buy auto parts online?

Try Rockauto.com. I've bought from them several times. Great prices & super fast shipping. Excellent return policy. Checked your part. Goes for $230 plus a $75 core charge. Their shipping is reasonable as well. Mike

Hey, Ray, I've had GREAT success buying from Ebay. Just looked at a dist(link below) that should fit, shipping is about $11.50, starting price is at $10 with 1day left, and NO BIDS as yet. I'd email seller for part #--seems like you can often find out a bit about seller by how he answers your questions. Seller has only 7 feedbacks, but ALL positive, giving him

100% rating. HTH, s

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napaonline.com rockauto.com

i bought stuff from

General info on returning cores is found under the "Returns" link on the RockAuto.com home page

Here is a directlink to the cores info: RockAuto customers return cores every day by clicking on the "Order Status" link on the RockAuto home page and entering their order number to get core return instructions for their specific part(s). It is true that some cores are valuable and worth returning and some cores are not worth the shipping cost.

Maybe you were looking at prices on a chain store web site rather than RockAuto.com. A site like Autozone.com will usually not have prices lower than the prices available at their local store fronts.

For many parts RockAuto's prices aren't slightly lower but $20 or $100 lower! RockAuto prices are especially competitive on products by A1 Cardone.

The RockAuto.com home page includes a price comparison demonstrating RockAuto's lower prices. RockAuto's price for a part is compared to prices at JCWhitney (aka carparts.com), Autozone, NAPA, CSK brand franchises, etc. The RockAuto price is the regular price, not a special sale price created for this comparison. >

I am certainly biased because RockAuto.com supports my family, but I truly enjoy shopping for auto parts and many other products online. RockAuto's catalog lets people jump behind the auto parts store counter and see all the choices available. Haven't you wondered what is on the computer screens and in the big paper parts catalogs behind the auto parts store counter? Haven't you ever been dismissed by a clerk who says a part is no longer available when in fact he just doesn't know where to look for it or he doesn't want to take the time? There are certainly some knowledgeable, professional counter people out there. RockAuto Customer Service has some great former counter people who no longer wanted to earn minimum wage at a chain store. But why waste gas driving to a chain store and then waste time lurking in the back of the store until the "good" counter person is available.

Yes the chain store might have a cork Fel-Pro oil pan gasket on the shelf, but will even a good clerk take the time to tell you there is also a Fel-Pro oil pan gasket made out of silicone with a metal core that will actually seal up your oil pan? Will he tell you about gaskets made by other manufacturers? Will he even tell you about the oil pan gasket choices that might be sitting in his own warehouse?

Even if you have ties to the local chain store, before you drive there do some research using the RockAuto.com catalog so you know what parts choices are available and what is a reasonable price range. Who wants to change an oil pan gasket two or three times.

It is also just plain fun to see all the parts available for your vehicles. Ever wonder if you could build your car from scratch? Does the local chain store have a new fender, a remanufactured engine computer, a catalytic converter, or new carpet for your old truck? How about custom lime green carpet?

RockAuto's prices are usually lower partly because the parts ship directly from warehouse or manufacturer. Even with shipping charges on heavy parts like brake rotors or exhaust, RockAuto's prices are less more often than not. Why pay for a parts manufacturer to ship parts to a warehouse and then pay for the warehouse to ship the parts to a low volume store front? You are kidding yourself if you think you aren't paying for the chain store to ship parts to their store front.

Why make multiple trips to the store front? For even medium sized repairs you would usually have to get very lucky to find the right parts on the shelf on the first trip. Go online and put together a list of all the parts you need and have the FedEx or UPS person deliver those parts to your door within a few days. Many regions of the country get parts delivered in one or two days using regular ground shipping.

I have to agree with him here... I haven't bought anything from rockauto but their website has served to be good reference in checking part numbers, getting extra info, seeing how many brands offer something, etc. I also use napa's, motorcraft's, and autozone's websites for the same purpose.

And I also have to agree with him on counter people vs. online. There is a mirror glass that I probably should order from them, just haven't gotten around to it. Counterpeople have been a pain trying to get this not-regularly stocked doorman part. HAd previously ordered another brand from carparts.com and that brand had their application guide all fubar. (carparts did all they could to fix the issue and it wasn't their fault) The mirror glass I needed and the mirror glass for a contour shared the same part number even though were totally different. The customer rep at manufacturer of the mirror glass couldn't even grasp the issue even with highlighted portions of their application guide and photographs.

That said, I still prefer a well stocked store... problem is most now practice just-too-late inventory systems. And now the motorcraft distributor I go to has closed the counter at their wearhouse.... I am now at the mercy of their stores' inventory.

I certainly agree on that point. I use Rockauto and Napaonline.com EXTENSIVELY for that purpose, even if it is only to take a NAPA P/N to my locally-owned parts store and let them cross-reference it.

As a VERY satisfied customer of Rock Auto I have to agree with the above. The local parts stores (2 NAPAs, 3 AutoZones, 2 Advance, 2 Parts Plus, 1 Fisher Auto, 1 Car Quest) seem to have problems hiring more than one person who knows the products and is actually willing to help. The AZ and Advance stores are becoming more like accessory stores than true parts stores. The two local store I go to a lot have folks who either own the store or have been there since it was built. The other stores don't seem to think that hiring the local college kids is good business. Then they complain about low sales. I wonder if it could be the fact that they usually have no idea what to do if the computer doesn't list an item could be part of the problem. Or that when you ask them questions about a part you just get a blank stare.

The only thing I would like to see (maybe it's there but I missed it) is a specialty tools section where you can buy those oddball tools that you sometimes need to do a particular job. Not everyone has a good tool dealer nearby OR the desire to hunt down the Snap-On man on a Saturday afternoon.

I just purchased 2 window lift motors(saved$33 over AZ and Advanced),fuel pump, same cost but never heard of AZs Master brand (got Carter) and a parking light assembly (AZ and Avanced couldn't or wouldn't order) Got parts in 3 days and shipping was only $15. from Rockauto- and everything was correct and new-not reman.

No, not at all. You just need to know what your doing.

Some parts you do need to do this - parts that are poorly documented by the manufacturer, or by the aftermarket provider, for example.

Mail order works when the part is high dollar, small, and specific. It doesen't work well when the part is very low value, like a gasket for a water pump or a $5 formed water hose, etc.

Ted

It doesnt make sense if you want a radiator cap, or some other such part that is locally and cheaply available.

When you consider that not everybody lives within the USA and parts for American cars are not universally available at a FLAPS, they do make sense.

I have ordered ignition modules, rotors, pads, and a number of other parts for American cars while living overseas. It literally saved me thousands, and I never got a bad part nor one which was not correct for the application.

Also, I have ordered from JC Whitney from time to time when there were items that nobody stocked locally (such as the rear antisway bar for my van), and never got a bad part. Their parts come from name brand manufacturers for the most part and I never got a bad deal.

I ordered my Bilstein shocks online for the same reasons. Availability and price.

There are definitely reasons for online orders.

well you left out the parking lamp assembly which would normally be a dealer item at what I'm sure would have cost a lot more than what I paid and about the time,this was a project car for my son,the car was being painted so time was not an issue.

absolutely agree with you: "One advantage to online buying, is getting the part, if you can't find anything locally, or don't have a FLAP nearby."

i'm a salesman of a trading company from China. i'am always viewing the auto store online. and found their prices are higher than imagine, commonly 3times higher than the prices for the manufacturers (of course different manufacturers give different prices.) as the salesman in a trading company in China. i'm quite clear about the prices and the quality, infact most of the auto parts in your car are MADE-IN-CHINA. but the brands are different. as someone above said: "the local store of auto parts like AZ etc. always complaining about bad business." i feel quite intelligible to them, but even bad business their profit are still quite high.

i cann't understand why you guys repair your car yourself. iin China most people put their car in garage (never it's small or big.) they will help you buy the items need replace, and give you right prices...

if anyone dealing with auto parts and want to import auto parts from China, and sell in your domestic market, please contact me. expecting !!!big!!! order.~~~~~~ send me Email. snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com

Knifeblade_03 wrote:

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Because a) it's simply too expensive to pay a mechanic and b) it's hard to find a good one.

Note that I'm not disputing the fairness of the average mechanic's pay - only stating that I can't afford it on a regular basis.

nate

Reasons may include (1) high cost of repairs in the USA (2) love of the art (many of us are still basically in love with our rides)

For some one in china these should make sense.

(3) not being subject to poor workmanship of others. (4) not getting ripped off.