My Raybestos front lower control arm arrived today and the corner of the box was smashed. I figured the control arm was alright though, but opened the box to discover inside of the sealed plastic bag one of the rubber bushing sides was broken off! I was furious after waiting a week for shipping to discover it was damaged. I can see the bit of rubber stuck inside the edge of the bushing. I called UPS and filed a complaint and contacted the seller on ebay, who is a reputable seller. I am not sure what to do next. UPS said hold on for 5 days while they contact me via phone. I was hoping to do the repair this weekend and get my car aligned so this is very frustrating. Looking at the part that broke off is this control arm still usable? I would guess not... It looks like an important part and the rubber seems to be brittle. The box was totally smashed up though and I could see the control arm inside the box without opening it. I am very upset with the shipping.

 

You would think that smashing up a suspension part would be beyond even the capabilities of UPS. Guess not.

In your position, I would wait to get a perfect part.

Not really the seller's fault, he probably figured that a suspension part would be safe in the hands of UPS.

 

I know! I can't believe they managed to actually break of part of the bushing. The box must have fallen off the truck as they were driving. I guess I have no choice but wait til they call me back in a couple days. The seller accepts returns but buyer has to pay return shipping, so I don't want to get stuck with the bill of mailing back this heavy package across the country. Not to mention my control arm project is on indefinite hold for now. I might just install the other side this weekend and then when I get the replacement do the other one in a few weeks. No harm doing one at a time, is there?

 

Other people and dealers do one side or piece all the time.

The problem is that you will likely need to do a wheel alignment to drive it. It would be a waste to do two wheel alignments.

A few weeks with a bad alignment can really screw up your tires.

It might not be a few weeks though if you can get UPS to either buy or pay for a locally obtained replacement. Tell them you already waited to get the parcel, waited their 5 days and waited for the answer. And still waiting for the check. Once you know how much they are going to pay, it is unlikely to change. Then you can go buy one even before the check arrives.

 

My impression of UPS is very bad. Some friends are forced to use UPS at work, and not only have some shipments arrived late or damaged, they once left a valuable crate in the parking place of a shopping centre, 4 kilometres from their office where it was supposed to go! Fortunately it was noticed by an honest passerby who saw the company name on the label and called them, so they could go and pick it up.

 

Good luck with UPS, I had to file a claim once for a damaged panelview unit, it was a total farce, I spent hours on the 'phone with them and never got a satisfactory result.
Luckily the supplier stepped up and replaced the unit.

 

I know that is what is really frustrating about all this. I have to drive around without an alignment for another couple weeks because they broke the part I just waited a week for in shipping. At a very minimum they need to send this broken *** box back to the seller.

 

There are some companies that deserve an early death.

UPS is universally despised.

If a seller insists on using UPS, I insist on not buying.