Rock Auto no longer a favorite of ours...

[englewoodcowboy]

As the title states, I have dealt with them for quite some time, usually happy until their recent policy change with customer service. Lately we have had a bad run on new alternators from them, we started with their power select brand and worked our way up to the Bosch forever hunting something that is new and reliable and they have all failed miserably. After the past 2 years of restos and retrofits with the explorer serpentine, we have purchased 7 units. Of them only 1 power select is still in the field operating. The very first Bosch unit failed within 40 miles of leaving our shop, dead short. The other units tested with bad rectifiers, no longer putting out anything above 12vdc and 2 of the units had catastrophic bearing failures within a year of leaving here. Before it would take a few weeks to get refund for a replacement unit until now. Now they will no longer refund, it is exchange only (BTW you the end user are on the hook for return shipping of the failed unit as well as the replacement) and to top it off, you can no longer call in to resolve an issue, you are stuck emailing someone and waiting days or weeks to get a response. Needless to say, for the few pennies saved on a part to be gobbled up by the shipping, we are no longer using them. It is much cheaper and faster to deal with our local parts houses once again and the customer service is second to none.

Sorry about my rant but I wanted to share in hopes of saving someone else the same aggravation I have just dealt with. In the end, the parts are cheaper up front but you really aren't saving a thing once you factor in the costs to get it to you.

 

[Timmy390]

I refuse to order form them after they sent me he wrong order and would not send the correct order till I had returned and they received the wrong order back. When I say wrong order I mean I ordered engine parts and received a windshield wiper and a small rubber hose. $200 order vs. the $15 in parts I received.

I'll pay more and deal with other supply houses...........

Nice site to look up parts and part numbers on.....

Tim

 

[broncodriver99]

I have always been NAPA first RockAuto second. They do have access to a lot of warehouses and seem to be able to get ahold of some parts that are hard to find by other parts stores. That being said, I am pretty much done with them. I too had a warranty issue once and they covered the shipping on the replacement part but I had to eat the return shipping. Took several weeks, emails, and phone calls to finally get the credit for the returned part. The last 2 orders I have placed with them showed in stock on the website but I got an email 12 hours later saying the part was not available. Both took 3-4 days for a refund to show up.

I would guess their margins are so slim they are having a hard time maintaining profitability. The best thing they have going is the wholesaler closeout items that are dirt cheap. Some of it is garbage that looks like a warehouse is just cleaning out the shelves of old stock that may have been new but returns, some of it is a good deal for quality name brand parts that have been put in a private label box.

I just buy everything at NAPA now. I know the guys and if there is a problem they take care of it.

 

[Nemisus]

Hmm, I am happy I saw this. I was getting ready to order a Fuel Tank for another vehicle of mine and another Forum had recommended Rock-Auto as the place because the prices couldn't be beat.

I think I'll take my business somewhere else...

Thanks for sharing englewood!

 

[whileImhere]

I hear ya. I ordered a windshield wiper and some rubber hose and ended up getting a bunch of good engine parts. Probably $200 of parts that I paid $15 for!

 

[Timmy390]

I hear ya. I ordered a windshield wiper and some rubber hose and ended up getting a bunch of good engine parts. Probably $200 of parts that I paid $15 for!

Now that made me laugh.....;D

Tim

 

[sprdv1]

Good to know.. Sometimes it's Not a good thing to "Change".....

 

[cs_88]

RockAuto is for the most part a website that I use just for parts research anymore. Then I’ll usually order the parts from either Amazon or eBay.

 

[jmangi62]

I'm glad I saw this, never liked their website setup, just sayin.

 

[englewoodcowboy]

I do agree with Tim in that their site can be a good tool but they have no CS skillset at all, it simply does not matter. Long story short, the alternator I am dealing with was bought 13 months ago, the replacement was sent out 4 months ago and recently failed. Because the original purchase was over 12 months, that is the only warrantee period they will honor. I get that type of stipulation on work performed but not when a whole part is replaced, basically saying their products may or may not work and gamble that the clock tics down faster than we can remedy it... I simply cannot do that to my customer so I am eating the cost of the unit and I will no longer use nor recommend Rock Auto. FYI if you go into your local autocrats chain, I use Oreilly's mainly, they will closely match the price of online suppliers. Don't expect them to be exact as they do have to offset shipping etc. but I have saved a lot more with the locals at the end of the day vs. the online deals.

 

[74 Bronco Billy]

I saw this coming. I used them a few times, but had problems. I thought I could save some money, but the shipping really eats it up.
I'm a Napa fan 1st, then O'reillys. It seems that sometimes no one can find a bronco part, then the research on Rock Auto can help...but I will not be ordering from them.

 

[Slowleak]

I’m done with RockAuto as well after trying to return some tings. I find the part I need on the RockAuto site, get the part number, and then find the cheapest store that has it in stock locally. They are really helping out their competition

I have Autozone, O’Reilly’s, Advance Auto, and NAPA all within a few miles. NAPA can get almost anything in one day from a local distribution center. Not worth the hassle of dealing with RockAuto anymore.

 

[savage]

I ordered a transmission mount for my 2005 focus, I all ways double check my order, and saw they double charged my order, luckily it was refunded in three days. I wonder since it was paid through PayPal, I got the refund quicker?

 

[tasker]

Tom, have you checked with your local dealer? 2 year unlimited warranty and will cover book time labor for repair shops

 

[tacobronco]

I was previously a Rockauto fan, but will rethink it after a recent experience. The order involved shipments from several warehouses, and one of them sat for days in the status of "label created, item not received yet" status on the carrier's website. That's when I discovered that you can no longer call for customer service, which I had done in the past and was very pleased with. You now can only e-mail customer service, which I did. I did get a reply that day, but it was just a canned response that said the package was given to the carrier, and that I'd just have to wait until after the last day of the shipping estimate window before they would do anything. Curiously, a few hours later the carrier's website showed the item was picked up that day, and in transit! Hmm.

This particular incident wasn't a big deal, but what gave me pause is the fact that you can't talk to a human anymore. That's a big negative because I've had weird issues before - like a radiator with the completely wrong size lower hose connection - and being able to talk with someone is what got it resolved.

I'd still use them for known, simple items like hoses, spark plugs, etc. (i.e. things not likely to need to be returned), but probably not for anything complicated.

It is tough to beat their prices, though. Never thought of asking O'Reilly, etc. to price match, maybe I should. That has worked for me a dealers, just never thought to try at a chain store.

 

[69broncofun]

I agree this is a great ref website to find part numbers. I have a co-worker at my job that also works at o reilly's at night. Told me its easier to by local easy returns and I agree

 

[bronkenn]

We have an old napa dealer in town and they are a whole lot better to deal with. Tried the rock auto site a few times but as was said, the cs isn't there. I can call napa and if they don't have the part, they order it and usually get it the next day and have never asked for a deposit. Support your local guys. Ken

 

[Sc300insc]

I ordered left and right outer tie rods for my Lexus. They were made by ac delco. When they arrive red they were 2 different grades of quality. I was installing a new rack and pinion and waited too long to return. They only have a 30 day return policy. Will never do business sinews with the. Again.

 

[PaveBronco]

RockAuto is for the most part a website that I use just for parts research anymore. Then I’ll usually order the parts from either Amazon or eBay.

Agreed, I go to RockAuto to find the part and then Amazon or ebay, cant beat the price and free shipping on Amazon Prime.

 

[englewoodcowboy]

Tom, have you checked with your local dealer? 2 year unlimited warranty and will cover book time labor for repair shops

I did not know that. Good info Randy, I will def look into it. Thanks.