76olds

Bought upper and lower ball joints, Tie rods, etc. Fel-pro valve cover gaskets, valley pan gasket, t-stat and a few other parts, all from Rock Auto . Not really happy with Rock Auto at the moment. Their shipping charges of each item was a bit much in my opinion being shipped from different outlets it seems. However, it was delivered to my door for a little more than the cost to buy here, and I received the proper parts. Unlike some of our part sources up here in Canada. They can never seem to get the proper part the first time around here.
Anyway, all the parts I ordered are made in China!!!! I realise these parts are aftermarket but, I figured the Moog stuff would have been made in the U.S.A
See how long they last.

Eric

Tuffnut

Eric, I had the same problem, I stopped buying some parts from them as they came from different warehouses, Free shipping from Summit to my US mailbox, usually over a certain price, had to do the price comparison. For one off parts I use my local shop as they are very good getting the parts right the first time. Looks like you are going to busy.

Jeff

joe_padavano

All the brand names are Chinesium now. Moog, Raybestos, Wagner, it doesn't matter. NAPA Premium is the same, which really cheezed me off after I paid extra for them.

jaunty75

Just bought two Wix filters for my '13 Nissan Frontier. Cabin filter and engine air filter. Both made in China. But the boxes talk all about how Wix has been around since 1954 or whatever.

The Wix brand is now owned by a German company.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mann%2BHummel

76olds

I don't think I will be making a big order purchase with them again Jeff. I don't mind paying shipping costs, but,.... to get dinged that much from Rock Auto for Chinese parts kinda pi$$ed me off this time.
I ordered the 1 5/16 front sway bar from Summit to go with the rear one I installed last summer. The car is coming together, Have a few months left to try finishing it up before I uncover it.
My future purchases will be made through Summit again. Not worth trying to save a few bucks and then get hit with crazy shipping costs . My own fault though, I didn't take the time to look at the final price with shipping or I would have cancelled the order.
I have bought a few parts from Napa here in, but always seems to be a problem, Either not in stock or its Car Quest stuff. I figured I was getting some U.S.A parts. Had I known, I probably would have just bought the Car Quest China stuff locally for less $$.

jaunty75

All the brands are just that now. They have long been absorbed into larger conglomerates. Moog is/was owned by Federal-Mogul, but that company was bought last April by Tenneco.

Note all the name brands listed on this page. They're just brands. The actual parts could be made anywhere in the world.

https://www.fmmotorparts.com/brands.html

76olds

I wish I had known. I kinda pi$$ed off myself. I guess they have us where they want us. I will pay more attention to prices in the future. I would be rippin mad also if I payed extra for the China stuff.
I guess were stuck with Chinese parts going forward damit.

76olds

Thanks for the list !.
I paid a shop to do 90% of the work on our lite blue Olds so I didn't pay any attention to what or where the parts came from. However, since I'm doing 90% my other 76 myself, I'm trying to use mostly U.S or Canadian made parts.
I don't mind paying a little extra, but as Joe mentioned, we get screwed either way. Can only hope I won't have to do all this work again in 8 years from now at age 60 haha.
I'm having a hard time getting started and finished up as it is @ 52 after a 55-60 hr work week.
That list will certainly help going foward!
Cheers,
Eric

76olds

These Moog boxes have " Official Steering & Suspension of Nascar " Exclusively for North America. I guess they must be made in a China " A" plant with proper inspection. Or I'm just hoping they are haha.

Fun71

Yeah, after you realize that the parts may be shipped from different locations, all with their own shipping charges, you learn to pay attention to the details. Just last week I ordered brake parts for the Jeep and noticed that there was an icon showing A, B, C for the various shipping locations, so I kept going back and changing brands to see if I could get everything from the same warehouse. I was able to get it down to 2 warehouses so the shipping was reasonable. It still came out significantly cheaper than buying the same parts from the local store, with a bonus of no tax. If I need parts quickly I buy locally, but if I can wait I try to shop around.

And yeah, the Raybestos brake shoes were marked "Made in China". I don't like it, but what can you do?

joe_padavano

I always spend a few minutes pricing orders from RA, Amazon, NAPA, and local sources before buying. Takes me maybe 15 minutes on the computer. I don't know where you live, but here the sales tax from a local purchase about covers shipping for anything other than big cast iron parts like rotors and brake drums. I also pay attention to delivery times. And if you pay attention on RA, you will notice that some items come from the same warehouse and some do not. If the choice is between Raybestos or Wagner, for example, I pick the one with the lowest price delivered to my door. I also take into account my time and gas costs if I buy locally. None of the local stores ever have what I need in stock, so I end up making two trips (at least). Even when I check their website, the fact that the part shows being in stock doesn't mean it will actually be in the store. And order by P/N, not by the on-line applications catalog from the site - there are too many errors in those.

Weezer

I commented on another thread about this same thing last week. The reality is that small-batch service parts are a huge hassle for US plants to make, as plants in the US will be more geared towards high-volume serial production parts. I work for a major OEM supplier, so I see it first-hand.

I had a wheel bearing last a whole year on my '05 Lesabre, even after paying extra for what I thought would be better quality and last the remaining life of the car. Nope.

joe_padavano

I learned this the hard way also. The extra that you pay for the "premium" parts does not buy higher quality parts. It just pays for a longer insurance policy (warranty) for what are pretty much the same parts. I paid nearly 2X for the NAPA Premium rear drums for my dually. They were still Chinesium and still out of round straight from the box.

olds 307 and 403

I find Rock Auto actually ends up cheaper from Saskatchewan than Summit. It must have to do with warehouse placement, most parts are much cheaper at RA but almost 0 performance parts available. Moroso is a good example. It used to be a family owned company just a few years ago with mostly quality US made parts. Now all the same as everyone else, bought for the brand name. I wouldn't use their 7 quart Olds pan for a catch can for used oil, let alone a $5000+ motor. The US made Canton pan is far superior but more money.

zeeke

I've had good and bad luck with rock auto and sometimes I wonder why I use them when Advanced Auto is 1000 feet from my house and before my friend with the shop passed I would buy under his account. Lower cost when he was buying thousands a month. It's tough to deal with the counter guys at times but it's better than eating parts because it's not cost effective to send them back. Time, fuel, shipping it all comes into play. When you say Oldsmobile to a kid behind the counter and his response is "yea, but what make?'' you know you're in for a rough time. Like Joe says, sometimes parts aren't in stock and have to be ordered. Not to rub it in but not an issue for me to take a second trip. Sometimes they can't get the parts because they no longer stock them. That's when I have to go to Rock Auto.

Tried to use the local guy but he's 3 miles and 20 minutes away in one direction. They also never stock stuff for a 71 Cutlass, so automatically it's 2 trips. Can't say I blame them since they probably only supply 2 a year if that much. No one will order parts without you paying first in my area so the phone call doesn't work, hence the 2 trips. Advanced gives you the good, better, best option as well, same as Rock Auto and if it's not in stock it's usually next day.

joe_padavano

Unfortunately for me, it's at least an hour round trip to the nearest auto parts stores. I have little free time as it is, and wasting it on multiple trips is a non-starter.

rustyroger

If I want anything I either have to pay the premium prices from specialist American auto parts suppliers, cross refer part numbers, actually quite easy for spark plugs, filters and other frequently rep[laced parts or use Rock Auto, Summit, or other suppliers who will ship overseas. It's a 3000 mile round trip to the nearest American Auto parts store for Europeans.
It's fair to say finding suppliers willing to ship international is easier as more vendors use Paypal.
Sadly it's next to impossible to verify country of origin for the parts I buy, more and more, parts are made from Chinesium. But I either suck it up or go without. Too bad for me.

Roger.

droptopron

Jeez Zeeke, I know Nassau county can be bad, but where is it taking you 20 mins to go three miles? You could get there faster by bike.

For nickel & dime stuff I have Advance & Autozone five minutes away. Parts Plus is a few minutes away for better advice and harder to get stuff. I've used Rock Auto in the past. Their shipping can run up but they are transparent with it.

Fun71

I always look up the part number on the store's web site first, then call and check if they have part number XXX in stock. If they do, I then go the store and tell the counter clerk "I just called about part number XXX" and bypass having them try to look it up.

oldsonharmont

I went with Moog on my recent suspension rebuild and the quality and performance appear to be the same. Unfortunately many of the traditional 'made in USA' brands have gone off shore. You might take a look at Pro Forged, but I'm not sure if they're USA made or not.

Koda

I do like to have part numbers in hand. Those auto parts guys just use the computer. They have no skill.

dream66

A Pro Forged rep explained on another forum that there is no way any of the U.S A. aftermarket manufacturers can compete with Chinese sourced parts. So, except for a few specialty items; all manufacturing is being outsourced to Asia and India. The difference with some brands is the quality control requirements in the contracts with the outsourced manufacturer.

And yes; Pro Forge outsources and they have strict QA compliance requirements.

76olds

[QUOTE=joe_padavano;1155711]I always spend a few minutes pricing orders from RA, Amazon, NAPA, and local sources before buying. Takes me maybe 15 minutes on the computer. I don't know where you live, I also pay attention to delivery times. And if you pay attention on RA, you will notice that some items come from the same warehouse and some do not.

I'm in Canada. This was a good lesson learned for me. I never really paid much attention to costs over the years, however, saving for retirement is now high on my list of things to do. Its time I need to start paying attention. I could have save $55.00 had I done some price comparisons.
I wouldn't be so pi$$ed with myself if the were made in U.S.A or Canada. Now, since everything has gone chinesium, I will be shopping around going forward. I have no intentions on spending U.S dollars to drop into the Chinese economy anymore than need be.

redoldsman

I just received two spin on oil filters from Rock Auto today. Labeled right on the filter it said Made in USA. Even with Rock Auto's high shipping they were considerably less than Amazon or O'Reilly. It helps that RA does not charge sales tax.

Fun71

I found the same just last night. A headlight bulb burned out on the wife's car yesterday and a replacement D2R HID bulb is $100 at all of the local stores and online retailers. RA has the same Philips D2R bulb for $42 plus $7 shipping. So I ordered two.

70cutty

I bought steering components, balljoints and bushings for my Chevelle from Napa about a month ago. Shelled out for Napa Chassis line which cost 3x more and it's still made by Dana/Spicer, or at least it was beginning of January. Just by comparing the parts, it's obvious that they are made better quality than Moog. Every part has "MADE IN USA" stamped on it.

joe_padavano

That's good to know. We'll see how long it lasts, however. The trend is definitely in the other direction, unfortunately.

Battenrunner

I think the only other way besides the Napa Chassis line to buy "USA made" is with aftermarket performance suspension parts. Global West, Energy Suspension, etc., SPC (made in Colorado).

Lots of the other hard parts we have to just trust that the American companies keep a close eye on the foreign manufacturing Quality, tolerances, and metallurgy specs. I know we bought a bunch of ProForged parts (tall ball joints, upper and lower, pitman arm, center drag link, drag link)

droldsmorland

Where is the chineasium royal vomit emoticon!!!! Vomit Barff Vomit Barff...should have hoarded enough parts for my cars 30 years ago to last me the last part of my life...just makes me sick...china JUNK! GAH! Bring it back to the USA moron bean counters.

76olds

When I seen the made in China print all over the boxed parts I purchased, I wasn't very happy.
If I could throw that far..., I'd throw them back at them through their windows with a note stating... Keep your garbage metal parts and fasteners, we expect better than this. I'm afraid to check the hardness of these parts and if they are uniform to each other actually.
It really takes the fun out of working on my Olds and enjoying this hobby at times like this. Especially now that I'm doing most of the manual work myself, the technical install process is with the help of several members here, assisting me with questions.
I don't mind some chinesium stuff, but when it comes to safety parts, it just doesn't seem worth the effort to try to replace these parts unless they are really buggered and have to be replaced.
I'm my case, The front end parts aren't really that bad, still fairly tight. However, I just wanted to replace them before I get past the age of NOT being able to handle this type of install myself.

Allan R

I've bought countless items from Rock Auto. They all fit and worked exactly as they were supposed to. Some have been quietly going about their business providing worry free driving for over 8 years now. And, most of them were "made in China". Even the stuff that's advertised as made in USA isn't. Most is assembled in USA with parts that were sourced from off shore. So where do you draw the line? Price? Manufacturer? Source of Origin? Everyone has the right to voice their opinion so I'm saying that for me the RA parts meet or exceed my needs. The one time I had a bad part, they paid shipping for the return and got me a new part within a few days. I can't get that kind of service anywhere locally without a hassle.

Eric - my suggestion is to try the parts and see how they work. I always look to see if I can get the parts shipped from the same warehouses to cut costs. The RA website though sometimes changes the availability of parts to different warehouses to make sure they make money on the shipping. Good luck with the project. I don't think the ball joints and tie rods will be any lesser quality than you could have bought locally at NAPA or Part Source.

zeeke

You ever try running down Jerico Tpke from Floral Park to Miniola? Easy 20 minute run in 1 direction. Who's double parked, who's driving the brail method, and lights change to red faster than you can get through the last green. Don't even think about doing it when Chaminade HS is letting out. Yep totally blows.

76olds

Good to hear you have had good luck with some offshore parts for over 8 years now. I'm going to go ahead with the install and hope for the best. They are probably the same quality I would have got had I bought them from out local Canadian Tire or Napa as you mentioned.
I'm going to install them just as you mentioned in my other thread, that way I will know I installed them properly so they should last.
Thank you for the confidence building, it certainly helped!!
Cheers
Allan!

Eric

droptopron

One thing that gets lost in translation is that not every thing made in China has to suck. Sure the quality of rubber dog shyt will only be so good, but if good companies set up shop there, or take on 3rd party service providers, hopefully they exercise some quality control & perform vendor oversight.

jaunty75

A very good point that I've tried to make now and then in other threads. As we all know, auto parts are made all over the world now, not just in the U.S. or China, and all the major brands (AC Delco, Wagner, Raybestos, and a million others) use manufacturers all over the world. As a buyer, I presume that the owners of these brands have an interest in maintaining the brand's value and integrity and, thus, regardless of where the parts are made, they will make sure that they are made to the appropriate level of quality. If I buy a part with, for example, the AC Delco name on it, I assume it will be up to the quality that that brand name implies, and I will assume that until proven otherwise. If I didn't, I couldn't drive my car because it is impossible nowadays to find certain types of parts, such as brake parts, that aren't made in China.

joe_padavano

The corollary is also true. Just because the part is made in the US is no guarantee that it doesn't suck.