Best practice for buying parts?

[Brendon Holt]

Hey all,

I'm looking at picking up a replacement power steering pump and high pressure line on my Jeep. Which leads me to question what the best place is to get parts from. I've had mixed luck at best with places like Autozone and Oreillys and the box parts stores. Napa seems slightly better, but is there really much of a difference on the quality of the parts you're getting from any of these box stores?

Anyways, just wondering if we've arrived at a best practice for sourcing good quality parts. Nobody wants to do a job twice because their replacement parts were garbage.

 

[lfhoward]

If it were me I would find a low mileage junkyard 3.7 and grab a power steering pump from that. I have found that used Mopar lasts longer and works better than brand new aftermarket for most things. The 3.7 was in not only Liberties, but Commanders, Durangos, Dakotas, Ram 1500”s and Grand Cherokees during its era.

 

[u2slow]

I order most everything online direct to my door. The local auto prats store want anywhere from 1.5-3x the price.

I largely find parts quality to be a wash. Mostly the same jobber junk in different boxes at varied prices. Once in a while you have to do a job again. Guess what - now you're experienced, and it's no big deal.

 

[mercdudecbr600]

Rockauto is my general go-to. They have many options at low(er) costs (and often Mopar stuff). Some downsides though like no direct customer support, formulaic return policy, slow deliveries, sometimes parts aren't accurate described / incorrect sizes. Even if RA says it will work on my application, I like to cross check the part numbers with the manufacturer directly. If I am forced to buy in person then I generally only trust Napa Auto's lifetime stuff.

 

[u2slow]

Even if RA says it will work on my application, I like to cross check the part numbers with the manufacturer directly.

As anyone should do. Note that mfr's can be wrong also.

Parts listing data is a soup made by jobber-parts mfr's, so many of the same errors persist across many retailers. Don't shoot the messenger.