Rock Auto for e30 parts

[joonsup]

Just need a platform to vent. Back in November I found out my radiator was leaking so after doing some research I wanted to go with a BEHR radiator. It seemed to be a little difficult to find but I came across the rock auto site and used the catalog to find a list of radiators that fell under my car's category which was a 1989 325i 2.5L Manual with AC. Here's the BEHR radiator that the catalog told me would fit.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4818027&cc=1011698&jsn=1

My dumbass trusted them and once the package arrived I left it sealed since I wasn't sure when I would have time to work on the car. Fast forward a few months to this past weekend. Upon opening the box my friend and I noticed that the inlet and outlet positions were opposite from where it is on the oem radiators.

I called rock auto yesterday to try to convince them that this radiator is not for my car even though according to their system it should fit. I was basically told that it was my fault for not following the footnote that shows the dimensions of the radiator....550x34x470 and compare it with what I need.

How the hell am I supposed to know what the dimensions are of my radiator unless I take it out? On realoem it only shows the "550" dimension. When I checked out the other brands they listed for sale for my car, the inlet/outlet configuration was correct. Only the BEHR radiator had the incorrect configuration.

I thought that maybe that the radiator I bought was for the "e" and not "i" but when I do a search that's not it either. After 2 calls to rockauto and an email, they seem to not want to help resolve this and is adamant that it is up to me to verify that dimensions are what I need.

I guess I found out the hard way but I still felt it was unfair and would have been nice of them to help me out in this circumstance. At least a clear footnote next to the product saying that the radiator will not fit ALL 1989 325i 5 speed with AC vehicles would have caught my attention.

Now I need to try and figure out which car the radiator is for so I can try and sell it to recoup some of the money lost. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and end rant.

[AudioNToxication]

Rock auto has been nothing but problems for me.
I generally stick to autohaus az
Sorry to hear about your problems.
Id call them and tell them you just need to return it even if its for store credit.
im sure they can manage to not fuck up supplying you some rinky dink things like brake pads or whatever

[AndrewBird]

Why not just return it?

[joonsup]

Why not just return it?

I bought it end of nov so its past the return date. They wont even let ne exchange so im stuck with it

[MR E30 325is]

Rockauto gets a thumbs down from me as well.

Poor interaction with them around 7 or 8 years ago.

There are too many websites out there supplying e30 parts to avoid messing with Rockauto.

Another plus 1 for Autohausaz.com as well.

[AndrewBird]

I've only bought a few things from them, but have never had any issues. I've never had to deal with their customer service though.

[Aleman]

Sorry to hear about Rock Auto sucking. I am a huge fan of BMA. They ship super fast and have good prices. I bought a Nissens radiator for my '90 325is manual about 5 years ago, and it's still working fine.

Here's your radiator:

http://www.bmaparts.com/ShopByVehicle.epc?q=&makeid=bmw%40%40BMW&yearid=1989%40%401989&modelid=325i%40%40325i&pttypeid=radiator@@Radiator&mode=PA

[Shangsta]

I dont know how you paid for it but if you used your credit card call them and see if they can do anything about the charge for you

[joonsup]

Sorry to hear about Rock Auto sucking. I am a huge fan of BMA. They ship super fast and have good prices. I bought a Nissens radiator for my '90 325is manual about 5 years ago, and it's still working fine.

Here's your radiator:
http://www.bmaparts.com/ShopByVehicl...diator&mode=PA

Thanks for the link. Im actually looking for a behr branded radiator. If its that hard to find one for my car ill just pick up the nissen brand

[joonsup]

I dont know how you paid for it but if you used your credit card call them and see if they can do anything about the charge for you

Yeah i dont think thatll help unless i had an amex card. Its my fault for opening the box 3 months after i got it. Thats the main kicker as to why they wont help out. But if i was the vendor i would at least exchange it as a sign of goodwill.

[SkiFree]

So if I understand correctly you relied on their automated parts system and it failed you? The massive part number databases that larger online parts websites use for fitment are riddled with errors. You found one such error. Places like RockAuto are banking on the fact that most will buy from the cheapest option, to them it's worth the trade off of not having to staff marque-experts (and increase costs).

Bummed for you though, it's got to be a frustrating headache.

[TobyB]

I've done stuff like that before- "Hey, look the brake pads are here, I'll just leave that box unopened for, like, 6 months and then take it to the track on the weekend I really need them."

Yeah, that didn't work out so well for me, either. I DID get to exchange them, but
that didn't help on the weekend I needed them... Turned out it was my own damned fault, too.

Now I open and check stuff when it comes in... usually...

t

[joonsup]

So if I understand correctly you relied on their automated parts system and it failed you? The massive part number databases that larger online parts websites use for fitment are riddled with errors. You found one such error. Places like RockAuto are banking on the fact that most will buy from the cheapest option, to them it's worth the trade off of not having to staff marque-experts (and increase costs).

Bummed for you though, it's got to be a frustrating headache.

Yeah that's correct. Out of the 7 radiators that popped up for my car the one i bought wa the most expensive albeit the one that didnt match up to my current radiator.

Maybe I got too spoiled ordering stuff from autohaus, pelican, bma, fcpeuro, and rmeuropean because with them I also relied on their database and trusted that the results that popped up would work unless there were footnotes that specifically said that it was for certain models/years.

I normally would have gone with the other vendors mentioned above but rock auto was the only place where the BEHR brand was an option.

Lesson learned. Their prices are really good but customer service has to be neck and neck tied for first place with comcast

[joonsup]

I've done stuff like that before- "Hey, look the brake pads are here, I'll just leave that box unopened for, like, 6 months and then take it to the track on the weekend I really need them."

Yeah, that didn't work out so well for me, either. I DID get to exchange them, but
that didn't help on the weekend I needed them... Turned out it was my own damned fault, too.

Now I open and check stuff when it comes in... usually...

t

Yeah ill be doing that as well for sure. At least you got to exchange it yours. That's what I was hoping for as well. And even when they said no I asked if there was ANYTHING they could do to alleviate this situation and they said sorry they cannot. In my mind i was thinking maybe a discount on the correct radiator if i bought from them or free shipping, etc...

I mean I've ordered an incorrect part before in the past but that was due to my dumbass not reading something correctly whether it was the brand, etc..

[AndrewBird]

It's also a good idea to open things right away to check for damage due to shipping.