Beware of on-line parts supplier

H

huytonman

Member
I need some rear brake components for my Merc E350, did the usual research on which brands are used by Mercedes themselves and then looked for an on-line seller. I came upon "buycarparts.co.uk", they showed an excellent choice of products from the best German OEM's, free delivery etc and in-stock status. Placed my order and after more time than I expected the parts arrived from Germany not the UK which the site ID implied. Fair enough, the parts are made there so thats fine. Opened the box and apart from the Bosch wear indicator the pads and disks came from some totally mysterious supplier called Stark (not the one who makes the flying robot suits but they could well be as no search engines show any information about the company). The boxes had no identification of origin just a few GmbH signs here and there which made me suspicious that these were little re-assuring red herrings. A quick search shows up other people having the same experience with this outfit i.e. order brake parts, find the delivery is a "higher priced" substitute from Stark. Now I dont know about you guys but for me, Tryes and brakes are the highest priority for me on a car and there is no way I would fit unknown quality components. They offer a 14 day return policy, which is a bit obscure to follow (but not that unusual for German companies) but to make matters worse the return shipping cost is ending up almost 30% of the price of the kit due to the weight, so even assuming that I get a full refund I'll be out of pocket anyway - no refund of return post.

So be very careful and use buycarparts in full knowledge that you may not get what you ordered.

Keith
 
Thanks for the heads up, but if you wanted genuine or OEM parts then why not buy them for a few £ more for a reputable (and UK-based) supplier?

Did you order genuine/OEM parts, or their own brand? If you ordered a specific brand and they substituted them for another, then you should get a full refund INCLUDING return postage as it's their error.

...alternatively, just don't buy anything from random companies/individuals on the internet!
 
I've had a quick look at the site, typed in my car model and it's come up with lots of differently branded brake pads.

By the side of each one,it clearly says who the manufacturer is (including stark branded ones).

I'm presuming you've ordered a different brand (I.e Brembo or Pagid) but received Stark branded pads instead? In which case, surely they are liable?

Although if you ordered stark pads and received stark pads, you will obviously have to pay postage costs.
 
You are not the first! http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=90599

It looks like STARK are a cheap own-brand advertised at stupidly high retail price to make you feel better when bargain parts sites substitute STARK for the quality item you actually ordered. Scammers I'd say :thumbsdown:
 
If you can prove what you ordered and you paid by card - debit or credit - or paid by PayPal and paid PayPal by card, then your card issuer should give you the money back if you get nowhere with the supplier.

There's bad people out there!
 
Google is full of reviews about them not delivering, wrong make supplied, claiming mailed but not, etc.
Just email, request full refund of payment and hopefully you paid by credit card or PayPal so ask them, as RickRob posts, for a full refund a second soon as you make no progress
Live and learn and thankfully not a massive amount of money
 
Ewazix said:
You are not the first! http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=90599

It looks like STARK are a cheap own-brand advertised at stupidly high retail price to make you feel better when bargain parts sites substitute STARK for the quality item you actually ordered. Scammers I'd say :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...

Yer, remember that well. scammin bastidz!
and that thread was also my and ben g's little spat. hahha. we're all mates now. :roll:

re. that retailer OP, I played hell and demanded they send the textar pads or refund in full.
They try to fob people off with that shity stark crap rationalising that as they charge more they must be better. fekin pikeys! surprised they didnt try to throw in a dog with the deal!
:lol:
737db218d2856cb6ae7906a8c1cf5e74.jpg
 
Cheers guys..in my case the google checks came after the delivery so the horse had bolted and thats my own fault :headbang: Substituting Stark is clearly not an error, its deliberate and as I mentioned this site gives every impression thats its UK based..anyway I've re-highlighted their existance guys and lesson learned on my part!
Keith
 
That's pants Keith, sorry to hear but thanks for giving everyone the heads up .
 
Sounds like they have gone down the pan with their service,
I used them last year to order some brembo coated disks and brembo pads and they came within a few days
with no problems
 
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