How many of you use Rock Auto?

[Driz]

Great prices but shipping can be a hassle and sometimes a large expense when shipping from another warehouse. Gotta watch that. Great prices on front end gear brakes and such. Fuel lines especially . Just got a set for a 6 l gmc were very high quality . Had one section that leaked got another in a few days whole set, no problems.
I buy car, truck boat parts to the tune of about one a week . If they offered free shipping and none of this 3 warehouse cumulative shipping I’d be ordering from them . But no Amazon and eBay stores are still better for me.

 

[Whimsey]

Recently I ordered a reman alternator, a Denso, from RA because they were by far the least expensive for a decent reman alternator. The return shipping for the core(old alt) was only $10. They send you a return label via email using FedEx as the return shipper. The $10 was a lot less than normal shipping charges would have been to return the alternator. They handled the couple of product issues quickly and refunded the money and paid for the return of the product. If products come from different warehouses they advise you as to the additional shipping charges so you can remove the item if it's too much. With a recent order I figured I'd order some extra cheap oil filters. The shipping was 6 times the price of the filters

, canceled the filters needless to say

. I like them a lot but I also check out AAP, EBay and Amazon when pricing and go the the best overall value.

Whimsey

 

[GMBoy]

I LOVE THEM! I buy everything from them unless I need it same day. Best prices even with shipping and service has been great. I order almost every week.

 

[zzyzzx]

How many of you use Rock Auto?

Pretty much everyone in the US.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Kira
To copcarguy: Do tell me how to "set up a feed" for my car so I receive emails regarding specials. That would be a huge help.

To The Critic: Besides looking for the little truck icons, how does one manage shipping costs?

I've experienced and posted about their "shifting warehouses". It is a glaring blob of dishonesty in an otherwise stellar company.



I've noticed that the price of shipping decreases once they realize that my shipping address is a business address. Cheaper to have the parts shipped to your work address.

 

[exranger06]

I've ordered from them many times and I've always been pleased with them. This spring or summer I'm going to order a new exhaust for my CR-V from them.

 

[Vaca]

I have bought from RockAuto probably 50 or more times over the last 10 or so years. They usually have a good selection, although sometimes they don't have some of the smaller parts such as a specific OEM nut or bolt. It seems like it's getting tougher and tougher to find parts that ship from same warehouse. Overall, great experience with them.

 

[dlundblad]

All the time.

I try to find OE whenever possible and they usually have the best pricing. The shipping usually gets you on brake components and the like, but that's to be expected. They are still usually very close to buying locally.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: Vaca
I have bought from RockAuto probably 50 or more times over the last 10 or so years. They usually have a good selection, although sometimes they don't have some of the smaller parts such as a specific OEM nut or bolt. It seems like it's getting tougher and tougher to find parts that ship from same warehouse. Overall, great experience with them.



If you know the thread pitch of whatever you need, check out McMaster-Carr. They even have CAD files of the stuff.

 

[Nick1994]

I like Rock Auto, I split t up between them and Amazon. I have Prime so Amazon is quite convenient.

 

[marine65]

Rock Auto rocks.
I get 2 cabin air filters including shipping for the price of 1 at an auto parts store.
Same for wiper blades.
I bought 4 struts for the Sentra and they were still 20% cheaper even with shipping then the usual auto parts store suspects.
Then I had a one legged mobile mechanic put them on for $200.00.
Never had a problem.

 

[dakota99]

I use them from time to time simply because you can get better quality parts for cheaper than the local parts store. Nobody within 30 miles of me stocks anything except the absolute cheapest off brand stuff. When i fix something I don't want to revisit the problem a year later.

 

[Kruse]

The best thing about RockAuto is the selection. Your local FLAPS may have one or two different brands. Depending on the part, RockAuto may have a dozen.
I usually also do a mock order form and compare it to what Amazon has. Sometimes Amazon is a better deal, sometimes it's RockAuto.
Another good thing about RockAuto is that it allows you to do a parts search. I work on a lot of obscure engines that have been discontinued decades ago.
For example, my latest project is an Oliver 70 ag tractor that uses a Continental 202 c.i. engine built in the 1940s.
Finding the connecting rod bearing number in an old Sealed Power catalog gets me the connecting rod bearing numbers of 9320CP and 9320CPA. RockAuto had both of these scarce parts listed in the wholesale closeout section, meaning that everything shipped from the same factory and at a price that was lower than anywhere else.
The 5% off discount code usually takes a good dent out of the shipping costs.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Kira
To copcarguy: Do tell me how to "set up a feed" for my car so I receive emails regarding specials. That would be a huge help.

To The Critic: Besides looking for the little truck icons, how does one manage shipping costs?

I've experienced and posted about their "shifting warehouses". It is a glaring blob of dishonesty in an otherwise stellar company.


The best way to minimize RA shipping costs is to do the following:

1) Make a list of the items you need, and prioritize them in the order of importance.
2) Have 1-2 brand choices for each item you want.
3) Add the most important item to your cart first. Then build the rest of the order around that item. Only add items with the "truck symbol" next to the part - this means that it will come from the same warehouse as the other items in your cart.
4) After adding each additional item, pay attention to the shipping cost. Unless you add something very heavy (i.e. rotors), the shipping cost should not change drastically. If it does, then it means that the new item requires the entire order to be shipped from a different (and usually further away) warehouse.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I love Rockauto, I usually buy from them. Except for heavy things. I have some friends who work at auto stores and I'm in on a few commercial accounts that we have set up. The stores they work at have changed, but we were the highest Autozone account at one store about a year ago.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: car51
Was browsing and they seem to have decent selection of parts. Never bought anything there. What's your thoughts?

They have some good prices. Where you lose the price difference is the shipping. You think you're saving money, then here comes the shipping charges.
I just recently received an email of parts they're discontinuing for my truck. A WIX XP oil filter ($3.14), a FRAM TG air filter ($4.56), and ANCO Hybrid blades ($1.36 each). I would say that's a great deal. And, shipping was reasonable.
There are some parts, along with their shipping charges, that will save you money over other companies out there offering the same parts. In other words, I like ROCK AUTO.

 

[Walmill]

Great selection. I also like the simplistic format and being able to easily search through related components. I like the detailed information that's usually provided. Shipping is surprisingly quick.
I usually go yo rock auto to identify the part I want. I then open about 50 tabs and compare prices. After factoring shipping, various discount codes, cash back deals through cards, 5% off Amazon prime it cab take a good while. Sometimes rock auto wins sometimes not

 

[InvalidUserID]

I'd use them more if their shipping didn't kill. So I usually use them to research the PN# I need and buy from Amazon as it's honestly cheaper.

 

[copcarguy]

Originally Posted By: Kira
To copcarguy: Do tell me how to "set up a feed" for my car so I receive emails regarding specials. That would be a huge help.

To The Critic: Besides looking for the little truck icons, how does one manage shipping costs?

I've experienced and posted about their "shifting warehouses". It is a glaring blob of dishonesty in an otherwise stellar company.


When you put your car info in on the desktop site, there will be an orange rectangle next to your motor selection that has "RSS" and a tilted wifi symbol in it. Click that and they'll give you options to set up a feed for that specific vehicle.

I like Blogtrottr the best.

 

[Tomioka]

I've started to use RA more frequently now since Amazon takes forever to ship and the low prices and decent shipping costs still come out below dealer and local parts store prices. I can place my order on Monday and it arrives right before the weekend.