eBay urges garages to use “recycled car parts”

[Mike Ruff, GW editor]

eBay is calling on UK insurers and independent garages to commit to offer consumers the option of purchasing what it describes as “recycled car parts”
[See the full post at: eBay urges garages to use “recycled car parts”]

[don]

I would be wary of using used parts, my Trade Insurance for the first time ever asked on renewal last August if I ever used 2nd hand parts, I said yes sometimes & they got very defensive, they said they would get back to me after a review, I eventually had to confirm that I would not use ‘used safety related items’ in future.

Be warned in case you ever get a comeback !!

[hms]

who is going to guarantee the parts and satisfy motor insurers in the event of a liability claim, as if you agree to fit the parts , you are saying they are fit for purpose

[Brian Waite]

We don’t fit second hand parts. What if they are found to be faulty once fitted, who pays for the removal and the time to do the job twice.

This is a crazy roll for any garage to get involved in.

[Paul Michell]

Many motor trade policies I have seen also have a clause about not taking liability for fitting second hand / part worn tyres, which are of course ‘receycled’ car parts.

[Alan]

An idealism supported by a government agency but incited by a big business who want even more at the expense of the smaller ones. So many issues – are the parts correct? Are they of suitable quality and who is liable when it all goes wrong. Currently fitting a customer supplied part means that you legally take responsibility for it so when it goes wrong the customer who supplied it can take the garage to court and will almost certainly receive a full refund. Not an area I am interested in!

[Peter Miles]

Years ago a customer needed a new pair of headlight units for his BMW 3 series. He didn’t like the price I quoted so turned up with a pair of “new” ones he’s bought off Ebay. They looked pretty good, from the front. But there were no holes or fittings in the back to fit the bulbs! There was a matchbox sized note in the box which said “for use on display cars only”!
Quite honestly second hand parts are often better than some of the new rubbish on Ebay. But I won’t fit either. It’s simply not worth the trouble it can cause when it all goes wrong let alone the very real safety issues.

[David]

Not sure I see a problem with that, if Laura Richards, senior automotive business manager at eBay UK, said is OK then surely if the parts are of unsatisfactory quality and fail in service, surely business to business she can be sued for ALL losses?

[kevan shackleton]

Sound to me like EBay are only interested in boosting their profits!They won’t be liable if anyone dies from a used safety critical item bought through them. We won’t fit used parts, end of.

[Shashi]

I would not be happy to do this. As the law says the one who touches the car is liable for any issues with the work.
So the part goes faulty then we are liable for this. And no one would pays us the labor charge. Etc

[Mick]

No matter what is said by ebay, the customer or recycling seller. It WILL be the garage ‘s fault, problem and responsibility. It will be argued that as professionals we should be able to see if the item is safe to use , functions correctly and is genuine. We have fitted a LUK clutch from ebay which was supplied by the customer that slipped as soon as any moderate to hard acceleration was required. All of a sudden we were a rubbish garage in eyes . The clutch kit was just slightly more expensive than we could get at trade ! Our usual supplier later informed us that these fake kits are now out there and virtually identical to the real thing and LUK have to look very hard to spot the difference. A bent stub axle was given to a local garage to fit….how hard was the impact that bent that?

[Dougal]

I would be happy to do this with a cupholder but not with a caliper.

[Author]

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