Bad Quality Products / Purchases

Simple6 · 06-09-2011, 08:28 PM

Let's see if this thread works or not - its just an idea!

I thought we could all put up things we've bought from places (online or a shop) that are just dodgy and not worth wasting your money as a warning to others!

Please don't judge/criticise people on buying cheaper products (tools in my case), sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

I'll start,

Product - Gear Puller
eBay Seller - hardwarebargain
I bought one of these off eBay for the pricey sum of $18.50 + $11 delivery. It's (was) a 3 Jaw 6" machine that looked like it should be able to pull of my BA's front hubs.

But no, after setting it up, starting to get things moving the main threaded rod bends, making it very difficult to turn! And of course spurring my interest in the quality of this "drop forged from heat treated high carbon steel".

Regardless, seeing as I've decided that this is a one use only tool, I continue for a couple of turns before a crack and lots of movement! The excitement of thinking the hub was off quickly turned to disappointment as I realise now the main threaded rod is bent .... and now threaded, thus completely useless.

Anyway I've sent the seller a message, asking about returns process. Though reading the listing says if it's a warranty replacement - I must pay for postage to and from the seller.
No chance.

Long story short - made the 2 hour round trip and bought a Stanley puller from $49.99 from SuperCheapAuto (none of my locals had any), quality straight off the bat much better, and it pulled my hub off in seconds with no hint of failure.

Hopefully my story will save someone else buying this rubbish and then having their car on stands for 3 days until they can get out to buy a new, better quality one!

So just post up what you bought, where from and why we should avoid it!

JG65TE · 06-09-2011, 08:40 PM

drop forged sometimes means they forged it and then they dropped it.............

Mine is super tie rod removers. Went thru 3 of em in about half hour. all went back. the cast cracks and they fall in half

Sterling · 06-09-2011, 09:10 PM

ive got one off the top of my head,

i know its actualy almost completely pointless as i dont know the brand names

but i have purchase three, YES THREE different tachometers through ebay

they all had weird names like (autopartsdirect) or (gofastawesomeparts) etc etc.

so, 1st one (3.5inch) didnt work at all, completely dead. cost like $50 odd.

second one worked completely normally. except when you rev to 4K the tacho stops moving and the shift light starts having a spastic attack. - this was a 5" one and had a few adjustments and that, played with all and nothing. $100odd

third one, (another 3.5inch one) from day one was just plain unco and jittery, needle bouncing all over the place, and sometimes not moving at all. $75

they all came with instructions, and none of them help.

a friend bought one from autobarn, has been working perfectly for about 8-9 months now. never looked back.

there are DEFINATELY some things that are not worth trying to buy cheaper.

this made me realise, there is a reason why autobarn/supercheap tacho's are so much more expensive.... they WORK

Rambunctious · 06-09-2011, 09:46 PM

Probably my worst purchase to date was a Metal Cutoff Saw, Tradetools Brand from Geebung store in Brisbane. Used for all home work not industry.
It stopped at 4 months and was repaired under the 12 month warranty.
Stopped again at 20 months and shut off the power to the house in the process.
Had it tested again and it had burnt out the motor and was not worth repairing.
$179 down the gurgler.

**cs123** · 06-09-2011, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambunctious

Probably my worst purchase to date was a Metal Cutoff Saw, Tradetools Brand from Geebung store in Brisbane. Used for all home work not industry.
It stopped at 4 months and was repaired under the 12 month warranty.
Stopped again at 20 months and shut off the power to the house in the process.
Had it tested again and it had burnt out the motor and was not worth repairing.
$179 down the gurgler.

Bought same saw for my father in law. Lots of work and has been flawless so far. 3 years old now.

Jim Goose · 06-09-2011, 09:53 PM

Bought a Sanyo DVD player from Big W.... has lasted 12months, now it doesnt read certain DVDs, or eject!
Lost the receipt.

But years ago i bought a water blaster from Big W... last 7months, had receipt, got new one. New one lasted... 7months, had new reciept, got another new one. That one lasted 2yrs!

Ford_The_Win · 06-09-2011, 10:05 PM

It definitely pays to buy quality stuff. Bought a 'Base' Target brand telly, lasted just under 2 years before it bit the dust, bought a JVC and it's still kicking after 6 years, but even then it probably won't surpass the old Rank Arena that lasted 17 years. Appliances and other goods are much, much cheaper now than they were back in the 1990s but they definitely don't last as long.

1970XW351 · 07-09-2011, 07:37 PM

hmmmm, where ever to begin???
Bought a you beaut supercheap auto harmonic balancer puller... as soon as I had pressure on it the bolts in the balancer bent...= refund...

Bought a you beaut supercheap auto ball joint puller... After two uses the die cast whatever it was had reverted to its natural rubber state and now it just pops right off whatever you happen to be trying to pull...= bin.

Bought a pricey upscaling Samsung DVD recorder, just after 12 months started getting all sorts of artifacts on screen, at 15 months it dies, seeing as it was out of warranty I pulled it apart to find three blows capacitors in the power section of the board, replaced with same rating and they blew in about a week, replaced with higher rating caps, blew in a few days...= BIN!

I had an LG flatron 51cm telly for many many years and it still works just fine, so when I upgraded to plasma I went LG.... It lasted about half an hour before it was dropping out, producing all sorts of ugly artifacts, making many a high pitched squealing and buzzing noise and generally being a %**&% ... So took it back and swapped for a Panasonic viera.... MMMM quality!!

These are just the few items that come to me now in my booze addled state, there are many more, but they can wait until another night, lol

1970XW351 · 07-09-2011, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford_The_Win

It definitely pays to buy quality stuff. Bought a 'Base' Target brand telly, lasted just under 2 years before it bit the dust, bought a JVC and it's still kicking after 6 years, but even then it probably won't surpass the old Rank Arena that lasted 17 years. Appliances and other goods are much, much cheaper now than they were back in the 1990s but they definitely don't last as long.

I reckon, I bought a second hand westinghouse fridge and upright freezer about 10 years ago for one hunnerd shiny $$ .... They lasted until July this year with nerry a jot of trouble and the compressor of the fridge died... I checked the manufacture year... 1984... So as the repair was too much I sold the freezer off and bought a new fridge.... Don't rightly know if I'll get 27 years out of it...

.. Not bloody likely!!

Zero_PSI · 07-09-2011, 08:08 PM

With some of these I have to say you get what you pay for. I bought coil-packs off ebay and 2 of 6 worked. I replaced the lot and couldn't get a refund!

SEZ213 · 07-09-2011, 08:11 PM

Samsung Fridge - they make fantastic tv's and computer monitors - but their fridges are dodgy. I had one of those fancy ones that beeped if the door was left open too long...it lasted less than two years before the freezer started defrosting itself and regularly 'reversing' out of the kitchen (the beep alone drove me nuts), $400 to repair, purchased for $650...I threw it and bought a new fridge...

Apple Ipod classic...370 bucks worth of absolute crap - every time I plug it into a computer (any computer, even my mac), it freezes and dies...

Just because it's expensive, it doesn't necessarily mean it's good...

If the TV we currently have lasts the 25 years that our old NEC did before it started assuming we were all deaf and turning the volume up for us (and vice versa)

, I'll be a happy camper...

XESP351 · 07-09-2011, 08:50 PM

Our Samsung microwave died yesterday, just under two years after we bought it...I'm seeing a trend here...Samsung..

BadMax · 07-09-2011, 09:07 PM

I bought a set of T bar allen keys from Total Tools in their own TTI brand.
I went to use the 2.5mm to undo the fairings on the Duc and it slipped, I thought ok maybe a dodgy bolt, next, the allen key twists about 90 degrees and is about to slip. Tried another and the fit was crap.
Took them back, and after discussing the facts I got my money back. Bought Teng Tool ones a few days later and no twisting or slipping...and they were $10 cheaper for the same size set!

Ford_The_Win · 07-09-2011, 09:08 PM

You have to be mindful with some brands, they've gone downhill in the last few years. Sanyo, Samsung, NEC and all the no-name brands get nearly all of their TVs, DVDs, etc from the same suppliers, if you take off the plastic facias they are absolutely identical. The old stalwarts like Panasonic, JVC, Sharp and Sony are still half decent for most things but you pay a premium.

Franco Cozzo · 07-09-2011, 09:13 PM

Samsung series 4 Plasma, died just outside its 2 year warranty.

Samsung DVD recorder randomly freezes during recordings.

Fisher and Paykal fridge, the freezer ices up every 2 days, has to be defrosed manually which is annoying, Mum doesn't like Dad using her 30 year old hair dryer for the job LOL.

falconhell74 · 07-09-2011, 09:57 PM

pannel beating kit from supa cheep , hammer's & dolly's kit first hit head broke off , second hammer ..........bingo head broke off on first hit also, took back & idiot sales man tryed telling me after i explaned what happened that they arn't desighned for industrial use only handy man ........hello nobby its a hammer its desighned to hit things!!!! got money back eventually .

TheInterceptor · 07-09-2011, 10:32 PM

Toshiba LCD telly...slow and laggy out of the box...

Olympus u5010 14MP camera $200 from Bing lee on boxing day. Failed under warranty, exchanged. Failed again...(as the first time, lens goes in and out and makes ugly BZZZing noises then turns off, if anybody knows a fix or wants it PM me..) Bought myself a $500 Panasonic Lumix tough camera also from bing lee and so far is working tops

Snapped the ring end off a no name 13mm spanner ..

Im done with cheap ****. Im not made of money but usually its worth payin that bit extra.

Simple6 · 09-09-2011, 08:52 AM

Well I left my message to the eBay sellers for 4 days with no response. So negative feedback was left.

Just reminded me though, seeing someone mention Toshiba. I have a Toshiba DVD player - major rubbish. It was replaced under warranty once when it stopped playing regular DVD's (Not burnt disc's - real DVD's) and then about 6 months later did it again. So I bought a Sony Blue-Ray and so far so good!

Geez Louise · 09-09-2011, 09:03 AM

I have had the worst experience with Samsung. I had a Samsung phone that never worked properly, a microwave that never cooked anything properly, and a video recorder that ate video tapes no matter how many times it was repaired.

I will never buy that brand again. I know people have said they have improved, but I have been burnt too many times now.

And LG - Life's good - my eye!! I bought an LG Fancy do hicky electronic space ship looking washing machine and had NOTHING but issues with it. Went back to my old faithful. turn the dial manually, Whirlpool washing machine in the end and threw the new one out for hard rubbish after 2mths. No point in having it repaired and it couldn't be returned for a refund as it was a sale item from a store that was closing down)...I was so grumpy with the darn thing, someone else was welcome to just take it and battle with the dark side.

I will stick with brands I grew up with from now on. The quality still seems alright on all the Sony gear we have.

ltd · 09-09-2011, 10:31 AM

LG, Lifes Good? Nope. Their origins are that really crappy brand Goldstar. Now, LG the company literally call themselves Lucky Goldstar or LG for short.
Samsung were awesome years ago when they bought their boards from Singapore and in some cases Japan, but now they buy their boards and components from China so the quality has fallen away.
Sony were the worst name in Plasma a few years ago for this reason, and they've since moved everything back in house to get the quality back.
Panasonic get a lot of their components from China, but they're produced under licence, and the error rates on items are less than competitors.

Meanwhile, I have a 28 inch NEC TV that cost $1800.00 in 1983, that is still going, and the picture quality is better (less pixelisation) than my newer Sony LCD.
I also have a Sanyo 650 watt microwave that my parents gave to me, they bought it in 1981. It's still going strong.
I've gone through dozens of DVD players, recorders etc etc, they only seem to last 12 months tops.
Pre 2000 I think things were built to last, now they seem destined to just last long enough to get through the warranty period.

pottery beige · 09-09-2011, 12:29 PM

Nokia N8.. freezy, laggy, POS.. you either get a good one or a bad one.... mine suffered an impressive death..... phone meet concrete....

Trevor 57 · 09-09-2011, 12:45 PM

Samsung DVD/Video recorder, the DVD recording function has been shyte from day 1, and now it won't read DVD's at all - never again

**Grunter** · 09-09-2011, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Nokia N8.. freezy, laggy, POS.. you either get a good one or a bad one.... mine suffered an impressive death..... phone meet concrete....

We got 6 of these for work and only 2 didn't have any issues off the bat. The 4 were replacecd and 2 of those still had problems and were replaced. I think it may be their OS as the problems were all varied.

**Polyal** · 09-09-2011, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Nokia N8.. freezy, laggy, POS.. you either get a good one or a bad one.... mine suffered an impressive death..... phone meet concrete....

YES..I have always brought Nokias but after my N97 mini experience I wont again, although I do love the keyboard. I agree with Grunter, the OS is so bad, lag, hangs up, freezes, etc etc, its appalling.

I really dont want an iPhone, but they just work so damn well, might look at HTC et al when the time comes.

|Nate · 09-09-2011, 01:03 PM

Didn't happen to me but I witnessed it.

My friend bought computer parts and wanted me to build it for him, so I did.
Everything was all plugged in and all good, the case being an $80 one with a PSU already in there.
Switch it on and WHAM big pop and blue smoke of electrical death everywhere...

To not be forgotten, the power supply decided to take down the graphics card with it, a sad day for all HD 6850's :(

**Giant Cranium** · 09-09-2011, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

I really dont want an iPhone, but they just work so damn well, might look at HTC et al when the time comes.

dont do it. there are 15 at work and we all are on our second in 12 months and some on our 4th. crap phone

**Polyal** · 09-09-2011, 03:44 PM

Really..well I dont know what then, Ill have to wait until my contract is up and speaking of the devil it just had another meltdown. I was writing a txt and it started popping up menu's and then went to some online thing..all by itself. It is so bloody bad.

And then its forever cracking the poos and saying its out of memory, when the only app I have open is my contact list or inbox..LOL

Worst phone ever.

ch33z1l · 09-09-2011, 03:52 PM

My boss lost the adaptor for our EEPC. Bought an adaptor from aussiebattery.com.au and was surprised when it turned up with Singapore stamps all over it. Lasted exactly 30mins. Seller failed to return calls.

**Bundy** · 09-09-2011, 05:33 PM

Yes been down the same road with tools. I've learnt my lesson over the years, now I'm happy to pay the extra and still with the brands that serve me well -
Sidchrome, some Kinchrome, Makita, Shindawia to name few.

Danny · 09-09-2011, 09:51 PM

3 things

Nokia 6500 Slide (or any nokia for that matter), Made of aluminium and that caused a plethora of problems with the battery contacts resetting the phone at least every time you handled it. They bought out a new "black" model, which apparently was to fix the endless issues with the silver model.

A samsung i450 music phone which would hold 8 sms messages and then decide it could hold no more messages (on the Flip side, the SGH D600 - the slider phone that started the slide trend was the best phone I have ever owned).

And an Epson Printer/Scanner/Etc the whole thing just went boom and decided never to work again just after a year. Email Epson? No reply. Wnkrs.

There is one more thing I bought which I regretted more than any other purchase I have made. But If I mention it explicitly, I'll just flare up the crybabies here..