Rock Auto Parts

I get my muffler bearings and metric crescent wrenches from eBay.

 

I’ve had terrific experiences with @RockAuto over the years. Most recently got an oil filter that was dinged on the top, set up a return via the website and received the replacement before I go the defective one in the mail.
Good stuff!

 

Received my order, all in one box with reasonable shipping. No problems
Great experience with them. Saved quite a chunk of money

 

I am retracting my endorsement of RockAuto following a number of negative experiences this year. I don't know if they've stopped believing in customer service, or if I've just had bad luck, but I'm out nearly $300 on shipping for incorrectly listed parts, and denied core returns.

I hope they someday decide to value their customers on par with other online retailers, but as of this writing, they absolutely do not.

There is no human in the loop, there's no 800 number to call, and when something eventually goes wrong, you will be completely screwed. Your only recourse will be complaining about it on the internet.

 

You get what you pay for!!

 

A universal truth strikes again!

Funny that this particular company, which has continuously offered an unlimited 5% discount* on all orders since I became a customer 7 years ago, is now willing to lose my business indefinitely over amounts totaling a far lower percentage of my spending there to date.

And it's not always about the money, sometimes I just want them to send a human to go look at the part in the warehouse, to tell me which of the two pictured versions is the one I'll actually get, because I know that only one will fit my car. But no, I get a robot response that ignores my question, so I have to order the part just to find out if it fits. Low-and-behold, it doesn't fit, so now I have to eat round-trip shipping costs, and leave the job unfinished for another weekend, just because they couldn't be bothered to provide proper customer service up front. And the part is still listed wrong on their site.



* Rock auto offers a 5% off coupon code constantly. You should not shop at Rock Auto unless you want to get screwed over by their terrible customer service. But if you are going to ignore this advice, you should at least do internet searching to find the 5% discount code, so you can get your stuff for cheaper. PS: When you eventually get screwed over by RockAuto's terrible customer service, please make sure to complain about it loudly on the internet. I can't wait until RA brings their customer service back up to par, or gets replaced by a competitor with less disdain for their customers, so I can return to an otherwise overwhelmingly positive online shopping experience for car parts.

 

So stop giving your money to companies that dont know about your truck or care about your truck. Give your money to legit auto parts stores that know their stuff. Keep them in business so they'll be around to help you in the future

 

You are absolutely right, and I wish I had learned this lesson sooner!

Here's a more recently learned part of that lesson, posted here for the benefit of other readers:

If an online retailer or a chain store wants to charge you a core fee for a "remanufactured" part, then almost certainly you can find a local machine shop that can rebuild your OEM part, for far less money, and probably to higher quality, than whatever you can find online or in national retail-only chains.

You can call this machine shop on the phone and talk to the actual machinist that will do the work, you can agree on a timeline that will fit your schedule, and then you can drive there and shake his or her hand as you drop off the work. If you want, you can even pick what brand or quality of replacement components are used in the rebuild, or you can get custom upgrades, or you can get it painted a faster color like blue or red!

Nobody is better positioned to provide competitively priced, quality work than your local machine shop. There's no middle-man retailer skimming the profits, plus there's no shipping costs, and also, there are no BS core fees they can screw you with after the fact. They are rebuilding your original part and will let you know what's up at all times. Their only disadvantage vs. online/national stores is that they have to pay tons more to accept credit cards, sometimes up to 3-4% in fees--so do them a favor and pay with cash.

If you still think a national chain or online retailer can offer you better value than your local machinist, ask yourself which one has a CEO that makes $millions per year, or which one has a business jet that doubles as a huge tax write-off. How many billions of dollars have they spent establishing their slogan or jingle through advertising and sponsoring race car teams, and who ultimately pays for that? Is that jingle now stuck in your head? Most importantly, if your rebuilt wheel hub or steering rack lets loose on your way to work, who are you more likely to hit as you careen across the double yellow: your local machinist's family on their way to school in an 90's minivan, or the corporate CEO flying at 46,000 feet to the Cayman islands? Then tell me who will work harder for your business and give you a better quality part.

 

sour grapes ^

 

I deal with RA pretty exclusively, and haven't had any issues.

Which is a good thing, since I can't exactly return parts from where I'm at; the shipping would exceed the part cost by a factor of three or four.

 

another thumbs up for RockAuto. got OEM fuel injectors for my prior car (bmw 335) for half price what i could find anywhere else ($600 vs $1300).

 

this is why you should always cross reference parts numbers with whomever is sellers numbers are with the OEM numbers

 

at 295k I considered (& purchased) new factory upper & lower hoses while I replaced the t-stat/fluid
after I drained the fluid, I removed the upper hose from the rad & it looked brand new
so I returned all the rubber & made the service easier...ended up just doing the t-stat & 2 gallons of fresh toyota gatorade

I suspect most folks radiator & heater hoses will outlast the truck, if you regularly swap rad fluid out (& dont overheat the motor)
Im going to turn 329k today & Im sure my hoses are still like new

 

Hey Z

 

Well, I have 103, 201k miles on my truck. Should I replace the Hoses and TStat?

 

I agree with Z check the condition of your hoses. I did a fill flush of the cooling system and my hoses are great. Zero issues with my tstat so far. My Tacoma has 180k original miles

 

It sure is frustrating when customer service lets you down. I can see how you would be upset with Rock Auto, but overall I've heard nothing but good things from those that have used them.

 

Who makes the factory thermostat?

 

AISIN

 

Thanks man