WARNING - FAKE A3 Sportback Roof Rails on Ebay

[Muzza80]

Just a heads up.

Some idiot is selling knock-off Chinese roof rails for the 8P Sportback on Ebay

Audi A3 RS3 S3 Sportback ROOF RAILS BARS Aluminium Rare Retrofit RACK Brand New | eBay

Muggins here bought a set, £340 all in believing they were the genuine article (every pic he has listed of them are genuine, we talked in depth over Ebay messaging and the seller confirmed they were genuine), not so, don't get me wrong they're roof bars that may or may not fit an A3 Sportback but they're not genuine Audi, the fittings are not the same as supplied by Audi and they will be going nowhere near my car that's for sure.

Problem I now have is I bought them outwith Ebay to save a few £ in his seller fees, although thankfully I never paid gift payment so hopefully Paypal will encourage him to refund my Payment in full.

First time I've ever been caught out this bad on Ebay, live and learn I guess.

 

[NHN]

Yeah a guy tried that on here, his name was iirc Pete, until he got closed down, they may still be listed in classifieds, £350 is allot to pay for copies.

 

[Muzza80]

Yeah a guy tried that on here, his name was iirc Pete, until he got closed down, they may still be listed in classifieds, £350 is allot to pay for copies.

Classifieds: Audi A3 S3 RS3 Sportback Aluminium Roof Rails Brand New RRP £550 Hard to find

Same description, same pictures, different mobile number it seems.

The guy on Ebay I bought them from is somebody Hussain, not Pete that's for sure although he's listed a second set on Ebay after me buying mine.

Do we know how he got shut down, did somebody buy some from him on here?

 

[NHN]

Nottingham for both, so its the same guy.

 

[yorkshirepuddingjake]

I was looking for some to buy and then came across this post. I've read his advert and although hes put official audi instructions and put pictures of cars with them on... he hasn't actually written that they are genuine.... having said that. thanks for the heads up. i was going to make him an offer but looks like I will just drive down to him instead and see if they fit, I'm only an hour away in Wakefield*. if they fit, I will just go for them because at the end of the day they are roof rails, dont think they will cause any damage to my car, or put me at disadvantage, will just make it look better. Im pretty good at drilling etc as im a joiner so shouldnt be much of a problem. If i struggle there a few good bodywork guys around here lol might have to use them, hopefully I wont . Ive been looking for them for several months now and the only thing I need to finish my car off. . So I will let you guys know how it goes if I do buy them.

 

[yorkshirepuddingjake]

When you say they are Fake, are they not the right shape or something? What should I look for when going to see them? Any suggestions? Has anyone ever fitted any?

 

[voorhees]

I know if they are fake we will remove them.

 

[Muzza80]

I was looking for some to buy and then came across this post. To be honest I've read his advert and although hes put official audi instructions and put pictures of cars with them on... he hasn't actually written that they are genuine so as much as you say ''Warning etc'' ... hes not to blame as he hasnt done anything wrong.... having said that. thanks for the heads up. i was going to make him an offer but looks like I will just drive down to him instead and see if they fit, I'm only an hour away. if they fit, I will just go for them because at the end of the day they are roof rails, not like they are going to cause any damage to my car, or put me at disadvantage or shame. Ive been looking for them for several months now and the only thing I need to finish my sportback off. Got a guy called Amar up here in Yorkshire apparently he can fit them. So I will let you guys know how it goes if I do buy them.

I'll reply to your original post (the one I've quoted above) not the one you edited at 2.24am. So you registered on here at 2am to defend the seller of these Ebay bars and post your bit, hmmm, something not right here.


First of all, the pictures "the seller" has listed on Ebay with the rails off the car are of genuine rails, they come with completely different fittings that can be removed from the rails as per Audi, not the permanently stuck on cheap machine screws that the set I received came with.

I have no way to check these will fit properly before fitting, you cannot remove the screws unless you remove them permanently therefore you cannot check the fitment of the rails against the line of the body of the car without drilling holes in the roof first, if you think I'm drilling holes in the roof of my £20,000 Audi to check if a set of knock-off roof rails even fits properly then you're insane. Who's to even know if the holes are even where Audi intended them to be!!?

The description is extremely misleading, it talks of the only place you can buy them with the "official Audi fitting instructions" why would you supply genuine Audi fitting instructions for a part that is not genuine Audi, the fitting will be completely different with different parts which it is!


I've posted this to try and make sure nobody else on here is unwittingly duped into buying what is clearly made out to be genuine Audi parts. If anyone wants to buy a set of these replica rails then have a look here:

Online Buy Wholesale audi a3 roof rack from China audi a3 roof rack Wholesalers |Aliexpress.com or Alibaba.com or the likes.

 

[TDI140]

I was going to message they guy to go look at them on sunday !!! :-O

 

[Muzza80]

I was going to message they guy to go look at them on sunday !!! :-O

Don't bother unless they're like £100 or something.

 

[c_w]

Genuine AUDI stamp aside, what's actually wrong with them?

 

[Muzza80]

The bolts/fixings on these are permanently attached to the rails (genuine ones can be removed) so there is no way to tell if these will even fit perfectly to the shape of the roof without actually drilling the holes in the roof first.

The genuine rails come with special 13mm inserts that are fitted to the roof skin first, then the rails are fitted to these with the supplied bolts, these inserts give a little adjustment for perfect, secure fitting and are how Audi intended roof rails to be fitted.

Who knows if these copies even have the bolts in the same place as the genuine ones, there are specific areas in the underside of the roof where the holes/fittings are meant to go.

If I wanted replicas I'd have bought them for £150 from Alibaba or AliExpress!

If you bought a set of what you thought was (and was clearly suggested were) genuine BBS wheels for a hefty price then what turned up was replicas that cost about 1/4 of the RRP of the genuine ones would you now be looking to return them? Yes they're wheels, yes they look like the originals but they're NOT!

I'm not fitting some cheap copy rails to my £20,000 Audi S3 and I never would have bought them if the seller had been clear.

 

[yorkshirepuddingjake]

I'll reply to your original post (the one I've quoted above) not the one you edited at 2.24am. So you registered on here at 2am to defend the seller of these Ebay bars and post your bit, hmmm, something not right here. First of all, the pictures "the seller" has listed on Ebay with the rails off the car are of genuine rails, they come with completely different fittings that can be removed from the rails as per Audi, not the permanently stuck on cheap machine screws that the set I received came with.I have no way to check these will fit properly before fitting, you cannot remove the screws unless you remove them permanently therefore you cannot check the fitment of the rails against the line of the body of the car without drilling holes in the roof first, if you think I'm drilling holes in the roof of my £20,000 Audi to check if a set of knock-off roof rails even fits properly then you're insane. Who's to even know if the holes are even where Audi intended them to be!!? The description is extremely misleading, it talks of the only place you can buy them with the "official Audi fitting instructions" why would you supply genuine Audi fitting instructions for a part that is not genuine Audi, the fitting will be completely different with different parts which it is! I've posted this to try and make sure nobody else on here is unwittingly duped into buying what is clearly made out to be genuine Audi parts. If anyone wants to buy a set of these replica rails then have a look here: Online Buy Wholesale audi a3 roof rack from China audi a3 roof rack Wholesalers |Aliexpress.com or Alibaba.com or the likes.

Can I please ask what I said that was wrong? All I said was, he has not stated they were genuine.. I'm not defending him i don't even know him???...........I registered last night because it was the only way i could comment and that's when i had some free time.....I have rang him and I will be going down this evening..........I kind of asked him about all the things you've mentioned so here we go..............I asked him ... Will they definitely fit my sportback a3, he said and I quote ''Yes. If they don't fit you can have them for free''....I asked him ... Are they Genuine, because I've seen a bloke complain about them on the forum. His reply "No they are not genuine, but they will fit exactly the same as genuine ones, they are the same size, same weight, same fitment, but no part number. Even the hole pattern is exactly the same"...........I asked him ... So whats the difference between these ones and the genuine ones... his reply.. "A sticker with a part number, maybe the washers and bolts ,if you're fussy and that's about it"..............I asked him about the screws, I asked if I could remove the screws because I might want to just stick them on to see what he would say... he replied "no problem at all mate, you can just unscrew them easily, I will show you when you come".............My opinion on the whole thing cannot be given until I go down this evening and hopefully get them fitted or fit them myself either tomorrow or the weekend...............But I'm happy with the responses and he doesn't seem dodgey so to speak... well we will see today... i'm on nights tonight so will give an update................thanks....................SORRY ABOUT THE WAY MY REPLY HAS COME OUT, I TRIED TO PARAGRAPH THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS BUT IT WOULDN'T LET ME

 

[c_w]

Was going to say about the bolts, in the description he talks about bonding them on so there must be a way to remove the bolts.

 

[Artimus]

I'm wondering if the two sellers listed in the earlier posts are selling different products???

Going by Muzza's description & what Yorkshire was told over the phone, they don't sound alike ...and then there's the different names\numbers to add to the confusion. Maybe, just maybe...

 

[immo]

They ebay description doesn't say they are genuine parts so the seller isn't at fault he's just marketed them well. Misleading, maybe, but buyer beware! If he has told you they are genuine through ebay messages then that's another matter...

 

[Muzza80]

he's just marketed them well

What have you been smoking? He's blatantly sold the rails with pictures of genuine items when that's not what he's selling at all and with an extremely questionable description that would have any normal person fully believing they're genuine parts.

Remind me never to buy anything from you if that's your take on it lol

And to answer another question, no, the end screws on my rails are bonded in there with some messy glue/resin and the other two on each just turn in the holes, no way to remove them and I doubt they would even tighten up properly as there's nothing to stop them from spinning around in the rail.

 

[immo]

But it also says in the description that the images are basically for display purposes only to show what the car looks like with the rails on. Don't get me wrong I feel for you. Will he not accept a return/refund?

 

[Muzza80]

But it also says in the description that the images are basically for display purposes only to show what the car looks like with the rails on. Don't get me wrong I feel for you. Will he not accept a return/refund?

Yeah the ones on the car, fair enough but the ones with the genuine Audi rails pictured lying on the floor, with no permanently attached fixings, in packaging and with a little bag with the genuine bits and bobs sitting next to them....

Not interested in refunding me, no.

It's gone to Paypal as a claim now, hopefully they will sort it out.

 

[Muzza80]

Ok so found some interesting further information.

I thought the fittings were permanently attached to the rails, not so, the inner two fittings on each rail can be unscrewed from the rail itself, they are actually just threaded rods that screw directly into the rail that's had a very crude thread tapped into it.

The worse part yet, on both rails, the outer fittings have been glued in because the part of the rail that's tapped to accept the threaded fitting has threaded so badly that there's no way the fittings will screw in! They (seller or manufacturer, not sure) have not even bothered using decent glue, it's some soft rubbish glue that literally pulled out by hand!

Now when you consider that I will sometimes be carrying two, 30lb mountain bikes on these rails you will now see why they are completely useless, the outer fittings on both rails are (were) glued in place and the remaining fittings are not even what you would call secure, they're merely tapped into some cheap chinese crap pot metal!

These rails are not fit for purpose and are in fact extremely dangerous!

 

[Muzza80]

 

[voorhees]

Advert removed

 

[c_w]

That thread does look a bit dodgy, would have thought itwas just used to secure the bolt in the thread, rather than INSTEAD of thread! It sounds to me that the seller has just assumed everyone would want these for cosmetic affect, hence the "option" to bond them on, rather than use them properly.

 

[manor13]

You cant use picture of a genuine item to show another item on ebay and you cant use things like TYPE or LIKE they don't police it but spend 2 mins on ebay and you can report loads and they will remove them it counts against the seller as well. You should be covered by the distance selling(forget the whole proper name)
If he had of been honest from the start and said what they were he would have still sold them to people looking for a cheaper alternative just not the OEM folks. I hope PP help you out.

 

[yorkshirepuddingjake]

Got back from Nottingham about an hour ago. Thought I'd write this before heading off to work. First of all, the bloke is actually a pleasant, good mannered bloke. I asked him about this situation and he told me what's been going on. Let's put it this way... Muzza, you've been telling us a few PORKIES haven't you. He showed me the entire text messaging thread you two have been communicating on... It turns out that he Never told you they were genuine because when he confronted you about it ... You said that you assumed they were Genuine, I've seen the text messages mate so don't even deny that. 1) that's your own fault for not asking and in the advert it never said they were genuine 2) this glue business you're referring to seems to be made up. I've got a set here with me. The screws screw on and off very easily, there's no glue at all. If anyone wants to confirm this then please come and have a look at my set tonight or tomorrow as I'm going to be putting them on tomorrow / weekend. 3) I actually feel sorry for the bloke, lovely guy.... Anyway moving on from all that... I can now confirm... They are NOT genuine. They do not have a audi sticker on them. But I can confirm after taking the screws off, they definitely are for my sport back and any sport back for that matter. He put the plastic template on my car and marked the holes out for me, all the screws and bolts lined up perfectly. With regards to "them being strong enough to hold a rack of mountain bikes " or whatever you said, I'm a big lad and tried pulling all 4 screws out when they were screwed in and they would not come out so they are really strong. I'm really happy to be honest. I didn't expect them to be this quality after my expectations were dropped by your earlier posts. But it's not right what you have done. You're messing with someone's income through your own mistake. I hope you get what you want but I have just lost all trust in your story apart from the fact they aren't genuine, after picking up this set. Btw just to confirm all a3 roof shells are the same right? I've got 2009 plate a3 black edition. It's white. You guys think I should get them sprayed in black or leave them aluminium? ...P.s. I wasn't defending him before, but now I've seen both sides of the story. I'm not trying to promote for him. I'm literally telling it how it is, from a 3rd persons perspective. You seem to be having a go at everyone else when we were just giving our opinions before. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[yorkshirepuddingjake]

That glue in your pictures looks wet and fresh. If someone could tell me how to upload pictures please, I will take pics of my set tomorrow. Cheers

 

[yorkshirepuddingjake]

As others have said, and myself. He never put they were genuine. The pictures were just to show how they look. If you read the bottom of the advert that's exactly what it says lol I can't believe that's even come up. Anyway I've found the truth for myself. And they are not Crap. That's just muzzas opinion. They are perfectly fine aftermarket rails. I will upload pictures of my car when I've put them on. Cheers

 

[Sidhu88]

Hmm.. having spent a few years fitting roof rails to a variety of vehicles it worries me slightly to think people would consider fitting these themselves. If they were genuine and supplied with all the correct parts then yeh why not, but shoddy parts with misfitting nuts/bolts is just a disaster waiting to happen. Imagine you were driving at high speed and the car in front had a set of roof rails that came off and flew into ur driving path, u'd be lucky to get away with brown undies. I've heard stories of it happening before, in fact there was part of some police program where someone lost two bikes and a rack off her scirocco on the motorway. Further to that, and a very good point that was brought up in an old thread, imagine you sold your car and the person after decided to load these up not knowing that they're not genuine and potentially don't work as well... another disaster waiting to happen. My advice... dont fit them. If u can fork out £350 (lets face it, that aint cheap as it is) then why not just go balls deep and buy the proper part for full whack.

 

[yorkshirepuddingjake]

Hmm.. having spent a few years fitting roof rails to a variety of vehicles it worries me slightly to think people would consider fitting these themselves. If they were genuine and supplied with all the correct parts then yeh why not, but shoddy parts with misfitting nuts/bolts is just a disaster waiting to happen. Imagine you were driving at high speed and the car in front had a set of roof rails that came off and flew into ur driving path, u'd be lucky to get away with brown undies. I've heard stories of it happening before, in fact there was part of some police program where someone lost two bikes and a rack off her scirocco on the motorway. Further to that, and a very good point that was brought up in an old thread, imagine you sold your car and the person after decided to load these up not knowing that they're not genuine and potentially don't work as well... another disaster waiting to happen. My advice... dont fit them. If u can fork out £350 (lets face it, that aint cheap as it is) then why not just go balls deep and buy the proper part for full whack.

Totally agree with you if these weren't secure and the guy fitting them was a total novice. But I think anyone capable of fitting kitchens and ceiling structures is for 19 years is capable of fitting roof rails. However if you could give any tips of advice after fitting them for so long... That would be good please... I've never ever actually seen a sport back with a roof box or anything of the sort on it. Not saying people don't do it because they do. But it's not common. As a bloke mentioned above. I'd say it's mostly for cosmetic purposes.

 

[Dan-Jnr]

Not taking any sides here but if you wanted genuine why didn't you just go to Audi, you get what you pay for when purchasing on eBay.

 

[Muzza80]

This is actually quite funny. So you (Yorkshirepudding) are suggesting now that I've glued in these fittings myself? For the benefit of who exactly? If you read my original post I simply wanted to warn people that what's for sale is not what it may seem, I've clearly hit a nerve in doing this and I actually couldn't care less, if I've saved one person on this forum from buying this crap like I have then that makes it worthwhile to me.

I can't even be bothered discussing it anymore with you as I'm actually more convinced now than I ever was that you're either the person who has sold me these bars or a friend/someone in the pockets of this person, not something I'll likely ever be able to prove but that's my take on it all the same.

To the other suggestions that I'm somehow being cheap by spending £350 on some roof rails and expecting them to be genuine, well I don't know what to say to that really, to me £350 is a lot of money and given they retailed originally at £550 from Audi and are, apparently no longer available, replicas can be bought for around £150 then yes, I assumed they were real ones reduced a a bit from a private seller who assured me they were bought for their own car and never used. I had factored in the cost of having them professionally fitted at a local body shop too.

ill just have to see now what Paypal decide as clearly THE SET IVE BEEN SENT are not fit for purpose and I'd not put them anywhere near my car, never mind actually fit then and use them to carry a load.

 

[yorkshirepuddingjake]

"This is actually quite funny. So you (Yorkshirepudding) are suggesting now that I've glued in these fittings myself? For the benefit of who exactly? If you read my original post I simply wanted to warn people that what's for sale is not what it may seem, I've clearly hit a nerve in doing this and I actually couldn't care less, if I've saved one person on this forum from buying this crap like I have then that makes it worthwhile to me".I nearly lost my job because I turned away from the cameras ... Laughing at this lol.Could someone from West Yorkshire please put this fella out of his misery and meet me tomorrow.. TO confirm that I am not the seller.. Nor his friend. I will have a chocolate bar and maybe a can of Pepsi waiting for the volunteer. This guy is unbelievable. Funnily enough couldn't deny anything I said apart from this glue. Sorry but a person that lies on a forum to gain interest and trust is a unreliable source and capable of anything to manipulate the situation. Like I said. Wish you the best. Just stop blaming everyone else

 

[Ironborn]

Brand: Audi Condition: New: A brand-new, unused, unopened and undamaged item in original retail packaging “Roof Rails used to cost £550.00 from the Audi dealers” “there is nowhere else to get these apart from Germany”‘ ’official Audi Instructions’’ Wow what a complete scam artist, that add is super misleading on purpose. Could have easily caught me out too, Hope you win your case

 

[Artimus]

Guys this is bordering on silly now! I might have been interested in buying a pair in the new year, but only after first hand viewing, so thanks for the heads up Muzza & you for the update Jake.

Eyes wide open.

 

[voorhees]

I build jet engines for a living but I still would not drill and fit some roof rails to my car which are copies also as mentioned if they came off and injured you would be in a lot of trouble.

 

[Muzza80]

Brand: Audi Condition: New: A brand-new, unused, unopened and undamaged item in original retail packaging “Roof Rails used to cost £550.00 from the Audi dealers” “there is nowhere else to get these apart from Germany”‘ ’official Audi Instructions’’ Wow what a complete scam artist, that add is super misleading on purpose. Could have easily caught me out too, Hope you win your case

Finally, someone that sees it exactly as I do. Thanks for that I was really starting to wonder if it was just me lol

I build jet engines for a living but I still would not drill and fit some roof rails to my car which are copies also as mentioned if they came off and injured you would be in a lot of trouble.

I have nothing against aftermarket goods if the quality is up to scratch and they're not sold to people believing they're original. These bars however (or clearly the set I've been sent at least) are obviously not in any state to be fitting to the roof of a moving car and have, in my opinion, been sold under false pretenses.

I'd just like a refund, if the seller was "such a lovely guy" as Jake the Pudding mentioned and had nothing to hide then why would he simply not offer me a refund on return of the goods?

I sell on eBay from time to time, I have actually amassed 570 odd 100% perfect feedback...

eBay Feedback profile for muzza_80

....which I'm actually quite proud of. Simply put, I'd never, ever list something on there for sale in such a manner to dupe people into thinking it was an original part, that's shady shady tactics and done for one reason only, to generate an inflated price for something that would otherwise achieve much less.

Do we really live in a world these days where we have to assume we're being had by default? I'm £340 down on something I bought in good faith, it's a pity it's cost me so much to learn this lesson but lesson is learnt. Maybe I should have known better by now.

 

[Andy1608]

The eBay ad is very misleading I must admit. Suppose you should never assume when your buying anything off flebay. I do agree with muzza when you say about if he was such a nice chap why isn't he been fair and offering you a refund and take them back in good faith. I'm personally glad I wasn't looking for a set of roof rails anyway.

 

[wuta3]

I'll put the kettle on, this might take some time. Popcorn anyone?

 

[Andy1608]

I'll put the kettle on, this might take some time. Popcorn anyone?

I'd personally settle with cheese and biscuits, maybe a bottle of port to wash it down

 

[Philipstormy]

I have a couple bits of 2x2 and some cable ties and glue I will also write Audi on them and paint them silver. Make a great set of roof rack bars. £350 Ono.