03-06 Steering Gear Box Replacement — Assistance Requested

[mrblaine]

Mr.Blaine. From your message, I assume there are concerns with Lares products? Am I reading that correctly?

No, I did not say or imply that at all. My commentary is 100% directed at Rock Auto and their lack of customer assistance or service. As I stated previous, the ONLY value they bring to the table is a lesser price. If you care to test that, simply call them and ask about any issues they are aware of regarding Lares products.

 

[Chris]

Mr.Blaine. From your message, I assume there are concerns with Lares products? Am I reading that correctly?

I think that what he's getting at is that you won't get anyone from RockAuto on the phone because their customer service is non-existent.

 

[machoheadgames]

Mr.Blaine. From your message, I assume there are concerns with Lares products? Am I reading that correctly?

He is saying they have practically no customer service, aka you won't find a phone number to call them, and you can barely get an email to message them at because their customer service system is entirely automated. Essentially: order at your own risk.

 

[ReconMarine]

He is saying they have practically no customer service, aka you won't find a phone number to call them, and you can barely get an email to message them at because their customer service system is entirely automated. Essentially: order at your own risk.

Understood...thank you sir

 

[ReconMarine]

No, I did not say or imply that at all. My commentary is 100% directed at Rock Auto and their lack of customer assistance or service. As I stated previous, the ONLY value they bring to the table is a lesser price. If you care to test that, simply call them and ask about any issues they are aware of regarding Lares products.

Sir. Thank you for your clarification. I misunderstood your original message.

 

[machoheadgames]

Sir. Thank you for your clarification. I misunderstood your original message.

For whatever it may be worth, the couple of times I have had issues with items purchased at RockAuto (over probably 100 orders in 11 years), the automated warranty/return portal has served me well enough. Automatically generated shipping labels and full refunds with the option to pay in full to receive a new item before sending the old (with a full refund upon receival of the defective product) have kept me in commission quickly enough that I have no issues taking on the risk of buying from them.

A phone number to call would be nice if needed, but it is a non-issue for me. That is, after all, why they are cheaper to begin with. In other words, when I have had issues, they have taken care of them, despite not talking to me on the phone about it.

 

[ReconMarine]

For whatever it may be worth, the couple of times I have had issues with items purchased at RockAuto (over probably 100 orders in 11 years), the automated warranty/return portal has served me well enough. Automatically generated shipping labels and full refunds with the option to pay in full to receive a new item before sending the old (with a full refund upon receival of the defective product) have kept me in commission quickly enough that I have no issues taking on the risk of buying from them.

A phone number to call would be nice if needed, but it is a non-issue for me. That is, after all, why they are cheaper to begin with. In other words, when I have had issues, they have taken care of them, despite not talking to me on the phone about it.

That is good to know. Thank you.

 

[mrblaine]

For whatever it may be worth, the couple of times I have had issues with items purchased at RockAuto (over probably 100 orders in 11 years), the automated warranty/return portal has served me well enough. Automatically generated shipping labels and full refunds with the option to pay in full to receive a new item before sending the old (with a full refund upon receival of the defective product) have kept me in commission quickly enough that I have no issues taking on the risk of buying from them.

A phone number to call would be nice if needed, but it is a non-issue for me. That is, after all, why they are cheaper to begin with. In other words, when I have had issues, they have taken care of them, despite not talking to me on the phone about it.

You should buy some ACC carpet from them.
I'll see your 100 orders and raise you a smidge. This is the second wall of magnets and there are more now. Also can be had for the cost of shipping if anyone wants them.

 

[machoheadgames]

You should buy some ACC carpet from them.
I'll see your 100 orders and raise you a smidge. This is the second wall of magnets and there are more now. Also can be had for the cost of shipping if anyone wants them.
View attachment 611496

I've bought ACC carpet from elsewhere and I'm fully aware of how shitty it can be. I'm guessing you weren't satisfied with its poor fitment and wanted to return?

I know, I know, you have a lot more orders there than I do. But you buy for a lot more vehicles than I. I have 94 orders on my account and that is missing the first three years; probably 10-15 orders. Regardless, I'm no newbie to ordering from RockAuto. I tossed all the fridge magnets.

Are you no longer buying there? Or just buying with more caution?

 

[mrblaine]

I've bought ACC carpet from elsewhere and I'm fully aware of how shitty it can be. I'm guessing you weren't satisfied with its poor fitment and wanted to return?

There is a thread about it. Nothing about the whole process including dealing with ACC didn't and doesn't suck.

Are you no longer buying there? Or just buying with more caution?

We buy from them. We don't buy anything we can't just throw away. We got in a bind and ordered some drums from them to tide us over. That was also about the same time that Centric switched suppliers and no longer supplies round drums. We had 10 sitting here we needed to return. By the time they got through with their bullshit, it was easier and cheaper to just throw them away. That wasn't the first time we arrived at a similar conclusion regarding their BS. I use them to get out of a bind. I don't use them because they are good, have good service, know how to package well, deliver on time, or any other metric that actually should matter.

We typically find ourselves getting stuff from them when our regular suppliers run out of stock and can't fill our orders. I'd rather get it from RA and send it out at a loss or close to a loss than not have enough product to ship the rest of an order. Rarely done unless we are scrambling to solve a problem but we do have to from time to time.