The Decline Of Rock Auto

Joined
Apr 20, 2021
Messages
9
Am I the only one who has noticed that Rock Auto has fallen straight into the crap hole of late? I had been buying from them for the last 6 or 8 years and over the past year or two I have had nothing but trouble and headaches every time I have tried to deal with them. Their prices have gotten completely out of control (in some instances the Dealer is cheaper) and their shipping times have become pathetic. In some instances their shipping costs are higher than the part(s). Plus the quality fo their parts has turned to absolute garbage. They don't publish a phone number and the jerks who they have responding to emails are nasty, rude, and obnoxious. I have notice that they shut down their Facebook page probably because they have been pissing off so many people.

It has gotten so bad that I never even use their web site as a resource any more. I order from my local Advance Auto Parts and get great service and my business is appreciated. I get online ordering and military/veterans discounts plus I get to pick up my parts in an hour or so. With my discounts the parts I order cost me no more than $10 over what I would pay Rock Auto and Advance Auto doesn't treat me like dirt.

I am sure there was a time when Rock Auto might have been good but now I just want them to close their doors and stop wasting people's time.
 
Am I the only one who has noticed that Rock Auto has fallen straight into the crap hole of late? I had been buying from them for the last 6 or 8 years and over the past year or two I have had nothing but trouble and headaches every time I have tried to deal with them. Their prices have gotten completely out of control (in some instances the Dealer is cheaper) and their shipping times have become pathetic. In some instances their shipping costs are higher than the part(s). Plus the quality fo their parts has turned to absolute garbage. They don't publish a phone number and the jerks who they have responding to emails are nasty, rude, and obnoxious. I have notice that they shut down their Facebook page probably because they have been pissing off so many people.

It has gotten so bad that I never even use their web site as a resource any more. I order from my local Advance Auto Parts and get great service and my business is appreciated. I get online ordering and military/veterans discounts plus I get to pick up my parts in an hour or so. With my discounts the parts I order cost me no more than $10 over what I would pay Rock Auto and Advance Auto doesn't treat me like dirt.

I am sure there was a time when Rock Auto might have been good but now I just want them to close their doors and stop wasting people's time.
Yes.
 
I only order from them when I need foolproof stuff like maintenance items, because they have no customer service to speak of. When I was having so much trouble getting the correct Cardone steering rack for the '82 Mustang, I finally just had to go around them and go straight to Cardone. I buy from the O'Reilly close to my house whenever I can, because the service is much better, and mostly worth the price premium.
 
They sent me the wrong tool (ordered a ball peen hammer got a claw hammer) about two months ago. It was one part number off. So I sent in a complaint on their website and they sent me the right tool and told me to hang onto the wrong one for a month incase they wanted it back. They ended up not asking for it back.

Yes the shipping has gone up and so have the price of parts, it pays to shop around.
 
I ordered rotors, brake pads, and a few miscellaneous items a couple weeks ago. The price of shipping was a bit painful to accept, but their total price was still better than local parts stores.
 
Like with any other store, there are parts that are cheaper and some that are more expensive.
No store is cheaper in everything.

One thing on RA is that I don't buy cheap parts from them (parts under $20 or even $30) because the shipping will wipe out the deal.
I know for brakes, RA is cheaper especially if you want brand name where it actually becomes the high end parts at Napa, etc.

If you need it fast and Non foolproof parts or you have an old rather unique vehicle, then buy it locally.
 
Like with any other store, there are parts that are cheaper and some that are more expensive.
No store is cheaper in everything.

One thing on RA is that I don't buy cheap parts from them (parts under $20 or even $30) because the shipping will wipe out the deal.
I know for brakes, RA is cheaper especially if you want brand name where it actually becomes the high end parts at Napa, etc.

If you need it fast and Non foolproof parts or you have an old rather unique vehicle, then buy it locally.
Yup, agreed for the small cheap parts. Cheaper to buy locally to avoid the shipping. I have to say that the local places have been astronomically higher in price for pretty much everything else though, and I mean not a little higher, but double for the same China quality. I just replaced a power window switch on a Jeep Cherokee for a friend. Autozone wanted $125 for a cheap garbage switch and I found one online that looked identical (same markings and everything as the AZ one) for $30.
 
Am I the only one who has noticed that Rock Auto has fallen straight into the crap hole of late? I had been buying from them for the last 6 or 8 years and over the past year or two I have had nothing but trouble and headaches every time I have tried to deal with them. Their prices have gotten completely out of control (in some instances the Dealer is cheaper) and their shipping times have become pathetic. In some instances their shipping costs are higher than the part(s). Plus the quality fo their parts has turned to absolute garbage. They don't publish a phone number and the jerks who they have responding to emails are nasty, rude, and obnoxious. I have notice that they shut down their Facebook page probably because they have been pissing off so many people.

It has gotten so bad that I never even use their web site as a resource any more. I order from my local Advance Auto Parts and get great service and my business is appreciated. I get online ordering and military/veterans discounts plus I get to pick up my parts in an hour or so. With my discounts the parts I order cost me no more than $10 over what I would pay Rock Auto and Advance Auto doesn't treat me like dirt.

I am sure there was a time when Rock Auto might have been good but now I just want them to close their doors and stop wasting people's time.
No. I've been screwed over by them in the past, had to pay for their mistake.
 
Other than not having a way to call and talk to a CS person I have not had a problem with them. They are a great resource for older vehicles, sometimes they are the only place I can find the parts I need. The closeout prices are hard to beat. Their shipping prices are pretty much in line with what the carriers charge for shipping, the problem is Amazon and others have insulated the end consumer from the real price of shipping for so long people are shocked when shipping prices are listed as a line item rather than built into cost of the product. I ship hundreds of packages a month and shipping is a huge expense but my customers don't see is since the "free" shipping is built into the retail price I charge.
 
Yup, agreed for the small cheap parts. Cheaper to buy locally to avoid the shipping. I have to say that the local places have been astronomically higher in price for pretty much everything else though, and I mean not a little higher, but double for the same China quality. I just replaced a power window switch on a Jeep Cherokee for a friend. Autozone wanted $125 for a cheap garbage switch and I found one online that looked identical (same markings and everything as the AZ one) for $30.
AZ is the convenience store of auto parts-you will pay a lot more for junk. Unless you have a commercial account, then you can get HUGE percentages off-I've seen as high as 70%.
 
I've had several orders from Rock Auto over the past few months and will continue to use them as long as there are no serious problems. I'm currently waiting on an order I placed Friday afternoon. Most things I buy from them are 1/2 the price or less of my local Advance/Auto Zone with shipping costs included. I agree their shipping has gone up but what hasn't in the past couple years. My biggest complaint with their shipping is that often when I need parts different parts have to come from different warehouses.
 
I have never had any real issues with Rock Auto. Once I got a wrong engine mount I ordered, but returning it was easy, they even paid return shipping and sent the correct one right away.

More recently I had to use the warranty on a pair of shocks I bought last year. It was approved as soon as I answered that questionnaire. The only thing is I had to buy the new shocks, and once they got the old ones back I was refunded. They even discounted the return shipping.

Still was cheaper than buying them at a local auto part store. If you don’t need the parts right away, RA is great in my opinion.
 
I've had minor issues with them like parts (of an assembly) missing, or part not as pictured (looked like same lower grade generic part they also sell but in a branded box), but I see it as you doing some of the quality control to save money.

That stated, I usually look at what they have, then check Amazon because as others have already stated, Rock Auto shipping rates get excessive, fast. It really gets annoying when I try to buy from same warehouse, say item #1 is at warehouse A so I pick item #2 also showing warehouse A, then somehow once I add item #2 to cart, item #1 changes to some other warehouse!
 
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