RockAuto VS Parts King

[Mayhem]

Had a laundry list of a dozen various parts, everything from an exhaust manifold to wiper blades, I needed for my ‘85 F-150 “Rusty”…I have purchased parts from both suppliers in the past, usually from RA but also PK, if I needed something quick. Since I had the luxury of time, I was curious and decided to compare costs. Whenever available, I compared the identical part (same manufacturer and part #). Where this was not possible I chose the better quality part, all of which ended up being from RA. A 5% discount code was applied to the RA order, which can easily be found by Googling. The biggest difference was on the exhaust manifold (identical parts), RA was about $30 cheaper, even with shipping.

I’ve also bought parts thru Amazon but didn’t have the time to compare.

Here's what I found:

RockAuto
- Overall, as good or better quality parts
- Even though parts were shipped from 5 different locations they were still cheaper
- All parts were available and would arrive Sept. 17 if I ordered them today

Total Cost $313.77

Parts King
- Parts are available quickly
- A number of the parts I wanted were “No Stock – Contact Us”
- Less selection of better quality parts

Total Cost $343.01

[Savage Bacon]

I've never tried parts king but I've used rock auto quite a bit. I like their parts filter system. If i have time to wait ill order from online. I find a lot of parts I buy just above cost, still cost more than ordering from rock auto.

A few years ago I purchased a complete front end kit for my 69 dart and saved a few $. This wasn't an actual "kit" just everything I added to my cart from ball joints to bushings to brakes and everything else they had.

[fishtank]

if you dont need the part right away , then RA is the place the have a bigger selection and even with shipping some of the item is cheaper then parts king. but locally for parts, cant beat partking price and turn around time .

[1899b]

Expecting a Rock Auto shipment tomorrow. First time using them...

[buckbrush]

I've only used RockAuto. No complaints. Way better price than local and fast shipping. I try to support local but the price gap seems to be getting higher.

[Jdunbar]

You can always get a rockauto discount code as well for 5% off if you ask around

I’ve thought parts kings customer service was horrible

[Dean2]

I have always been a Rock Auto fan. Especially buying parts for higher end cars like BMW, Lexus and Mercedes you see a huge difference. One of the guys on AO clued me in to Parts King about 3 years ago. I have now bought quite a few parts off of them. In many cases they are competitive with RA and no waiting on delivery, though RA usually only takes 2 or 3 days even with the lowest price shipping. Other thing I like about RA is there is NEVER an upcharge from Fedex or UPS if they come that way.


It really does pay to shop around for parts prices; When I was buying new Moog front end parts for my Dodge truck, RA was less than half what PK wanted for the same Moog parts, however when I was replacing the tire sensors on my Lexus I checked RA and PK. Just for chuckles I checked Lexus. I ended up buying OEM Lexus, installed by Lexus in the West End, for LESS than just the parts cost for RA or PK.

[brslk]

I've used both. I say "used" because I won't use Rock Auto again. I've ordered thousands of dollars of parts from them a month and they constantly screw up. The last time was a radiator that they didn't send and blamed the shipper and also blamed me for providing an incorrect address. Odd, I've had an account with them for about 20 years and the other parts I ordered at the same time arrived on time (with an invoice for them and the part that never arrived in the box).
Parts Kings gets most of my business now. Even when it says "contact us" they can usually get it by the next day. I've found most of their prices are equal to RA and the service is beyond better than RA's. You can actualy phone them or do a live chat. No such thing with Rock Auto.

For years I was a fan of RA. No more

[ATF]

I have done few orders from RA and up until the last one they were pretty decent.
The last order they put a transmission filter loose in a box with my 1 tons brake pads. Filter arrived with a big hole in it. They sent another filter and that one had rust all over it? They wouldn’t replace that one and chose to refund me the money instead. Parts King has been ok but some of their prices are still a lot more than RA.

[Stinky Buffalo]

I've used Rock Auto quite a bit, but recently have used PartsAvatar out of BC. I still haven't made up my mind about them...

Seems to ship a lot slower than from RA, though, for some reason. Oh well.

[fishnguy]

The only issue with with RockAuto I have is lack of customer service. I mean completely. It is not possible to discuss anything with anyone on the phone. I bought two callipers for my 4Runner that were supposed to fit. They didn’t. Mine is “sport edition” and comes with larger size rotors than a regular 4Runner. When trying to return, I clicked the wrong thing, was told it’s my fault and got stuck with a set of useless to me calippers, lol. I bought another set from them a year later after they upgraded their part number matching system and they fit. I still paid less for 4, including the two that didn’t fit, than I could find anywhere else.

[DiabeticKripple]

ordered brake pads and spark plugs for my ram off RA yesterday, couldnt beat those prices anywhere in town.

[Trager]

Took my vehicle for 2 cat converters and quoted me $320 per and ordered from Rockauto at $120 per. Friggin muffler shops!

[7magtime]

How are RA and Parts King for ordering say an alternator where you have to ship the old alternator back to them to get your core charge back? Is the shipping charge high enough to make it worth purchasing local? Thanks.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by 7magtime

How are RA and Parts King for ordering say an alternator where you have to ship the old alternator back to them to get your core charge back? Is the shipping charge high enough to make it worth purchasing local? Thanks.

Check both places, on an alternator, it was enough cheaper at RA that even without getting the core charge back I was way ahead and the return mailing cost was nearly as much as the core charge so I just donated the core to PK. For a power steering box, it was cheaper to buy it at PK because the core charge on them is substantial and the prices were not that far apart for the same make and quality.

[7magtime]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Check both places, on an alternator, it was enough cheaper at RA that even without getting the core charge back I was way ahead and the return mailing cost was nearly as much as the core charge so I just donated the core to PK. For a power steering box, it was cheaper to buy it at PK because the core charge on them is substantial and the prices were not that far apart for the same make and quality.

Sounds good Dean, thanks for that info!

[HyperMOA]

NAPA is cheaper than partsking. Rock auto was a bit over $17 cheaper but any problems and I'm backwards on the deal in shipping. Maybe because I have an oddball truck but the listings are a bit sketchy at times. 1500HD. If there is a screw-up NAPA gives me my money back. That's rear pads and a rotor.

[Trager]

Originally Posted by Trager

Took my vehicle for 2 cat converters and quoted me $320 per and ordered from Rockauto at $120 per. Friggin muffler shops!

Minute muffler calls me and says my muffler has hot spots so what can I do but tell them to replace it. Charged me $277 and decided to research and rockauto was $87 and amazon was $110 for the exact same muffler. unbelievable.

[FishOutOfWater]

2x front strut - 2013 Mercedes AMG C63

Dealership = $480 ea
RockAuto = $175 ea ($395 for 2, shipped)

Two Sachs struts, same thing dealer sells, showed up in 5 days... But the lack of customer service is the catch, just be 110% sure of what you're ordering.

[fishnguy]

Never thought AMG struts would be cheaper than 4runners, lol. Dealer quoted me over $2,000 for four of mine. I bought 4 Bilstein’s from Rock Auto for less than a quarter of that quote.

Here is my 5% discount code from my recent purchase if someone is buying something:

151698931139371283

I know you can google one as well.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by FishOutOfWater

2x front strut - 2013 Mercedes AMG C63

Dealership = $480 ea
RockAuto = $175 ea ($395 for 2, shipped)

Two Sachs struts, same thing dealer sells, showed up in 5 days... But the lack of customer service is the catch, just be 110% sure of what you're ordering.

You do really have to know what u are ordering from RA but true at PK as well. If you need help you are better off at Napa or your dealer to verify part number, then order. The only return I ever had to do with RA went smooth. All done online, part they sent didn't fit. Sent pictures and instant approval.

[fishnguy]

One of the struts I bought for the 4Runner was missing a bushing and had to be returned completely and a new one sent out. Smooth and no problems at all. The callipers I bought, however, didn’t fit: they were too small; I don’t remember what mistake I made when filling out the return form online, but I remember it immediately told me that I was at fault and the items could not be returned. I couldn’t reach out to anyone anywhere and got stuck with the callipers I don’t need. The callipers were bought via part number matching too. I saw them changing things around some time later and bought the correct part again.

[Positrac]

I’ve used Rock auto dozens of times but I’ve been burned twice.

Once, I ordered new headlights for our 2004 Rav4 and the ones that showed up were not for that year of vehicle. Rock Auto said I could return them and they would give me full refund but I had to pay the shipping. When going through them for shipping it was almost the same cost as what the lights were worth. So to me that was just a big FU on their part because I could show them what I had and that the ones they sent were not correct. That’s just plain poor customer service.

So ya, RA is great, unless you need to return something because if what they sent turns out to be an issue on their end they won’t admit what they sent was not the correct part and you’ll pay the shipping. On small items no big deal but on larger items it may not be worth returning the item for refund and that will eat up any future savings you may make by using them.

[Jswain]

I've ordered through them many times and have only ever had a problem once. They sent me 3x upper balljoints and only one lower. I contacted them and they had another lower sent out and I recieved it fairly quick from what I remember, never asked for the extra upper back so I threw it in the truck for a spare.

Mind you that was about 14 years ago so maybe their service isn't the same now. Ever other order has always been correct in my case. For some things they are unbeatable in price, just have to watch the shipping charges

[DiabeticKripple]

Update on my RA order.

Ordered brake pads Monday around noon, they didn’t actually ship until 430am today when they left Memphis. The made it to Calgary by 8:00am, Red Deer by 12:00 and were at my door at 4pm. In short my package was here in 2 business days after my order.

[bat119]

Things have changed at RA shipping has gone crazy a headlight for a 2014 Ford escape can't find one in Canada

Tax, Total, & Payment
Parts Cost CAD$205.06
Shipping + CAD$107.78
GST/HST (# 855114328) CAD$34.42

CAD$347.26

This is the cheapest option others were

FEDEX $361 + tax or $178 for a two week delivery

[Coiloil37]

I’ve never been a RA fan but I’ve used the wrench monkey a lot. They’re already in Canada so no customs, duty etc and they’ve got free shipping for orders over $99. Might not have what you want but they always had what I needed when I needed it.

https://www.thewrenchmonkey.ca/

[kingrat]

I use mostly the wrench monkey and parts avatar. I like the free shipping. Rock auto the shipping can be unreal sometimes.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by Coiloil37

I’ve never been a RA fan but I’ve used the wrench monkey a lot. They’re already in Canada so no customs, duty etc and they’ve got free shipping for orders over $99. Might not have what you want but they always had what I needed when I needed it.

https://www.thewrenchmonkey.ca/

I've wanted to use them but they never seem to be cheaper. Quick comparison of the last thing I bought for the van, an alternator. Comparing the same unit, a Bosch AL6482X:

RA:
-Part: $220.46;
-Core: $93.68;
-Shipping: $37.20;
-Taxs: $17.57;
-Total: $368.91

WM:
-Part: $353.79
-Core: $65.00;
-Shipping: $0.00;
-Taxs: $20.94;
-Total: $439.73

Assuming you return the core, minus shipping fees, RA is just under $100.00 cheaper. I usually don't even price compare anymore, just buy it from RA. The other thing I like about RA is they had 13 option to choose from, some much cheaper than the Bosch, while WM had one option.