Rockauto rant

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Even if you had noticed it was wrong INSIDE of 30 days, they still wouldn't have made it right.


Eh, that's just guessing. Since the OP was well outside of the return period, we'll never know.

I've personally had good experiences with RA's customer service. They sent me a used part once and when I called they shipped a new one for free and told me to keep the old one.

Buying their super cheap closeouts is somewhat of a gamble. For me, they've all been very good deals except for one. It was a belt that was mislabeled. It was $2, so it wasn't even worth my time to mess with it.
 
I bought some ready struts off Rockauto. They were not assembled correctly and it took 3 exchanges to get it right. They were fine to deal with.

I do prefer to shop at Amazon.
 
I've had nothing but A+ service from Rockauto.

It is buyer beware on the closeouts but they are very clear on their website what the closeouts are so you assume that risk.
 
I did put Wall-Mart on my "Never Again List" over an employee at Customer Service who called me a liar and didn't step inside one for the duration of the penalty which I set at 20 years. Started buying there again in 2012.

Having said that, it's not easy to get on my list (currently 2 companies, 1 cellphone and 1 satellite TV firm) and this issue would not make it if it were me.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Rockauto is the Harbor Freight of auto parts, without the customer service.

Not impressed at all in my dealings with them- mainly the amount of cheap China-made parts masquerading as premium parts.


Not their fault. Rock Auto doesn't make the parts; they just sell them. Regardless of what store or site you buy it from, the part will still be Chinese.

For most name-brand parts, you can look up the country of origin on eBay. Not everybody participates, but most of the big names do, including Bosch, Denso, Delphi, Standard, Airtex, Monroe, and KYB.

I've had no problem getting OEM Japanese-made Bosch and Hitachi parts from RA, and at a great price.
 
I have to say that Rock Auto has always been fair with me. I got a leaking A/C condenser from them..closeout deal was obliviously old stock OEM and failed a pressure test. RA refunded the cost of the part and shipping costs too. I notified them about seven days after getting the part. If I had waited 3 months it would of been a different story. They told me to toss the defective condenser..they did want it back.

Got some brake pads that only had three pads in the box..not four. They corrected that problem quickly too.

I inspect all parts I get when received..no matter who the vendor is..RA is not the only company that will have supplier problems with mislabeled, incorrect parts or missing bits.
 
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Rockauto is the Harbor Freight of auto parts, without the customer service.

Not impressed at all in my dealings with them- mainly the amount of cheap China-made parts masquerading as premium parts.


Not their fault. Rock Auto doesn't make the parts; they just sell them. Regardless of what store or site you buy it from, the part will still be Chinese.



ONLY from RA have I ever gotten a part where the package says made in one country, the part is stamped another. I'm not saying its impossible because boxes are printed at one time and parts are made at another and suppliers can change, but with all the industry-wide concerns over counterfeit parts it pays to avoid that sort of thing.
 
I stopped using Rock Auto years ago over the multiple shipping charges. Advance Auto with judicious use of coupon codes generally beats them in my experience, and I can usually have what I need within an hour or two.

Prior to this, I found their customer service to be adequate. A fee wrong part in the right box issues as well as a used caliper were all corrected without much drama. RA was not exactly swift about making it right, but they did take care of it.

I do agree that the buyer assumes responsibility at some point if they fail to use/inspect the part in a timely fashion.

Ultimately, if you're not happy go somewhere else. I'll usually give a vendor a good-faith chance to make a problem right, but I'm not going to chase them down to do so.
 
I maintain four vehicles so I buy a lot of auto parts. Probably half of the stuff I get from RockAuto, especially things like brake calipers and wiper blades. They're not a perfect retailer but I have not had any major issues with them. I've had to return things before, but never tried to return something after the point of no return. When you compare the prices of wiper blades at auto parts stores or even Walmart, you're saving so much money at RockAuto who cares if you can't return a $2 item? I buy armfulls of wiper blades at a time to save on shipping costs. Long live RockAuto!
 
I've never shopped there, been on the site several times just really dislike the generic images. I was looking to see what a water pump would run and while at it I checked 4-5 diffrent brands all varying 50%-75% in price and they all had the same exact photos.

I understand they can't take a photo of every single item they carry, but I like to look at the build quality and that sure isn't helping me. Half the time it seems like what ever picture AC Delco is using everyone else is using.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Even if you had noticed it was wrong INSIDE of 30 days, they still wouldn't have made it right.


Eh, that's just guessing. Since the OP was well outside of the return period, we'll never know.

I've personally had good experiences with RA's customer service. They sent me a used part once and when I called they shipped a new one for free and told me to keep the old one.

Buying their super cheap closeouts is somewhat of a gamble. For me, they've all been very good deals except for one. It was a belt that was mislabeled. It was $2, so it wasn't even worth my time to mess with it.

The closeouts are where they got me. It wasn't a lot of money, more an annoyance than anything else. They lost me for the price of a call tag-but considering they weren't even selling or shipping the parts, & they were packaged wrong & shipping damaged, AND THREATENED TO REPORT ME FOR CREDIT CARD FRAUD when I told them I would have Discover do a charge back because they wouldn't take care of THEIR screwup-that was the end for them. Take a look at some of the reviews on Reseller Ratings-they've screwed people out of big money!
 
Bought from Rock Auto over the years and have received ok customer service. On 10/27 I ordered 2 Motorcraft air filters and a Motorcraft fuel filter. I received all three today 10/29. I looked up the order and see the Motorcraft fuel filter went on clearance for over $5 less than I paid 2 days earlier. I called their customer service and was told that they don't price match and that was that. Not good customer service for 2 days later only. Their attitude will just make me look harder at other sources, which I didn't in the past. The $5 is not enough to lose sleep over but their attitude makes me a sharper shopper now. Their loss for their attitude.

Whimsey
 
You always have price protection on your credit card, which will refund the difference if the merchant does not.

But at the end of the day, how often do you buy deli meat and find it on sale the following week? Would you price match that too?

If we had a crystal ball and knew about upcoming sales for everything, the business would never be sustainable.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

The Critic
Trico Force Wiper Blades - Design Change?
Replies
5
Views
883
Triple_Se7en
1
Yet another RA warranty success story
Replies
19
Views
797
John105
M
Lexus/Toyota strut mount color
Replies
4
Views
428
MaximaGuy
T
Autozone ftw!
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
ls1mike
D
Ford/Mazda "Control Blade" rear suspension: the blade has to flex...?
Replies
8
Views
989
d00df00d
Back
Top