In a message dated 12/21/00 2:19:11 AM Eastern Standard Time,
hazman@harborside.com writes:
> > I am curious about members of the list who buy parts online.
>
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I missed the original message, but here is my experience. I order almost all
of my parts for my MG Midget from vendors on the Internet. These are not
necessarily big companies, but distributors for the big guys. These
suppliers are usually in the business of restoring cars and do a nice side
line selling parts, sometimes from inventory and sometimes drop shipped. My
experience has been fantastic with these guys. Orders appear quickly, there
is always a discount offered from the catalog price, there are no shipping
charges, mistakes are handled promptly, and if I have a technical question,
they are there to offer help.
I have ordered parts for my Mitsubishi from Carparts.com and Wrenchhead.com.
Both are decent companies, but I get the impression they are too big to
handle my little orders. There is no personal feel at all, and if you have a
problem (I have, and they were all cleared up eventually) you wind up talking
to several people to get it straightened out. I always had to start at the
beginning every time I got a new person, despite having the order numbers.
One other thing I learned was never mix parts for two different cars on the
same order! WOW, did that confuse the process.
I also found that pricing at my local NAPA store is as good or better than
most of the on-line companies. Not on every product, but a good majority.
I'll look up the parts on-line, then buy them locally. Also check out
www.napaonline.com.
Just my 2 pence. YMMV!
Allen Hefner
Philly Region SCCA Rally Steward
'77 MG Midget
'92 Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport
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