Don't buy from RockAuto.com

[02SE]

I did, apparently this guy Mark I spoke to is the manager.

I have since emailed them back with links to my posts on various forums and websites telling people about my experience and advising them not to buy from them.

Rule # 1 in Business, (at least for Businesses that want be successful long term) is that the customer is always right.

If it were me, I'd eat the cost and make things right for you.

It sounds like they feel they are big enough to not have to worry about losing your business, and the business from the small number of people (in their eyes) your story will influence negatively.

They also have their stated return policy that anyone that buys from them should know, before purchasing.

Emailing them the links probably guarantees they won't do anything for you. Now or in the future. It may also set you up for a potential libel suit. Just an FYI.

This is the main reason I try to always buy locally. Although I have bought a few things on Amazon.

For example; Tire Rack is a place I would never buy from, as dealing with a possibly defective tire or tires through mail-order, would be a major pain.

I've had enough defective tires over the years, to know that's something I only buy locally from a tire shop, that can easily handle the replacement if need be.

I wish you luck in getting any satisfaction from them.

 

[nevada]

I see your point and Nevada's but I have to disagree based solely on that fact that even if I had ripped the box open the day I got it and test fit it, they're telling me they wouldn't take it back. That "just drop it in without bolting it up to verify fitment" is BS. And I think we can all agree on that. If it was blatantly over/under sized than fine but it's not. It's just a little bit off but that little bit is a big deal in this case. If you're selling a product that you're advertising as direct fit, it should be a direct fit.

And if you guys could've heard the conversation I had with this guy Mark, you too would agree that their customer service sucks. (as quite a few others have mentioned already in this thread)

Not asking anyone to agree with me. If you guys want to buy from them, by all means go right ahead. I hope you have a better outcome than I did.

I didn't talk to the guy, so I don't know what was actually said.
I would be REALLY surprised if they are OK with it being filled with coolant, but the fact that it was bolted in was the issue.

im thinking, "it was installed" meaning FILLED with antifreeze was the issue.

merely bolting it in, wouldn't leave any evidence of the fact.

 

[eddiebx]

you could have bolted it in(even loosely), and not filled it to verify for clearance.

im not saying you should have to do that, if its the CORRECT part, it should fit. but, ANY time you change a part, its up to the installer to verify its correct, REGARDLESS.

shit happens, things get miss-boxed, or mislabeled. I see it daily.

Not trying to attack you here...but when you install a radiator, is this the first thing on your mind to check this exact clearance as a first step before anything else; or do you just throw it in if nothing obvious seems off?

If it was me, I would've probably done the same exact thing as OP. If it seems to fit for the most part who's going to stop and check to make sure it's not 1/4" too tall. I mean yeah if the fill neck was on the wrong side of the engine bay then a light bulb might go off in my head, but this was clearly not the case, lol.

Regardless of if it's been installed and/or it's past the return policy, the fact still remains that the part which was advertised as fitting properly for the intended application does not fit. (I am assuming that the part number shipped is correct and it's just simply poor fitment?)

IMO the issue here is their piss poor attitude from RockAuto in telling OP what he should've done, instead of at least trying to pretend to care and explaining that nothing can be done due to the policies. Policies are policies, and we all understand if nothing can be done since those are the terms of sales we agree to at the time of purchase.

Thanks PitBull for posting your experience, I was going to purchase a few odds and ends from RockAuto, but not anymore after hearing about how they operate.

 

[Brian757]

I see what you're saying. But according to them, the fact that I filled it isn't the issue, it's that I bolted it in. (aside from the 30 day thing) The difference is literally about 1/4" But it's just enough that I can't latch the hood.

Bottom line is I'm stuck with what I got. So be it. But I don't want to see other forum members in the same boat. Could be that TYC just produced a bad batch of mounts. Could be that they tweaked something slightly so it could be used in more than one application. I don't know.

One thing you could try is a 1" Body Lift radiator bracket drop.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

I didn't talk to the guy, so I don't know what was actually said.
I would be REALLY surprised if they are OK with it being filled with coolant, but the fact that it was bolted in was the issue.

im thinking, "it was installed" meaning FILLED with antifreeze was the issue.

merely bolting it in, wouldn't leave any evidence of the fact.

Call him yourself. He flat out said that if it was bolted in, it's not returnable. I'm sure that fact that it was filled would be the next issue in line but according to them, once it's bolted in, it's not returnable. That's when I asked how i was suppose to verify fitment without bolting it in which lead to his suggestion that I just lay it in there and try closing the hood.

Direct from their Return Policy: "We cannot issue return credit for parts which have been installed, painted, modified or returned without their original packaging.:

 

[PitbullRescuer]

One thing you could try is a 1" Body Lift radiator bracket drop.

That's a good suggestion but I think it's going to be a little trickier than that only because the fan shroud bolts to the radiator. So now I have to make sure the radiator fit but also that the fan aligns with the shroud.

 

[Kung]

Call him yourself. He flat out said that if it was bolted in, it's not returnable. I'm sure that fact that it was filled would be the next issue in line but according to them, once it's bolted in, it's not returnable. That's when I asked how i was suppose to verify fitment without bolting it in which lead to his suggestion that I just lay it in there and try closing the hood.

To me, this is the crux of my agreement with the OP.

Absolutely, from a customer service point of view, he could have/should have verified fitment before the 30 day window. From that point of view alone, he would probably be in the wrong.

HOWEVER...many here have pointed out that the only real way to verify fitment is to proceed along the normal installation process. To do that, you have to bolt it in; there's no way to just 'lay it in there' as the customer service rep (manager?) suggested he do. That would be like just 'laying the motor in the engine bay' to verify it was the right part.

However, bolting the part in to verify proper fitment evidently renders the part non-returnable. Which is ridiculous - and I say this from a service-oriented-industry point of view. Based on THAT aspect, the part should be returnable, IMHO, as he'd STILL encounter this issue even had he done it the very day he received the part.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

Sorry that you had a bad experience, man.

Personally, I've ordered 10+ times from Rock Auto. I always do my best to make sure everything is correct when I buy it. Even then, sometimes the companies who ship their products to Rock Auto give them the wrong info.

For example: I bought a set of Powerstop brake pads and rotors for a 1995 4Runner. They sent me brakes for a 3rd gen. I had to call them and explain it, and of course they thought I was wrong. "Lots of people have bought these brakes and didn't say anything about them not fitting." They wanted me to pay to ship the brakes back, but I put up my argument. I provided some email references to that kit being run on newer trucks and not older trucks. The 2nd call, the guy on the phone also googled what I was talking about. It took two calls total, but now I have the right brakes coming my way absolutely free, plus a prepaid return shipping label to send the old ones back. They said Powerstop gave them the wrong year range and corrected the mistake.

Another time, I ordered 4 Monroe shocks for my 1st gen. They were listed as Wholesale closeout-- I got all 4 shocks plus a steering damper for $50. I got annoyed when I got an email stating that the shocks I had ordered were not available, even though their site said there were enough in stock. They upgraded the unavailable shocks to a better set of shocks without charging me any extra. It took a little fight, but I ended up saving even more on that.

I've gotten some really good deals on OEM parts, too. Beck/Arnley sells a lot of OEM stuff under their name, I got an AISIN brake master for $26 on closeout. It was the 1 1/16" size too, which is harder to find than usual.

 

[the great him]

this sucks, i feel for you, i have been there, and its reasons like this that i will not order from discount aut parts places or buy their stuff... even if its an OE part. i will pay a dealer price or a reputable store/shop/parts house/distributor for the part and end up paying a little more, but i know that if i ever have issues with a new part i can take it back and never have to worry about this kinda BS. in the long run you really dont pay anymore, cause your paying for customer service, and real humans, not some "machine" that does not understand where their profits come from(the customer), and does not care about anything other than the bottom line at the end of the day.

screw businesses and shops like this, you will fail sooner or later.

 

[Brian757]

That's a good suggestion but I think it's going to be a little trickier than that only because the fan shroud bolts to the radiator. So now I have to make sure the radiator fit but also that the fan aligns with the shroud.

Is the shroud not lining up to the radiator either? Usually the drop bracket drops the shroud and radiator altogether, but I could see your shroud not even lining up to the radiator.. That would be a mess if the shroud fell onto the fan while driving.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

COB, I'm glad to hear your experiences have been positive. I've ordered from them in the past as well and everything was fine. It sounds like the issues you had were handled better than mine. The fact that you had to fight about the brake pads is exactly what I'm talking about with the customer service though.

Brian 757, as of now the fan and shroud are okay, there's no interference. I'll have to look closer when I get home though to see how much room I have to play with. You're correct, the shroud does bolt to the radiator. So my concern is that if I have to drop the radiator down, will that then cause interference between the fan and the shroud since the shroud will be lowered as a result of the radiator being lowered.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

It is really silly that you have to fight for what's right, I agree.

The best thing I can tell you is to ask for Adam, I believe his extension was 141. He was the one who was completely understanding and helped me. I can imagine they must deal with a lot of crap from people trying to get good deals and whatnot. I don't see why they wouldn't replace your radiator though, that's just BS.

If it was listed for your truck, correct engine and year, etc, and it matches your VIN, they have no excuse. It's not like Toyota shipped out several different sized radiators. Even the manual rad is the same size, there's just no ATF cooler. Where did they get the bigger one? Probably TYC's fault?

 

[warrpath4x4]

i looked at rock auto's website for your year and specs and found the radiator you bought.

obviously you did not look at the measurements they list right there and go measure your existing one you are replacing, i do that before i ever order a radiator, even at a parts store.

take a tape measure and measure the wrong one and see if it matches what the website says, may be a mis boxed part.

 

[Brique]

When buying online it's important for me to have a lot of trust that if there's an issue I won't get a lot of hassle about returning it. I've had a couple return issues with amazon and both were handled so marvelously that they're the first place I go to buy stuff online. With hundreds of places competing for my business I have a lot of options where to spend my money. If I smell a hassle on the back end, I'm not buying from that retailer.

While I agree that the op is in the wrong by letter of policy, rock auto is clearly in the wrong on terms of common sense. Some one in the chain there should have bothered to rub a few brain cells together and make the decision to make it right. They represented that the part would fit. It didn't. Even if their policy lets them off the hook, it's a poor business decision to lose thousands of dollars in business over a $120 radiator.

I for one appreciate the heads up. I'll be shopping elsewhere. Those who disagree can take their chances with rock auto. The free market is cool that way.

 

[SV_Dude]

Those who disagree can take their chances with rock auto. The free market is cool that way.

I'm not saying that the way Rock Auto handled this was right. I still think that they should have had better customer service and taken their part back and kept a happy customer. If they lose $90 or $100 and have a happy customer, that's money well spent (or lost) on the best advertising you can get. Word of mouth advertising will go a long way and is still be best advertising a business can have.

I would be upset if I were in PBR's position but I would have to share an equal part of the blame.

I have never shopped at Rock Auto and this thread along with a few others may just steer me away. My only point was that one cannot bash a company when the fault is shared.

 

[opie74]

Reread how they told me to verify fitment and then explain to me how I was suppose to verify fitment without installing it?

Compare the old one to the new one prior to installing?

Granted I rarely do this and occasionally get burned... But I have not had any issues with RA or their policies. Did you read their return policy prior to making a purchase?

Sometimes the wrong parts make it into the right boxes. Thats not RA's fault.

Then this from your other thread...

The old ones gone. (stupid me). I noticed that the brackets didn't fit real well either. It's driving me crazy. I did notice that the sides of the mounts sit a tad bit higher than the radiator itself where as the original one sat flush with the mounts.

If it had been me... The new one would have been pulled and then immediately compared to the old one. I had this exact same problem when I ordered a AC condenser off Ebay. Supposed to be a direct fit but the mounts didn't quite line up. I immediately compared the new and old and sure enough, they were off. Seller agreed to do an exchange, but I just enlarged the holes a bit.

 

[twitchee2]

Well I apologize. I didn't realize you did order the correct part number. For what ever reason I read it you had ordered a similar but incorrect part number. if that is the case, yes this is completely their fault.

Sucks about the 30day return policy. I have been stuck in the situation before.

 

[Limbwalker]

The smart thing for them to do would be to eat the part and make it right with him, knowing that they've earned a repeat customer and will get back the cost of the unusable part in future orders from him. Now they've lost any chance of any future business from him and me too - I'll never knowingly give my business to a company with that kind of shitty customer service ethic.

Agreed. Having their name on a bad forum post like this could potentially cost them thousands in the long run. Thats just bad business, and I can guarantee I wont order from a company Ive seen bad reviews/posts about.

Edit:
I wonder how they would like this link sent to their email, knowing that their name was being tarnished by bad CS on the biggest offroad 4runner forum on earth

 

[cj80cruiser]

Compare the old one to the new one prior to installing?

Granted I rarely do this and occasionally get burned... But I have not had any issues with RA or their policies. Did you read their return policy prior to making a purchase?

Sometimes the wrong parts make it into the right boxes. Thats not RA's fault.

Sure it is. If rock auto wasn't the one that put it in the box then the manufacturer was. So what rock auto should be doing is taking the radiator back and filing a claim with the manufacturer while also checking their inventory. That way they don't keep sending ill fitting radiators out to their customers. If they received a bad batch then they can save themselves a ton of headache down the line and the manufacturer can recognize their mistake and make adjustments to their quality control. Ive worked in retail and now in warehousing for that same retailer for 15 plus years. This is not how we would treat a customer that spent $400 with us.

As far as the measurements being different between years that should not affect the hood closing. If you read the pirate4x4 post all the different radiators fit but some allowed more clearance on the bottom end.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Well, I finally got the hood closed. I dropped the skid plate then I loosened up the radiator in the mounts and then removed the 4 bolts holding the radiator to the rad support. Put a 2x4 on top of the rad and "coerced" it down. Getting the bolts back into the rad support was a b*tch as none of them are lined up now. Tightened the rad back into the mounts and closed the hood. It really fits like sh*t (which if you knew me personally is going to drive me crazy) but its in and the hood closes.