CARiD.com sent me a damaged wheel

[ManUpOrShutUp]

You get what you pay for! Rock Auto is the Wal Mart of parts stores. Come on guys, you want cheap, you get cheap. Their not exactly the Nieman Marcus of Auto parts. Their all about big volume, big profit. The personnel working in shipping are probably not top of the food chain. And more than likely never installed a radiator hose. So to them putting a parts or sales purchase tag through your upper radiator hose was never a issue to him/her. They had no idea coolant runs through it.

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They use dropshippers. Sometimes it comes from a dealership parts dep't, sometimes from a large volume auto parts warehouse, sometimes the manufacturer, etc. Any time dropshipping is involved the merchant wants to play the blame game. I always tell them: That's a YOU problem. My agreement is with you so you need to ensure I get what I paid for. If you want to send your dropshipper a bill, stiff them on a payment, sue them, whatever, go for it. It has nothing to do with me and our agreement.

 

[1955moose]

Well there you go. Whether it's drop shipped, very common, or from Rock themselves, theirs always going to be breakage/ damage of some sort in retail, a job that I've been involved in more than once in my life, it's not the sale, it's how you handle the customer on the return, or damage that makes all the difference. Customer's leave retail establishments due to poor customer service more than any other issue. Stores forget the old adage of treat customer's as you would want to be treated yourself, with courtesy and respect. Something a lot of businesses have forgotten these days.

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[5150 pops]

Man o man, don't get me started on the Bs when it comes to this cutthroat delivery companies.
(Full disclosure...I work as a class A CDL pickup and delivery driver for an LTL Freight company.)

In my neighborhood, there are 6 streets that run parallel to one another. The big three (USPS, Fedex, UPS) PLUS Amazon, have all delivered packages to the street just one block earlier than mine, but same numerical address...
red queen
honey tree
March Hare - BINGO
Savoy
Jousting lane
Etc etc

In my not so humble opinion, lazy people relying on GPS guided devices are the main culprit. They have no idea, how to read an old school paper map, and are completely dependent on a "vocal guide" to tell them when to turn. These same folks have no comprehension of distance either, so when the "guide" says turn left in 300 ft on to March Hare and your destination will be on the left, these wonderfully dedicated folks, turn immediately upon hearing the prompt.

So they consistently turn one street early, drop at the wrong street but "correct" numerical address, occasionally snap a photo as "proof of delivery," and move along, repeatedly doing the same half ass job.

When my packages DO actually make it to my doorstep, my "Ring doorbell" captures these same ultra professional and caring individuals stopping 10 feet (or more) of my front stoop, and launching our package(s) onto the stoop, followed my snapping a photo, as proof of delivery.

Technology IMO, is fantastic, but unfortunately many many halfwits abuse it by not taking their jobs seriously enough to have pride in doing a great job, not simply a lukewarm effort.

I should not visit forums while sipping Maker's Mark...

 

[5150 pops]

BTW, I forgot to mention, I bought a set of takeoffs from eBay, TWICE!

The first time, the actual items came in, pooooooorly packaged with very little concern for enroute damage. From the description and photos, they appeared decent with little to no outward appearance issues. However, when I actually opened each of the boxes, I was less than impressed, with the actual condition of the wheels. Immediately sent a strongly worded inquiry through eBay about the discrepancy, clearly stating that a fraud case would be pursued with eBay, unless they would accept return of wheels, via prepaid labels emailed to me, and 100% refund - no restocking fees.

Cliff notes response, was "You don't need to get uptight about it, we'll take care of it."

The second time, was with a completely different seller, and the wheels that arrived were actually the wheels pictured in the ad, and were carefully packaged with an abundance of fill as well as "complete wheel nets" (think of food worker hairnets, but much thicker) and I couldn't be happier.
The good seller I bought from was "rimsexpress" on eBay, I think they're in Indiana.

If I were you, especially if this spare wheelset is for mounting snow tires (like me) I'd return the carid wheels, and get Fomoco wheels from a reputable seller on ebay, or look on Craigslist for F-150 wheels, locally.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Man o man, don't get me started on the Bs when it comes to this cutthroat delivery companies.
(Full disclosure...I work as a class A CDL pickup and delivery driver for an LTL Freight company.)

In my neighborhood, there are 6 streets that run parallel to one another. The big three (USPS, Fedex, UPS) PLUS Amazon, have all delivered packages to the street just one block earlier than mine, but same numerical address...
red queen
honey tree
March Hare - BINGO
Savoy
Jousting lane
Etc etc

In my not so humble opinion, lazy people relying on GPS guided devices are the main culprit. They have no idea, how to read an old school paper map, and are completely dependent on a "vocal guide" to tell them when to turn. These same folks have no comprehension of distance either, so when the "guide" says turn left in 300 ft on to March Hare and your destination will be on the left, these wonderfully dedicated folks, turn immediately upon hearing the prompt.

So they consistently turn one street early, drop at the wrong street but "correct" numerical address, occasionally snap a photo as "proof of delivery," and move along, repeatedly doing the same half ass job.

When my packages DO actually make it to my doorstep, my "Ring doorbell" captures these same ultra professional and caring individuals stopping 10 feet (or more) of my front stoop, and launching our package(s) onto the stoop, followed my snapping a photo, as proof of delivery.

Technology IMO, is fantastic, but unfortunately many many halfwits abuse it by not taking their jobs seriously enough to have pride in doing a great job, not simply a lukewarm effort.

I should not visit forums while sipping Maker's Mark...

UPS just allows the drivers to enter in delivery attempts with no evidence that they've ever even been to the property. My disgruntled UPS worker put in 2 delivery attempts on 2 consecutive days and said he was there and felt there was no safe place to leave it. My house is 40 yards from the top of my driveway and the entire property is completely surrounded by trees/thick brush. It is also located in an agriculturally zoned, quiet rural/suburban neighborhood. Ultimately, I spoke to his supervisor and insisted she pull the GPS log as I didn't believe he ever attempted delivery. She did so and found that on days 1 and 2 he was already back at the UPS hub when he claimed to have attempted delivery. On day 3, a second delivery driver put in a delivery attempt while he was on another route about 40 miles from my home (likely at the behest of disgruntled driver #1).

 

[5150 pops]

UPS just allows the drivers to enter in delivery attempts with no evidence that they've ever even been to the property. My disgruntled UPS worker put in 2 delivery attempts on 2 consecutive days and said he was there and felt there was no safe place to leave it. My house is 40 yards from the top of my driveway and the entire property is completely surrounded by trees/thick brush. It is also located in an agriculturally zoned, quiet rural/suburban neighborhood. Ultimately, I spoke to his supervisor and insisted she pull the GPS log as I didn't believe he ever attempted delivery. She did so and found that on days 1 and 2 he was already back at the UPS hub when he claimed to have attempted delivery. On day 3, a second delivery driver put in a delivery attempt while he was on another route about 40 miles from my home (likely at the behest of disgruntled driver #1).

It's not just UPS most all companies in the movement of parcels or freight, have extreme similarities between them. There are "canned details" a driver can choose to show why there was an "exception" to a delivery. This would include a non delivery, or a delivery that was refused due to damage, or a delivery that was accepted but had sustained damage, noted in detail as to what exactly was damaged, then the shipper and carrier hash out who will make the client whole, with a replacement part.
There are a myriad of reasons why goods aren't delivered when they are actually on their "final mile", which includes weather related, traffic, etc.
Example, I had two deliveries in the trailer last week that I brought back to the terminal, because I wasn't allowed to cross a bridge (high profile vehicle) due to high winds. If I could cross the bridge, I was only 20 minutes from both customers at 3:45pm. As it was, I was forced to turn around, and proceed on a 1.5 hour detour. As a matter S.O.P., most companies will not attempt deliveries past 5,pm UNLESS arrangements are made in advance.

In this case I coded both deliveries at 3:30pm as returns due to customers being closed. Obviously, they weren't closed at that moment, but had I driven the additional 85 miles through the woods, they most certainly would have been closed.

Semantics, pure and simple

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

It's not just UPS most all companies in the movement of parcels or freight, have extreme similarities between them. There are "canned details" a driver can choose to show why there was an "exception" to a delivery. This would include a non delivery, or a delivery that was refused due to damage, or a delivery that was accepted but had sustained damage, noted in detail as to what exactly was damaged, then the shipper and carrier hash out who will make the client whole, with a replacement part.
There are a myriad of reasons why goods aren't delivered when they are actually on their "final mile", which includes weather related, traffic, etc.
Example, I had two deliveries in the trailer last week that I brought back to the terminal, because I wasn't allowed to cross a bridge (high profile vehicle) due to high winds. If I could cross the bridge, I was only 20 minutes from both customers at 3:45pm. As it was, I was forced to turn around, and proceed on a 1.5 hour detour. As a matter S.O.P., most companies will not attempt deliveries past 5,pm UNLESS arrangements are made in advance.

In this case I coded both deliveries at 3:30pm as returns due to customers being closed. Obviously, they weren't closed at that moment, but had I driven the additional 85 miles through the woods, they most certainly would have been closed.

Semantics, pure and simple

This guy just fabricated reasons any time he was running behind or just having a bad day and looking to be spiteful. He did it for a few years on and off following my complaint about him tossing my packages off the back of his truck like a shot putter. Thankfully, he has now retired and is probably headed for an asylum somewhere.

UPS deliveries in this area run until about 7pm btw. It's been that way for the 12 years I've lived here.

 

[1955moose]

I returned a pair of shoes I'd ordered years back, and clearly wrote to and from on the box along with address. The very next day Ups brought it right back to me. I said to the driver, can't you read to and from? Rather than him saying sorry he mumbled some garbage about take it up with UPS. He grabbed the box of shoes and left. Unbelievable. Nowadays they have the digital labels so the driver's don't have to read.

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[Jeka]

Fyi CARiD doesn't ship the items. They are a middle man and when you order from them they just forward the order to the manufacturer.

Maybe, I didn't know that. But to be honest it shouldn't be my problem. I don't really want to be a PITA customer, but during the online chat with their customer support I was given two possible options of my issue resolution:
1. If the damage was during the transportation, they accept the claim and refund/replace item.
2. If the damage was during the fitment attempt - the wheel is non-returnable.

Manufacturer/sender error was not even an option. I should admit the wheels were packaged good - attached is pre-RMA checklist they sent to me - I received them packaged the same (double boxes, foam, etc). My concern was if they are so cheap and will try to push fitment attempt on me.
Will see. The replacement wheel should come in the next couple of days.

 

[Jeka]

BTW, I forgot to mention, I bought a set of takeoffs from eBay, TWICE!

The first time, the actual items came in, pooooooorly packaged with very little concern for enroute damage. From the description and photos, they appeared decent with little to no outward appearance issues. However, when I actually opened each of the boxes, I was less than impressed, with the actual condition of the wheels. Immediately sent a strongly worded inquiry through eBay about the discrepancy, clearly stating that a fraud case would be pursued with eBay, unless they would accept return of wheels, via prepaid labels emailed to me, and 100% refund - no restocking fees.

Cliff notes response, was "You don't need to get uptight about it, we'll take care of it."

The second time, was with a completely different seller, and the wheels that arrived were actually the wheels pictured in the ad, and were carefully packaged with an abundance of fill as well as "complete wheel nets" (think of food worker hairnets, but much thicker) and I couldn't be happier.
The good seller I bought from was "rimsexpress" on eBay, I think they're in Indiana.

If I were you, especially if this spare wheelset is for mounting snow tires (like me) I'd return the carid wheels, and get Fomoco wheels from a reputable seller on ebay, or look on Craigslist for F-150 wheels, locally.

Yes, that was my first choice. I was looking for local takeoffs through the summer - had couple good opportunities but one guy didn't want to sell without tires and the price was quite steep, another one was pretty sketchy so I wasn't sure if they were not stolen (maybe I am over suspicious ) Anyway, spent tons of time looking for wheels - OEM takeoffs or lightweight forged wheels with clean design (didn't want badass off-road rims with fake bead locks). Found a set, which is the subject of this topic...

 

[Jeka]

Btw other merchants suck too

Rockauto has sent me a heater hose with a label neatly STAPLED thru it, and a scuffed and dusty as hell Bstock looking Rancho coilover

I ordered a set of TPMS sensors from them if they also screw up, this topic will be complete
oh, wait, I also need winter tires... - I will buy them from a local shop, so less chances here

 

[Adieu]

I ordered a set of TPMS sensors from them if they also screw up, this topic will be complete
oh, wait, I also need winter tires... - I will buy them from a local shop, so less chances here

Buy from Walmart.com or Amazon, you can get like 60-70% off if you approach it with a list of several models and sizes and go with the best deal

Use ship to store with Walmart and have em drop it at the closest store across the border if shipping you is a hassle or not an available option... it's also free iirc

 

[Adieu]

Btw, at THAT pricepoint, you might have better results hitting up your local Ford dealer. Especially since that BMW M3 spokes design is pretty similar to an actual FoMoCo wheel iirc

I'd expect them to sell the things for $350-400 ea. (USD)

 

[Jeka]

Hi all,

Just want to give a quick update, finally CarId issued a refund for the damaged wheel. After 12 days they received it.
Replacement wheel came with broken central cap, I checked the others and found one more broken. Carid promised to send replacement caps to me within 3-5 days, 11 days ago... still nothing from them. If I were in US, I would probably return the whole set back just because of the customer service, but I am in Canada and it is quite a hassle for me, so I guess this is the end of story. Hope they read it and make their service a little better for the next client.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Hi all,

Just want to give a quick update, finally CarId issued a refund for the damaged wheel. After 12 days they received it.
Replacement wheel came with broken central cap, I checked the others and found one more broken. Carid promised to send replacement caps to me within 3-5 days, 11 days ago... still nothing from them. If I were in US, I would probably return the whole set back just because of the customer service, but I am in Canada and it is quite a hassle for me, so I guess this is the end of story. Hope they read it and make their service a little better for the next client.

So you're whole on the wheels, but stuck with 2 broken center caps?

 

[5150 pops]

Hi all,

Just want to give a quick update, finally CarId issued a refund for the damaged wheel. After 12 days they received it.
Replacement wheel came with broken central cap, I checked the others and found one more broken. Carid promised to send replacement caps to me within 3-5 days, 11 days ago... still nothing from them. If I were in US, I would probably return the whole set back just because of the customer service, but I am in Canada and it is quite a hassle for me, so I guess this is the end of story. Hope they read it and make their service a little better for the next client.

If I were in your shoes, I would take solace in the knowledge that - even though I'm in Canada, at least I can grab some cannabis edibles, according to Joe Rogan they're the gateway to undestanding Dolphin to English language/translation.

Actually, because I earn a living as a commercial driver, the solace would all be in my imagination (mind's eye) can't risk doing what I did regularly back in the eighties.

 

[5150 pops]

You get what you pay for! Rock Auto is the Wal Mart of parts stores. Come on guys, you want cheap, you get cheap. Their not exactly the Nieman Marcus of Auto parts. Their all about big volume, big profit. The personnel working in shipping are probably not top of the food chain. And more than likely never installed a radiator hose. So to them putting a parts or sales purchase tag through your upper radiator hose was never a issue to him/her. They had no idea coolant runs through it.

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I agree, but I feel that CarID is the Walmart, but maybe RockAuto is the Target (Tarjay) of auto parts.

 

[1955moose]

Drop shipping is the cheapest and smartest way to process an order in most cases. Think about it, you take the order, don't have to warehouse the inventory, and a third party ships it. It's a win win for the seller. You might make a little more profit owning it and shipping it yourself, but you'd have to be a big fish to reap those rewards. And then you have to deal with inventory that doesn't move, personnel to wrap, label, etc. No, drop shipping is the way to profit. Customer service when something go's awry, that's another story.

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[Jeka]

So you're whole on the wheels, but stuck with 2 broken center caps?

Kind of... the caps still fit in wheels, but not sure how long they will stay there...

 

[Adieu]

I've had multiple bad experiences w/ RockAuto. Coincidentally, one was a heater hose. It took 3 tries to get one that was not cracked and they made me jump through hoops to get the replacements (each time 1h on the phone, half dozen photos, argument over shipping costs, etc.). On a recent occasion they sent the wrong part and their automated RMA system wanted me to eat half the cost of shipping on the basis that RockAuto said it was the aftermarket manufacturer's fault. I still buy from them though as they are often the cheapest option and do get parts here pretty quickly. I just do it with a credit card issued by a bank that I know will fight if I don't get what I paid for.

Yeah their anti-return policy works GREAT, i still have that stapled hose somewhere in the garage