What is the right thing here................

I would tend to agree with 02pete. If I shipped them out working, I would want to KNOW that they were blown, and not from abuse, before I paid for a repair. Assumming that they are, in fact, blown, not abused, I would pay for 50% of repair, since you delivered them in working order. BTW, does this guy have any feedback by which you can verify his bona-fides. Since its only an hour away, at a bare minimum, I would insist on a physical inspection. Tell him to bring them back if he wants any compensation. Even if he bought them new at retail, he would have to deliver them to the dealer or repair station at his expense, for a warranty repair. I agree with doing the right thing, but in this case, it seems like the ONLY thing you have any moral or legal obligation to make right is the mismatched woofer, and even then, only in the event a qualified tech determines it was not abused. Just my $0.02.

the drivers were good when they left Porshecab's house. They were not damaged in shipment or there would be a shipping claim. They must have worked long enough at the other end for the buyer to note they went from working to blown. This is a buyer issue not a seller issue. He did something to blow them... too much power, too little power, bad ohm match, or distortion...anyway you add it up the buyer blew the drivers not the seller. the seller owes the buyer NOTHING.

The fact that one driver wasn't matched is irrelevant to the blown driver issue. The different drivers certainly did not contribute to the issue. The driver was changed by an authorized dealer...the fact that it is not a match is irrelevant again because the authorized dealer brought them back to spec. Now we picky philes feel everything should be just so but Porshecab sold in good faith and owes the buyer NOTHING.

An extremely generous offer is to pay for 1 driver or 1/2 of 1 driver. Really I don't think Porshecab owes him anything and the guy is trying to make something out of nothing because he knows he screwed himself when he blew the drivers on the used speakers he just bought.

cd

Porsch, does the 601's in reference have a 15 inch woofer? If so , i find it hard to believe they are blown??? I have 20 yr. old speakers with a 8 inch woofer and still works fine. Yes let this guy take it to a B&W repair center and have a letter in writing stating the woofers in question are in fact damaged. And tell him you will pay the service fee to have them examined. Get a phone # of the B&W center and call to see what exactly happened. IF the tech says "blown from extreme abuse" tell the buyer that every speaker has its limit. BYW what amp do you use and what's the wattage? As well what volume level?

Porschecab...I would make the drive and investigate further before ANY offer of reimbursement. As you pointed out, this whole transaction sounded shady from the beginning. How do you even know if the drivers are truly mis-matched? Because he told you they are??

To blow one woofer on speakers of this caliber is suspect...but BOTH of them? Mild clipping would have been very audible and should have alerted this clown that perhaps he should turn down the volume. I'm no expert, but I sincerely doubt that anything short of full-bore, heavily distorted clipping could have caused this damage. In addition, I was always under the impression that the tweeters are the most susceptible to damage under such circumstances, no?? I can't imagine what kind of abuse he must have subjected these speakers to in order to have this happen (if indeed it happened at all).

My guess is that this guy wanted to "crank" up his cool new speakers and see how loud they can go. This is like an inexperienced driver getting behind the wheel of a high performance car (Porsche 911 - Cabriolet?) and then, as a result of his poor driving skills, wrapping it around a tree. Then, because he has to blame somebody, asks the seller to pay his deductible because one of the rear tires was a Pirelli and the other a Dunlop. C'mon! Why can't people take personal responsibility for their actions? He blew it (no pun intended) and now he's looking to lay blame.

Some have suggested that you take the speakers back. I wouldn't touch them if I were you. Whatever he did to blow them certainly couldn't have been good for the rest of the drivers and only further complicates the prospect of re-selling them. He bought them...they're his!

I would inform the buyer that in order to consider reparations, you will need to either inspect them personally, or (as Pete02 suggested) have them inspected by an agreed upon 3rd party. In either case, be very clear that there is to be NO refund of any sort - this will keep the resolution path very clear. Your only intent will be to determine the nature of the problem and, IF APPROPRIATE, make a monetary adjustment according to your findings. Also, if he decides to have them inspected by a 3rd party, he will be responsible for their tranportation to the repair shop. Don't offer assistance. It's HIS responsibility.

My guess is that he definitely won't agree to letting you come to his home for inspection and will very likely come up with a litany of excuses for his inability to get them to the repair facility. BTW - I would insist the the entire speaker be taken to the repair shop, not just the "blown" drivers.

I undertand that you want to do the right thing here, but you also need to protect yourself from being taken advantage of.

they were working when they left Porshecab's house. He no longer owns the speakers, what the new owner does/did with them is his business. I am not going to call Porshecab up if my driver(s) are blown. Why? Because I own them not Proshecab. What if the same thing happened but it was six months later, we would all say tough luck for the buyer right? How about if it was 3 months later, 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 week, 1 day? How long does it take a nincompoop to blow a driver(s) anyway? NO, NO, NO Porshecab sent a working product, the new owner needs to figure out what “he” wants to do with "his" new speakers “he” damaged. I will tell you what, if he contacts me, I am not paying to repair the damage “he” inflicted.

Similar situation: I borrowed an Arcam integrated and cd player (both 7s) from a dealer friend to audition with someone. I took them unboxed (dah) and when I was getting them back I dropped them and cracked the top left corner of both machines. Who should pay for that? Who did the damage? Me! So I bought them because I damaged them.

Now if a dealer sells (new or used) and there was a warranty then I would expect the seller/dealer to make the situation right. Now maybe I am mistaken but sales made here on Agon are final when the equipment is used. We don’t have to warranty any of the equipment when it reaches the buyers place, correct? Unless there is some transferable remaining warranty and even then the problem would be taken to the manufacturer not the seller. As consumers, we do not represent the manufacture like a dealer does, so once a sale is made, it is up to the buyer to take responsibility for their future.

Could you imagine this same thing with used car sales. If the engine was fine when delivered to the new buyer but a week later the buyer comes back and says the engine is blown...well you knew it was in good shape when it left you so the buyer must have drained the oil and forgot to put new oil in the car (or some such abuse), soooo blown engine. The buyer discovers it was not the original engine...so what?

No, Porshecab is free from liability (not a lawyer) and has no responsibility except to his own conscience.

cd