I've noticed they have on eBay tail lights and head lights that are about half the price of ones you would see from places like AM, CJ, ect... Whats the difference?


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/05-09...Q5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/05-09...#ht_2663wt_935

 

I can only speak from experience.

I bought 2 sets of tail lights from E-bay.

1st set was a pair of Altezza type tail lights. "this was back in 2004".... They were perfect. It just took me about 2 months to realize that altezzas were gay.

The 2nd set I bought were very cheap LED tail lights. They fogged up when ever it rained or I used the car wash. I went to town on the seams with super glue and it solved the problem.

Both tail lights in my opinion were money well spent.


I also bought 2 sets of head lights.

The first set was fine. The second had its own wiring harness with "built in driving lights". They didnt fit and I had to do some moddifying with power tools to make them fit. These actually melted the fuse it came with and fried its own wiring harness.

So to make my point clear, their might be a good reason why they are so cheap. IE.. Factory rejects.

But if your on a budget and willing to put a little extra work into them, then its probably money well spent. Its just not a 100% sure thing.

You know how E-bay is...

 

Thanks for the feedback, I plan on just getting the housing and not any lighting or wiring harnesses with them. I am thinking about just getting those tails.

 

Another problem with these things from ebay can be summed up in 3 words: Made in china, which basically means the ebay seller knows they are crap, the Chinese makers know they are crap, and both the sellers and the Chinese makers know we stupid Americans will pay for them just because they are cheap.

They are hit-or-miss, meaning that you can get a set that are really great and never F*** up, but you also run a much higher risk of getting a S***ty set that screws up all the time, leak water in, blow out bulbs, etc.

And worse, most ebay sellers who sell the chinese made stuff refuse to do any sort of exchange, or if they have an exchange or refund policy, they will make it extremely hard for you to return or exchange it.

 

A wise man once said..."Buy Once, Cry Once." Save up and buy quality parts first. Most of the 'inexpensive' lighting on eBay is, at best, a crap shoot.

 

Anything electrical at all on ebay is a scam. And yes, this is from a total of about 2K dollar of experience with ebay electronics and the such.

 

Yeah I bought a set of dome led lights from eBay as well as liscense plate led bulbs. The dome lights work good but the liscense plates arent even the right kind. Tried using them as the trunk light, but no dice there either. Just save up for the legit stuff. That's what I'm planning on doing.

 

obviously you must never look at the sellers feedback score before buying. I have bought over 10K easily in high tech home stereo and car stereo on ebay and have always been happy

 

Thanks for the feedback guys, I think I may just go with the Raxiom tails from AM!

 

Most, if not all, aftermarket headlights and taillights are made in China. The Ebay ones are most likely the same ones that AM and other vendors sell. With that knowledge, I save money by buying on Ebay.