Rock Auto horrible customer service

Joined
Jan 25, 2014
Messages
424
Location
south haven mi
I needed some parts so i go through and buy what i need careful to avoid paying any extra shipping.Got down to two shipping locations and ordered.Two days later they tell me one item was out of stock so i had to buy something else twice as much and pay 10 more for shipping.Basically all the time i took carefully adding the right parts was all wasted. I told them it was their fault the item was listed as in stock.They didnt care they gave me 10.00 which paid for the shipping from a different location of course.My parts took 4 or 5 more days to get here. They didnt seem to care at all.Are there any other places you guys use because this was a very bad experience.Besides AAP AZ etc the only one i ever used was AAP with the 40 off 100.
 
I'm not following what your gripe is. Yes it is bad of them to sell parts not in stock, I'll give you that but then they ate the extra shipping charge and they can't really help if a different part is more expensive... you did have the option to not buy the other part.

Just saying that in a situation like this, that's the most you can hope for. Suppose you showed up at Autozone and they didn't have what you ordered. They wouldn't have given you a part that's twice the price without paying the difference for it, nor would Amazon if you ordered there.

Amazon is one place where I've ordered more and more over recent years but only major brand items not the generic stuff, and especially if there's an Amazon warehouse listing for it. On orders with only a couple items, they "sometimes" beat Rock Auto prices, though I haven't had a bad experience from Rock Auto for quite a while, last time was when I bought a manufacturer closeout and it didn't turn out to be what was pictured, instead a lower quality/tier item that was normally sold for close to what I'd paid. They offered to take it back and issue a refund but I just kept the part because it wasn't a bad price for what it was.

I haven't shopped at Advance since they dropped the $40 off $100 and other similar % off coupons. Don't see a reason to when Autozone has similar prices but more often with a lifetime warranty. For higher quality parts locally, I'll use NAPA.
 
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My main gripe is all the time i spent making sure i avoided any extra shipping.Yeah they paid the 10.00 to ship the part but the plug wires where twice as much they should of ate any additional fees it was their fault.All the parts took 4 or 5 additional days.
 
Maybe they saved you the hassle of some poor plug wires?

Yeah, it's disappointing, but bad service? Hardly. You were free to say no, I won't get any plug wires if you didn't like the other options.

Seems you chose to go with the more pricey wires. You had a choice and you made it. Can't see how it's bad service on their part.

Originally Posted by cknight49090
My main gripe is all the time i spent making sure i avoided any extra shipping.Yeah they paid the 10.00 to ship the part but the plug wires where twice as much they should of ate any additional fees it was their fault.All the parts took 4 or 5 additional days.
 
Basically they thought an item was in stock when it wasn't. What it boils down to. So a bit of incompetence on their part.

They don't care about "building a brand", "customer service", etc-- they drop ship stuff from the wholesaler and take a tiny cut for themselves.

Sometimes the numbers work out making it worth shopping there, sometimes they don't. They won't subsidize a "bad idea" if you're better off shopping elsewhere.
 
Have to side with OP I called RA a few years ago about weight and dimensions for a carpet kit and their customer service people in Wisconsin were VERY rude and hostile

So far lucky no screw ups on any orders I have placed with them

Dave
 
They didnt give a f excuse me but thats the truth the worst thing was receiving most of my parts sat and having to wait 4 or 5 days more for the rest of the tune up parts.And they where very rude. It took me an hour to choose the right parts and avoid paying for another shipping location. And if your not careful one item will throw the whole order off for some reason.
 
Originally Posted by motts
You have to be very careful when using RockAuto.!

My experience with them=if THEY screw up, YOU have to pay the price (or wait longer for your parts to arrive). Their prices are really the only reason I would use them, and they have to beat everybody else handily to deal with their ridiculousness!
 
Good customer service and customer friendly policies do cost real money. I too am sometimes frustrated the amount of time it takes trying to consolidate orders into as few warehouses as possible to reduce the shipping charge, and then sometimes after I think I got it sorted, an item that should be from same warehouse, CHANGES the warehouse for a different item already in my cart so I have to half start over.

Even so, I feel like I've come out ahead on average, and built up a collection of car refrigerator magnets in the process. I'll end up going there to search their parts first even if I end up buying somewhere else, so I do want to throw some support their way for setting up a great database and front end for it, even if consolidating different warehouse options could work better than it does.
 
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Dont get me wrong i can usually buy parts much cheaper than local but you have to plan way ahead.And be careful how you order sometimes your better off buying the part with the same location Sometimes not.I like them i just dont like the wait for the fact they dont g a f about us.
 
Wow! You sure seem to be having a rough time with customer service recently. Three posts in one day, all rants about bad experiences with rebates and ordering parts.

Hope you have a better day tomorrow.
 
I worked for the major import parts wholesaler (WORLDPAC) . occasionally we would have an inventory error. It happens - it's not a perfect world.
 
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Did you ever stop and wonder if one or several of their warehouses was looted and their actual inventory isnt up to date? A friend of mine that owns a repair shop was having issues for a few weeks with getting parts because several hub stores were looted which threw the entire system off.
 
All told I've probably saved thousands ordering from RA over the last ten years or so. Between the closeout stuff and plain good prices, they've saved me a fortune.

I'll agree, it is a hassle to coordinate the order in such a way as to minimize shipping costs, but I deal with it.

They've screwed up a couple times with out of stock items (much like your situation) but if an alternative part is not available at a price I like, I simply order it from somewhere else. It's not that difficult, no retailer is perfect. Whenever I do choose a substitute item, they always cover the extra shipping, which is sometimes quite substantial (like shipping a rotor for example.) I think that's great customer service on their part.

On a handful of occasions I've received the wrong part, they were quick to fix it and most times they've let me keep the wrong item. Sure it takes a few days for the correct part to arrive, but that's the nature of ordering online.

I did have one bad experience when I called to let them know that an oil filter I received was not correct for the application. I received an oil filter that when opened up did not contain a bypass valve (when the vehicle in question did require one), and the part number did not cross reference over to my vehicle. They put their foot down and insisted their system / parts lookup was correct and the part would fit. Sure it fit (same thread and gasket measurements) but did not have a bypass as was required for the particular engine. I finally gave up and ate the $2 or whatever the oil filter cost me (it was a closeout part IIRC.)
 
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2

On a handful of occasions I've received the wrong part, they were quick to fix it and most times they've let me keep the wrong item. Sure it takes a few days for the correct part to arrive, but that's the nature of ordering online.


I ordered some expensive "racing" belts for my NSX. Sat on a shelf for over a year until I had time to do the timing belt. It was only then that I discovered one of them was wrong. I emailed them and very nicely explained the situation. They responded that my email was so polite and reasonable that they were sending the right belt out. I thought that was pretty good service, personally.
 
I do love how the first replies to any thread of this nature are victim blaming. It's apparently an internet rule that if anyone posts any rant or complaint for any reason they must be told they are unreasonable.

I understand OP's frustration and I think he has a point. He may be a bit too worked up -- or perhaps not. Overall RA has been decent with me. Sometimes I feel I have to try harder than I should to be heard, but other times they've gone above and beyond to make something right with me barely voicing a complaint.

That said I believe we should all speak with our wallets and if OP feels wronged he should shop elsewhere. I don't have many suggestions beyond Amazon. I've never really tried the others like Parts Geek or .... CarID?. .is it? Sometimes Summit Racing can be a good source.
 
Rock Auto has thousands of customers ordering online. Because they have low prices. There is always chance part can be out of stock between placing order and them pulling order. Vendors are having supply chain issues since pandemic. Many parts sourced overseas and ports closed. US mfg retooled to meet needs from pandemic. At least they let you know part out of stock. And allowed you to order different item. As for paying cost of extra shipping. That's excellent customer service.
All online vendors are experiencing high sales volume with pandemic. Have you ordered from Amazon.com lately. They are slower shipping due to pandemic. And high sales volume. Shipping carriers are inundated with everyone buying online more since virus.
I needed led light for refrigerator, on national backorder. Made in S Korea.
Trying to find lawn irrigation parts. Every supplier out of stock. Made overseas.
Whirlpool / Kitchenaid ice machine all models out of stock, National backorder. Built overseas too.

I will continue to order from Rock Auto.
 
Whoa... gotta put the brakes on the complaining about Rock Auto. Sure there are goof ups on occasion, but in my experience 47 out of 50 orders go as planned. Ive had a few go slightly awry, but in the end RockAuto made it right each time or at least made the situation better than it could have been. I will still be a regular customer as they have saved me and my family much money, and i like the choices available, the wide spectrum of quality/price. Yes, the shipping and warehouse changes can be confusing and frustrating, but that is relatively minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. . If you order online, you need to plan ahead. I've been known to order my replacement parts months in advance of the inevitable brake job, or whatever repair or maintenance, waiting for that right time. But, some people like to complain about everything. Ive had problems ordering auto parts from Amazon, AAP, and others. It happens...
 
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