Caveat Emptor (eBay)

Jeff Stich

True Classic
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Just a "Heads Up!" for any fellow Fiat 850 fans viewing the tan-colored 850 Coupe front seats/door panels set being sold on eBay...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/302098677564

The eBay seller states in the ad:

"These were all recently redone. The seats are fresh and the door cards are new. There are some small blemishes on the chrome trim on the door cards due to storage but overall look outstanding. These were all ultra expensive using the highest of quality materials and workmanship".

I can state as absolute fact that nearly all of these statements are not true, as I'm a previous owner of these very same items. The reupholstery work on these was done over 10 years ago, after which I bought them on eBay for a few hundred dollars for a Seat 850 Coupe project car I owned, stored them for a few years, & then sold them with that car in August 2008.

Not recently redone, not fresh & new, & not the highest quality materials or workmanship. The upholstery material was a thick, "leather-look" vinyl, but it was a bit on the dried-out side - ie: not smooth, soft & supple (I put a light coat of leather/vinyl conditioner on it & kept it covered in a cool area while I had it in storage, which helped a bit). That was back in 2006. The workmanship was nicely done overall, but there were small wrinkles in some of the corners where the material panels meet (mainly on the seat cushions) - wrinkles which match exactly those that are visible in the eBay sellers' photos. Each seat back was also missing one of the rubber bumpstops next to the seat latch (also visible in the eBay photos). "Highest quality" would've had these items taken care of already.

For comparison, these are a few auction photos from when I sold that car, showing the complete matching interior set which consisted of the front & rear seats, the rear 1/4-panels, & the front door panels & rear parcel shelf cover (standing vertically & wrapped in a clear plastic bag):



They are nice seats & door panels, but not $1390 worth of nice. :rolleyes2:

I wonder what happened to the rest of the interior set? :confuse2:
 
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