A cautionary tail of my experience with RockAuto. Needed a wiper transmission, and cause this car is my mothers daily, and I drive truck leaving me out of town for long periods the window of time to get it done is limited. Thus I ordered it well in advance, but once it arrived it was clearly damaged, it had clearly been previously damaged and repackaged in a different box. So I sent that one back, and had them send another, and I was again delayed in fixing this cars wipers. Next time I'm in town I grab her car, grab the part, looks good, pull everything apart and damnit, it's wrong, this time the part isn't damaged it's incorrect. The pivot ball where it attaches to the wiper motor was the wrong size, this ball is a plastic bushing that is molded into the linkage so I couldn't use the old one. This took me some time to sort out, do I find another ball of the right size, modify it somehow, find another, etc. I rigged it up enough to work for a while but had to fix it right. My final solution was to get another wiper transmission that was correct from another source, RockAuto only had the one source and no reason to expect a 3rd one would be correct. So now I have it fixed and want to get a refund, NOPE, they tell me they don't do refunds after 30 days, so I'm F'd by their mistake now 3 times, thanks RockAuto, you stole 2 weekends and $60 from me, I'm done with them, you should be to.

 

never had any problem with them. and the return policy for damaged items was taken care if instantly too.
the only damaged items i got from them was wiper switches, 2 came damaged in shipping. the third was good.
the one wrong packaged window regulator was returned instantly, and i had the new one in the car 4 days later.

 

I know quite a few non-professional mechanics use RA for various parts etc---on paper it seems like an ultra-convenient resource especially when price is the major consideration.

I tend to buy locally for nearly everything that affects driveabilty and reliability--if fitment or warranty issues need resolving it's done so vastly easier than any on-line parts seller can or does offer. Honestly once they're received their money you're pretty much at their mercy.

Others will disagree but over time I've learned establishing relationships at the local level is the far better path when we're DIY any repair.

 

I agree completely. My only issue is finding someone competent. Most of the parts houses around here prefer younger guys that can work the computer over older guys that actually know something about cars and trucks. I've been using the same guy now for about 5 years and I'll drive past other parts stores to do business with him.

 

In principal I agree completely as well. Having previously made my living turning wrenches, working a retail parts counter, selling wholesale parts, and managing a parts store. This time however the modern limited inventory parts store wasn't able to do much for me. All my local both retail and wholesale suppliers had the same problem, a near complete lack of availability options. Everyone only had one option a Doorman #602-008, everyone had to get it from Doorman, and none of them could do it within a week or without high shipping cost. There were four other supply options, the dealer who was at least 2 weeks out and at least 3 times the cost, some internet outfit that was quite shady, another manufacture I'd never heard of and only available via RA, or used at a wrecking yard. Didn't want used figured it's a wear issue, and they'd all likely be worn, wanted new if I could.

So given all the good things I'd heard about RA, the speed, the cost, and that I generally trusted Doorman products, I gave them a try, I shouldn't have.

Even RA got it direct from Doorman, RA doesn't inventory anything, they are just a middle man, a few guys in an office. They take the order and someone else shipped it to me using RA tape on the box. Also apparently every employee is a member of the same family, thus high job security, thus poor customer service.

 

BruteFord you've pointed out one of the most aggravating parts about auto/truck repair on all counts. I know---and very much understand---most hate the dealerships for a lot of justifiable reasons---but when it comes to OEM parts still in production they're hard to beat. Sure they lose interest if its not immediately available from "the warehouse". Discontinued parts at the OEM production level is one reason Dorman etc exist outside their core business.

There's always eBay or Amazon too---as long as you know what you're seeking it tends to be available somewhat quickly. Occasionally price becomes irrelevant, just getting the damn thing in hand the important factor.

Of course today just like at the beginning of my repair "career" its best to have every conceiveable part BEFORE repairs begin, assuming there's an urgency to complete the job. Something without a hard deadline is a luxury most of us don't have.

 

Yup, in the end I ended up putting a decent used original from a wrecking yard in it, it was the fastest decent solution. So I'll likely in the near future just order up and pay for a set of new OEM pivots and swap them out. And if I had it to do all over again I'd just order OEM from the dealer. The repair could have waited another week, the biggest issue was that once I started the repair I had to finish. The car is my mothers only car and her commuter. I'd previously half taken it apart in my process of sorting it out, but had found that one of the studs that holds the driver side pivot on was spinning in the housing. So I was concerned that I'd be unable to remove the worn part without damaging it,(as turned out to be the case) thus had to have a correct replacement in hand. This was my one mistake, I should have had at least two of the three versions in hand before taking it apart, new OEM, used, or the Doorman. But at the time I had no reason to doubt the Doorman, they are generally very good about it, wrecking yards don't generally do returns, and I had to pay for the shipping of the OEM parts, thus that money is lost even if I return it. Since deciding to order the Doorman, the source was next, RA was by far the cheapest and fastest, I was however unaware of the 30 day return policy, I didn't look, I had no reason to expect to return it, a 30 day policy on new product is near unheard of these days, and it wasn't mentioned when I spoke to them about the part being incorrect.

This and your last line is probably the single biggest reason I'm unlikely to ever buy much from RA. I want to have as many of the likely possibly needed parts on hand before digging in. I probably return or warranty 1/3rd of what I buy at my local stores and maintain an inventory of likely parts/supplies needed for all the vehicles I maintain, this means a lot of delayed returns.

 

NO WE HAVEN'T, YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!



So far I've been offered "store credit" within 3 days of them getting it presumably only if they decide to honor it and only after I pay to ship it back to them.

This of course is still a poor deal, first as mentioned cause I pay for shipping and I'm trusting them to honor it. Secondly there's nothing I want from them, I'm not going to risk going through this again on a part I actually need and they don't sell universal consumables like motor oil.

 

While I'm at it, anyone know how to find this so called return policy of there's on the Taylor's website, if it exists it's sure as heck hidden away?

I did find this tidbit though in their FAQ "The only exceptions to this are if you received a part number that is not what you ordered, an item arrived defective, or if the manufacturer confirms our catalog information is incorrect." I've been in contact with Doorman for a few days but I can't make these two talk to each other.

 

I'd figured credit might be ok, but I ain't paying shipping, and after looking, I haven't found anything I want to buy from you, so I'm conflicted.


NO, that is not this blanket 30 day policy I'm being told is the downfall here. WHERE is that, I can't find it.

 

So this "return policy" is just a little line in the FAQ?

Well I found my own line in your FAQ, see above, looks like your 30 day "policy" is overridden by your "incorrect information policy"


30 days from when BTW, when I made the order, when I received a damaged part, when I received an incorrect part, when I discovered the part was incorrect, when I called and asked what my options were, when that jerk on the phone called me an idiot and hung up on me, or when I decided I no longer needed it?