Zink57

Be careful dealing with ROCK AUTO regarding any returns under warranty-

A MAF sensor that I ordered a little over a year ago went south.. and being still in warranty I sent it back per RA's instructions-- they guy over there sent me an e-mail with instructions on sending back the defective part including a FED EX Return Label to use when sending the part back..

(The STORY seems to change depending on the day)--- The guy first says that I will be getting a "CREDIT" for the part.. today he sends this e-mail stating that I would be getting a full refund. I asked since they have my CORE--(part being sent back) could I get a credit for the CORE CHARGE on the part that I want.. He send this WEIRD e-mail stating that they never asked for the CORE back. LOL.. yeah right...

RA e-mail:______________________________________________________
Hello,

You sent the defective part back, yes, but we are issuing a full refund of the part on that order, 20658067. In order to get the Core charge on your new order, you would need a part to send back. We never asked you for your original part back, so if you still have that you can send it in for the core. If you do not have the Mass Air Flow sensor that was on the vehicle originally, we cannot issue a Core refund on that order as there is nothing to send back to be rebuilt.

)))))) MY REPLY E-MAIL:
RA

I disagree with your comments-- "we never asked you for your original part back". Sending the part back is part of the warranty process- PER YOUR INSTRUCTIONS. There is ZERO way I would have been getting a refund if there was no part being sent back on my end as part of the warranty process. Your previous e-mails and voice mail even stated that I'll have to wait till the defective part is confirmed on its way back in the mail to RA before a credit could be issued and e-mailed to me. This is a warranty issue... I expect the other part at ZERO charge.





________________ My opinions
I have been a great customer.. literally 1000s of bucks in parts over 8 years-- this being only the 2nd part I returned-- the other being unused. Am I to expect these people to start MAKING UP STORIES when I have a paper trail AND a voice mail and FED EX return mailing label to PROVE my case....?????????? Sounds pretty STUPID on their part. My impression is that they will give me a refund...BUT WANT TO STICK IT TO ME FOR A CORE CHARGE ON THE NEW PART. Warranty is supposed to be even exchange RIGHT?????????????? am I missing something here or should I expect LESS as a customer from these people.?????????????????

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

Maybe wait till the issue is completely resolved b4 posting??

Did you send them your original MAF sensor when you ordered the replacement ??

I had one issue they took care of on a tie rod end in which there was no bag of parts.
I e-mailed them, they called me, I explained the deal and they shipped me a complete new tie-rod. (I think they may be trying to cut down on fraudulent claims)

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

You sent them a core originally and were issued a refund for it?

jmd

iTrader: (4)

Your warranty involves returning the item back. You can't get a free warranty item (or full refund) and a core charge on a different purchase. That's 2 credits on 2 transactions.

If the part you bought a year ago required no core, you should have kept the one you replaced a year ago. Lesson learned. Call it hoarding, but I have some cores on the shelf; mostly water pumps and alternators.

Sometimes, you gotta pick up a known-bad core for $, or pay for it. Or in the case of Rock Auto, select a different PN / mfgr. that doesn't require a core.

Zink57

I understand what jmd is saying...but at the end of the day.. it's the customer that is left holding the bag... since I will be getting a "credit" I can only purchase what they offer or have in stock. That leaves me with only 2 options-- purchase a cheepie at 1/2 the price...OR purchase the other that doesn't require a core for an additional $50 bucks! That's not really a "warranty" type transaction in my book. At the end of the day the customer is put into a "convenient" pigeon hold of having to purchase their product to use the credit. I don't really want to give up my original CORE just to exchange a bad part that I believe should be evenly exchanged 1 for 1 in equivalent price point.

naf

iTrader: (7)

So, which of the following happened?

You ordered a RA MAF, were charged a core charge of ~$40, sent your original MAF back to RA in the shipping box they provided and were credited the core charge. Now you want them to send you back your original core or pay you twice for the core charge?

You ordered a RA MAF, were not charged a core charge, did not send in your original MAF and now want them to pay you for a core charge when they did not receive a core?

You ordered a RA MAF, were charged a core charge, did not send in your original MAF, were not refunded the core charge, and now want them to credit the core charge while you keep your original core?

In the last case they should refund the core charge as well as the cost of the RA MAF.

Joe Tag

iTrader: (4)

Both of these scenarios should warrant the return of the core charge. He paid a core charge before he sent the original back in the first one. So they only returned his money they charged him in order to ensure the return of a core. If he just bought the MAF with no core charge or core return, he is out of gas.

naf

iTrader: (7)

You are correct, sir.

Although I wouldn't expect a refund on any core charge, but certainly credit for a core that was returned.

Still not certain which scenario he's arguing for or against.

Restrorob

iTrader: (7)

For this very reason I buy local, I don't mind pay'n a couple bux more to have a counter to set my defective part on then walk out with a new one, screw this ship'n back-n-forth crap.....

Zink57

Sorry for the confusion... the scenerio is quite simple...

Bought a MAF from them with a warranty -- wasn't cheap it was $200. MAF went bad in 13 months-- car is now NOT DRIVABLE. They tell me to ship them back the MAf and they will exchange it.. then they come back after it's already shipped to tell me that they don't carry the exact MAF in stock AND tell me that I will be getting a "credit" (HENCE I HAVE TO BUY FROM THEM)... Then their customer service "JOKER" jumps on line and starts his crap with not requesting the return (which is a utter BS) then he says I will be getting a "full refund".. but in reality its only a credit that I can ONLY use to purchase from them and my options are VERY LIMITED--- a cheapie or 2nd option one that will cost me $50 more bucks! THAT'S HARDLY A EVEN EXCHANGE and the customer is pigeon held with their "parameters" and rules about CORES which translates to Customer returning a bad part and now has to PAY MORE to get his car back on the road... RA cries they no longer carry the exact part equates to customer PAYING MORE to honor the warranty.. THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE.

In this day and age where the economy is still struggling and people are not spending as much as they were pre 2007... it's kind of Balzy/Arrogant/OR Stupid or a combo of each to have this type of business practice-- after all as customers we can always buy are $200 MAF somewhere else. I will still purchase from RA but I will limit my purchases to the more less expensive type components with the least chance of something being defective and require that I will have to get an "UNEVEN" exchange that will cost me just to deal with THEIR BAD PART. In REAL WORLD terms....at the end of the day MY RIDE is now UNDRIVABLE due to their bad part... since I am taking a "HIT" by their "shoddy" quality part... one would expect an upstanding company to replace the part at ZERO COST under a warranty. This hard nose crap about CORES and ZERO options aside from passing on the cost to customers is what I call bad business.

Zink57

As of today 3/25--- STILL WAITING FOR MY CREDIT.

-- The story keeps changing with these customer service CLOWNS.. Can't trust them. When the story changes it negates all trust. When there is no trust..then this flaky crap is what one can expect. NEVER HAD THESE ISSUES WITH SUMMIT RACING or JEGS for that matter.
____________________

The in-store credit should be for $199.49. It will be issued within 5 business days of tracking showing delivered which is estimated on 3/23.

mitch_04

I never purchase anything from Rock Auto that I don't mind being stuck with. They are insanely cheap, yes, and I have returned a few things to them. However, the local part stores (Disclaimer, I work at one) will always have better service. We have warrantied items for people that were out of their date, warrantied things that we knew were broken because of the customers installation/abuse, etc etc.

Not to say that your situation doesn't suck, but take the time to learn from it! I've learned a lot more from bad events in my life than good ones, seems to stick with you more!

Zink57

YEP...
Lesson learned: #1 The "honeymoon" is gravy with RA unless you have to return something under warranty... #2 Hopefully the defective part isn't a critical part on your daily driver or else you will be looking at around 3 weeks for turn around to get your car back on the road. #3 Becareful with advice given by RA "customer service"-- story tends to change depending on who you get on the line... if I had listened to agent I would be IN for another $230 bucks for a replacement out of pocket and still waiting for a credit that I can ONLY USE at RA-- since I don't need anything else at this time that will be 200 Washingtons less in my pocket. Since I am not independently wealthy yet - I can't let expensive sensors slide with only 13 months of service life...

What I carry away from this is that it may be wise to only purchase parts that are less prone to defect/failure or under a certain cost limit. Water pumps, coolant temp switches, hoses, plugs, wires- YES... MAFs, Carbs, Cylinder heads, Cams, Lifter sets, FIs NOT!

RS-Chevy-SS

I have done many warranty exchanges and claims with rockauto without issue. Just because you are having a single back experience doesn't mean they all are.

3.8TransAM

They were kind of slaps when I had to return struts to them for one of my other cars.

Got old part numbers that should have been out of the system(thanks Monroe and Rock Auto.....) let alone one wasn't assembled properly to begin with.

Sure felt like I had to argue a lot to get them returned and swapped out for Moog stuff instead. One wasn't assembled right and the other had an old part number that should have been removed from inventory. Did they really think I wanted the same replacements?

Other than this return and always always watching their shipping charges I have not had other issues

jmd

iTrader: (4)

And you didn't send in a core at that time, correct? Which puts you back at a fair, $0 spent, No parts starting point.

He's talking about the order from a year ago.

So answer my question: did you send in a core a year ago? What happened to that one? Gonna hoard like me for Easter?

billy2boy

I`ve bought from Rockauto in the past, but I never had to return anything. It`s good to know though just in case.