Anyone have any experience with Rockauto?

[IDIDieselJohn]

About to order a bunch of stuff off Rockauto.... just double checking if anyone has any bad experience with them as to customer service, and reliability of ordered parts in terms of delivery.


I'm ordering a Head gasket set, an intake manifold gasket, 4 Motorcraft glow plugs, and 2 tranny cooler lines for a Buick.

 

[DesertBen44]

I have ordered probably 1k worth of stuff from them no problems. Never dealt with customer service because everything has been correct. Highly reccomended awesome prices

 

[tanman_2006]

They are great for most things but becareful if you are ordering something fragile. Their box boys are kinda Dumb and parts arent always well packaged.

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

i really like RA. they have GOOD prices and fast shipping. i usually get my parts within a couple days of order. i have never had an issue with there packaging either. they always have had good packing for me.

 

[tanman_2006]

Know a guy that gave up after 3 cv joints came in busted and he didnt return them in the right manner to get a refund.

 

[BudLight]

When you order, watch the shipping prices. They ship from different locations. Say you pick a spark plug for a $1, it ships from location A for $8 shipping. Spark plug that costs $1.10 ships from location B for $5. Check your combined shipping cost that way. They seem to make money on the shipping.

Haven't dealt with customer service, so no comment.

 

[lindstromjd]

Only thing I can caution you to watch out for is make sure it's for the right model vehicle. The parts have little flags next to them depending on which country the part is designed for. Ordered a few wrong parts for my civic once because they were for a European one and not American. That, and their "suitable parts substitution" kinda sucks sometimes. Like seeing spark plugs under a diesel engine category. And the non-heavy-duty clutch master cylinders are listed as suitable for diesels. They're not. Just watch to make sure you know that you're getting the right part for your application.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

rockauto is super! never have an issue when i order from these guys.i know it's coming quick with no worries at all when i order here.
A+ rating in my experience.

5% off. Expires OCT 14
107703168845393

 

[Exekiel69]

As many here I like them too, I have ordered parts from them for years and provably spent much more than the average guy. I agree with the other members suggestion to make SURE it is the right part or it will cost You more to return it to them (time+shipping) than the part itself. Use the discount code, at least it will save You part of the shipping cost depending on how much You spend at one time.

 

[whiteboyslo]

+1 on the questionable shipping practices. Keep a good eye on that, because it can add up quick. Also not impressed with their packing. I buy lots of pads and rotors from them, and they always throw the item box in a shipping box way too big with little to no packing. No damage yet, thankfully.

Another option, Amazon. Great prices, no hassle return policy, and almost always cheaper to ship. Their database sucks, so make double and triple sure you have the right part number, but otherwise no complaints.

Mike

 

[FordGuy100]

I don't think the shipping is questionable. It costs more to ship from warehouses farther away from you. I make sure they all ship from one or two warehouses. Most of the time you can get the better part for the same price as a cheaper one if that one cheaper part ships separate of everything.

 

[drcliff]

RockAuto has been my first-choice 'parts store' for many years. their online catalog is really useful, almost like a Hollander Manual. When you have parts in your shopping cart, and you're shopping for another part, a little 'truck' icon marks the parts that come from the same warehouse. This helps with the shipping costs. I don't think they're ripping people off or deceiving people, but it is easy to build an order that comes from 4 different places and that will drive up the shipping cost.

In almost ten years of monthly orders, I've never had to send anything back. And i've never been 'backordered'- if the online catalog says they have it, they have it.

 

[BudLight]

On the shipping, they will change the shipping location after you add another item. I understand the distance on pricing, but they do ship "weird".

Let me explain, a little better.

Select a set of spark plugs for X year X model X engine, go to checkout and it ships from location A.
Continue shopping.

Now select/add a set of spark plug wires for the same, go to checkout and it ships from location A, the spark plugs now ship from location B.
Delete spark plug wires, now the spark plugs ship from location A, again.

Cap and roter, ships from location D.

A cap and roter kit, (same parts) ships from location A. Normally $2 more, but the shipping is cheaper which equals a better/cheaper overall price.

This is my complaint/concern with them. I see what they do, and check all items and tweak items for the lowest overall price. Usally I pay more for a higher quality part, for a much less shipping price.

I paid $10 extra on just the parts on my last order, but saved about $25 on shipping (-5%).
To me that means I paid more upfront, but paid less total.

Beer thirty.

edit: Just trying to save everyone money.

 

[Jake_IN]

I've ordered at least 1500 dollars worth of stuff through them. Only once have i had an issue with a part. It was for my old Chevy K20. I was ordering wheel cylinders for it and the re was some sort of issue with there part numbers. the wheel cylinders i needed had the rubber boot/seal thing inside the cylinder and the ones they sent me had the seal on the outside which would not fit in my application. I emailed them and explained that i didn't get what i ordered so they paid for the shipping to send it back and shipped me the right part for free. Well the right part was the exact same part as before. Ended up spending several days with one of the customers service guys discussing the issue. Ended up just getting the wheel cylinders from napa to get the truck on the road. HOWEVER, even after that experience i have to say there customer service is top notch. Once the issue kind of grew, i immediately was given an email to one specific customer service guy so that all the talking was done just through him and not various others each time i emailed and then he later gave me his phone number and we talked a bunch over the phone. Real nice guy to talk to and i dont at all consider this a bad experience. Maybe inconvenient but the fact that they were more than willing to work with me made it ok in my book.

 

[junk]

I've ordered thousands from them. Make sure you know what your ordering. I've ordered a couple wrong parts because I didn't really understand what the differences were. When I've had to return parts they've been fine. Shipping has been fine for me. I do play with parts to get my warehouse quantity down to save on shipping. Best part is their prices are normally really good.