance that the employee did this on his own and got caught. His boss might have given him the chance to make it right before firing him or worse.

Ask to speak with the race car owner? He may not have a dog in this hunt.

[aigel]

You are a really nice guy. Too nice IMHO. I would have ignored the text. Now the guy is even saying "don't worry about it" and you still want to return the wheels? This is way too much drama. Send them to your refinish guy and move on.

JMHO. And I am a nice guy too!

G

[Palum6o]

If the owner was that upset, you would have gotten a call from him. Amazing score though, damn... The only unfortunate thing now is the guilt feeling you have associated with them, so in a way you're paying the remaining part in a different way.

I ran out of gas once on the side of the road - only happend once in my life, I was in my '92 Corrado VR6. Some local guy stopped, and offered to give me gas from his lawn tractor can... I was really greatful for that.... The following week, I saw someone on the side of the road, who had run out of gas (how ironic)... I offered to drive him to the gas station and told him the story about running out of gas the week before. He thanked me and I told him to pay it forward.

[Amail]

The sale was final when you paid.

The question really is - how do you handle such a screaming deal? If the seller just didn't know the value, then keeping the wheels may put him in a real bind with his boss.

Not your fault.

If the wheels actually belonged to another customer, the seller is in a bind with the customer.

Not your fault.

All these things are not your fault. But, you may be able to save someone a lot of heartache even though it's not your fault.

Teach the bastard a lesson and keep the wheels.

[strupgolf]

Last words were, "im fine with it". Take that for final, get them cleaned. If he messed up, its a life learning experience. I'm thinking he's going to sell them for more later.

[kinein]

You shouldve made this thread a poll. He seems wishy washy one minute he wants them back, the next he wants you to keep them. Go with the last thing he says and keep them. If it was true about being a customers wheels he wouldnt be wishy washy about it. He wouldve been consistant about getting the wheels back. He more likely found out he couldve gotten alot more for the wheels. The deal is done. You did the honest thing by offering to give them back kharma is on yourside when you offered and double checked with him to return them. But he in return to tell you just keep them.

Deal is done move on.

[craigster59]

I bought some Stickley furniture once and received a 20% discount. Paid $1,000 deposit and went back 2 weeks later to pickup the furniture. Somehow the guy discounted the price 20% again (I didn't realize this at the time).

3 days later he calls and tells me his mistake. I had possession of the furniture and a bill of sale stamped "paid in full". I could have told him to pound sand, but this was a legitimate screw up and I paid the additional $1,500. Your situation is different, you paid in full on the agreed upon price so the wheels are yours. No bad Karma, no guilty conscience.

[vash]

score of the century!!

high five yourself!!