First online car part purchase gone bad [Updated]

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
08/26/2016 at 15:49 • Filed to: None

I don’t like ordering online, but I took someone I trusted opinion and ordered a door lock actuator from RockAuto.com. Things just went downhill from there.

To start off with, they didnt have the actuator for my year, ‘07. My trusted source said to go to ‘06, and indeed a actuator was there. This will be important later.

So after I tear apart my car door a week later, I find out I have the wrong part. Actually, the latch assembly and actuator are one piece. The piece they sent has no latch assembly, nor did it have a place to connect either the inside or outside handle. I double check online, they listed it wrong . I called them up, tell them I want to return it, they say “sure, we’ll send you an email.”

We get said email, and they want us to pay to ship it back. No, we got the wrong part, so I refuse to. I call them back up, tell the guy what’s going on, and he starts criticizing me for buying a ‘06 part. I try to tell him that all the gens share the same part, he says I’m wrong and refuses to cover the shipping charge. Afterwards, I talk to my brother-in-law, who knows the Grand Prix inside out and indeed, all years of this gen share the same part. I don’t even feel like returning it. Thinking of maybe selling it on eBay.

I really don’t like buying blindly online.

Update: I called Rock Auto again, then still want me to pay to ship the part back. They basically said there supplier is right, therefore I’m wrong. And “other customers were happy with it”. Unfortunately, the manufacturer Dorman makes it as a generic replacement for all Pontiacs from ‘92-’06. On a binge of curiosity, I called the aftermarket part manufacturer, Dorman. Nicest lady I talked to all day. Said if there’s something wrong with their catalog, they’d love to know. I’ll be calling again on Monday when their tech help is in. This way, they can see it doesn't fit.

DISCUSSION (27)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 15:54

Hmm, that's odd I've always had the best luck with rockauto. And I have returned parts that they paid for the return shipping no problem. I had a brake caliper that went bad (I blame the brand) way before it should have and they covered it no questions asked. Even got my refund in money instead of store credit! But generally I've had really good experiences with purchasing parts through them. Surprised they didn't pay for shipping.

zeontestpilot > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/26/2016 at 15:58

I just called a loca dealers part department, there ARE two versions of the part, but the only difference is the addition of a child’s safety. So I’m still right.

I plan on calling again tonight, hopefully I get someone different. I have no use for this part, and I just want free shipping and my money back.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/26/2016 at 16:03

I’ve had nothing but fantastic luck with Rockauto and I’m an international customer. It’s my go to place for anything car parts on my project cars.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/as-a-canadian-…

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 16:03

That’s incredibly weird, I’ve had amazing luck with Rock Auto. When we accidentally got the wrong hatch struts for the Matrix, they calculated shipping charges, and then just sent us the correct parts and told us to keep the brand new incorrect parts, as it would have cost more for them to ship them back than for them to eat the cost in parts.

Danger > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 16:06

If you don’t like buying car parts online, let us know how the dealership and AutoZone sales staff, price and selection do for you. Because I haven’t had to deal with them in years.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 16:08

Oh yeah that guy must have been a dumbass lol. They clearly sent the wrong shit and should make it right. Also, I've found a lot of parts on Amazon lately. That used to be difficult but its gotten a lot better. Anything involving returns through Amazon are the best!

zeontestpilot > Danger
08/26/2016 at 16:10

I called oreillys, they said it’s a body piece and they don’t do that. They said to call a dealership. I did, it will be $156.02 with a 12 month warranty. I called a local junkyard, if I pick it it’ll be ~$30 with a 90 warranty. Or the other junkyard for $25 with a 30 day warranty.

I'm doing a junkyard pull.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Danger
08/26/2016 at 16:11

Selection more so than price! Too many times does autozone and advance auto not have the right part in stock but rockauto has 6 different brands all in stock in huge quantities. I find typically the same item from the same brand can be found at a comparable price (once you include shipping cost) but its just difficult to find in stores sometimes. Forget going to the dealer, that's just a bad idea even for cheap domestic cars!

zeontestpilot > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
08/26/2016 at 16:12

I’m hoping they have more than one sales rep there. I’m planning on calling again later tonight, and standing my ground.

zeontestpilot > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/26/2016 at 16:19

Oddly, that wrong part appears frequently when I search for it, a lot of places sell it. But the latch assembly and actuator are one unit, with a electrical input and three places to attach metal rods for the lock, inside handle, and outside handle.

The part they sold me had one electrical input (with the wrong number of pins) and only one moving part.

It makes me weary to buy anything online if the waters are muddled this much for one messily part. I mean, I can't be the find one to find this out, right?

Urambo Tauro > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
08/26/2016 at 16:19

I ordered a couple of tie-rod ends, and one of them (just one) was missing its little hardware baggie. They sent me a whole new tie-rod at no charge and weren’t interested in getting the other one back.

Textured Soy Protein > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 16:21

Any auto parts vendor online catalog is going to have some errors. With BMWs, there’s a super comprehensive online parts catalog at RealOEM.com. So I just go on there to figure out which part number I need first, and then use that part number to search on the various places that sell OEM BMW parts for cheap.

Often times there are dealers who sell online for much cheaper than your local dealer. I got my new BMW remanufactured long block from a dealer in Maryland for almost $900 less than the local dealer here in Madison, WI was charging. After paying the freight charges for shipping the new motor to me and the core to them, I still came out about $500 ahead. Still has the BMW warranty on it since it came from a BMW dealer.

RockAuto also lets you search for manufacturer part numbers.

So, find a good parts catalog first, then find a place that’ll let you search by part number and sells for cheap.

Needmoargarage > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 16:22

Bummer. I’ve always had a perfect experience with RockAuto...even when figuring out obscure parts. Any error they’ve made they cover...as well as any I’ve made so far.

Absolutely love comparing the price for the exact same part from the same supplier between RockAuto and the local parts stores.

shop-teacher > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 16:27

They do, it’s a pretty big operation. Try back again later.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 16:46

Must just be an odd part. I imagine you just had bad luck with this one! Or GM made it overly confusing to differentiate the parts.

Mid Engine > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 17:00

I stopped by my dealer to buy an oil filter. $47

A K&N oil filter on Amazon: $4.45 and free shipping. I bought four of them.. Amazon has a shit ton of car parts now, and you can store your car’s year/model on their site, it will check to make sure the part fits your car. And the service? It’s Amazon

The Stig's former college room mate > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 17:01

i’ve had nothing but good luck with RockAuto. There’s probably 40 magnets on my garage door from them. I typically buy parts from either them or Advance Auto. It all depends on whether i need it now or if i can wait a week. I’ll still price compare, but RockAuto usually wins. If I need something now, I’ll buy it online from advance and pick it up at the store. There’s a discount code (TRT30) that gives you 30% off online orders, up to $50 off. and you can use it over and over. Need front and rear brakes? Do two separate orders. Save $100.

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 17:07

Sounds like it was just a whole lot of bad luck in a weird one-off situation. I’ve bought plenty of stuff from Rock Auto and a few other places online and never had a single issue. I wouldn’t make an assumption of all online buying based on one bad experience. Just try calling them again and hopefully you’ll get to talk to someone different.

And even though it may seem parts from ‘06 and ‘07 are interchangeable, minuscule things like the placement of a bolt hole can change from model year to model year. So I wouldn’t get upset finding out that part from a year prior didn’t fit the model year that I had. I would just return and say it wasn’t a part designed for a Grand Prix and leave it at that.

zeontestpilot > Textured Soy Protein
08/26/2016 at 17:12

Thanks, I'll check it out.

zeontestpilot > Needmoargarage
08/26/2016 at 17:15

I keep seeing that rock auto is excellent in these comments. I’ll hold my tongue when I call back, I feel like I'm missing out on something now.

zeontestpilot > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/26/2016 at 17:15

I thinking it might be the latter. I typed in the part number into google, no results.

zeontestpilot > The Stig's former college room mate
08/26/2016 at 17:16

I’ll have to give them another try then.

zeontestpilot > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy
08/26/2016 at 17:21

I called a dealership earlier, there are two different parts for this gen, but the only difference is that one has a child lock, and the other doesn’t.

The part I got didn’t have a latch assembly, nor a connection to attach either handle. Someone said it goes to a Silverado.

I don’t like buying online because I always thought returning stuff would be difficult, or someone would cheat me. I am definitely not comfortable with buying online, and this might be the one situation, but it doesn't help me at all. I like going to the store and getting what I need. I prefer it.

Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes > The Stig's former college room mate
08/26/2016 at 18:13

Is that code for advance, or rock auto?

zeontestpilot > shop-teacher
08/26/2016 at 18:26

Called again, same respond. They said the manufacturer is right, so I mist be wrong. So I called the manufacturer. The nice lady said something that caught my attention, “if there’s something wrong with the catalog, we’d love to know”. I’ll be speaking to the techs on Monday for the manufacturer, I’m gonna walk them through everything, and explain to them why it doesn’t work.

The part, I found out, is a generic replacement for all Pontiacs ‘92 to ‘06. Except the prix, but apparently I'm the first to say something about it.

shop-teacher > zeontestpilot
08/26/2016 at 18:43

Fun fun fun. Good luck!

The Stig's former college room mate > Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes
08/27/2016 at 08:35

TRT30 is for advance. Rockauto does 5% off only. just google rockauto discount code if you need one. They email codes to people after they make purchases, and the email says to share it with others so it isn’t hard to find a code online.