Beware of on-line parts supplier

[scouseman]

I need some rear brake components for my Merc E350, did the usual research on which brands are used by Mercedes themselves and then looked for an on-line seller. I came upon "buycarparts.co.uk", they showed an excellent choice of products from the best German OEM's, free delivery etc and in-stock status. Placed my order and after more time than I expected the parts arrived from Germany not the UK which the site ID implied. Fair enough, the parts are made there so thats fine. Opened the box and apart from the Bosch wear indicator the pads and disks came from some totally mysterious supplier called Stark (not the one who makes the flying robot suits but they could well be as no search engines show any information about the company). The boxes had no identification of origin just a few GmbH signs here and there which made me suspicious that these were little re-assuring red herrings. A quick search shows up other people having the same experience with this outfit i.e. order brake parts, find the delivery is a "higher priced" substitute from Stark - so maybe its not new on here and the warning has been issued before. Now I dont know about you guys but for me, tyres and brakes are the highest priority for me on a car and there is no way I would fit unknown quality components. They offer a 14 day return policy, which is a bit obscure to follow (but not that unusual for German companies) but to make matters worse the return shipping cost is ending up almost 30% of the price of the kit due to the weight, so even assuming that I get a full refund I'll be out of pocket anyway - no refund of return post.

So be very careful and use buycarparts in full knowledge that you may not get what you ordered.

Keith

 

[noogieman]

before you placed the order, each part shown on the webshop is labeled with it's own brand.
Lemforder - Febi - Meyle etc. etc.

When you click on each part you wanted to buy, what manufacturers brand show up?
I would never buy and install unknown brands on my car.

Maybe the shady brake parts you bought where put into a known brand parts box?
Stark brake pads put in a Brembo box or..........???

 

[Codger49]

Is that right that the customer has to pay return postage when the supplier has not provided the parts that were ordered?

 

[Deletedmember130310]

Claim a refund off your credit card company and send the package back with no postage paid..

 

[nick mercedes]

Claim a refund off your credit card company

It's not that simple.

send the package back with no postage paid..

How would one do that?

 

[scouseman]

before you placed the order, each part shown on the webshop is labeled with it's own brand.
Lemforder - Febi - Meyle etc. etc.

When you click on each part you wanted to buy, what manufacturers brand show up?
I would never buy and install unknown brands on my car.

Maybe the shady brake parts you bought where put into a known brand parts box?
Stark brake pads put in a Brembo box or..........???

Their website lists a large list of known OEM brands, I went for ATE and cleverly the order acknowledgement doesnt show what I actually ordered, this Stark substitution is a deliberate piece of profiterring disguised as them doing you a favour..bunch of crooks basically which I sadly fell for hook line and sinker but anyway guys you have been warned! By the way there was no shame on their part, the parts are in clearly labelled "Stark" boxes so not trying to steal somebody elses brand.
Keith

 

[noogieman]

shady scammers.
we should avoid this shop!

 

[Will]

FWIW,

I ordered some suspension parts for the 911 from Autodoc (same company)

Excellent pricing - I'm talking 1/5th of the price for an identical OE part (made by Sachs/Lemforder).

They contacted me soon after the order to explain that the part I ordered was out of stock, but they could supply me with the Sachs part and offered to refund some of the money too (their prices fluctuate on a daily basis, when I first ordered the Sachs part was more expensive!)

These two parts are 100% identical, same manufacturer (both ZF brands). One comes with Sachs packaging and the other Lemforder.

Items arrived well packaged and promptly.

Very happy with the service. I think sometimes you get the odd hiccup with any company to be honest.

 

[Steveml63]

Hi,
Distance selling regulations apply - even if you buy things from a German supplier.
If not as described - then you are entitled to a full refund and they must pay shipping costs.
If you purchase with credit card - then contact them for a chargeback
FAQs - Guarantees and returns - Your Europe
Cheers
Steve

 

[Doodle]

I've had similar experience to Will - a phone call later that day to let me know they were expecting stock from the manufacturer, and asking whether I was ok to wait a couple of days or if I would prefer a refund.

 

[markjay]

How would one do that?

I did this once, through a mistake made by the lady at the post office counter (she stamped the wrong package), and it worked... my package arrived at its destination with no postal stamps whatsoever. Odd. I would have expected them to at least request the cost form the recipient, but they did not.

But on a practical note, the standard thing to do in cases where you wish to return goods but get embroiled in a dispute with the supplier, is to let the supplier know that the 'goods are ready for collection' and that if they do not make arrangements to collect them within xx days you will discard the goods.

 

[Steveml63]

But on a practical note, the standard thing to do in cases where you wish to return goods but get embroiled in a dispute with the supplier, is to let the supplier know that the 'goods are ready for collection' and that if they do not make arrangements to collect them within xx days you will discard the goods.

........as long as you have already received the refund from your credit card company!

 

[wu56Shoozz]

Its funny how the proverbial "Horse has bolted" thread appears..

I'm in the middle of a job right now, and my van threw a wobbly and broke a front spring.. I looked on line and was advised by Autodoc to buy springs off "Buy Car Parts,co .uk" as they had them in stock and available within 24hours.. almost a week later and I still haven't received my springs or strut tops and their customer service sucks as they have to date ignored 3 emails with proof of payment requesting further information..instead I got an email saying that my items were dispatched and when you log on to the tracker NOTHING/NADA!! Overall not impressed and my van lies broken awaiting repair....

 

[wu56Shoozz]

UPDATE:

So the parts are listed as available and to be dispatched within 24 hours - and guess what? They don't have the relevant parts in stock and subsequently sent out an inferior spring called KYC(?) and won't accept a return or refund? Really?? A Call to the credit card company is in order of the day me thinks canceling payment...

 

[optimusprime]

Lot of this going on .I see items that look like what i am looking for only to find its made by some no brand company. A well know company on the bay show you a Bosch part and at the bottom it said , unles stated by the buyer any of these three types will be sent .So if you dont say,in message to the seller, that it must be a Bosch , you could get Febi or Meyle these are cheaper to buy than the Bosch item. So look out when buying on the fleabay .

 

[selphy]

The OPs experience seems to be the modus operandi of this company. You select your preferred brand, marvel at the excellent price and place your order. Then they send you some cheap rubbish instead and show you on their website that its more expensive than the brand you ordered. You then either fit them and hope for the best (Stark brakes on a Mercedes, I don't think so) or spend time and effort getting your money back.

I buy from the Mercedes dealer or ECP only now.

 

[nick mercedes]

UPDATE:

So the parts are listed as available and to be dispatched within 24 hours - and guess what? They don't have the relevant parts in stock and subsequently sent out an inferior spring called KYC(?)

KYB?

If so don't worry too much KYB are a proper company.

 

[wu56Shoozz]

Not to sure on that one Nick.. I'm sure it was KY Jelly or something like that.. the guy mumbled on the phone.. I ordered Bilstien springs hence that's what I'd expect and not an inferior branding..if you see what I mean.

 

[horatio]

This happened to me as well. Ordered an OEM water pump, got a "Stark" which looked crappy.

It's a deliberate ploy. The Stark part is priced very expensive. When you complain, they reply with something along the lines of... we sent it to save time and you are lucky because it's a more expensive part.

Bloody irritating because the delivery takes a week from Germany and you have to battle them to pay up for return P&P.

 

[Will]

Well it differed from my experience - they contacted me personally by phone (and spoke very good English!) and also a follow up email too. The part was the one I wanted and they didn't need to offer me a partial refund either - but they did.

I think when you run tight margins and deal in high volumes of parts to a worldwide audience it's inevitable stock levels will sometimes cause hiccups.

I don't think there's anything dishonest or untoward on their part though.

I've had similar experiences with other European suppliers (Mister Auto etc). Usually good service and keen pricing. Have had more hassles with some of the well known UK suppliers to be fair!

You pay your money and take your choice. If you're buying at the very cheapest possible price (and from abroad) you can't expect the same level of service as say a main dealer.

IMHO of course