Never realized how expensive O'Reilly's is.

I am the family mechanic and 99% of the time i order my parts through Rock Auto. I am currently working on my sons 2009 Crown Victoria and he needed struts/shocks. I went onto Rock Auto and ordered struts but mistakenly did not order the complete ones with the spring. No big deal I am shipping them back but went to order the correct ones and they were $65/each for the Monroe Quick Strut Assembly. I wanted to check O'reillys because i could just swing by there and grab them instead of waiting for shipping. O'Reillys wanted $250/each for the exact same Monroe Quick Strut Assembly. UNREAL

 

Wow! That definitely sounds like a rip-off.

I generally shop at O'Reilly and Advance, but always check online for expensive items. I have noticed that some things are cheaper online. But, I don't think I've seen such a huge discrepancy before.

 

Things are cheaper online because you don’t have a brick-n-mortar store to pay for. Land, Taxes, utilities, etc.. Then you have to pay an employee or employees to work at that store. That overhead is figured into the cost of the items they are selling you.

That’s why Bezo’s World can beat just about anybody in pricing.

 

Well, yeah. That seems like common knowledge.

I still shop at those places sometimes because the price difference isn’t always significant, and sometimes I just need something right away.

 

That is not true about Amazon. People think its cheaper but Ive found several instances where it is substantially more

 

Yep, the cost of getting something, now, today is usually steeper. More than I expect sometimes too.

Gotta check online for everything too, even if the shelf price looks good.

Some Walmart items are cheaper online than in-store so you can price check at checkout.

But Walgreens does not price check their website, so you'd have to order for pickup and go do something else in the meantime if the deal is good enough.

I bought wipers from an auto parts store (one of the A's) and the cheaper blades that were on the website and in-stock were kept out of sight in the back so you gotta consider if asking if the pricier stuff on the shelf is all there is.

 

Online air filter is like 15-18 bucks
Its about 45 at oreilleys

 

If you use the Microsoft Edge browser, i believe it has a built in price tool where it will search and find lower prices (if available) automatically. I know sometimes when i am looking for parts on a website a little pop-up will show a lower price from XYZ website. Doesn't always happen, but it actually has saved me money on a few occasions bringing up sites i wouldn't normally think of to look at.

 

True. I've found things cheaper through other retailers. Although, in one case I still went with Amazon because the free shipping made up the difference.

What brand? Looks like $22.99 for a basic one.

 

I got a Bando serpentine belt from Rock Auto for $8.00 (sale) at Oreillys it was 89-180 for the belt

 

I always look around when it comes to parts. Just replaced the air/fuel sensor on my Subaru, and it was $380.00 CAD where the other part store was $515.00. Rock Auto was like $275.00, but I did not have time to wait for it to arrive.

 

i'll have to figrue it out next air filter swap.. i know i paid $60 for both air filter and cabin filter.. maybe the cabin was a little more (35 + 22.. if the neurons are firing correctly ) = ya somewhere around 60

 

Going in and picking up a part from the Toyota dealership can be almost double the price when compared to ordering that part online and picking it up at the same dealership.

 

MSRP is MSRP, i would worry something's up with the cheaper option more so than O'Reilly's is ripping people off, they may even have a "deal" which would be the same price if you call.

Even Amazon is paying for brick-n-mortar warehouse, Land, Taxes, utilities and employees. Just not as much.

 

Funny you should say that. I am replacing the front struts and rear shocks on my wife's Kia Soul, and I shopped for these at Rockauto, Amazon, Shockwarehouse.com online, and Oreilly's, Autozone, Napa, and one other local parts store. The parts I wanted, Monroe quick struts & KYB rear shocks, were available at my local Oreilly's ($733 w/tax for all four), Shockwarehouse ($395 for the set), and Amazon for $ somewhere in between, but one of the front struts was not available until the middle of June. Guess who got the order...same exact part numbers:

KYB 348007 rear shock - $118.99 ea. + tax at O'Reilly, $68.56 ea. w/free shipping from SW

Monroe 183067 front quick strut - $223.99 ea. + tax at O'Reilly, $129.35 ea. with free shipping from SW.

 

I have never come across a cheaper synthetic oil or coolant or filters or wipers at O'Reilly's compared to Walmart. Both brick and mortar, both have people working for them.
Most auto parts stores are a rip off when it comes to consumables.

 

My belief is that O'Reilly's purposely prices what they sell just a small bit cheaper than what you'd pay for the item buying it from a OEM (Ford, Toyota, etc) dealer, thinking because of the small difference you'll buy from them instead of from a dealer.

My recent experience when buying Motorcraft spark plugs for my F150: Ford dealer - $18 a plug. O'Reilly's - $17 a plug. RockAuto - $9 a plug.

 

Oddly I haven't found a better price for the rear wiper refill online. Everywhere just seems to want to sell the entire blade or has a crazy price. (~$11.70 for mine, and it has the best coverage across it's sweep yet paired with the arm I got with the vehicle. I tried an aftermarket one and it worked just fine but added an audible clunk when retracting and didn't wipe the bottom of the arc.)

Haven't tried ordering at a dealer specifically for pickup yet though.

Edit: I meant I went and bought a rear wiper refill from the dealer nearby. And then went to Costco and ran into the parts guy there too!

 

Give it a try.

I just ordered a slew of brake parts from Toyota's online parts store. I forgot a couple of knick knacks and thought I'd just buy them at the parts counter when I got there. When I asked about the price, it was significantly more expensive than the online price. So I just ordered it online. The downside is if you order online you can't pick it up same day. I'm found it takes about 4 days to get the part.

 

Rock Auto's selling price is often below cost for retail stores. The difference is if you need parts right now and can't wait for shipping. I've used O'Reilly many times for trail repairs for my truck and for others in my off-road club. Overpaying for an air filter doesn't feel as bad when you narrowly avoided hydrolocking your engine lol.

And Monroe Quick Struts are questionable quality for a Crown Vic that weighs more than your 4Runner. Surely you can find some KYBs or Bilsteins for it?

 

I could find better and would prefer the KYBs but I am just doing it as he is selling it next month. I had KYBs on my 2011 honda pilot and Acura MDX, that is a great shock/strut

 

You're correct about ordering them online and picking them up at the dealership. I did that with rotors and pads and the cost difference was pretty good. I heard you can find like 5 packs of filters online for $4 a piece and pick them up at the dealership. The dealership by my house charges $12 per filter if you just walk in

 

I am glad you said that, that is something i always forget to replace - the rear wiper. I dont use it much so I am glad you mentioned that. When I make my next Rock Auto purchase i will grab some. I picked up some front rain-x on clearance from rock auto for $4 each. I prefer Bosch but for $4 each I couldnt pass that up

 

I was unclear before, I meant that I ended up buying a rear wiper from the dealer nearby. If yours participates in the Costco 20% discount for parts/service, worth a shot. (I forgot last time)

 

Rock Auto wholesaler closeouts can get stupid. I picked up TRW swaybar links for $9 each, Advics front brake pad set for under $40, and side view mirror assemblies for $40 each. Still need to install the latter. Both my factory mirrors have a dead motor in one axis.

 

There is a bunch of talk about OReilly's, lets give Advance, Auto Zone, Napa and the rest of the retail stores their fair share. How many times have you went to the 'local' parts stores and were told.. "I don't have it, but I can order it." You just went there to just pick it up because you need it now even though it's 3 times the price of Rock Auto, wasted a trip to the store, etc. A lot of this reflects on the manager of that certain store, the same name store on the other side of town might have 3 of what you're looking for, other stores have overhead policy I'll try to schedule my parts buying as to not be without a vehicle, but sometimes get bit in the butt. It will be Rock Auto for me! Almost forgot to mention, sometimes when I get a part from Rock Auto for lets say a GM vehicle it's in a AC Delco box! At a 1/3 of the price.

 

^I bought a reman 4Runner starter on Rock Auto in an AC Delco box Figure they invented starters 114 years ago, so they should do OK remanufacturing a Denso starter.

 

Nothing wrong with AC Delco.

 

I agree with you about Rock Auto - you simply cant beat it. I no longer buy anything car related from Amazon, there are way too many counterfeits on that site. Its not to say that most are legitimate but i will pay a little more to ensure it is genuine. I was reading how even oil filters are being counterfeited. Its rock auto for me. When I did my first coolant drain and fill i went to the dealer to get coolant. $30/gallon. I just picked some Aisin coolant up from Rock Auto for $13/gallon. WS transmission fluid from Aisin as well - $9/qt from Rock Auto and at the dealership its $15. I wouldnt be surprised if Aisin doesnt make the OEM fluids. I had a 2011 Honda Pilot and you have to change the timing belt, the OEM were Aisin and you could buy the Aisin timing belt/water pump combo from Rock Auto

 

On my Mustang forum, we have a sticky thread with an up to date RockAuto discount code (typically 5% off). We should implement that here on this forum. People just post the latest RockAuto discount code when they get one via email or something.