Got sold a 'sealed' AC unit that was actually a return from another customer

Honestly I thought I was getting a deal last summer when I picked up an AC unit from a guy on Facebook Marketplace for $150. He said it was brand new in the box still sealed. Got it home and it looked fine from the outside, so I spent a whole Saturday installing it myself. Fired it up and it made this grinding noise for 10 seconds then quit. Pulled the panel off and found a busted capacitor and some real dirty coils underneath. Took it to a repair shop and the guy told me it was clearly a used unit someone cleaned up and resealed. Ended up costing me $80 just to diagnose and fix it. Anyone else get burned buying home repair stuff secondhand off random sellers?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina_butler4d ago

Yeah that's a real shame, isn't it? People can be real dishonest when they're trying to unload junk. I've seen this kind of thing happen way too often with secondhand stuff, people will clean something up just enough to make it look new on the outside. Good on you for getting it fixed though instead of tossing it, $80 is a lot better than buying a whole new unit. Just goes to show you gotta be careful and maybe run the serial number or check the coils before you hand over any cash next time.

ryan9524d ago

Funny you mention that, reminds me of when I bought a used washing machine off Craigslist a few years back. Looked perfect in the pictures, the guy even ran a quick cycle to show it worked. Got it home, hooked it up, and three washes later it started leaking all over the basement floor. Turned out the drum seal was completely shot and he'd just dried it out real good for the demo. Cost me about the same to fix it though, $85 for a repair guy to come out and swap the seal. Still running fine three years later. People just don't think about the hidden problems on used stuff, they only care about making the sale.