Bad service from RockAuto

[isb]

Awful customer service. Mix up in Stoptech rotors that I ordered last year. Only just got around to trying to install them along with new tires and discovered that 3L & 1R had shipped and the styles mismatched. I asked to swap 2 brand new in the box rotors to make up a matching set.

They were absolutely inflexible about their 30-day return policy. Really? Pretty easy for them to swap out, but to hell with customer satisfaction, policy rules. if you do buy from them, make sure you check your order 100% as received, or you're SOL.

Alternatively, try buying from someone who cares about customer satisfaction. I'll never buy from them again, and will tell everyone who'll listen.

[LINDW4LL]

Why do you need both swapped out (and not just the one)? Was it your error or theirs?

[Stubek]

They have a 30 day return policy which can be annoying, but you ordered last year. That is at least 64 days ago so you are double that. How long ago did you really order them? I understand you are just getting around to installing the as I've had my new rotors and pads sitting in my garage for a while, but you gotta check stuff when it arrives. Mixups naturally happen.

It would be nice of them to help you out in some way like do the swap but charge a restocking fee so you are not totally out of luck, but if its been a few months, I can see why they don't want to.

[mpsmith]

Looks like buyers error.

[LINDW4LL]

They have a 30 day return policy which can be annoying, but you ordered last year. That is at least 64 days ago so you are double that. How long ago did you really order them? I understand you are just getting around to installing the as I've had my new rotors and pads sitting in my garage for a while, but you gotta check stuff when it arrives. Mixups naturally happen.

It would be nice of them to help you out in some way like do the swap but charge a restocking fee so you are not totally out of luck, but if its been a few months, I can see why they don't want to.

My thoughts precisely. While it certainly would be "nice" for them to exchange it (especially if it was their fault), OP should have checked that he received the correct parts before the 30 days was up. 3+ months (at minimum) had passed, which I think is way too long for most companies to do anything for you.

[isb]

I honestly don't know if it was my error or theirs. The order is not what I thought I'd placed (obviously). Whether I screwed something up on entering the order, there was a data glitch or they pulled the wrong parts, I don't know and wouldn't be able to find out now.

Clearly, they don't have to swap out the wrong rotors. Their policy is 30 days, and they're sticking to it. If I'd known the policy and had any reason to think I might have got the wrong parts, I would have checked. I can't do anything about that now. My point is, if they'd said I need to pay shipping both ways and a reasonable restocking fee, no problem. Net no cost to them. They suggest that I sell the odd rotors instead and then reorder replacements. Really? How likely is it that someone would want two individual rotors.

To an earlier question, what I think I have (without opening the boxes again) is 2 front left dimpled, 1 rear dimpled, 1 rear other side dimpled and slotted. If they'd inquired before shipping the order why I'd ordered a combination which doesn't make any sense, I would have said I didn't (or didn't mean to), and the whole mess could have been avoided.

[Stubek]

Have you offered to them to pay shipping both ways? Maybe try again there.
Also, you can try to sell just one on ebay or in the classifieds. I've seen plenty of people buy just one rotor (warped, cracked, etc)

Most places have 30 day return policies as a rule of thumb. I would say it is the vast majority of places that have 30 days and other places of more or less. I've come across a few places that have 15 day policies. When my rotors and pads came in, I actually did video of me cutting the tape and opening the boxes because I have seen too many people on this forum and others get rotors that are cracked or damaged in shipping. I knew I would not be installing for 3-4 weeks minimum, but did that the day I got them. Good thing I did too because one of my front pads had chips in the braking surface. I emailed the vendor I bought the pads from the picture that night and the next morning when I woke up, I had a UPS label in my email to send back the bad pads. If I had waited till I actually installed them, first I would be screwed and second, they probably would have said, "Its been a month or two, how do we know you didn't drop them when you were fondling them."

[Jake@JHM]

Have you offered to them to pay shipping both ways? Maybe try again there.
Also, you can try to sell just one on ebay or in the classifieds. I've seen plenty of people buy just one rotor (warped, cracked, etc)

Most places have 30 day return policies as a rule of thumb. I would say it is the vast majority of places that have 30 days and other places of more or less. I've come across a few places that have 15 day policies. When my rotors and pads came in, I actually did video of me cutting the tape and opening the boxes because I have seen too many people on this forum and others get rotors that are cracked or damaged in shipping. I knew I would not be installing for 3-4 weeks minimum, but did that the day I got them. Good thing I did too because one of my front pads had chips in the braking surface. I emailed the vendor I bought the pads from the picture that night and the next morning when I woke up, I had a UPS label in my email to send back the bad pads. If I had waited till I actually installed them, first I would be screwed and second, they probably would have said, "Its been a month or two, how do we know you didn't drop them when you were fondling them."

Absolutely, we highly recommend inspecting your package immediately upon receiving them. We sometimes have customers contacting us 6+ months later stating that something is missing, or something is damaged, etc.. but we have no way to prove what happened either way because it has been so long and anything could have happened in between.

[SlickFix]

How can you not check your new parts when they first arrive? Hell, I'm like a kid on Christmas morning opening presents when the parts boxes arrive.

Sorry for your mixed up order, OP, but this was unfortunately a somewhat expensive lesson.

[Spike00513]

How can you not check your new parts when they first arrive? Hell, I'm like a kid on Christmas morning opening presents when the parts boxes arrive.

Sorry for your mixed up order, OP, but this was unfortunately a somewhat expensive lesson.

x2....

RockAuto, for many things, has hands-down the best prices...and reliable customer service and shipping...
People don't have a choice but to order from them, and yes, you are always supposed to check the parts. Not only to make sure they fit, but to make sure they didn't get damaged during shipping.
RockAuto is not an Audi dealership parts counter that matches parts to your VIN, and visually verifies part fitment before sending. Even then, orders get messed up. You should have inspected the parts...Better yet, take a video of the un-boxing, for liability reasons...

[2004B6S4]

I once bought a wheel well liner from the local Audi dealership in Chandler, I looked up the part # ahead of time to make it easy and they matched the GAP price which was quite a bit less than their original asking price, but I mistakenly gave them the part # for a cabriolet instead of a sedan, so I got the wrong part. I didn't realize it was the wrong part until 6 months later when I tried to install it, I took it back to them and they exchanged it for the correct part, at the discounted price, with no fee and no hassle at all. They didn't care whether it was my mistake or theirs; or about the fact that their return policy, which was clearly stated on the receipt that I brought back with the part, states that they don't take returns for "special order" parts (parts they don't keep in stock, which this was), and that the return period for other parts is a lot less than 6 months, and that they charge a restocking fee for all returns!
I actually was expecting them not to do it, I felt kinda sheepish about even asking since the mistake was my fault and I had waited so long to bring it back, but I figured there wouldn't be any harm in asking. They were totally cool about it! They pretty much ignored their entire return policy and simply made the exchange to get me the correct part, definitely made me happy about their customer service!

[Der_Rock]

30 day return is for if you don't like something, which is not the case here. I would have argued heavily that they sent the wrong item and did not do their job at all. Some people just take a "button pusher/policy follower" attitude at life and you have to get connected to the right person to get results because you will get nowhere with that type of person. If you talked to multiple supervisors and got nowhere then RockAuto should be avoided like you suggest. If you only talked to level one support, then you should have tried harder. This is their fault, not yours!

[LINDW4LL]

I would have argued heavily that they sent the wrong item and did not do their job at all. Some people just take a "button pusher/policy follower" attitude at life and you have to get connected to the right person to get results because you will get nowhere with that type of person. This is their fault, not yours!

OP hasn't even confirmed that he ordered the correct parts...








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[Der_Rock]

The way he wrote it, it sounded like it was their fault. He says, "3L & 1R had shipped and the styles mismatched" which sounds like they shipped the wrong part. Yes it is possible that he ordered them wrong and failed to mention that, but why would you jump to that conclusion?

Anyway, most companies will give a one time courtesy for cases like this, especially since he's not trying to get money back but exchange. RockAuto sound like Dicks and nobody likes Dicks. I'd like to call them within operating hours and get their comment on their policy to end speculation on both sides.

I've never used them so I have no bias either way.

[Der_Rock]

Update: I just spoke with them and they said that yes, even if it was their own fault in sending wrong parts they would draw the line at 30 days.

[Concavitor]

isb - What should Rockauto have done?

[isb]

What I feel RockAuto should have done is to exchange one left front one for a right of the same style and the mismatched rear rotor with a matching rotor.

I believe that I placed the order correctly and that there was an error on their end, but certainly can't prove that and agree that it's possible that I entered the order incorrectly. If I did make an entry error, I would have hoped that someone would have called and asked whether I really meant to place an order which doesn't make sense.

I am willing to accept that it could have been my error and pay the shipping each way for exchange of the rotors.

I did interact with several different people there and no one would budge on the 30 day policy.

At this point, I need to take the advice offered above and try and sell the odd rotors privately.