Europarts-sd issues?

Outbound,
That's a solution that I've been strongly considering. I've also been considering carrying a generator with me as well to power the pan heater (and block heater, if necessary). My Sprinter has been my home for 5 years, so I'm often in places where I can't plug in. A generator can serve many other purposes such as running a space heater and charging batteries. Funds are limited, so I've been going back and forth between the generator/pan heater solution and replacing the GPs and controller. I'll either be staying in Homer where average temps in January are 30H/18L or Kenai where it's 10-15 degrees colder. The generator would also be good to have if I decide to high-tail it out of Alaska down the AK highway to a warmer climate.

By the way, I spent some time in the SLC area working in Sandy. SLC is one of the few cities I've liked as I've traveled the country. Great weather, beautiful surroundings, the Lake, the mountains, etc.

Bill

Thanks to the OP, 'trc.rhubarb', for starting this thread.

I've been on Sprinter-Source for 10 years now. Early on, I'd read many of the glowing reviews of Europarts-SD, so when I needed some parts, I bought from them. That experience was fine, no problems.

Same with my second order, no issues. So far so good.

Unfortunately, my 3rd order went very far wrong. I ordered a driveshaft support bearing that was clearly labeled "OEM" in large red font. The price, $170, seemed reasonable compared to what MB and Dodge dealers wanted. However, when it arrived, it was in a bag labeled "Truck Tec". At the time, I'd never heard of Truck Tec, and it did not sound like an OEM. So I searched and found that it was an aftermarket part that was being sold elsewhere for as little as $65!

I contacted Europarts and the guy I spoke with was both surprised and apologetic. He blamed his distributor for everything, and offered me a refund, or a price match . I wanted OEM, so I took the refund. He asked me to use the least expensive return shipping, which I did (USPS). When we got the credit on our card, it was for the original charge -- the cost of the return shipping was not included. I was certain that was a mistake so I called -- the phone just rang and rang -- no answer. Then I emailed -- no reply. I ended up calling and emailing at least 3 times (each). The phone always rang endlessly and my emails were never responded to.

I finally gave up and made a mental note to a) never order from them again, and b) warn people about Europarts. I know they have a good rep overall, but the true test of any business (or person) is how they act when things go wrong. Any company can seem great when you just throw money at them and they send you stuff and never hear from you again.

To their credit, within 1-2 days after I notified Europarts about the "OEM" bearing being in a Truck Tec bag, they deleted the bold red font "OEM" from the bearing's listing.

Unfortunately, they continued to blatantly rip off their customers by selling that Truck Tec bearing for $100 more than other vendors were selling it for. Buyer beware!

'trc.rhubarb'; 'pdxkid'; 'BlackHawk'; 'lndlyb4'; 'mawsea'; and I all have had similar experiences. The take-away seems to be that Europarts does have good prices, their website is well done, and they are very good at taking money and shipping parts. As long as the customer has no problems everyone is happy. However, if there is an issue, Europarts doesn't want to deal with it.

billintomahawk was nice enough to provide some options in post #17.

I've had very good experiences with Small Fleet Parts -- http://www.ebaystores.com/Small-Fleet-Parts

Their prices are very competitive, and the owner has been very responsive whenever I send him a message. Recently for example, I ordered a transmission maint kit that included 8 liters of Fuchs ATF; a pan gasket; a filter; the torque converter plug and seal ring; the electrical adapter; the lock pin for the dipstick tube cap; and the seal ring for the pan drain plug. Unfortunately, the seal ring is for the newer style drain plug. I have the OE plug with the wide flange so I couldn't use it. When I mentioned it to the owner he wrote back withing a few hours and said he was sending me the new style plug and seal ring, no charge.

THAT's how customer service is supposed to be -- not dodging phone calls and emails from customers that need assistance.

Companies like Small Fleet Parts that take care of their customers should be rewarded.

BTW -- that kit is <$120, with free shipping and no tax. 8 liters of Fuchs ATF alone is usually over $100.

My experience with Europarts SD has never had a problem like you mentioned. For example, this past winter I purchased a transmission kit and the plastic module replacement leaked almost immediately which I blamed on the shop that did the service and which I will never go back to. I am sure the o-rings can be easily dislodged when installing, or I have tried to give that shop the benefit of the doubt.

I called Europarts SD and they sent me a new module for no cost, no shipping, no questions asked. I offered to return the first one when I got around to replacing it. Don't bother, no big deal.

I am fortunate they are a half hour away if I want to pick up parts directly, but their shipping is free most of the time, or has been since I am so close by.

They are a small outfit with a father and son running the operation. I too, on occasion have had difficulty at times reaching them by phone, but they take orders from all over the country. The mornings are very busy for them.

Sorry to hear your experience was not comparable. Competition in the marketplace is always a good thing, and having a backup source, if ever needed, is a good thing too. So far I have not needed that and Europarts has always come through in no time.

A rear brake kit recently cost $160 when I picked it up. If there is a better deal out there, go for it.

jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com said:

My experience with Europarts SD has never had a problem like you mentioned. For example, this past winter I purchased a transmission kit and the plastic module replacement leaked almost immediately which I blamed on the shop that did the service and which I will never go back to. I am sure the o-rings can be easily dislodged when installing, or I have tried to give that shop the benefit of the doubt.

I called Europarts SD and they sent me a new module for no cost, no shipping, no questions asked. I offered to return the first one when I got around to replacing it. Don't bother, no big deal.

I am fortunate they are a half hour away if I want to pick up parts directly, but their shipping is free most of the time, or has been since I am so close by.

They are a small outfit with a father and son running the operation. I too, on occasion have had difficulty at times reaching them by phone, but they take orders from all over the country. The mornings are very busy for them.

Sorry to hear your experience was not comparable. Competition in the marketplace is always a good thing, and having a backup source, if ever needed, is a good thing too. So far I have not needed that and Europarts has always come through in no time.

A rear brake kit recently cost $160 when I picked it up. If there is a better deal out there, go for it.

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I can appreciate that Europarts-SD is a father/son operation. That's great. Really, we need more businesses like that. Money stays in the community and they are *usually* more responsive to customer concerns & complaints -- as they apparently were with you.

Others, including myself, have not had the same warm & fuzzy experience. Regardless of who runs a business, there can be no excuse for how we were treated, none. If they are 'busy' then they should hire a couple employees to help out with the phone, email, etc.

My sister & I sold some inherited coins on eBay recently. We had 100% positive feedback, in part because we responded ASAP to customers' emails, and always shipped the next USPS business day, via Priority Mail (no extra charge). Often the carrier picked up the coin(s) within 12-18 hours of the purchase. One time the carrier did not pick up the envelope. I discovered it 1-2 days later (we did not use our mail box). It was still delivered within the promised time period but we contacted the buyer anyway, to let them know what happened. If we had sent someone the wrong coin (say), we would have been embarrassed, apologetic, and we CERTAINLY would have paid for the return shipping!

Had Europarts done the right thing (refunded my return shipping cost) I would have had no reason to call and email them (multiple times) -- so the fact that it's a father/son operation, or they're 'very busy', or their phones aren't working, etc, would have been irrelevant.

In short, they:

* Claimed (in bold red font) that a pat was "OEM" when it was not. Not to put too fine a point on it but that is fraud.
* Overcharged customers by over $100(!) on a part that should sell for $65-$70. They were able to get away with that because they did not identify the mfr or P/N. Clever.
* Blamed everything on "their distributor".
* Told me I could return it for a full refund.
* After receiving it back in new (unopened) condition, they did not even refund the return shipping costs!

I must have been in a particularly generous mood because I did not contact the BBB, the gov't agency that grants their business license, and/or the California AG's office.

I realize that most people are focused on getting the best price -- I am too -- but customer service is important also. There is (or should be) more to running a business than just taking money from people, and hiding when things go wrong.

Companies make mistakes, that's understandable. What's important is how they handle those mistakes.