When I bought my 75 GMC I noticed someone very recently had installed a new front right brake hose. I knew it was fairly new because it was shiny and new looking against the rest of the truck's undercarriage. A few days after I bought it I was underneath the truck and I noticed that this hose was already starting to go bad. The rubber was starting to pull away from the metal crimps. The brand name of the hose "SUNSONG".
Chinese junk. I wondered why anyone would put such a cheap part on such a nice truck.
So I decided to treat the truck to a brake job with new hoses. I hopped on Rock Auto and selected the best brands. Raybestos and AC Delco parts filled my cart. Interestingly enough, SUNSONG was a very cheap option, but I just laughed and said "never".
One week later my package arrives, two raybestos boxes (front left and front right) and one AC Delco box (Rear center)
Here's where it gets weird. In one raybestos box was a high quality raybestos hose. The quality was apparent in just looking and feeling the part, gold anodized ends, etc.. Inside the OTHER raybestos box was a cheap Chinese SUNSONG part.
And as if that isn't bad enough, I opened up the third hose, an AC DELCO box.... only to find a SUNSONG part. I was furious. I had just waited one week to receive the wrong parts. Cheaper versions of what I paid good money for.
So I call rock auto and I tell the guy: "I didn't get the parts I ordered". But he says "yes you did" and I said NO I didn't, and proceeded to tell him that inferior parts were inside the premium part box. He says I'm sorry but you got what you ordered, and went on this whole spill about manufacturers sourcing parts from other companies, and that its "such a common thing" etc. etc. I argued with the guy for about 20 minutes but it was no use.
I asked him to a) send me the exact name brand part I ordered or B) refund the difference in price in the AC Delco part I ordered and the Sunsong part I could have ordered. No, he said, he wouldn't do that. He kept saying I technically received an AC delco part. No amount of arguing my point to this guy would help. I was extremely unsatisfied and I was surprised at the persistence of the operator that was so unwilling to make it right.
I was very angry. I asked him how he would feel if he ordered Oakley sunglasses and he received sunglasses out of a Mcdonalds happy meal. He said if Oakley sourced sunglasses from mcdonalds and Oakley tested and confirmed that the mcdonalds sunglasses were of equal or better quality, then he would be satisfied. I replied, bull$%(*^.
So in conclusion. Do not order parts from rock auto, and if you must, order them for vehicles you don't really care about, and order the absolute cheapest part brand available, because that's probably what you'll get even if you order the premium brand. If you order your parts locally, at least you can open the box right there and decline if its not right.