In the neverending process of repairing my brother's Jeep (a 1994 Wrangler YJ with a 4.0L engine) I discovered a need for a new radiator. It would seem there were two problems with the cooling system... massive leaks from the radiator, and it was full of sludge. However, the sludge had plugged all the leaks, so the problem wouldn't become apparent until a coolant flush. But anyhow, I set out attempting to find a new radiator.
In reading through old posts, it seemed that 1-800-RADIATOR (also known as radiator.com) had the largest number of positive reports about it, and so after checking around some and comparing prices, I decided to go with them. They weren't the cheapest (I believe both radiatorbarn.com and radiatorexpress.com by a decent amount) but the number of glowing reports swayed me. Plus I had read posts stating that the other companies were selling generic "made in China" or "made in Taiwan" radiators, whereas
1-800-RADIATOR used some more reputable name brand manufacturers. I called them and was quoted $159 for a standard duty two core OEM replacement radiator, which seemed reasonable enough as AutoZone wanted $300, NAPA wanted $190, and Quadratec wanted $180.From reading other people's posts, I was under the impression that they'd overnight the radiator to me, and quite possibly without any additional cost. These impressions turned out to be wrong. I suppose they'd overnight it to me, but definitely NOT for free. As far as sales tax goes, I figured I'd likely have to pay that since they're based out of California, which is where I live, so there'd be no way around it. As luck would have it their nearest warehouse was about 15 minutes away from me, so I just picked it up myself the same day. Total price was $171 after tax.
Now, the stock radiator was a two core with plastic tanks on the side. Many posts I had read said that the replacements they purchased were all metal models; the one they wanted to give me was not all metal, but in fact was yet another plastic tank version (which I don't like, as in my experience the plastic is what fails first 9 times out of 10). Furthermore, and much to my surprise after what I had read in my research, upon opening the box I saw a nice big "MADE IN CHINA" sticker on the top. At this point I wasn't so sure I even wanted to take the thing home with me... I knew for a fact that I could get an all metal Chinese or Taiwanese radiator from one of their competitors for significantly less (around $140, which was free of sales tax AND included shipping). I told them this, and the sales guy there then swapped the one they pulled originally with an all metal "made in Indonesia" model but left the price tag the same, even though by their catalog the all metal one was more expensive. This seemed better to me, and although the price was still higher than something I could get via mail order, I preferred buying one I could actually see and inspect before I paid for it.
So in the end, I'm pleased with the quality of the service I received (nice enough folks, helpful, and gave me what I wanted without any fuss at all), but I don't know if I'd say it's the best bargain around. They're certainly cheaper than the dealer or any chain auto parts store, but as far as the online and mail order companies go I think other stores out there have them beat in terms of pricing. It should be noted that the radiator I purchased carries a lifetime warranty, but then I think that's the same with all the other online companies as well. My experience wasn't a negative one, but I didn't get what I thought I was going to get after reading all the positive reports online. I figured I should mention it to the world in the interest of fairness and as a contrasting perspective to all the other things I've read so far.
Bryan