Getting sloppy Rockauto...

[ucw458]

Part of the problem is people not doing their due dilligance.

 

When I looked up heater hoses for my toyota pickup at rock auto I found there were about 15 different hoses. Mine doesn't have that many but a 4runner that shares the same chassis has around 12. (front and rear heaters) So I cross referenced 2 other parts sites and looked at pictures to make sure I get what I needed. Took a little extra time but far less time than returning a wrong part for the right one.

[jszucs]

^ yeah but when you do that, and you give them the part number for an intercooled car and they ship you a part for a non intercooled car or for a flatty... that is just wrong.

 

Try this one. Order rear rotors for a 2004 Civic SI When you get them they are 4 lug and SI's are 5 lug How do you explain that. To make that worse the fronts came as 5 lug.... never seen a car with 5 lugs in the front and 4 lugs in the back unless someone swapped it.

Edited September 13, 2013 by jszucs

[NikoFab]

it's been my experiance with Rock Auto that the customer is the one looking up the part numbers for the parts they are ordering ,now we all know the people that make up these parts programs normaly know nothing about auto's much less about what the part they are giveing a number to ,, so mistakes do happen ,,and guys do order the wrong part and it is easier to place the blame on them rather then admit to makeing a mistake it serves no good for any auto part place to send you a wrong part and poosibly loose a customer over it

reading this thread i get the idea every one is way to quick to place blame on others, truth is every store makes mistakes normaly it's not done on purpous and some times a little closer look will stop this from happening but some times the person pulling the order makes a mistake also

 

the main thing is we do not have tons of places to get parts from lets not run off any of the few we have left , i'd asume Rock Auto has read this thread and will make every effort to insure proper part shiping but it's up to us to order the right part

so lets try to make this thread into a learning experiance not a runing off experiance

 

you hit the nail on the head Shelby...that's YOUR experience. this thread started based off of someone else's experience.

 

let's not forget one MAJOR item here. it's MY money that's being spent...I'm paying for a part or service that they are providing. if I feel that my dollars aren't well spent with them, then that's my call...so I will decide who I spend it with.

 

sure mistakes happen...i get that. but, enough mistakes and I won't order from them. not sure how that's running somebody off...more like being smart with my time and money. just because they are one of the few left doesn't mean that I should just give them a pass. If they're dropping the ball too often, then a thread like this hopefully helps make it right.

 

i would expect the same from anyone who feels they did not receive a good product or good service from me. if I don't know how they feel, then I don't know there's a problem...let alone how to go about fixing it. you're correct when you say "it serves no good for any auto part place to send you a wrong part and poosibly loose a customer." well as a vendor, that's exactly why I want to know how potential customers feel about my products and services. if they feel poorly about it, then I want to make sure that I hear about it so that I can make things right.

Edited September 13, 2013 by NikoFab

[89PalermoSHP]

Let me break down my experience to save any confusion about ordering the wrong parts. I ordered the correct parts and the correct parts were shipped. The problem was the completely inadequate packaging (and the fact that one of the parts was incomplete). The strut rod had poked through the end of the box and the top nut was missing (probably fell out the hole the strut made). I paid right around $35 for shipping and that should have been more than enough to package the product so it arrives the way it was sent. That didnt happen.

 

Secondly, and most improtantly, once this was brought to their attention there was ZERO interest in their part to remedy the situation other than having me buy another strut and wait another week for the part. On top of that, the 5% discount wasnt applied to the strut I had to buy to replace the damaged one. Shoddy customer service from start to end.

 

This little thread isnt going to scare them off or put them out of business. It was just a recount of how they treat their customers once the money is in their hands.

[jolly roger]

I've had acouple problems with them, but they've always made it right.

[SOTTY]

What 89PalermoSHP said about the "zero interest" in making it right was my main beef , that and sending the wrong part TWICE ! then trying to blow smoke up my arse how i had to cover the return shipping and they would see about a !0% discount in any future purchases i make with them , like i said before it's hit or miss with ROCKAUTO , Id rather spend my money elsewere now.

[jolly roger]

Ok i understand..

[Shelby]

i wonder how you guys would feel if you did this day in and day out 20 to 50 diff parts a day

for 30 years or more

 

I got no problem with any one pointing out poor service before or after the sale , jst as long as the pointing out don't turn into a witch hunt

 

you can beleave me when i say i had a reputation for no bull crap when ordering parts ,i delt with atleast a 100 diff companys maybe more ,, any shooting the bull happened after the fact mmeaning after the correct parts were on hand and job was done .

time lost is money lost

[89PalermoSHP]

It would make me feel like crap, Shelby!

[Edde]

My experience has been pretty good so far. Now having said that, when they added stuff and consequently, more shipping locations it got silly. So I'm just cautious about where I go for stuff. They really need to do something other than ship you brake shoes from one place, rotors from another, filter from another, and so on. It's a pain to get that setup coded in the first place and it's gotta cost them business in the long run. Three years ago you'd never have seen the comments that are here now. They "rocked".

 

As for shipping? If you want to know the RETAIL price for a UPS package to your location just go to their (UPS) website and experiment with weights and destinations. A basic daily pickup UPS account will get the seller exactly 25% off the retail rate. (Amazon on the other hand works from an entirely different list and only counts 'cause it hurts so bad).

 

The cost for an empty box from my house to my house is $9.24 using my daily pickup account. That IS 25% off the walk in counter rate. Nobody like Rock Auto can ship you anything at all for less - to your house.

 

If you can, ship to a commercial address always. The empty box I calculated above cost $6.25 to a commercial and it gets there during business hours rather than 8pm.

 

If it is setup correctly Rock auto's cart may calculate commercial at the better rate on multiple items.

 

Another thing worth noting I think: All UPS and Fedex services offer specif days for delivery to an area. There is no such thing as 2 to 3 days. It is 2, or it is 3. Money back guarantees apply if they miss this by one day. So I also consider this when ordering. I know exactly what dayI'm seeing it assuming the shipper ships on time. Rock Auto usesFedex Home for me which counts SATURDAY as a delivery day. It can be a huge advantage.