just wanted to do a little review on this site (there are a few more under their umbrella like buycarparts.co.uk onlinecarparts.co.uk autopartspro.co.uk which are essentially the same company) as there isnt a great deal of reviews out there on them, other than a lot of worrying looking reviews on sites like trustpilot.
so far have done 2 orders with them.
one for £108 including springs and top mounts and a bunch of relevant screws/nuts and another for £116 for a driveshaft.
positives
the prices can be crazy cheap. based on the orders above, 2 sachs springs for a sport model from eurocarparts is £149, carparts4less is £135. autodoc.....£50!
driveshaft on my last order. skf from autodoc was £108. ECP/CP4L £100 is getting you a q-drive branded shaft. J&R from birmingham is £70.
brand choice is huge, and the catalogue of parts is unmatched. the above driveshaft, if it had to be sourced from the uk, id be limited to either changing just the joint (not an option in my case) or having to get a no-name. couldnt find the same skf for sale here at all (vkjc 8204).
part numbers and oem part numbers clearly stated, which makes cross referencing simple. compare to ecp/cp4l who hide them and make it neigh on impossible to double check with etka (or price compare...).
they also list all of the models that particular part fits.
negatives
postage costs. its £8.45 under £140, so its not really useful for small orders. for larger orders, the cost is absorbed into the savings, but it must be a psychological thing because it still hurts.
delivery time. this is where a lot of the negative reviews focus. personally, as long as you accept it isnt gonna be next day delivery, its alright. first order took 11 days, second took 6. if you need it quickly, this isnt for you.
substitutions. i havent experienced this myself (touch wood) but i can see how it happens. what ive read is that you order brand x, and brand y gets sent instead. that wouldnt be such a big deal if they were equivilent eg. trw and lemforder, or sachs and boge, but from what ive read in negative reviews, they will send a brand called stark. they comically inflate the value of those parts (eg. a lemforder part is £20, the stark version will be £35) and say to you that the part you ordered was out of stock but have this more expensive part on us. this was my main worry, but as stated it hasnt happened (yet). if it does, that part will be going straight back.
safe basket selected by default. costs £4 and allows you to return an item within 200 days. not needed.
overall, its been a good site to order from. i see it as a way to keep tier 1 parts on an aging car.
i would just say know what you are buying, try and use the oem part number to search rather than use their parts finder as it can be hit and miss.
wouldnt buy service parts like filters as the saving arent great, and oil is more expensive, but for everything else its definitely worth a look.
so far have done 2 orders with them.
one for £108 including springs and top mounts and a bunch of relevant screws/nuts and another for £116 for a driveshaft.
positives
the prices can be crazy cheap. based on the orders above, 2 sachs springs for a sport model from eurocarparts is £149, carparts4less is £135. autodoc.....£50!
driveshaft on my last order. skf from autodoc was £108. ECP/CP4L £100 is getting you a q-drive branded shaft. J&R from birmingham is £70.
brand choice is huge, and the catalogue of parts is unmatched. the above driveshaft, if it had to be sourced from the uk, id be limited to either changing just the joint (not an option in my case) or having to get a no-name. couldnt find the same skf for sale here at all (vkjc 8204).
part numbers and oem part numbers clearly stated, which makes cross referencing simple. compare to ecp/cp4l who hide them and make it neigh on impossible to double check with etka (or price compare...).
they also list all of the models that particular part fits.
negatives
postage costs. its £8.45 under £140, so its not really useful for small orders. for larger orders, the cost is absorbed into the savings, but it must be a psychological thing because it still hurts.
delivery time. this is where a lot of the negative reviews focus. personally, as long as you accept it isnt gonna be next day delivery, its alright. first order took 11 days, second took 6. if you need it quickly, this isnt for you.
substitutions. i havent experienced this myself (touch wood) but i can see how it happens. what ive read is that you order brand x, and brand y gets sent instead. that wouldnt be such a big deal if they were equivilent eg. trw and lemforder, or sachs and boge, but from what ive read in negative reviews, they will send a brand called stark. they comically inflate the value of those parts (eg. a lemforder part is £20, the stark version will be £35) and say to you that the part you ordered was out of stock but have this more expensive part on us. this was my main worry, but as stated it hasnt happened (yet). if it does, that part will be going straight back.
safe basket selected by default. costs £4 and allows you to return an item within 200 days. not needed.
overall, its been a good site to order from. i see it as a way to keep tier 1 parts on an aging car.
i would just say know what you are buying, try and use the oem part number to search rather than use their parts finder as it can be hit and miss.
wouldnt buy service parts like filters as the saving arent great, and oil is more expensive, but for everything else its definitely worth a look.
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