Issue with roof bars - advice please!
Discussion
I'm looking for a bit of advice on where I stand regarding a set of roofbars I bought on Gumtree.
They were advertised as "Thule light alloy roof bars for BMW E39 Touring" and "fitted but never used" so "as new", but when they arrived yesterday they have turned out to be genuine Audi bars for a Q5 which somebody has drilled to shift the mounting points inwards to fit the BMW. Now I don't know if Thule manufacture the bars for Audi, but there is no Thule branding anywhere on the bars.
The problem for me is not only are they mis-described, but they don't actually fit my car which is a E46 touring. I bought them because I know from Thule's online fitment guide that the E39 touring and E46 touring are the same bar and foot pack - I assume there is a way to adjust the width of the mounting points on the bar. On the bars I've received, the only way I could adjust the width is to drill more holes (something I don't want to do and imo may affect the structure).
I've mailed the guy and he is claiming that they are as described and playing ignorant to the modification of them. Not only do I have an issue of the description of the bar, but his claim that they are as new and unused would suggest he bought them new, so he is either lying about that, or he did buy them new and modified them himself (for whatever reason).
Here is the advert text in full:
"Thule light alloy roof bars for BMW E39 Touring
These are top quality bars, ultra light and very strong. They have been fitted, as you can see, but have never been used. I was going to drive to France for a ski trip but we ended up flying. So they are good as new. They cost over £100 so if you have a 5 series (e39 model) they will be perfect. I have looked at the newer 5 series and think they will fit that one also, but if you wanted to try them for size that wouldn`t be a problem. They do also fit some Audi models as the rails are the same pattern."
What does everyone think, and where do I stand on this?
They were advertised as "Thule light alloy roof bars for BMW E39 Touring" and "fitted but never used" so "as new", but when they arrived yesterday they have turned out to be genuine Audi bars for a Q5 which somebody has drilled to shift the mounting points inwards to fit the BMW. Now I don't know if Thule manufacture the bars for Audi, but there is no Thule branding anywhere on the bars.
The problem for me is not only are they mis-described, but they don't actually fit my car which is a E46 touring. I bought them because I know from Thule's online fitment guide that the E39 touring and E46 touring are the same bar and foot pack - I assume there is a way to adjust the width of the mounting points on the bar. On the bars I've received, the only way I could adjust the width is to drill more holes (something I don't want to do and imo may affect the structure).
I've mailed the guy and he is claiming that they are as described and playing ignorant to the modification of them. Not only do I have an issue of the description of the bar, but his claim that they are as new and unused would suggest he bought them new, so he is either lying about that, or he did buy them new and modified them himself (for whatever reason).
Here is the advert text in full:
"Thule light alloy roof bars for BMW E39 Touring
These are top quality bars, ultra light and very strong. They have been fitted, as you can see, but have never been used. I was going to drive to France for a ski trip but we ended up flying. So they are good as new. They cost over £100 so if you have a 5 series (e39 model) they will be perfect. I have looked at the newer 5 series and think they will fit that one also, but if you wanted to try them for size that wouldn`t be a problem. They do also fit some Audi models as the rails are the same pattern."
What does everyone think, and where do I stand on this?
Well after a few emails back and forth, the chap has agreed to refund my money (he isn't happy about it) and has asked me to ebay the bars and donate the money to help for heros (bizarre but honourable request seeing as I was prepared to post them back to him).
Seemed like a pretty genuine chap on the whole, and in my opinion he got screwed when he bought them (doesn't mean I'm happy to accept the same though). He said he bought them new from "Sher" (Google tells me it's a cash and carry in Glasgow) and they "fitted" them for him. Sounds like they screwed him over if they told them they were Thule and the right model for his car.
Oh well, providing the refund comes through then I'm happy. Right, anyone fancy some butchered Audi bars for their E39 touring? All proceeds to a good cause!
Seemed like a pretty genuine chap on the whole, and in my opinion he got screwed when he bought them (doesn't mean I'm happy to accept the same though). He said he bought them new from "Sher" (Google tells me it's a cash and carry in Glasgow) and they "fitted" them for him. Sounds like they screwed him over if they told them they were Thule and the right model for his car.
Oh well, providing the refund comes through then I'm happy. Right, anyone fancy some butchered Audi bars for their E39 touring? All proceeds to a good cause!
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