[Gregs300CD]

Does anyone have any experience with Potomac German Auto?

Potomac German Auto : Nation's Largest Since 1979

Seems like a reputable place, good looking website...
But, I ordered a "new", never been mounted alloy bundt with the safety information tag still attached for $200. Steep, I know, but it was what I needed to complete the trunk. I had a spare bundt in acceptable condition, I just wanted factory-fresh new condition. I'm sure you guys here can appreciate my intentions.

When I get the wheel, it doesn't have that tag. I e-mailed them asking for it, and they replied with,
"The tag was destroyed before it made it to shipping and we do not have another. It was only a prop for the listing to show the newness of the wheel. Thank you."

I wrote back saying that wasn't good enough. I want what was sold to me. Or, $50 refund, or a total refund (including my shipping) and have this thing shipped back to them.

Am I being unreasonable here?
The fact is that I would not have bought the wheel if it wasn't "complete" with the tag.

 

[FratBoy]

No.

I tried to buy a 5-speed via eBay from them.

The auction suddenly ended, and the person I finally got a hold of at their shop gave me a hard-to-believe story about how they found out the underside of the car (and tranny) had been damaged- and were not selling the part.

FB

 

[JamieK]

That tag is still available from Ma Benz. Part number 201-584-00-47. $2.00. Even comes with an original piece of wire! It has a 201 part number, so it may be slightly different than an original, but it looks just like the one in your picture, the best I can tell.

Potomac has just recently been bought by another company, LKQ Co. They are supposed to remain two seperate companies, but you never know what's going on behind the scenes.

Can you file a complaint with evilbay? Since what you received was not what was pictured.

Jamie

 

[roncor]

Jamie, can I get a new steel wheel (spare) for my '80 240D? I'd like to have my trunk area look new also! Thanks,

roncor

 

[p100]

My advice is obviously of no value here, but, unless you are doing concourse level restoration of your car, why be so concerned about the "newness" of the spare wheel? First, you accomplish a lot more by putting a brand new fresh tire on your existing spare wheel. A 20+ year old tire, even if never used, is absolutely worthless and unsafe to use. It will dry rot in a few weeks when exposed to sun.
Not safe to drive on.

 

[Gregs300CD]

Thanks for the number!

I sent them an e-mail with the part number. I told them that they should send me one if they want to keep a customer. We'll see what happens.

You should see the tire on it. It is fresh.
And, I don't plan on using it anyway.

Besides, if you take a picture of something and offer it for sale, you give it as is when someone pays for it. Or, you inform them of a difference between what they see and what they are getting. That's as much the point here as what I am actually buying. It's just bad business.

Here's the description:

You are viewing a LIKE NEW (never moutned on vehicle) R107, W123 or W126 - 14 x 6.5 alloy wheel. Wheel still has the little round sticker & safety tag attached. This is the more sought after 6.5 blue striped wheel & it is ready to ship !!!

If it's pictured and mentioned in the description, I BOUGHT IT.
Now give it to me, I say.
I'm not expecting any more than what I purchased.

 

[MBeige]

Greg, you're right. Unfortunately there are people who are hard to deal with. If you want, there are some fresh tags at the junkyard anyway, they usually can also be found with the 124 cars (both mine have them, I got the other one from the junkyard when Curtis and I were hunting for parts).

 

[p100]

Ok, all of you anal types: Who has the Mercedes special tool part number 123 589 11 63 00 ? You need 4 of them if you work on your car. What are they? They are the jacking adaptors or jacking up shoes as they call them.

They slide into the existing car jack holes in the rocker panels, but provide the lifting surface for a floor jack or garage lift. I finally discovered how to properly jack up this car!

Of course, chances are , nobody will have or has even heard of these before! They are identified in the 123 chassis service manual CD.

 

[euroamg]

I have seen those before.. But never got a chance to own one...

 

[johnhef]

pga was in fact recently bought out, but in the past I've never had a problem with them. they've helped me out numerous times, gave me freebies and even when I was sent the wrong parts, they mailed me the correct part, no questions asked and never wanted the incorrect part back in return.

 

[JamieK]

Ok, all of you anal types: Who has the Mercedes special tool part number 123 589 11 63 00 ? You need 4 of them if you work on your car. What are they? They are the jacking adaptors or jacking up shoes as they call them.

They slide into the existing car jack holes in the rocker panels, but provide the lifting surface for a floor jack or garage lift. I finally discovered how to properly jack up this car!

Of course, chances are , nobody will have or has even heard of these before! They are identified in the 123 chassis service manual CD.

Still available from MB, but very pricey. We had some made at a machine shop to work with jacjstands. Heres a pic...

 

[81bobby300D]

Besides the dealership where can one buy a new spare tire for a w123?

 

[Gregs300CD]

Bundts are all over the place.
Every yard with Mercedes has them.

I've seen the jack hole "adapters" on e-bay (IIRC), but didn't get them.
Where did you get yours and how much did you pay for them?

 

[Gregs300CD]

Response from PGA:

"Well I gotta tell ya I will not give a $50.00 credit for a paper tag, as I said before the tag was not part of the auction. And, I do not cover shipping. If you would like to ship it back I will give a full refund and resell it no problem. We have a very good business here and provide every customer with great parts and service. If you are unsatisfied it does not mean we did not do our job, it just means you were not satisfied. Out of the over 3000 items we have sold on E-Bay I will take our feedback score and use it as a guide as to our service level. Thank you."

So, no dice.
They didn't deliver what they sold.

I'll shoot one last letter.

Yea, I'm being incredibly anal about this, but I'm friggin' right.
I shouldn't have to keep shopping for what I've already bought.

 

[KCM]

Here's the description:

You are viewing a LIKE NEW (never moutned on vehicle) R107, W123 or W126 - 14 x 6.5 alloy wheel. Wheel still has the little round sticker & safety tag attached. This is the more sought after 6.5 blue striped wheel & it is ready to ship !!!

On your side, according to the description, the "safety tag" was part of the auction, so you could forward the ad to them for reference and show them it was mentioned.

On their side, I could see where a $50 refund for a missing tag would get them a little worked up, and raise their defenses. I would say a $10 to $15 refund would be more than adequate. Or a replacement tag.

I bought a used door from them several years back (not on Ebay), and it was as perfect as described, and at a reasonable price. The only blemish was that the corner was slightly bent during shipping, but I easily straightened it out. They seemed to be friendly and helpful people at that time.

 

[Maxbumpo]

Greg,

You are correct, they owe you the tag. It should be a very simple matter for them to find one in their yard or purchase from dealer for shipment to you.

You may want to email them a link to this thread - they are getting some negative publicity here which is never a good thing...

I've only purchased on thing from them in the past, via their website not Ebay, and it was a great experience. Part was exactly as described and what I needed, it shipped same day like they said, and the price was right.

 

[GeeS]

Just curious, why do you care about the tag and what were your plans for it?

 

[Gregs300CD]

Same thing I plan on doing with the spare wheel.

 

[GeeS]

Well, I don't think a tag will be of much use if you have a flat tire...

 

[GeeS]

In general, Potomac has always enjoyed a fine reputation in the rather seedy realm of salvage yards. That said, I'm a bit disappointed to learn that they've lowered themselves to peddling their wares on eBay.