I bought half a truck from VIP Auto in New Hampshire about 20 years ago. One box at a time. The parts guys started to welcome me by name. Back when radiators were brass and copper, for example.
RockAuto and Dorman
- Thread starter ssn696
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Aww, now you gave it away. I was waiting for some newbie youngin asking what that meant 😉
Holley does price fixing too. Need a better price? Call the independent vendor and they adjust it. For Dorman try Amazon and have Summit price match.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018DO5PY/?tag=gbody-20
https://m.summitracing.com/search?keyword= 615-183
Make Dorman undercut themselves. Works for ARP and Walbro too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018DO5PY/?tag=gbody-20
https://m.summitracing.com/search?keyword= 615-183
Make Dorman undercut themselves. Works for ARP and Walbro too.
Dorman is probably demanding same prices to avoid marketing channel conflicts and market cannibalization. Likely the store chains are complaining to Dorman about being undersold online and Dorman would probably rather lose RA than the big chains like AZ and Advance.
Some of Dorman's quality is pretty poor. Their vac tite vacuum fittings only last a year before falling apart.
Some of Dorman's quality is pretty poor. Their vac tite vacuum fittings only last a year before falling apart.
There is still a auto parts place in my town that has a machine shop attatched that sells name brand stuff and can fix your stuff in house if need be. Heads need redone? no problem.. bushings need installed? got you covered.. try that at auto zone after they sell you the cheap crap
AFAIC, Dorman is mostly Chinese junk, anyway. They just happen to have ALMOST EVERYTHING in their catalog...
True. But if I have the choice between cheap Chinese junk and a discontinued part that I can't get anywhere else, Dorman it is. Also, they have a better warranty than some other manufacturers. Case in point, LS exhaust manifolds -- lifetime warranty. GM is 1 year IIRC. We had customers who opted for Dorman specifically for that reason. They knew they were going to cook them off of their boxtrucks anyway, might as well get free replacement.
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I know of a parts place that still has many rows of the orange drawers with the DORMAN logo built right into the customer side of the counter. In them are all sorts of fasteners and oddball parts. When you really need something- that is just invaluable- and Dorman knows that is the core of their bussiness. It also produces the HELP! and MOTORMITE line of hard to find small parts that are available everywhere. So I don't think Dorman will be stopping production any time soon. I believe they have a policy of beginning production of a part when the OEM 10 year mandated production ends. You can also petition them to produce something. I don't understand the conflict with RockAuto as the Dorman parts are usually priced the same as most other national brands unless it is a closeout item. But if RockAuto buys something in bulk, sells for less, and that works for them, so what? After all, some folks have very few choices to buy from and RockAuto is a lifeline for their vehicle. But in NYC I have endless choices for parts. Why would I pay shipping and wait a week for a part that I needed yesterday when I can get it right away for a bit more money? If anything, the cut-rate parts places that are guilty of sourcing Chinese junk parts should be held accountable. Cheapskates buy the crappy stuff and the good guys like Dorman suffer. And isn't that the real issue?
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