Auto Parts Scam in Progress

[bwringer]

After some Googling around, I recently bought a car part from a web site called 1motormart.com .

After delaying for four days (on a supposedly in-stock part), they finally shipped the part. When I received it, I discovered that the part was incorrect. It was a window regulator with a motor, but it was for a much larger vehicle and might even be for the wrong side of the car. The part was covered in dirty fingerprints, and the only packaging was a dirty, worn, unsealed plastic bag. To be fair, the bag did have the correct part number, and the photo on the web site showed the correct part.

After three phone calls and a couple of dropped connections, I finally got through to someone and asked to return the part. I noticed that the phone connection was a crappy VOIP line, and the two people I talked to both had Indian accents. They also had bad attitudes. I'm resigned to the fact that everything is outsourced to India these days, but at least they're usually pleasant.

So I got suspicious and searched around a little more...

This is typical of what I found:
http://www.epinions.com/content_315088670340

Basically, there are at least a couple dozen web sites operated by some boiler room in India that sells and haphazardly drop ships auto parts. Some people seem to get what they ordered, some people get the wrong part and get burned by a 20% "restocking" fee, and some people get nothing. Some people end up sending back an incorrect part and then getting burned totally.

I am likely in the process of getting burned totally (other than whatever protection my credit card offers). When I called, they said they would email me an RMA number and instructions in a day or two, and it appears this is a common stalling tactic.

Here are just some of the sites operated by these bozos -- there are many more:
ALL OEM PARTS, INC.
www.thepartsbin.com
www.autopartswarehouse.com
Car-stuff.com
racepages.com
speedyperformanceparts.com
All OEM Volvo Parts.Com (also alloemWHATEVERparts.com for most car makes)
Autopartswarehouse
Parts Bin, LLP
Race Pages
The Parts Bin

The sad part is that they could be great -- the sites are actually pretty nice and easy to use, and the prices are OK. The part pictured on the site when I ordered was correct.

So stay away, my fellow GS-ers. Stay far away. I'll keep this updated with further developments, if any. And whatever happens, I've definitely learned my lesson.

If you want an honest online auto parts supplier, stick with http://rockauto.com . I've used Rock Auto many times, and they are outstanding.

I'm sure there are others. Most of the auto parts chains allow online ordering as well, and you can go to the store if there's a problem.
http://www.autozone.com
http://partsamerica.com (Advance, Kragen, Schucks, etc.)

Or just go to the parts store in your neighborhood. I've always had outstanding results with CarQuest, and the Napa people usually (not always) know what they're doing.

 

[salty_monk]

Yep, I keep getting calls about OEM PARTS BIN. They list on CC statement as Carson CA which is where my office used to be based (& now I'm quite close to there).

My company is OEM DIRECT INC. I get about 1 - 2 calls a month from people trying to find out more info....

I followed up for the first couple to see if I could help but there was nothing I could do, the CC don't want to know unless you are the cardholder.

Wasn't you that rang me last week was it?? You'd know, I have a pretty distinctive accent

Hope you get your money back....

Dan

 

[Griffin]

If I'm after an aftermarket part, I always use NAPA. I'm sure there are other places just as good, but no matter which store, in whatever part of the country I'm in they always seem to have a better handle on what I need than most other chain stores (Autozone, Pep Boys, etc...).

Thanks for the heads up on these thieves. The internet has made larceny from 7,000 miles away posiible.

 

[bwringer]

What's hilarious is that if you look through the ePinions posts, you can see lots of positive reviews obviously posted by the scammers themselves.

Just read the positive reviews in your best "Dell Tech Support, my name is, um, Robert" accent, and the phrasing, odd word choices, and consistent grammar mistakes make the bogus reviews pretty obvious.

As noted, it's just sad that someone went to all this trouble to build a pretty decent and accurate car parts web site and things have come to this. I'm sure they started out legit, but they've been ripping people off for quite a while with the help of the crooked warehouse in Carson, CA.

I wonder how many times this regulator sitting in my office has been shipped back and forth?

Ah, well. $78 is far from the most expensive life lesson I've learned.

I'll also talk with my credit union tomorrow about when/how/whether to pursue a chargeback. This Platinum Card jazz has to be good for something.

 

[bwringer]

Here's a screenshot with annotations pointing out some of the interface features common to this family of scam sites:

The make and year selectors are set up much the same way on all their scam sites.

I think they might concentrate on parts that are very hard to find, like window regulators. So if you're Googling for something obscure, or actually any sort of auto parts at all, several of their sites will pop up.

 

[salty_monk]

A lot of people I get calling are asking about replacement catalytic convertors.

Dan

 

[p_s]

My company is OEM DIRECT INC. I get about 1 - 2 calls a month from people trying to find out more info....

I heard a story about the folks at http://utube.com getting swamped with angry calls and threatening emails from people expecting funny videos on their web site--it could be worse, much worse!

 

[gbw]

So stay away, my fellow GS-ers. Stay far away. I'll keep this updated with further developments...

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am amazed at how much the folks of this forum look out for one another. Makes me proud I found a GS...or did the GS find me????

Happy Holidays,
g

 

[bwringer]

Makes me proud I found a GS...or did the GS find me????

When the rider is ready, the GS will appear... :-k






Man, that's deep.

 

[TheCafeKid]

LOL Deep but i think true. When i found mine, I had never even thought of a Zook for a project bike...I was searching high and low for a Kaw Z1 or KZ...and i had actually found a GREAT KZ750 already beefed and screamin fast. Went and test rode it, and was set to buy it the next week. Till this buddy of mine says his buddy had a bike he was looking to get rid of. So just by shere happenstance, we went and took a look at it. Mind you that KZ was a great bike, ran like a champ, but other than the overbore and the good runningness (is that even a word??) it was a stocker, and an LTD at that...not exactly what i was looking for for a cafe project, but the price was right and i always wanted to attempt a LTD, or in GS terms L model cafe. Then i saw my 1977 GS750B...it was like a shot from a movie where everything fades out except for the bike, which was bathed in a golden light. INSTANT love. Part of the reason was that she was not at all stock, not that there is anything wrong with a stock GS, as they are all gorgeous bikes, but this one was already headed in a direction (albeit a poorly attempted direction) that i was looking to go. Needless to say, i called the guy with the KZ and told him i'd have to pass. And the next week i went and picked my Granpappy GS up. Its been a bit of touch and go, but I LOVE this bike. And i LOVE this forum, and how dedicated everyone is to these bikes. I always knew there was a huge following for the SOHC Hondas, and a pretty decent following for Z1s and older KZs...but this here..is by far the sickest, most depraved love for a bike i have ever run across...And I LOVE IT...lol

 

[Ironriot]

but this here..is by far the sickest, most depraved love for a bike i have ever run across...And I LOVE IT...lol

I can toast to that! Hear Hear!

 

[Ironriot]

Here's a screenshot with annotations pointing out some of the interface features common to this family of scam sites:

The make and year selectors are set up much the same way on all their scam sites.

I think they might concentrate on parts that are very hard to find, like window regulators. So if you're Googling for something obscure, or actually any sort of auto parts at all, several of their sites will pop up.

I'm sorry man but this place just looks TOO easy. Almost like its screaming that its a scam. Sites like that usually give me a bad feeling so I stay away. Plus O'reilly's, Napa, AutoZone and PepBoys(not that I'll ever go there) are all down the street. And if I get a bad part or they juke me, getting a refund is easy and plus I get to rip into someone. Either way hope everything works out for you.

 

[bwringer]

There's a Carquest a couple of blocks from my office, and the guys there are AMAZING. They tracked down a radiator and had it there the same day, when everyone else I checked couldn't get it for four or five days. They also quickly located the correct window regulator part. They've tracked down an incredibly obscure wheel bearing and many other impossible to find parts in the past.

A knowledgeable parts store person is the world's greatest time and frustration saver. It's really too bad the discount chains only seem to hire weedy teenagers who wouldn't know what a timing belt looked like if you slapped them with it.

Autozone is probably the worst of the lot, although the one nearest me is pretty good -- they mostly hire Spanish-speaking guys who really do know their stuff.

I guess working on your own car is muy macho, so there's a huge parts market amongst the Hispanic crowd, as well as a lot of talent to draw from.

Of course, it's still Autozone, so there's an aggravating portion of the time where their patented error injection systems ensure that you still end up with the wrong part. I think it's part of the whole discount experience or something.

 

[PAULYBOY]

There's a Carquest a couple of blocks from my office, and the guys there are AMAZING. They tracked down a radiator and had it there the same day, when everyone else I checked couldn't get it for four or five days. They also quickly located the correct window regulator part. They've tracked down an incredibly obscure wheel bearing and many other impossible to find parts in the past.

A knowledgeable parts store person is the world's greatest time and frustration saver. It's really too bad the discount chains only seem to hire weedy teenagers who wouldn't know what a timing belt looked like if you slapped them with it.

Autozone is probably the worst of the lot, although the one nearest me is pretty good -- they mostly hire Spanish-speaking guys who really do know their stuff.

I guess working on your own car is muy macho, so there's a huge parts market amongst the Hispanic crowd, as well as a lot of talent to draw from.

Of course, it's still Autozone, so there's an aggravating portion of the time where their patented error injection systems ensure that you still end up with the wrong part. I think it's part of the whole discount experience or something.

I started my car biz life in 1985 in an aftermarket store locally owned by the same family for over 40 years. After I started there, as the son in law of one of the owners, and expecting eventually to take over one of their stores, I found back then that the prevailing conception was that you didn't even need to spell your own name correctly twice in a row to sell car parts. That is still, unfortunately, the attitude many take.
I can only be thankful for working for Mercedes these last 18 years. 3 reasons. A. I could spell my name any day. B. The information pipeline, although lately a little sketchy, is much more complete for any dealer than any aftermarket outlet. and 3. Looking parts up in both German and English for one of the worlds most technologically advanced car lines is a never ending challenge.
Next time one of you guys calls a parts store with your list, see how many times you have to repeat each bit of info. All the guy in the store is doing is typing info in akeyboard for a very limited usage computer program. When I call, the first thing I usually say is this "Get a pen and a piece of paper and write this down." If you have to repeat anything more than twice, please hang up and call during normal business hours.........
I learned on the old parts books, and found a jewel thart seems to have been forgotten or just not understandable by most now a day. It's called the manufacturers interchange book, and almost every decent parts manufacturer for cars or bikes offers them .

 

[p_s]

they mostly hire Spanish-speaking guys who really do know their stuff.

I guess working on your own car is muy macho, so there's a huge parts market amongst the Hispanic crowd, as well as a lot of talent to draw from.

I spent a little time in Mexico. It is more common to find someone there who built their own house from bricks they baked themselves and keeps old cars and dirtbikes running in perfect shape than to find someone here who's done anything more complicated than an oil change.

There happens to be a guy at an O'Reilly Auto Parts shop a few blocks away from me who is really into cars and has a beautiful MG--so I go there--but if he's not working it's a crapshoot and NAPA is generally marginally better than the rest.

 

[Ironriot]

There's a Carquest a couple of blocks from my office, and the guys there are AMAZING. They tracked down a radiator and had it there the same day, when everyone else I checked couldn't get it for four or five days. They also quickly located the correct window regulator part. They've tracked down an incredibly obscure wheel bearing and many other impossible to find parts in the past.

A knowledgeable parts store person is the world's greatest time and frustration saver. It's really too bad the discount chains only seem to hire weedy teenagers who wouldn't know what a timing belt looked like if you slapped them with it.

Autozone is probably the worst of the lot, although the one nearest me is pretty good -- they mostly hire Spanish-speaking guys who really do know their stuff.

I guess working on your own car is muy macho, so there's a huge parts market amongst the Hispanic crowd, as well as a lot of talent to draw from.

Of course, it's still Autozone, so there's an aggravating portion of the time where their patented error injection systems ensure that you still end up with the wrong part. I think it's part of the whole discount experience or something.

I'm a weedy teenager hehe. Although if you slap me with that timing belt I'd slap you with a timing CHAIN and ask why are you slapping me with a timing belt lol.... And yeah I'd have to agree with you on the whole Hispanic's knowing alot about cars.... For some reason its just in our blood. All three uncle's on one side of my family are mechanics, They're also body men and drag racers. The other side there's only one male in the family. Which is my dad. While he may not know as much as the uncle's he can still hand the average person's ass to them in a battle of car info. Its scary sometimes on the things he knows. You know people blame the PEOPLE that work at AutoZone alot of the time. But the truth is its usually the customer. You guys give us the information in the first place. USUALLY that's what's wrong. The info. Its really a fool proof system. You just type in the info and then pull up the part. The second mistake customers make is not taking in the original part, so to compare. And lastly sometimes the computer just has the wrong part registered. Or they have it registered wrong. That's happened to me twice.... I will give you that some people that work at AutoZone are dumb as sh!t. But you just need to go to one that's full of hispanics. We'll help you out ;-)

 

[bwringer]

Just an update: I received return shipping info and shipped the part back the week before Christmas 2007. Supposedly, I will get a full refund (not including the cost of return shipping, but that was only $9). However, the email warns that the could take up to a month.

Of course, anyone who has dealt with credit cards knows that 4 weeks is ridiculous -- they should be able to process a refund on the spot, and it should hit my account in a day or two. They're just stalling, most likely to let 30 days expire so it's harder for people to make fraud claims.

I'll keep you posted -- again, RESEARCH before you buy online, especially if you find a site that appears to have something you can't get anywhere else or has it for a much lower price than anyone else.

Also, I found out that my credit card's purchase protection only applies if I buy something from a store within 100 miles of home. I have no idea why this rule exists...

 

[bwringer]

Not a full-fledged scam...

Not a full-fledged scam...

Another update: I just received a credit today for the full purchase price.

Therefore, I've downgraded this from a scam alert to a case of simple gross incompetence with shady undertones.

I'm still out the $9 for the return shipping, but most online retailers won't pay return shipping.