Sorry for the rant I'm about to embark on, but I feel it necessary to share my recent experiences. Please note, these are my experiences only, but they are factual and I have photos. That said, I recently ordered control arms from RockAuto and FordPartsGiant for my wife's 2011 Expy as neither storefront had all of the parts I needed together. So, FordPartsGiant handled the front upper and lower control arms while RockAuto provided the rear lower control arms. Sadly, BOTH companies provided the worst shipping experience. No joke.
Through this experience I've learned a few things about each company.
- RockAuto provides zero ways for a customer to speak with, chat with, or email concerns. The only thing they let you do is purchase parts online and return them. Nothing more and nothing less.
- FordPartsGiant is nothing more than a call center of sorts that subs out all orders to dealerships around the country. Meaning, they have no control over how orders are handled by the respective dealers. But, they do provide a phone number for you to speak with a representative about your concerns.
So, the dealership that FordPartsGiant sub'd my order out to placed all FOUR control arms for the front in a single box. That box, mind you, was used previously and was well worn at this point. They also used a couple strips of the large "bubble" wrap. It was more of the large air pockets companies like Amazon use to fill the space in a box and prevent items from shifting. Well, as you can imagine, large air pocket style bubble wrap does absolutely nothing to prevent FOUR steal control arms from moving. It also does nothing to protect the ball joints as the 57 lbs of steel parts bang around in the large box while FedEx has their way with it for a week in transit.
This is what was in the box...
More than half of the air pockets were popped by the time the box got to me. FedEx, being the amazing shipper they are, dropped the box on my doorstep and ran back to their truck. I know this because I went to open my garage when I saw the truck pull up. The driver was already back in his truck and starting it up by the time my garage door opened. I walked out of the garage and we locked eyes before he hit the gas and left. I turned as he was leaving and saw the box... and it made sense why he left in a hurry. The ball joints were loose AF and made weird noises when moved. I can't trust the integrity of those ball joints.
As upset as I was/am with the packaging/shipping job, I was irate when I realized RockAuto intentionally made it impossible to ever speak or exchange thoughts with a human. So, I typed up a note on why I was returning the parts, re-taped the box, and dropped it off at the local shipping store. We'll see how they process the return.
Now, I immediately called FordPartsGiant as soon as I walked inside after opening that box from RockAuto and asked how they were planning to package the rear control arms. The lady simply said they haven't received the parts yet from Ford and couldn't tell me how they would be packaged. Fair enough. I told her I'd wait for delivery and we'd go from there.
Fast forward 4 days... I was outside cleaning/reorganizing my garage as I was awaiting the package from FordPartsGiant along with my new QuickJack 7000TLX lift. Thankfully, I was out there when the FedEx driver rolled up. I met him at the back of his truck and I'm glad I did. The box from FordPartGiant containing the (2) rear control arms was worse than the other box from RockAuto. There was a big hole on the side of it allowing me to put my entire hand inside. Again, the ball joints made clicking noises and the box was older than me (and I'm not young). The driver looked at me and the box and asked if I wanted to accept it. Ummm... no. Please send it back to the shipper.
The next day, I received another package from FordPartsGiant with the remaining trailing arms and other rear suspension parts. Thankfully, this shipment was placed in what appears to be a once-used Amazon box. More importantly, each of the parts were in separate boxes from Ford. So, this was a win.
I called FordPartGiant this morning and told them what happened. That's when the lady explained they're just a call center and don't handle any shipping or parts. They farm out the orders to dealers around the country. I told her that I was unhappy which whichever dealer provided the control arms and wanted a refund for those parts. She submitted an RMA request for me.
Sorry for the long winded rant. The moral to my story is to vet the stores you're buying parts from and ensure they have a clue on how to package and protect your purchases. Also, make sure the company offers you a way to communicate with a human regarding any issues should one arise.
Through this experience I've learned a few things about each company.
- RockAuto provides zero ways for a customer to speak with, chat with, or email concerns. The only thing they let you do is purchase parts online and return them. Nothing more and nothing less.
- FordPartsGiant is nothing more than a call center of sorts that subs out all orders to dealerships around the country. Meaning, they have no control over how orders are handled by the respective dealers. But, they do provide a phone number for you to speak with a representative about your concerns.
So, the dealership that FordPartsGiant sub'd my order out to placed all FOUR control arms for the front in a single box. That box, mind you, was used previously and was well worn at this point. They also used a couple strips of the large "bubble" wrap. It was more of the large air pockets companies like Amazon use to fill the space in a box and prevent items from shifting. Well, as you can imagine, large air pocket style bubble wrap does absolutely nothing to prevent FOUR steal control arms from moving. It also does nothing to protect the ball joints as the 57 lbs of steel parts bang around in the large box while FedEx has their way with it for a week in transit.
This is what was in the box...
More than half of the air pockets were popped by the time the box got to me. FedEx, being the amazing shipper they are, dropped the box on my doorstep and ran back to their truck. I know this because I went to open my garage when I saw the truck pull up. The driver was already back in his truck and starting it up by the time my garage door opened. I walked out of the garage and we locked eyes before he hit the gas and left. I turned as he was leaving and saw the box... and it made sense why he left in a hurry. The ball joints were loose AF and made weird noises when moved. I can't trust the integrity of those ball joints.
As upset as I was/am with the packaging/shipping job, I was irate when I realized RockAuto intentionally made it impossible to ever speak or exchange thoughts with a human. So, I typed up a note on why I was returning the parts, re-taped the box, and dropped it off at the local shipping store. We'll see how they process the return.
Now, I immediately called FordPartsGiant as soon as I walked inside after opening that box from RockAuto and asked how they were planning to package the rear control arms. The lady simply said they haven't received the parts yet from Ford and couldn't tell me how they would be packaged. Fair enough. I told her I'd wait for delivery and we'd go from there.
Fast forward 4 days... I was outside cleaning/reorganizing my garage as I was awaiting the package from FordPartsGiant along with my new QuickJack 7000TLX lift. Thankfully, I was out there when the FedEx driver rolled up. I met him at the back of his truck and I'm glad I did. The box from FordPartGiant containing the (2) rear control arms was worse than the other box from RockAuto. There was a big hole on the side of it allowing me to put my entire hand inside. Again, the ball joints made clicking noises and the box was older than me (and I'm not young). The driver looked at me and the box and asked if I wanted to accept it. Ummm... no. Please send it back to the shipper.
The next day, I received another package from FordPartsGiant with the remaining trailing arms and other rear suspension parts. Thankfully, this shipment was placed in what appears to be a once-used Amazon box. More importantly, each of the parts were in separate boxes from Ford. So, this was a win.
I called FordPartGiant this morning and told them what happened. That's when the lady explained they're just a call center and don't handle any shipping or parts. They farm out the orders to dealers around the country. I told her that I was unhappy which whichever dealer provided the control arms and wanted a refund for those parts. She submitted an RMA request for me.
Sorry for the long winded rant. The moral to my story is to vet the stores you're buying parts from and ensure they have a clue on how to package and protect your purchases. Also, make sure the company offers you a way to communicate with a human regarding any issues should one arise.
