What Do Other People in My Situation Do?

Gaining insights from a relative handful of anonymous product reviews requires patience and skill at reading between the lines.  Anonymous reviews of replacement auto parts are even sketchier. There are just too many parts and too many vehicle models to ever hope to get a meaningful number of useful reviews for any one part. RockAuto may have ten alternators with a choice of three amperage outputs that fit just one truck. Reviews of broad part types (alternators, thermostats...) and brands (ACDelco, Stant...) without any specific make, year, model, engine connections are likely to be nothing but vague opinions and biases.

RockAuto's heart icons () turn the extreme specificity of replacement auto parts into an advantage! A heart icon next to a part means it was ordered most frequently and returned least frequently for a specific vehicle. This is actual data from ALL customers facing similar repairs on the same vehicle.  That is what makes heart icons great. They are based on data that automatically reflects the myriad things ALL customers purchasing that part for that vehicle have taken into account.

It's a useful metric. Are you filtering out parts that aren't returnable?

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

That and the fact that people aren't returning because A.) they can't because RA has terrible CS or 2.) the cost to return is more than the cost of the part initially. 

So let's say I get a part that is no good. 

Scenario 1: I install it.  If it fails in a month, I can't return it, because it was installed and used and is a wear item anyway.

Scenario 2:  If it's a PITA to install for some fault of the part's quality, I still can't return it because now "it has been installed".

Scenario 3:  The part is so obviously junk or the incorrect part,  that I do notice right away before opening the package, and return it - but only if the return shipping cost is small enough to be worth it.

Seems like the hearts are only measuring scenario 3.  I guess it's better than nothing?

A lot of times something will get a heart do to common misdiagnoses, especially if the part is cheap and easy to replace. Things like MAP sensors, ignition modules and some idle controllers.

Get your tax thing situated with Colorado Springs so I can order again. I had to pump a few grand through other vendors because you wouldn't let me order from my new house.