Antenna

[DieselSpider]

Awesome that one doesn't fit. The dpo drilled a 5/8" hole. 90% of all these antennas require at least 3/4.

Thanks for that, once again "local fiat guru" you hack.

Much easier to make a hole larger rather than smaller so easy fix in this case.

[SteinOnkel]

Awesome that one doesn't fit. The dpo drilled a 5/8" hole. 90% of all these antennas require at least 3/4.

Thanks for that, once again "local fiat guru" you hack.

Much easier to make a hole larger rather than smaller so easy fix in this case.

Feel free to drill holes into your freshly painted car. Not on mine though.

Ended up ordering an antenna from Britain. All very strange this.

[RRoller123]

get a nibbler, works great at expanding the holes without risk to the surrounding paint.

[DieselSpider]

get a nibbler, works great at expanding the holes without risk to the surrounding paint.

Or a die grinder/Dremel tool. Mask it, mark it and get it done to get away from special ordering.

[SteinOnkel]

$24 shipped:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CLASSIC-CAR-CH ... 2749.l2649

Can't really beat that.

[DieselSpider]

$24 shipped:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CLASSIC-CAR-CH ... 2749.l2649

Can't really beat that.

Do real people actually buy stuff off E-Bay?

I'd be more concerned about mixed metals and poor quality of the materials along with how they are sealed and mated causing a rust blister on even my old car when purchasing items from an overseas E-Bay vendor. Much rather deal over the counter with a local vendor that I can look in the eye.

[SteinOnkel]

I buy 90% of my car parts from ebay. Most of the time it is the only way to get things for my grey market import VW from Europe.

The quality is just like anywhere else. You can get cheap junk or even OEM. Your choice.

This antenna is not a mission critical item, I don't really care about the quality.

[DieselSpider]

I buy 90% of my car parts from ebay. Most of the time it is the only way to get things for my grey market import VW from Europe.

The quality is just like anywhere else. You can get cheap junk or even OEM. Your choice.

This antenna is not a mission critical item, I don't really care about the quality.

I suppose then you haven't seen how badly a really shoddy one can cause rust to blossom up around it. Many, especially those that collapse into the fender, can leak water onto the mounting clamp underneath causing it to rust and spread so that the fender can get compromised in a very short time.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Do real people actually buy stuff off E-Bay?

I do. I'll grant you that Ebay can be full of scammers, poor quality items, crooks, etc, but there are also legitimate businesses that do a portion of their sales through Ebay. It's just like any marketplace; you have to do some homework and know to look for any warning flags.

I ordered some door card fasteners last week, one item directly from the manufacturer (AuVeCo) and one from a seller on Ebay. Both arrived the same day, from the same shipping origin, and both in original AuVeCo packaging. Ebay was cheaper because this item had free shipping and the factory order charged me for "shipping and handling".

-Bryan

[SteinOnkel]

I buy 90% of my car parts from ebay. Most of the time it is the only way to get things for my grey market import VW from Europe.

The quality is just like anywhere else. You can get cheap junk or even OEM. Your choice.

This antenna is not a mission critical item, I don't really care about the quality.

I suppose then you haven't seen how badly a really shoddy one can cause rust to blossom up around it. Many, especially those that collapse into the fender, can leak water onto the mounting clamp underneath causing it to rust and spread so that the fender can get compromised in a very short time.

Is this my car or yours? Why do you care so much anyways? I don't; I'm going to sell this thing. If a local one would fit without mods, I'd buy it. I have no qualms ordering things from overseas or with ebay parts. Shoving an entire platform with thousands of vendors and millions of parts into one pidgenhole because "you can't look someone in the eye" is complete bunk.

End of discussion.

[SteinOnkel]

Do real people actually buy stuff off E-Bay?

I do. I'll grant you that Ebay can be full of scammers, poor quality items, crooks, etc, but there are also legitimate businesses that do a portion of their sales through Ebay. It's just like any marketplace; you have to do some homework and know to look for any warning flags.

I ordered some door card fasteners last week, one item directly from the manufacturer (AuVeCo) and one from a seller on Ebay. Both arrived the same day, from the same shipping origin, and both in original AuVeCo packaging. Ebay was cheaper because this item had free shipping and the factory order charged me for "shipping and handling".

-Bryan

There's an ebay vendor in Riga, Latvia (seriously) that I have spent thousands with. They are a wonderful company to deal with and the only vendor anywhere that will take parts from Volkswagen Classic Parts (official subsidiary) excellent-but-EU-only inventory and send them to me at a minimal markup. Those are official, OEM parts that you cannot get in the United States through any other channels. If they don't have a listing up for a part I need, but it's in stock at VWCP it's one email to them and they will make one for me. They've also bumped me up to free express shipping many times when I told them I need something soon and couldn't wait eight weeks.

I have never, not once been scammed on ebay. And my profile is 15 years old with hundreds of items bought and sold.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I have never, not once been scammed on ebay. And my profile is 15 years old with hundreds of items bought and sold.

I've never been scammed either, although my Ebay experience is not as extensive as yours. I did have one issue where I thought I was getting 3 parts (that's what the picture showed), but the sale actually included only one of the items. This was disclosed in the written description so it was my fault for not reading carefully enough, and besides, the parts were only $10 each with free shipping.

Overall, my experience has been positive, and I have found some good deals like a spider dashboard that was in amazingly good condition for $100 with free shipping. No cracks or tears, and some treatment with ArmorAll got it looking like new.

-Bryan

[RRoller123]

Never any EBay problems either. Maybe minor stuff, but so minor I don't even recall it.

[DieselSpider]

I buy 90% of my car parts from ebay. Most of the time it is the only way to get things for my grey market import VW from Europe.

The quality is just like anywhere else. You can get cheap junk or even OEM. Your choice.

This antenna is not a mission critical item, I don't really care about the quality.

I suppose then you haven't seen how badly a really shoddy one can cause rust to blossom up around it. Many, especially those that collapse into the fender, can leak water onto the mounting clamp underneath causing it to rust and spread so that the fender can get compromised in a very short time.

Is this my car or yours? Why do you care so much anyways? I don't; I'm going to sell this thing. If a local one would fit without mods, I'd buy it. I have no qualms ordering things from overseas or with ebay parts. Shoving an entire platform with thousands of vendors and millions of parts into one pidgenhole because "you can't look someone in the eye" is complete bunk.

End of discussion.

Always got more bad than good from Ebay so I wrote them off years ago plus greatly prefer supporting my local vendors which helps keep my neighbors employed and taxes lower.

You were the one concerned about damage to the car from resizing the hole not me so I was just pointing out that a blind purchase made over the internet could result in more devastating damage long term than resizing the hole. If your just going to flip the car then of course that becomes the next guys problem. Its not an emotional issue to me just a pragmatic one where I would try my best to help others avoid long term damage to a treasured vehicle.

Anyways I strongly endorse supporting your local vendors and community first followed by the forum sponsors and then look to other sources such as EBay only as a last resort as a matter of principle which most here should already be aware of.

[RRoller123]

So..... Just get a cheap little hand powered nibbler and be done with it. I enlarged the antennae hole on my X1/9 with one in about 5 minutes.