Buying auto parts on Amazon

[Hall]

I look at the total price, not just “free” shipping. Yes it requires more steps, but RA was cheaper multiple times than Amazon and had faster shipping because many auto parts sold on Amazon are sold by third parties and not from an Amazon warehouse.

I can't imagine people not factoring the total price but clearly there are people who only look at the item price. I've noticed the same thing about auto parts sellers on Amazon - so many are sold/shipped by someone other than Amazon. They are hit or miss on shipping speed too, but like I do with Rockauto, I never buy anything from them (RA) if I want it in a hurry (hurry = typical Amazon delivery time). 9 out of 10 times, I place an order on RA and it's 2-4 days before they actually hand it off to Fedex, UPS, etc.

 

[PandaBear]

It depends on what it is to me. Something easy to change and low risk of fraud (the cheapest pads, rotors, air filters), Amazon is fine. I would not buy spark plugs from them due to fake stuff risks as long as they still combine parts from various sellers. I heard they will stop them this year but I am not 100% sure yet.

I've dealt with Rock Auto return and they did get me the source of whoever it is sending parts out, so I trust them being able to trace what happened to them before I got it.

 

[TomYoung]

I buy a lot of things on Amazon and a few things on RA. I wouldn’t say that everything has gone perfectly, but the number of problems I’ve had is minimal and Amazon has always had perfect customer service. Also, Amazon will always have some great deals on oil. My only concern is that their existence has hurt local merchants. But to be clear, I have had my fill of the chain auto stores, like Advance and Autozone, where the prices are through the roof, and an idiot behind the counter gives you nothing but wrong answers.