[Maxthe222]

carparts.com seems like a waste of time and is too inconsistent to navigate. At first I thought RockAuto was too complicated to sort through, then I came to appreciate how everything is organised on their end. And to be honest, I could not believe how cheap it was to get parts of RockAuto shipped here to Australia. It is literally unbeatable. I have never once had an issue of them supplying the incorrect parts, occasionally I have bought refurbished parts that had issues, but otherwise, I have been ordering almost everything through them.

[GT182]

I wouldn't buy from Rock Auto even if parts were free. They send what they want to you, not what you want or need. They are owned by A1 Auto who sold out all of their parts store but only kept Rock Auto. Stay away from Year One too. Their prices are thru the roof, and always have been.

NPD (National Parts Depot) is a good place to buy from just as Ames is.

[GT182]

I wouldn't buy from Rock Auto even if parts were free. They send what they want too to you, not what you want or need. They are owned by A1 Auto who sold out all of their parts store but only kept Rock Auto. Stay away from Year One too. Their prices are thru the roof, and always have been.

NPD (National Parts Depot) is a good place to buy from just as Ames is.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Lightfoot

Hey all, I was just looking at prices for shocks and I had a prompt come up in my search for a comparative part number at Partsgeek.com, which I never heard of.
NHO because I rarely order parts online anyway. Just looking for the benefit of my cousin who needs some rear shocks on her 2016 Ford Escape.

Anyway, the prices on Partsgeek are considerably less than RockAuto. Some come with free shipping. I realize that means Ground but the wait isn't that urgent for the moment. Also, big break in pricing when you buy pairs, which are NOT offered on RockAuto.

Anyone have feedback on the service; warranties, returns, part accuracy, quality, etc. ?
I think in the case of shocks, it should be cut & dried what will fit her vehicle, so that shouldn't be a problem. But I see that some shocks come with the upper mounting bracket and some do not. I'm assuming I'd have to re-use the OEM brackets in the case of the latter. I already test loosened the nuts that connect the bracket to the body. Would I need a 'Thru-Socket' to remove the top nut from the old piston?

I’ve never had a problem with RockAuto. Haven’t used PartsGeek; I can tell you that NAPA’s online store is a PITA to use!

[Mr. G]

I recently ordered a pair of gas caps for my 1978 Chevy C 30 from Partsgeek and they never arrived. Today I got an email from them saying my credit card would get the purchase price credited back to it. I guess their middle man did not have the parts in stock even though they claimed they did. A big waste of time and I won't ever use them again. Ordered the same gas caps from Rockauto and they supposedly shipped 2 hours later so we will see if they show up. I have used Rockauto in the past with no problems. This was the first time using partsgeek and it will be the last.

[Rachelsdad]

As I mentioned previously, PartsGeek appears to be an aggregator, meaning they don't stock any parts of their own, nor do they have relationships with any real wholesale channel. Instead, they seem to be paid on commission for selling parts maintained by many different retail vendors (each of varying quality and reputation).

Listings are sometimes (often?) truly outdated (or simply wrong). I have found various known-to-be-unobtanium parts for my 2006 STS-V (fuel filter for example, shared by the XLR) listed on PartsGeek as "in stock" only to find that the number was long ago superseded, and then the new one discontinued - also years ago. I haven't had the intestinal fortitude to try searching for parts for my '63 Bonneville or '56 Safaris.

Rock Auto, OTOH, seems to be a real parts vendor. That doesn't mean that their inventory or even ability to order every single part in their catalog is ever guaranteed, just that they seem to take retail orders and either fulfill them from their own warehouse(s) or order from wholesale suppliers who then either drop ship or deliver to Rock Auto first.

GM Parts Giant (and a slew of others with similar names) operate similarly to PartsGeek (though GM Parts Giant seems to have a better handle on what's been discontinued). I've also only seen them order from GM dealerships. Still, an aggregator is an aggregator. You might do just as well ordering through Amazon.

[stevesbirds]

While the majority is from Rock Auto, I deal with quite a bit of older hard to find cars. Needed Delphi fuel pump assembly for a 96. It was a Chevy and a oddball with low production. That was first year on high pressure pumps (Vortec). I ended up trying 3 pumps and one was a bad unit. I had every expectation it would be hard to return, but Parts Authority was pretty easy to return. I did have to ask for a manager and cut through the standard 30 day or nothing rule.

Here is what I learned, reason everybody quit putting out a steel lined fuel pump with compression couplings is because of the switch over from low pressure (95 and down) and high pressure (96 up). So I was out of choices to match OEM. Parts Authority number they advertised as right for my vehicle was only right for 95 down. That error did not happen on Rock Auto side, they were up to speed on this oddity. I kept my 3rd pump from Delphi with low pressure motor. Am ordering a high pressure Delphi motor portion so I can utilize the Parts Authority assembly (mine was poor condition). I did get genuine Delphi. And paying more got me excellent tech support on a fast call to Delphi which is what I needed to un-confuse this 3 times and you're out mess.

Aggregator describes their type. Like the off names Rock Auto has (Spectra). They may have OEM or any number of alternates in the box.

[Simple Man]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

I have placed hundreds of orders over the years with Rock Auto. Much like Tire Rack, success has caused some price creep with them. Everything seems to just be going up and up. But, IMO, their on-line catalog is the absolute best in the parts business. I have had about 4-5 defects/returns also. It takes a while to get a credit, but the process is pretty smooth. Absolutely, no phone or other customer service. All by e-mail only. But it works fine. I have purchased 3-4 items from Parts Geek. No issues, but prefer Rock Auto. Their On-Line catalog is so good, my NAPA store very often looks up the parts I need on the Rock Auto site, then has to try and cross reference the numbers to NAPA numbers. The NAPA software system is just terrible.

FWIW, Tire Rack is now owned by Discount tire, the Veldman family, who would have done just about anything for you, are no longer with Tire Rack.

[GT182]

I've bought parts from Parts Geek. Prices were good and the proper parts were sent. And some sent via free shipping.

The only problem was trying to return a headlight unit for my 2004 Jeep GC Limited that leaked. The goofball I talked to said it was a maintenance issue. I found why it leaked and fixed it and kept it. Reason it leaked was it wasn't sealed in the bottom outside corner right from the factory, and it would get water in it when it rained.