I bought a used GT28 from a guy on the volkswagen forums. Supposedly he bought it from ATP and it has 500 miles on it. I asked him over and over if it was a genuine garrett, he says yes. I also asked to confirm shaft play in which I was told "None"... Here are my questions...

This turbo has NO id tag on it. It has the rivet in the same spot as my original edelbrock one, but no tag. Do ALL Garrett turbos have this tag?

There is a very slight amount of shaft play. Both axial and radial. I was told the axial should be zero, nada, nothing... is it toasted?

The turbo has a coating all over it. Looks like an oil like film. There is very little exhaust residue, so it looks like it COULD be low mileage like he says. Do they typically coat these in like a rust preventative that possibly hasn't burnt off in 500 miles of use?

Is there ANY WAY to verify this is a ball bearing core and not an ebay wannabe cartridge? I'm getting the feeling its a generic cartridge stuffed into some Garrett housings. When its spun by hand, it spins smooth and free, but not for "10 years" like I would expect a ball bearing turbo to spin freely for...

Any information would be of great help and possibly help me reduce my stress level here. I'm so damn tired of people who like to lie like mad and pass thier crap off onto other people.

 

You will need to post multiple photos at many angles in order to help determine anything. That would be of the most help