Goodbye Rockauto :(

[mr2tim]

I HAD been ordering parts from Rockauto for at least a decade. Sadly this is ending today, due to Rockauto's EXCESSIVE shipping fees.


I'm performing a timing belt and water pump replacement on my wife's 01 PT Cruiser. It's a big ticket purchase for me, a retiree on a modest budget nowadays.


The parts totaled $155. Then, Rockauto added $50 in shipping fees. Yep, Rockauto raised the price a whopping 30% *:-O surprise


Un-fortunately for you Auto Parts Wholesale has the same price for parts with no shipping fees what-so-ever. So, since I'm buying by price I will not be buying from Rockauto.


As a very experienced parts purchaser, and a professional estimator by trade, I see Rockauto has slipped into the typical successful American business spiral into greed and excessive profit taking. Take this note to Rockauto management. They need a wake up call.

I'll be posting the DIY on the Timing Belt as soon as the parts arrive and it will include the reassembly.

Mr2Tim
Boca Raton, Florida

[NitroPT]

Its always good to shop for the best bargain. Some places have multiple warehouses that they will complete an order and charge for each warehouse shipping to the customer. This is not uncommon and RA has been doing that for years.
Generally I am very careful about ordering from anyone because of this and revue the order to see if I can make adjustments of parts ordering from other sources to for a better total cost. I just placed 3 orders with several parts from RA and have not seen that increase mention and also one of the orders was a repeat from several months ago which the total with shipping was exactly the same.

I am not impressed with the CSR's at Auto Parts Wholesale yet as I have had some shipping damages to poor packaging on more than one order. But I still will order from them for some sales and at some times competitive pricing.

[NitroPT]

OFF Topic...you really should start a "HOWDY" thread!

Welcome New PT Cruiser Members - PT Cruiser Forum


http://www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/...rum-rules.html
We encourage all new members to say hello and introduce yourself to the rest of the community by starting a post in the Welcome New PT Owners thread at the top half of the forum.

[rckstein]

Welcome to the forum

I recently saw a commercial on some auto show where RockAuto was advertising that their parts are half price, but half price from what or whom? I also doubt that that statement could apply to every part that they sell. But if true, then they probably make up those low prices by pumping up the shipping charges.

I've had some issues with some past purchases from RA, and when I really looked into the parts that I purchased, I found that I could get genuine OEM parts from my local dealership, for not that much more than from RA, and I could get the parts now and not have to deal with any shipping damages.

[chuzz]

Yeah, I was going to order some stuff a couple of months ago from RA, but after seeing the shipping costs, basically got what I needed at O'Reilly and was pretty much a wash on the purchase. Maybe a couple dollars more, but I didn't have to wait for items to arrive. Go into store, purchase, come home and install.

[Handy_Cruiser]

Originally Posted by mr2tim

I HAD been ordering parts from Rockauto for at least a decade. Sadly this is ending today, due to Rockauto's EXCESSIVE shipping fees.


I'm performing a timing belt and water pump replacement on my wife's 01 PT Cruiser. It's a big ticket purchase for me, a retiree on a modest budget nowadays.


The parts totaled $155. Then, Rockauto added $50 in shipping fees. Yep, Rockauto raised the price a whopping 30% *:-O surprise


Un-fortunately for you Auto Parts Wholesale has the same price for parts with no shipping fees what-so-ever. So, since I'm buying by price I will not be buying from Rockauto.


As a very experienced parts purchaser, and a professional estimator by trade, I see Rockauto has slipped into the typical successful American business spiral into greed and excessive profit taking. Take this note to Rockauto management. They need a wake up call.

I'll be posting the DIY on the Timing Belt as soon as the parts arrive and it will include the reassembly.

Mr2Tim
Boca Raton, Florida

Welcome to the forum from the great sovereign state of Arkansas!

I've noticed that Rock Auto seems to no longer be offering free shipping on orders over $100. And their discount codes for free shipping seem to have all expired too. I agree that something seems to be up with them. All companies seem to go through these cycles. Just like brand loyalty, your buying experience with any retailer this year can no longer be based on what you experienced last year. Modern successful companies change owners, management and strategies too much nowadays.

For the more popular parts, you can often find the same parts on Amazon for about the same price as Rock Auto. And shipping is free if you have Prime. Of course, Amazon has terrible application charts. So you will need to look up the part number somewhere else such as one of the Parts Store websites. I still buy some from Rock Auto when the price is right. But for me, I now believe I buy the most automotive parts from Amazon. And a close second is Advance Auto. With their 30% and $40 off online discount codes and free store pickup, Advance sometimes beats the online retailers.

Hopefully, Rock Auto will bring their free shipping options back. I've always liked their huge selection of stuff. But like I said, companies change a lot now.

[rckstein]

Originally Posted by Handy_Cruiser

Welcome to the forum from the great sovereign state of Arkansas!

I've noticed that Rock Auto seems to no longer be offering free shipping on orders over $100. And their discount codes for free shipping seem to have all expired too. I agree that something seems to be up with them. All companies seem to go through these cycles. Just like brand loyalty, your buying experience with any retailer this year can no longer be based on what you experienced last year. Modern successful companies change owners, management and strategies too much nowadays.

For the more popular parts, you can often find the same parts on Amazon for about the same price as Rock Auto. And shipping is free if you have Prime. Of course, Amazon has terrible application charts. So you will need to look up the part number somewhere else such as one of the Parts Store websites. I still buy some from Rock Auto when the price is right. But for me, I now believe I buy the most automotive parts from Amazon. And a close second is Advance Auto. With their 30% and $40 off online discount codes and free store pickup, Advance sometimes beats the online retailers.

Hopefully, Rock Auto will bring there free shipping options back. I've always liked their huge selection of stuff. But like I said, companies change a lot now.

I've had great shopping experiences with Amazon. For instance, a couple of years ago when I purchased MOOG lower control arms for my PT, they came with the old style bushings. They were marked with the new label, and I didn't know the design difference, so I had them installed on my car. But later when inquiring with the sellers (they came from 2 different sources through Amazon) one seller offered a 50% refund, and I got a full refund through Amazon because the other seller never responded. So in the end, I paid like $30 for 2 new control arm assemblies. And even though they have the old style bushings, they should still last quite a while.

[GotToGo]

I also have problems with RA's shipping and return practices. I mostly buy local now.

Have you ever picked multiple items at RA from the same location only to have the location change on one or more parts when you go to checkout? I hate that.

[Handy_Cruiser]

Originally Posted by GotToGo

I also have problems with RA's shipping and return practices. I mostly buy local now.

Have you ever picked multiple items at RA from the same location only to have the location change on one or more parts when you go to checkout? I hate that.

I believe what's happening is that Rock Auto is drop shipping some items from their suppliers. And their online system is running some kind of algorithm to determine what can be shipped from the same place and what can be shipped together. It can be more complicated that we might think. And I don't blame them for that. Their shipping system will never be as big or sophisticated as Amazon's, but it still allows them to offer an extremely wide range of parts and brands.

My only issue with them is price. The main reason to use Rock Auto is the price. They often offer good service but so does O'Reilly Auto and many others. That's should true of all vendors. And what has really distinguished Rock Auto is price and a wide selection. If Rock Auto prices become uncompetitive due to shipping costs, then the "magic" is gone. I hope the folks in change at Rock Auto eventually realizes this.

[NitroPT]

Internet forums can be ruthless with vendors that can't answer back or defends comments from the members. In this case ......

Lets see if the representative responds?
__________________________________________________ ______________

http://www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/...tml#post639769

Originally Posted by NitroPT

There are some comments that you might want to address on this thread?

SEE:

http://www.ptcruiserlinks.com/forum/...-rockauto.html