[e90yyc]

It was only a matter of time… FCP blog post here.

Two key differences:

1. No more cash refunds. You will receive store credit instead that can be used for a future purchase.
2. No more price protection. What you paid when you bought the part is exactly what you’ll get in the future, regardless of whether the price goes up or down.

Thanks to Leucosticte for sending me this link.

UPDATE:

Originally Posted by Raptor04

FCP has revised their new policy implementation date.
New policy wont go into affect until 1 Nov. For any orders placed prior to that date, they will still honor the original LRG terms. That's a great change for current customers and I thank FCP Euro for doing that. They still have the best customer service of any company I've ever dealt with....especially in the consumer auto parts industry.

[Nickco43]

Looks like I am going to buy everything of rock auto from now on.

[e90yyc]

It’s kind of fucking lame to be perfectly honest. I can understand maybe doing away with the “price protection” side of it, but the whole store credit thing sucks.

I can only assume this is being done primarily due to abuse. People buying high-value parts like injectors or whatever and then sending back counterfeit or otherwise-altered used ones and then selling the replacement set. Lots of other possible examples or variations of this. Getting store credit does a great job of removing the incentive to cheat the system though!

The ideal solution would be better program oversight, but they have grown exponentially in recent years and I’m sure this just isn’t realistic.

It’s a shame. First PayPal ditches Return Shipping on Us and now this shit, haha…

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

Looks like I am going to buy everything of rock auto from now on.

Shipping on Rock Auto still kinda sucks though. Having to pay individual shipping for items if they come from different warehouses is annoying. Their return policy is also mediocre.

Great parts catalog though.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

It’s kind of fucking lame to be perfectly honest. I can understand maybe doing away with the “price protection” side of it, but the whole store credit thing sucks.

I can only assume this is being done primarily due to abuse. People buying high-value parts like injectors or whatever and then sending back counterfeit or otherwise-altered used ones and then selling the replacement set. Lots of other possible examples or variations of this. Getting store credit does a great job of removing the incentive to cheat the system though!

The ideal solution would be better program oversight, but they have grown exponentially in recent years and I’m sure this just isn’t realistic.

It’s a shame. First PayPal ditches Return Shipping on Us and now this shit, haha…

I'm going with free oil changes as the cause...

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

It’s kind of fucking lame to be perfectly honest. I can understand maybe doing away with the “price protection” side of it, but the whole store credit thing sucks.

I can only assume this is being done primarily due to abuse. People buying high-value parts like injectors or whatever and then sending back counterfeit or otherwise-altered used ones and then selling the replacement set. Lots of other possible examples or variations of this. Getting store credit does a great job of removing the incentive to cheat the system though!

The ideal solution would be better program oversight, but they have grown exponentially in recent years and I’m sure this just isn’t realistic.

It’s a shame. First PayPal ditches Return Shipping on Us and now this shit, haha…

100%. The price protection I understand but the credit thing is such a joke. They should also have at least grandfathered old orders because some people have ordered from there knowing they had the lifetime refund warranty.

And then you will have people blame it on the customers and doing free oil changes when the reality is FCP could have simply excluded the oil changes or consumable items if that was really the problem. People always get fucked over by companies in this capitalistic society, companies are never held accountable.

[StradaRedlands]

FCP burnt me last month when I bought an alternator... it was listed as correct for my car, but in fact the amperage was too low. They credited me when I returned it, but I had to pay shipping which was $52.

Eff them, I bought the replacement on Amazon for cheaper and no core charge. I'll still purchase some things from them, but previously they were my go-to even if it was a bit higher or available elsewhere.

[Serf27]

Partsgeek is good.
Ordered an AC compressor from them and called to see if it was pre oiled and they answered right away.
I see they don’t pay for return shipping on incorrect or damaged items anymore.

I go to ECS tuning for specific parts I can’t find elsewhere.

[mainbearing]

Must be the inflation. Someone said in a gripe post what FCP does was not sustainable.

Rockauto is not without its problems especially in rare cases when you need customer service. Overall I am fine with them and the price is highly competitive, and the parts are fresh when production dates are visible (and not something that has been on a shelf for ages kind like a couple times FCP parts looked like, and I was done with FCP).

I heard shippers are charging more for shipping these days too. Looks like this is not going to end any time soon.

[e90yyc]

It’s weak because they also appear to have switched from FedEx to UPS for international shipping. FedEx was 2-day to Canada, and now UPS is like 5…

[Raptor04]

Well that's probably going to cut down on lifetime guarantee returns. Love FCP but not a fan of this no notice change.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

It’s weak because they also appear to have switched from FedEx to UPS for international shipping. FedEx was 2-day to Canada, and now UPS is like 5…

Ha for me it's actually faster but what I don't like it's more expensive. When I asked about them they said it was a business decision few months ago.

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by Raptor04

Well that's probably going to cut down on lifetime guarantee returns. Love FCP but not a fan of this no notice change.

Agreed. They’ve still been good to me, but it would be great if they grandfathered old orders in…

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Raptor04

Well that's probably going to cut down on lifetime guarantee returns. Love FCP but not a fan of this no notice change.

Yeah I was wondering... idk if I missed an email but if they don't send anything it's pretty low.

Sucks overall love their concept of paying less with OE and and all that, never had issues, good service but not going to choose this if I can get the same thing much cheaper elsewhere.

[bmw335ie90]

FCP was way too lax on what they accepted as returns. It sucks for sure, especially for expensive things that I purchased from them like a HPFP but it's not surprising at all. The policy should have been strictly for failures but it turned into making FCP pay for consumable parts. FCP is 5% more expensive than its competitors so its an easy choice just to order elsewhere moving forward.

[Kenneykickin]

I do like fcp, very organized but the 10-20+ premium they charge in all items to compensate the lifetime guarantee is not worth it IMO. They’ve been pretty crappy lately IMO regarding that with the store credit…

They denied a liquid moly oil return because I switched from 0-40 to 5-40 kit was within a $1.00 usd off from each other and they would not honor the return.. same brand oil, same quantity same oil filter..

Lame IMO. Same brand just car runs better off the 5-40. Said nope.

Plus, they don’t pay return shipping. To ship the return oil back costs a good 30+ it’s heavy. So you’ll get about 30 bucks credit back from a $70 oil change kit.

I mean sure it’s something but it’s far from how they market it. Newbies will take it as.. buy it once and never again. Not really the case.

[Kenneykickin]

No price match protection huh? Well what about some index 12s that were bought for around $175 each will they honor the $500+ refund credit?

They better..

[e90yyc]

Kenneykickin Ehh… Not trying to be a dick here but they say identical part, so I’m not sure why it surprised you that they denied your oil change refund when you switched to a non-identical product. And of course they don’t pay for return shipping. Why the heck would they do that…?

I don’t follow your question about the injectors. Will they honour what credit? The new policy works like this:

You buy Part A for $10. You use it; it breaks two years later. You go back to FCP and buy another Part A, but it’s now $15. You pay the $15. You then send back the broken part, at which point FCP issues you a store credit equal to the amount you originally paid—$10.

Obviously I’m not happy about the changes either, but to be very frank I wish they had just said fuck it with the oil change and brake pad BS, and kept the original policy intact for the majority of their catalog.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

Shipping on Rock Auto still kinda sucks though. Having to pay individual shipping for items if they come from different warehouses is annoying. Their return policy is also mediocre.

Great parts catalog though.

Love rockauto. Yeah, these days I mostly look at how much I’m saving by doing my own work and consider the cost of the parts mostly a wash. They’re not cheap, for sure, but boxing used rotors up and paying for shipping - there just isn’t enough time in the day for those savings.

But I have young kids, so ymmv.

[StradaRedlands]

Pelican Parts is good for us West Coasties. Their website has a Geocities feel to it, but their phone support is the best ever. I only went with FCP over them for warranty, plus better UI on their site. But will be doing a lot more from PP.

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

... People always get fucked over by companies in this capitalistic society, companies are never held accountable.

FCP ain't exactly Exxon, Apple or Walmart. WHO says YOU or I are entitled to a "Free Lunch". Unrealistic marketing ploy -- NOT sustainable. They were going BROKE if they tried to sustain "Lifetime" this/that. ONLY works when folks trade or wreck a car every 2 or 3 years.

Probably began as a marketing pitch to justify HIGHER Price than other Vendors. Walmart & Amazon (#1 & #2 in US in Revenue) have gotten that ranking by selling reasonably-priced products efficiently, NOT marketing gimmicks.
George

[EyeGuy]

Bad situation for the consumer if you were having a shop remove and install the part.