eBay Projector Headlights...

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Joe (right?)!? When did you get an A4? Still got the Rav4?

[MadMax]

OK, back on topic, I've got two questions...

1) Is there any eBay seller recommended/to be avoided? I'd prefer someone in the States, just in case there are any issues.

2) Are these "plug-and-play" in the sense that I can simply remove my old lights and install these new ones?

I'm leaning towards these...



Cheers! M2

[Betrivent]

They are literally plug and play as far as the main bulbs are concerned. The peripheral LEDs are definitely not plug and play and require some splicing.

[Dadams]

Id take them to a shop just to be safe

[quimico]

Hey, i have the same lights:



But i have had a problem when i was installing. I have seen that when i change to high beams the low ones turn off, i would like to know what i should do in order to keep both low and high beams on at the same time, that means, to keep the low beams on when change to high beams.

I want to install 4300K HID in the low beams and i don't expect that they turn off when i change to high beams: for HID time response reason and the high beams are not so good in this projectors.

anyone have idea how can i fix that issue?

[Dadams]

Well it really depends on your HID kit, if you have them installed in projector housing headlights like those you need an H4 kit which have a separate high and low beam. In an HID set-up they specifically don't have the high and low come on at the same time for one reason, so you don't burn peoples eyes out! Trust me I had HIDs in my last yaris and the low beams is all you need. Plus in an H4 set-up the high beam will not be the HID color it'll almost look like a stock bulb so you really want them both on anyway. Hope this helped!

[jamal1984]

i had bad problems with anything aftermarket headlights or taillight on ebay
anyone know that most of headlight and taillights on ebay are known for leaking problems?

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by jamal1984

i had bad problems with anything aftermarket headlights or taillight on ebay

Can you be more specific? Did you get a set of these headlights for your Yaris, or some other vehicle? If so, which ones? Who was the seller? What problems did you experience? Pics would be helpful as well.

anyone know that most of headlight and taillights on ebay are known for leaking problems?

Is this a question or a statement?

[Dadams]

I would never buy from eBay most of the time it's just people that buy large quantities of those parts from legitimate web sites or manufactures and then sell them cheaper. The thing is you can't be sure what kind of handling they've been through and if they've been stored properly. I've bought aftermarket parts for my last yaris but I always bought straight from the website. They're always in better condition and more times then not they either have warranties or return policies. Something you'll unlikely find on eBay

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by Dadams

I would never buy from eBay most of the time it's just people that buy large quantities of those parts from legitimate web sites or manufactures and then sell them cheaper. The thing is you can't be sure what kind of handling they've been through and if they've been stored properly. I've bought aftermarket parts for my last yaris but I always bought straight from the website. They're always in better condition and more times then not they either have warranties or return policies. Something you'll unlikely find on eBay

First, I don't quite understand the business model of buying large quantities than selling them cheaper?!?

Secondly, I think if you buy from an established vendor on eBay (easily determined by the number of sales they've had), the risks involved diminish significantly. It's the same as buying from a forum from someone with a lot of posts, they are usually less likely to be a scam. Dotcomracing has almost 74000 transactions with a 98.8% Positive feedback rating. They've also been an eBay vendor since July 2000, so 11+ years is pretty established in my book.

They also offer a offer a 30 day money back guarantee and have a customer service section to address any problems that may arise. I think it's safe to deal with them...

Still, I am looking for firsthand experiences with these projector headlights on eBay. I am very close to pulling the trigger on a set, they are having a 5% off sale for the weekend and that may be enough to get me to give them a try...

Cheers! M2

[Betrivent]

I could'v sworn I've already put my input forward but they are of decent to good quality. Mine haven't leaked- the halos are dim so I don't use them. The Cutoff is annoying, but at least you don't blind oncoming traffic. I dunno what more you can want in terms of opinion. ;)

Also, make sure you get a set with reflectors on the side if they're required in your state/province. They don't work very well, but it looks like you have reflectorss which won't be as noticeable as having nothin at all.

[Dadams]

I guess I could've stated my point of view a little better. You are completely correct, there are good reliable vendors on eBay, but then again dotcomracing is an actual company itself that just took its business to ebay. My main point was that people who don't do their research on eBay like you do don't know if they're buying from a legitimate website like dotcomracing which is in fact an actual company itself and not some third party vendor like I described earlier, and more often then not those people who don't take their time to do the research get screwed. Trust me I had first hand experience with that. I went through two pairs of halos for my grand prix when I had it. Cuase I bought from the same guy twice one pair already had a crack in the lense when I got it then the second time around as soon as I was bolting one of them down the whole back of the light snapped in half and rendered those useless as well. But I think in correlation with both of our ideas we can both better people's bad eBay buying habits! Lol

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by Betrivent

I could'v sworn I've already put my input forward but they are of decent to good quality. Mine haven't leaked- the halos are dim so I don't use them. The Cutoff is annoying, but at least you don't blind oncoming traffic. I dunno what more you can want in terms of opinion. ;)

Also, make sure you get a set with reflectors on the side if they're required in your state/province. They don't work very well, but it looks like you have reflectorss which won't be as noticeable as having nothin at all.

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for!

And I was just researching the side reflector issue, as I was going to get a set with clear ones but found that Texas law requires amber ones...

Sec. 547.353. COLOR REQUIREMENTS. (a) A clearance lamp, identification lamp, side marker lamp, or reflector mounted on the front, on the side near the front, or in the center of the vehicle must be or reflect amber.

(b) A clearance lamp, identification lamp, side marker lamp, or reflector mounted on the rear or the side near the rear of the vehicle must be or reflect red.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Granted, for a while I had clear ones on a previous car, and it never caused a problem. I think this portion of the transportation code is so obscure that most peace officers are not aware of it; but there is always the possibility of one knowing and receiving a 'fix it' ticket that would require opening up the lights to replace them. That's something I'd like to avoid if at all possible...

Cheers! M2

[Betrivent]

And it realyl doesn't look bad. In fact I'm so used to an amber reflector (or yellow) on cars in the headlights that I think cars without them look ugly.

[MadMax]

Yeah, it barely makes any difference in terms of looks...



...but since they're required by law, I'll get these.

Honestly, when I had to replace the amber corner reflectors on my old car (a VR6 Passat GLX) with clear ones, I didn't like them as much as the originals.

Cheers! M2

[Betrivent]

Those actually look way better than mine. Mine are the same shape/size as the OEM ones.

[TRD_Yaris]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

To the OP, you can dehaze your headlights using Plast-X. Then just keep waxing them when ever you wash your car. That should clean it up and prevent it from hazing over.

Or if you get new headlights, just wax them periodically. lol.

If the lenses of your headlamps are hazings/discoloring from the sun, then you can easily restore them with a headlight polishing kit. 3M makes a simple kit that utilizes a simple (cordless) drill and can make a headlight look like new (from 5 feet away, maybe closer if you've got experience sanding/polishing/buffing).

[MadMax]

Well, I pulled the trigger and got a set just like those in my last post. I think they'll look good, I'm waiting on a new grill from MicroImage and I need to put some replacement fog lights in; so I'll probably wait until I have everything and do it all in one major surgery...

Pics to follow...

Cheers! M2