Beware of Rock auto, the lengths they went to, to deny the return of a twenty dollar thermostat housing that was obviously incorrect are truly impressive. Vin, engine codes, measurements, photo's, description, markings. I hope they enjoy the last $21 of my money. Atlanta

 

Been dealing with them, a lot, for 15 years. Never one issue. Strange with returns.

BUT, I do use then for ground-truth on part numbers so that I can cross them over to Amazon for free shipping at times.

 

They carry many parts at reasonable prices but without free shipping. I like their website. Charge you shipping fees on core returns and other returns even when they are at fault. Trying to do less business with them recently. Buying more and more on Amazon.

 

I’ll leave the politics to the politics section, but I’ll give you this.



OP, here is the transactions feedback forum.

 

Rockauto is my go to for general car parts for years. I rarely have issues but the few times I did, they made good and sent me a return shipping label.

 

I got a set of rear struts for the wife's MiniCooper. 8 months later one ended up being defective. I returned it and they gave me a compete refund, including shipping. Now the return went through Monroe, since it was one of their struts, but they OK'd the return and Rock sent me my money. So maybe the manufacturer is responsible for saying yeah or nay to a return, not Rock.

 

With the money I have saved by not going to the parts store and paying double for the same part is enough for me to continue ordering from them.

 

There are times that to me it is worth it to pay more to buy it local so if there is a problem, you can look someone in the eye and (hopefully) get it taken care of. I've never had to send anything back to RockAuto but dread the thought of ever having to do so. I buy my filters from them because, in theory, buying something like a Wix oil filter should be hard for them to screw up.

I am a big believer in "You get what you pay for". RockAuto is cheap for a reason.

 

I ordered a set of Bosch Oxygen sensors and three of the four worked. The one that was defective was replaced by me at my cost as RA will not replace electrical items, even when they are defective from the factory.

Then they sent me a bad MAP Sensor as it had been a "used part" that was put back into the new box and returned to RA. When I complained they accused me of trying to pull a fast one on them. Not impressed. I had to buy a MAP sensor at NAPA instead to get a good working unit.

I order parts from RA but nothing electrical as I don't trust them to handle defective parts.

Be sure to check out the "Show Closeouts Only" which is the last item on the parts list. You can save some serious money on the parts in that category. I replaced the entire front brake systems parts on my VW Vanagon for less than $100 in parts. The parts were worth several times what I paid for them. I was able to buy 2 rebuilt calipers, 2 brake discs, brake hoses, Brake parts for the drum brake in the rear and even a master cylinder.

 

They use the factory's "B" inventory stock , love the web site for part numbers

 

I one time got a no name MAP sensor in a GM box. I emailed them about it. They sent me a a return shipping label and refund.

 

I have nothing against Rockauto but Summit Racing also carries non high performance replacement parts too. Sometimes if I go to order a $110 plus of parts from Rockauto but it coming from multiple warehouses I'll see if Summit has them to avoid the multiple shipping cost. Summit offers free shipping on orders over $110.

 

Personally I would not buy any of my Corvette parts from Rock Auto. I have used them for my DD's over the years and never had an issue.

 

I have used RA over the years.
For my old S10 truck, the parts were fine. Prices were fair, shipping was high as with most shipping today.
For specific parts, like CR seals that I ordered, they shipped me non-CR because they had those in stock. I called and at the time they answered the phone and explained to me that they will ship parts by application instead of brand at times. I wanted the CR seals, they took back what they shipped me. I have been cautious about that since and rarely use them today.
They do offer brand name parts but you need to know what you are buying as you won't get detailed help. For example, look at the ring gears for vettes. They have Motive, Richmond, and US Standard Gear. Many confuse US Standard Gear with US Gear and they are not the same. One is a imported 2nd and the other has been out of business for 4- 5 years now. They are both sold elsewhere so you need to do some homework first.
Summit is higher on price, but they will price match if you call them and show them the difference. They have a good return policy. I have received bad gears in the past, Summit took them back within a year, no problem. Same for a bad casting on a new Posi case. As with dealing with anyone, I like to talk to people and have work relationship with them. There is value there more than price shopping for the lowest price. All depends on if there is a problem after the sale. I use several suppliers for my work, all I have had accounts with for years, and all direct suppliers. Many selling vette parts today are just middlemen, which is not necessarily bad, but can be a problem if a part is no good.