Another “parts store” warning

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sdahmer

sdahmer

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So one of my favorite online “parts store” has let me down. They tend to ship a free little magnet with some car guy’s nice ride with your order, if you catch my drift. Anyway, I ordered ball joints for my scamp and one was missing the boot. I emailed them and the first response I received was a return label, a few minutes later I get this.

“The part you received is the correct part to fit and function on your vehicle application. Many brands are now offering a pre-installed integral dust boot design. The ball joint you received no longer requires an external dust boot. Because the manufacturer is currently selling both designs under their name, we cannot guarantee which design will be sent.”.

It just upsets me that they would say this, it’s potentially dangerous to install that thing as is (no boot). Be careful who you take advice from.

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oldkimmer said:
We spill it. We need to be on gaurd. Kim
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It's Rock Auto duhh

Far as I'm concerned you get what you deserve buying from Rock Auto. You should support your local auto parts store. That way you at least have someone face to face.
 
E-mail moog. Explain your situation. Go to mfr, if retailer cant correct it.
 
RustyRatRod said:
It's Rock Auto duhh

Far as I'm concerned you get what you deserve buying from Rock Auto. You should support your local auto parts store. That way you at least have someone face to face.
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Wow that's quite aggressive. I use rock auto alot. Mainly because there is more selection and I don't have to deal with some 16 year old girl having no idea what I'm talking about when I say "ball joints" I have never had a problem with them.
 
RustyRatRod said:
It's Rock Auto duhh

Far as I'm concerned you get what you deserve buying from Rock Auto. You should support your local auto parts store. That way you at least have someone face to face.
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I would love to, but the parts are getting harder to find, especially for the slant. Local availability is also sometimes twice as much (even though most of it is chinesium anyway). The only true local parts store I have near me is somewhat far and doesn’t usually have stuff that’s uncommon. It’s a nice mom ‘n’ pop place though for some stuff. I wish we could still get US made stuff from a local gas/shop attendant. If that were the case I wouldn’t hesitate to pay twice as much.
 
RustyRatRod said:
It's Rock Auto duhh

Far as I'm concerned you get what you deserve buying from Rock Auto. You should support your local auto parts store. That way you at least have someone face to face.
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I would agree except THERE ARE NO "local" auto parts stores anymore. Autoz, Oh'Reallys and on and on, not even NAPA is very much local. And all of them suffer from the same kind of crap that the OP posted.
 
Is there a source for just a boot?

I couldn't find one about 10 years ago.

Only pop on boots that don't hold grease well.
 
dartfreak75 said:
Wow that's quite aggressive. I use rock auto alot. Mainly because there is more selection and I don't have to deal with some 16 year old girl having no idea what I'm talking about when I say "ball joints" I have never had a problem with them.
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Same here, been using them since I got into the wrench game 12 years ago. Figured they’d have better customer service for loyal customers but it seems, like everything else, it’s automated even though a person is responding. Their responses didn’t seem personalized at all like anyone trying to actually figure it out. I also figured it was a smaller company than the racing companies so I chose to support them instead. Guess I was wrong.
 
YY1 said:
Is there a source for just a boot?

I couldn't find one about 10 years ago.

Only pop on boots that don't hold grease well.
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I just ordered a set made by energy suspension. We’ll see how they fit, they don’t seem to be rigid at the base like the stock ones. As Tooljunkie suggested, I will reach out to moog just in case I don’t like the poly ones.
 
sdahmer said:
I would love to, but the parts are getting harder to find, especially for the slant. Local availability is also sometimes twice as much (even though most of it is chinesium anyway). The only true local parts store I have near me is somewhat far and doesn’t usually have stuff that’s uncommon. It’s a nice mom ‘n’ pop place though for some stuff. I wish we could still get US made stuff from a local gas/shop attendant. If that were the case I wouldn’t hesitate to pay twice as much.
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I went to the local napa not long ago for a axle vent tube because I needed it "now" well they didnt have it and had to order it anyway so when I finally got it it was the wrong one they ordered one for a ford. So I ended up ordering it myself online anyway. Oddly enough the one napa ordered me I ended up using when I build my 8.8 !
 
sdahmer said:
I just ordered a set made by energy suspension. We’ll see how they fit, they don’t seem to be rigid at the base like the stock ones. As Tooljunkie suggested, I will reach out to moog just in case I don’t like the poly ones.
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Those are the ones I found.

Carefull with how much grease you pump in.
 
Bulldozer said:
F*CK rock auto. I wouldn't buy a valve stem from them
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That’s how I’m feeling now. It really sucks that quality in most areas has gone into the deep end. I’m dreading the day that I have to go to the junkyard just to find a cap and rotor that work.
 
67Dart273 said:
I would agree except THERE ARE NO "local" auto parts stores anymore. Autoz, Oh'Reallys and on and on, not even NAPA is very much local. And all of them suffer from the same kind of crap that the OP posted.
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I know.....but the big box stores ARE local in the brick and mortar sense.....and the parts guy in person. To me even with all their short comings they are far better than Rock Auto. I've just taken the attitude that I already know they won't have what I am looking for and just call them in advance with a part number and ask them to order it. So far, that's worked well. Kitty's car is really the only thing I might need something "right now" for and since it's an '04, they probably have it on the shelf. In fact, I just put brake pads on it day before yesterday and they had good ceramic ones on the shelf. It's sad but true, that the more power you take away from the parts guys these days, the better your end result. lol
 
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sdahmer said:
I would love to, but the parts are getting harder to find, especially for the slant. Local availability is also sometimes twice as much (even though most of it is chinesium anyway). The only true local parts store I have near me is somewhat far and doesn’t usually have stuff that’s uncommon. It’s a nice mom ‘n’ pop place though for some stuff. I wish we could still get US made stuff from a local gas/shop attendant. If that were the case I wouldn’t hesitate to pay twice as much.
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I don't have any problem with it. Just adopt my attitude. Know ahead of time they won't have it. Do your own research in looking up the part on their web site. Give them the part number and let them order it in. You're doing their job and cutting down the chances of a wrong part. Plus, if you're ordering from Rock Auto anyway, you're still having to wait, right? On top of that, you're paying shipping, so any savings from a cheaper price is getting eaten up. So now you're ordering from a local store and if there's a problem when it comes in they are standing there to see it and they have to take care of it. Rock Auto on the other hand doesn't have to do **** because you ain't lookin at um. They're hidin their coward *** behind a computer. I've been using our local O'Reilly so much, they give me pretty big discounts too......of course I used to work there......but they don't have to give discounts to anybody. But they will if you are a really regular customer. So that helps make up for cheaper online prices......plus TELL THEM you found it cheaper online. They may not can match the price, but they'll discount it some and that will probably make up for the difference in shipping. Yeah, I've got like FOUR slants now so I know where you're comin from. lol
 
....and I agree 100% technically the big box stores AREN'T really local, but they're all some places have.
 
Rrr has some good points, use RA for parts lookup and order it locally.
Another point, you bought moog, correct? Lifetime warranty? Good luck getting a replacement a couple years later. Maybe the brick and mortar will be on your side.
Frequent customers usually will get an account, at least for record keeping,and calling when parts arrive.
 
5 miles to my parts store. But i get good deals too. As i have my own repair business.
Rock auto for me is pretty much a no go, only one part at a time. Otherwise freight kills the deal.
 
Tooljunkie said:
5 miles to my parts store. But i get good deals too. As i have my own repair business.
Rock auto for me is pretty much a no go, only one part at a time. Otherwise freight kills the deal.
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It's about 10 miles for us, but that just means the car gets warmed up good. You know short trips kill um anyway.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I don't have any problem with it. Just adopt my attitude. Know ahead of time they won't have it. Do your own research in looking up the part on their web site. Give them the part number and let them order it in. You're doing their job and cutting down the chances of a wrong part. Plus, if you're ordering from Rock Auto anyway, you're still having to wait, right? On top of that, you're paying shipping, so any savings from a cheaper price is getting eaten up. So now you're ordering from a local store and if there's a problem when it comes in they are standing there to see it and they have to take care of it. Rock Auto on the other hand doesn't have to do **** because you ain't lookin at um. They're hidin their coward *** behind a computer. I've been using our local O'Reilly so much, they give me pretty big discounts too......of course I used to work there......but they don't have to give discounts to anybody. But they will if you are a really regular customer. So that helps make up for cheaper online prices......plus TELL THEM you found it cheaper online. They may not can match the price, but they'll discount it some and that will probably make up for the difference in shipping. Yeah, I've got like FOUR slants now so I know where you're comin from. lol
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I do actually due the looking up part numbers and order stuff from the local shops. The thing is I am redoing the entire suspension/steering and it makes a big difference at that point. When I just need a carb kit, a gasket, a belt, etc, I just do local. I even get my bolts at a non-chain place because I have access to that. This post was partially me venting my frustration with parts problems in general. I suppose in a way I am just the proverbial old man saying “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.”
 
RustyRatRod said:
It's about 10 miles for us, but that just means the car gets warmed up good. You know short trips kill um anyway.
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Autozone, napa, carquest and o’reilly’s are all around me several times over. The only true local store I know of is about 18 miles away. Would you guys consider all these equal?
 
Tried rock auto once. Same ****. Missing parts. Didn't even try to return the shocks, Just used some of my old hardware and bushings. Fool me once. They're shipping prices have gotten stupid, also.
Amazon or local for me. I'll take my chances with the 16yo kid. At least I can open the box before I buy. Or wait for one of the old farts if there's confusion.
 
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