New International Payment Methods

RockAuto has added additional payment methods to better serve our international customers. The new payment methods are:

• Cash at Bank of Montreal
• Cash at Bank of Nova Scotia
• Cash at Royal Bank of Canada
• Cash at CIBC
• Cash at TD Canada Trust
• € Euro Electronic Funds Transfer
• £ British Pound Electronic Funds Transfer
• ¥ Japanese Yen Electronic Funds Transfer

When your bill-to address is entered in the "Address and Payment" page of the RockAuto Shopping Cart, it will automatically select all of the payment methods that could apply to your order. If you choose one of these new options, your order confirmation page will include any instructions necessary to process your payment.

It is our hope that these new payment methods will make your shopping experience even more convenient!

RockAuto is Looking for a Few Good Cars

Show off your vehicle and hard work to the world! Submit a photo of your car or truck to be considered for the next series of RockAuto Collector Magnets. These magnets are sent to our customers worldwide and are given out at car shows and events.

Vintage or high tech street machine, trailer queen, or daily driver, all types are encouraged! Send a high resolution image and a short story about your car and what parts you have purchased from RockAuto to flamur@rockauto.com.

If your vehicle is chosen, we will make sure to send you plenty of magnets to share with friends and family, and make you the envy of your car club.

Forum of the Month

The Dodge Truck Forum has numerous sections full of pictures, videos, and news as well as areas to discuss suspension, brakes, electronics, tuning, bolt on mods; just to name a few. Along with regional and car club sections, there are off road, track, and racing sections. There's also a Military and Public Service Appreciation section. Lastly, we have the ever popular off topic and joke section.

So come join The Dodge Truck Forum family and make yourself right at home and enjoy. We look forward to welcoming you to the family.

If you are the administrator or member of a forum and you would like to see your website featured in an upcoming newsletter and receive a discount code to share with your members, contact jessa@rockauto.com.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

Many years ago a friend of mine was teaching his teenage daughter how to maintain her “new” used car. He told her of the importance of making sure that the oil level in the engine was to the top of the “hatched” area of the dipstick and warned what would happen to the engine if she were to drive the car without the proper amount of oil showing on the dipstick.

With her newly discovered independence, in the form of her new drivers license, she and her girlfriend decided to visit her aunt who lived in a town about 250 miles away, the first road trip. She was instructed to call daddy when she left her aunt’s for the drive back home which she dutifully did so daddy expected her to arrive back home at a certain time that afternoon. The expected time came and passed without any sign of the daughter. Finally, a worried dad sighted her driving up the street towards the house about two hours later than expected. When asked about what had taken her so long to make the drive she explained that she was just following daddy’s maintenance instructions.

It seems that she and her girlfriend had stopped for gas at a remote convenience store “self serve” gas station and checked the oil level as instructed only to find that it was about one quart low on the dipstick. The convenience store did not have the oil she required so, remembering that you cannot drive the car when the oil is too low, she and the girlfriend walked about a mile to a grocery store where she was able to buy a quart of oil. After walking back to the car she then realized that they didn’t have a funnel with which to pour the oil into the engine. This required another one mile walk back to the grocery store where she found that there were no funnels to be purchased. Distraught, walking back to the car she figured out that if she rolled up a piece of paper she could make her own funnel and that’s what she did. She then went on to explain that it took a really long time to pour a whole quart of oil through that little hole in the end of the tube where the dipstick went.

Seems that during his intense maintenance instructions daddy had failed to mention that if the engine needed a quart of oil that you could pour it into the engine through the breather vent located on top of the valve cover.

Randy in Nevada

Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder or unconventional fix. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes or share off-the-wall solutions that worked (at least for awhile!). Please email your story to flamur@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and shirt size (large or extra large) and we will mail you a RockAuto "Do it yourself?" t-shirt if we publish your story (see the t-shirts under Extras in the catalog). The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous!

Meeting Original Equipment Specs

“Meets or exceeds Original Equipment (OE) standards” is the benchmark for replacement auto parts. It means the parts are designed and tested to meet the same specifications as the parts originally installed on the car when it was first built. It is not just marketing hype especially when used to describe a critical system like brakes.

The car makers (Ford, GM, Toyota...) and OE and aftermarket parts manufacturers (ACDelco, Federal Mogul, Tenneco...) are often the first to sound the alarm if a competitor makes false claims.

RockAuto supplier Affinia (maker of Raybestos, WIX, Quinton Hazell, etc.) recently announced a competitor’s “light weight” rotors do not meet OE specifications as claimed in the competitor’s advertising. (This competitor is NOT one of RockAuto.com’s other brake suppliers).

Brake pads rub against the brake rotor to stop the vehicle. A brake rotor has two smooth discs separated by an air gap to prevent overheating. Affinia found the competitor’s rotors were 18.83% lighter and had air gaps between the discs that were 68.58% greater than the OE specifications.

The rotors underwent thermal fatigue testing on a 2007 Dodge Caravan and 2005 Chevrolet Silverado. The OE standard specified that the rotors withstand 100 testing cycles. Many high quality parts manufacturers specify their rotors last at least 150 cycles.

Twelve of the competitor’s rotors were tested. All except one developed cracks and failed before 100 cycles. Nine rotors failed before completing 75 cycles. For more details, please read the press release Affinia sent RockAuto on July 9th.

Light, flimsy rotors might be less costly to ship in from overseas, but they also do a poor job of stopping cars and trucks. It is great that Affinia and other reputable manufacturers are policing OE standards, but it is also a good idea for consumers to buy trusted brands from respectable retailers like RockAuto.com. Who knows how many “light weight” rotors have been put on the road in the last year.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

Ever since I was a boy I have had a real passion for classic American cars. I have owned a 1967 Ford Mustang, a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am, and a 1971 Chevrolet Impala convertible. However my all time dream car was the 1959 Cadillac with its beautiful lines and style no matter what angle you are viewing it from!

And last year I finally bought my Cadillac from Canada and after some time and complications it finally arrived. She is a survivor in very original condition. I intend to keep it that way...and that is where RockAuto comes in.

The last part I ordered for the Cadillac was a rebuild kit for the power steering box and pump in order to keep the original parts. I intend to use RockAuto for future parts as I was very impressed with the professional service and quick delivery.

Keeping the Dream Alive in Cyprus,
Steve

Share Your Hard Work
Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to feature you and your car or truck in our monthly newsletter. Please email flamur@rockauto.com with details.

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