I live on vancouver island near parksville so I have been pricing things out. I really only have lordco and napa and sometimes canadian tire to choose from. Looking for a good spot to buy good quality parts for as cheap as I can hopefully this will help everyone out. And also what brands to stay away from.

 

The best prices I have found are at RockAuto online. I have them sent to Point Roberts, Washington (The Letter Carrier) and drive down on some weekday to pick 'em up. The Letter Carrier will keep the packages for up to 3 months and charge about $2.50 each. Of course you get dinged GST/PST at the boarder crossing.
Here in Vancouver, the prices for parts are crazy. Lordco prices can vary by a factor of 2 or more depending on which clerk you get. NAPA is similar but they will give a better price without so much haggling. I have found that you get a good price only from the manager and only if there is no other customers in the store to hear you bartering...

Priced a new coil - at Lordco: $61(not in stock), at NAPA $33 (in stock), at RockAuto: $10.50 + shipping.

The Ford wreckers on Mitchell Island are through the roof for used parts. I need a power steering pump and got charged $85 - it was worth $25 tops.

Cheers

 

yes I agree they can ship to canada as well that is what I get done. They have a good variety of brands to if you are picky. I have heard good things from them. Iam starting to get annoyed with lordco

 

Most of the stuff I buy is at Lordco, that's because it's about my only choice. I have bought some on ebay providing they don't ship USPS. They seem to have some pretty wicked charges. I have found some stuff at wreckers in the area but SD parts are hard to come by and quite expensive.

 

vancouver island: having anything shipped to Canada is a risky business if cost is important. I still remember getting a Haynes manual shipped from Eastern US to us here in Vancouver. The manual was $29.95US - when the courier appeared at our door, the total cost was over $90 Canadian! The customs brokerage costs were $40. That was the very last time I had anything "shipped" to Canada. Also, be careful that the parts being shipped say "made in USA" on them or so-called free trade rules do not apply. I always get the supplier to write "auto parts made in US" on the package.

I suspect that if Lordco were directly competing with anyone other than Canadian Tire, they would be in trouble. Again, it is critical that you deal only with the store manager at a Lordco location - the staff are often disinterested (especially the women) and sometimes downright rude. Two years ago one "Lady' staff member told me to "just wait" while she finished her personal conversation. You can imagine my response... I sent a letter of complaint to Lordco headquarters but got no reply. I still always give Lordco the first chance, NAPA Canada second (much better service and attitude).

Have you noticed that NAPA Canada uses different stock numbers from NAPA USA? Bizarre!

Enough ranting, it's time for lunch.

 

For shipping UPS is ok. USPS is not.

 

Yeah lots of sites are risk but I have never had problems with rock auto. They seem to be very good. Nice because you can call them and talk to some real people. I just use regular mail most of the time unless it is to big. You should check out rock auto might be impressed

 

I wonder why you don`t like USPS, Zip. Being a super nerd and building two computers and my little Mazda via ebay and a Kentucky Mazda aftermarket parts retailer I learned really quick to not use UPS and in fact choose USPS if I didn't want any extra charges. I paid $650 CAD for my exhaust for my Mazda, then paid $96 for Brokerage "accepted by the carrier" before finally paying GST as well! Totally hosed! USPS has carried all my other shipments and while they are slower you don't get dinged anything at the door. Now with this truck I'm going to need to find all the best places to get my parts; I was set right up when I was working on my Mazda but this is a whole different bag, in fact I'm even going from Gasoline to Diesel! Like Alice in Wonderland!

 

That's interesting. It seems the exact opposite for me. When I bought my injectors it was another $107 at the door.

Going from gas to diesel is cool. You will never want to go back.

 

For oil filters I go directly to the cummins warehouse in surrey. For oil I go to costco and buy gtx castrol diesel oil because their about 30 dollars cheaper then most other places. When I need belts,hoses,altenators and stuff like that I go to the local t&t parts store. If I really really must I will go to lordco but hate it because like mentioned in a post above they are terrible to deal with. If I need anything major I check out the wreckers,ebay, ford dealership,and BD diesel in abbotsford.

 

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what about amazon.com ? they have some motorcraft parts and free shipping on orders over x dollars. i am not very experienced in ordering on line ... bought a book from amazon.com some years ago and it went without a hitch, as i recall.

i prefer to buy from a parts store because, if they give me the wrong part, it's not that big a deal to exchange it ... BUT ... canadian tire is hopeless for both quality and service ... my local lordco is pretty good on service, but i am starting to question the quality of their parts ... no matter WHO you buy from, we seem to be getting hosed on prices . amazons prices looked pretty good, judging from the quick peek i took.

 

Just saw I did that backwards. USPS-good. UPS-bad.

Here all we have is Lordco and an independent sort of place. Lordco can usually come pretty close on price for most things. That's once I work in fuel, postage, duties etc.

 

Just wondering, what ever happened to "free trade" lol Just another gov't screw job i expect.

 

Who knows. It seems like the shipping and duties make it senseless to order from across the border. Only other option is to pick up in Oroville. Of course there would be fuel costs on top of that.

Speaking of parts gotta head down to Lordco and order a steering stabilizer.