"In October, 2008, I ordered a muffler and a fuel tank for my VW Vanagon from RockAuto. The day after I placed my order, I was told that my $53.79 muffler had increased to $89.79. I was told that the low price was a clearance price and that there wasn't any left. When I ordered it, their web site said that there were 2 left at this price. I had no choice. I had to pay it even though it was a whopping 61% increase over the price of the muffler they sold to me. When it arrived, it was the cheapest muffler I had ever seen. Most VW mufflers have bracing between the flange and the body of the muffler. I expect this one to last only one year without the bracing. That is what I would expect of a $30 muffler. Not a $90 muffler.
I'm still trying to get a fuel tank that doesn't leak. The first one took me a few weeks to install. I needed to run out the fuel first and I don't use that car so often. Then, the price of fuel went up to $4.50 per gallon. I never filled the car up at that price. Once the price of fuel dropped, I filled the tank up and it leaks from the seam. Christopher at RockAuto tells me that they cannot pay for the return shipping since it has been more than 30 days. BUT IT'S DEFECTIVE GUYS?
Anyway, his solution is for me to order a new fuel tank, pay for the new tank and shipping, ship back the old tank at my expense and then they will refund the cost of the new tank and the shipping for the new tank. However, I still have to bear the cost of shipping the defective tank back.
The new tank arrived yesterday. It looks like they dragged it all the way across the country behind the truck. The box is broken, torn and you can see where the seam of the tank has cut thru the box. They had to double the weight of the package with tape, just to stop it from disintegrating.
This is becoming downright silly. I'm out $400 and I got a muffler worth $30 and 2 defective fuel tanks.
UPDATE 3/24/09:
Rock Auto has refunded the cost of the defective fuel tank and shipping, and paid the return shipping. Thanks Rock Auto."
"Hi Everyone! I am restoring a 1986 Jeep CJ-7. I ordered about $210.00 dollars worth of parts from RockAuto. First let me say that Rock Auto had very good prices on all of the items. They also had more hard to get items than any one site. They have lots of closeouts and specials that make it worth it to order from them. The parts I received were very good overall but a few pieces were low quality Chinese pieces. Their delivery was good. I received everything I ordered within about ten days. The only rub with RockAuto is that dealing with them is sort of like buying things from Amazon.com. My order shipped to me from five different locations. Some of the parts were not in stock after I ordered them so their customer service rep called to ask me if I would like to substitute a different part. I said yes and this part was then shipped separately also! My order came to me in six different shipments with postage and handling on every one. I think the shipping charges totaled almost $60.00. This made their shipping charges almost 30% of my order overall! I got a small bag of parts that cost almost $9 dollars in shipping and handling. I complained to them. It is my opinion that their costs were too high. They really shouldn’t charge any more for shipping than they would if they shipped it from one place in one order. I would have been happy if they would have charged me for shipping from four centers. They replied that shipping is not a profit center for them and that the buyer can see all the charges before they submit the order. This is technically true. The shopping cart shows where each part is coming from and breaks out the charges. You should be able to juggle your order so that your parts come from fewer distribution centers. However, I went back over my order and canceled all the parts shipping from one distribution center but the remaining parts changed where they were going to ship from so that some still shipped from that canceled distribution center. It still showed five shipping locations even if I canceled all the parts from one of them. RockAuto didn’t have an explanation for this. Also, let’s face it: you don’t want to spend all day on an order juggling parts from one distribution center to another even if you can. Their program should minimize shipping not maximize it. Overall I would rate them a good or four out of five stars."
"Great service, timely delivery"
"i've ordered a bunch of parts from rock auto lately. these guys have a super selection. I love the fact that i can see pictures of most parts before i buy them. THis allows me to see exactly what i am getting. The only donwside so far is that they sometimes ship my parts out from several locations AND charge me for shipping from EACH one. That's kinda BAD. sometimes i buy small electronic parts that should ship for $5....but i get charged for $10 or more. other than that they are really great "
"Ordered a twice in January from Rock auto and Excellent service each time. Parts came quickly and correct items sent. Will order again when needed. Great Service."
"Good prices, fast shipping. Let me know right away when a part was not in stock."
"Great shipping, good part, great price."
"I ordered two thermostats and gaskets for two different vehicles. Parts were delivered in less than a week. I couldn't find one of the thermostats locally so I ordered it instead."
"This purchase left me with a feeling of regret. When I first contacted them with the problem it was given the "Yea whatever" attitude. they started the trace process to find my package and that was the last I heard for 8 days. I ended up purchasing the item from another store(locally since I needed it 2 weeks earlier) and a day later they and the shipper contact me. They did refund my money...Thats a plus since I didn't need the part anymore.
In the last three plus years I have done business with Rockauto about 30 times, maybe more. Some excellent transactions some not so good, but, every time a not so good transaction occured they seemed to want to help me. This time was different, in my opinion I was just a name on a box, they had my money and if my ever packaged ever arrived wasn't thier problem. The service from this sale will definately weigh heavly on my decision to purchase from them again. "
"Fast shipping and great prices. Thanks"
"The web site is set up wonderfully, the check out process went smoothly and their prices are great. I have other family members that have purchased from RockAuto before and they have all been very satisfied. I received my parts very quickly, even though they were shipped from a 3rd party. RockAuto seems to be doing everything right for a company that wants to stay in business."
"Typically a good company to do business with and fast shipping. However on my last order I found a problem with the website's parts catalog. It had a part listed under a DOHC engine when it was in fact for a SOHC. I ordered the part and received the usually quick shipping, even during the holiday season, which was a plus since I needed to get the car back together. When I received the part I noted it was incorrect. I double checked to make sure it was listed incorrectly in the catalog, it was. I contacted RockAuto and they informed me it was an order error on my part and would only refund the price of the part, not shipping. Well, being only a $10 part I had no intention of paying to ship it back, so I was in a bind. The company failed to resolve the issue and I am now stuck with the part. As I stated before a good parts company with a large selection, just watch the parts catalog and hope you do not need to return anything. "
"I am verry glad to fond your commany on the net and the easy way to make an order one your web site.
I will refer your company to my friends.
Tanks,
Jacques LeBel
Québec, Qc"
"Great prices and fast shipping. This is my second purchase from RockAuto and both experiences have been great."
"Rockauto was the best,I placed my order and received the part faster from them than from my local auto parts dealer and it was less expensive. Thanks ROCKAUTO,COM
Jack"