Ethics - whine - or bite the bullet?

[lindensensei]

I recently bought a 1996 Gibson F-5 that had a bit of wear, but sounded good. #After taking it in for some neck work - frets, straightening, etc. I discovered that the truss rod nut was tightend so tight that the trussrod has either broken of come loose. #Bottom line $700.00 #So do I whine and try and find the seller (Bought it off the internet)or chalk it up to not testing the truss rod adjustment before buying it and carry on? #I've never tested a truss rod adjustment before buying an instrument. I'm just curious how other pickers would react.

First time victim.

[John Bertotti]

Buyer beware! unfortunately. You might find the seller, perhaps pursue re-numeration. You may get it, but I imagine you won't the seller may have known full well of the problem or may have been in the dark. Kept there by a previous luthier who didn't fess up the problem after a repair. The point is you don't know if he knew and will probably have a heck of a time proving it. If it bugs you contact him and ask for a partial refund. Remember nothing ventured nothing gained. John

[Mando Medic]

Hello,
Depends on how and when you bought it. If you bought it with no warranty and a no inspection time policy, then you bought it as. If you bought it with a 48 hour inspection time as most reputable dealers allow, and you did not take it to a luthier or repair shop, then it's your fault for not having it checked out. However, if you have the sellers home or work information, you might try to contact them and ask if they knew the truss rod have been overtightened and broken. I suspect that they would say it either wasn't or they did not know. You can ask for your money back or to have it repaired but they are not obligated to oblige you unless there was a warranty or the description said excellent condition. The problem then becomes how do you prove that your repair shop is credible enough to prove that the damage was done before it got to them? If you used a credit card through a credit card accepter, you may have some rights and recourse to restitution. You will need to check with your credit card company.

How long after you bought it and discovered the problem will determine your recourse too. Best of luck. Kenc

[Scotti Adams]

..just speculation here..but how do you know for sure that it wasnt broken after you recieved it...you stated yourself that you took it to get straightened...could it have been done by your repairman and he didnt fess up....there are a few of those types around...I hope this isnt the case with you...makes me wonder what the neck looked like before the over tightening of the rod....it takes alot of torque to break one of those...and before it breaks you can usually see it starting to pull in the tightening area...where the truss rod cover is...it starts to gauge the wood...good luck... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif