Most likely they deal directly with the vendor after purchase for any warranty issues/defective parts, likely they list the part for sale on their website, but like many other companies these days, that part was likely drop shipped directly from the vendor. Yes, they are an actual company with a warehouse and showroom.

 

Yes return of drop shipped items depends on the vendor's policies

Funny you should mention that. The EGR on my YJ just self destructed, fell apart from rust, (fortunately only a few blocks from home after a weekend wheeling trip) and I barely managed to run it home.

Started looking for a replacement, everybody was out of stock, most listing the same date 9/15 (Autozone showed in in their catalog but no availabiltiy date). Placed an order with Morris4x4 because they showed in stock ship 9/7, but then they sent me an email with the magic 9/15 date.

Apparently these items are drop shipped for all these companies from Omix (including Quadratec, Amazon, Summit and others), and Omix is now setting the 9/15 date--and I know from experience those dates (especially in the current economy) cannot be relied on.

There is a used Jeep parts specialist here in NJ (TNT parts, Keyport) and he set me up with a used one and I'm running again. But I left my order for the new replacement standing, whenever it actually shows up.

 

Yes, they are real. They are not a manufacturer, which is why they need to check with the manufacturer, especially for items drop shipped directly.

Hoss

 

items drop shipped

That is the essence of the problem.

Morris has quite frustrated me a number of times. Staff doesn’t always have a good understanding of jeeps on the phone is another issue. And stupid things like when I called to ask if their stainless brake lines had stainless flare nuts and after several transfers and “we don’t have them here to look at” I was told they were steel and that didn’t matter because the lines don’t rust and the steel nuts don’t matter.
Because they never serviced brakes in The Rust Belt.

CSE was good to me a few years back, most everybody with a glass bowl fuel pump for "Willy", my '46 CJ2A was sitting at $50+

When the prior owner in NY ran it, yes. Unless they’ve improved A: they don’t have brilliant jeep people to answer the phone (used to get the owner usually) and B: it seems they don’t have the stock of stuff like CJ rubber hood buttons and unobtanium YJ e-brake arms anymore. In Ohio or Indiana or something, now? Maybe the people that bought it didn’t know and trashed the dusty obsolete boxes on the shelves?

 

I've only had one dealing with them that I recall. It was an alum. valve cover from Omix. It had paint chipping off of it (supposedly baked enamel) and 2 of the holes didn't line up. Long story short (heres the details. https://www.jeepforum.com/threads/beware-omix-ada-aluminum-valve-covers.4139873/#post-38743033 ) they issued me a credit and said keep the cover. They were very good at customer service, at least 5 years ago.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Does anyone know of a Jeep parts seller that operates normally? Ie, if there is a legitimate problem they’ll take the part back and send a new one?

I’ve honestly never had to wait to have a problem resolved on an internet order when the item that arrived is 1) damaged. 2) incorrect part. 3) defective.

 

By the time you get back into the 80s, most parts are from the same handful of vendors. Mopar OEM not available and even the mainstream auto parts suppliers are no longer stocking anything beyond the common user items. That's kind of what we are stuck with.

 

i never had trouble with morris 4x4 either, and they have actually called me to verify i ordered correct parts in the past, before they shipped them but as far as fixing issues like you are asking, rockauto was awesome.

i bought a front end body part for my son's mini cooper s a number of years back. it was the support that holds the lights and radiator, that the bumper and grill mount to. it came in its own 18 wheeler and was destroyed when it got to me. i took pics and emailed to them and they sent another 18 wheeler with an undamaged part immediately. i was very impressed.

and immediately was like three days till i got it because i don't remember where the part came from but it wasn't south texas, where i live

 

You bought a front end for a mini cooper from Morris 4x4 ??? Must have been before Auto Anything bought them !

 

Doh, you are right! I was thinking of rock auto. Sorry

 

I ordered several things from them long time ago.

I really liked their catalog and their taste with the holiday ads.

Then one day I was going to order something and found that their catalog

was no longer EZ to navigate and for me, it would have been an EZer task

to look thru the Tokyo White pages for an item.

----JEEPFELLER

 

I ordered several things from them long time ago.

I really liked their catalog and their taste with the holiday ads.

Then one day I was going to order something and found that their catalog

was no longer EZ to navigate and for me, it would have been an EZer task

to look thru the Tokyo White pages for an item.

----JEEPFELLER

I'm in the same boat as you with having trouble navigating my way around to order something. Not so much with a catalog, as they are being phased out but with websites. I found out why a while back too. Part of it is the software being used to design a website. When my new one was made the software organized where the items were listed. It made sense to me to have things that were alike but different sizes listed together but that's not how things were done. After a face to face conversation happened with the guy that made my site took place he explained to me he had to over-ride the templates. Another thing that rubs me raw are websites that almost bury their phone number.

On the topic of Morris. They used to be a family owned and Christian bunch of people. From the sound of it that has changed. Too bad. I deal with these people OK4WD – OE, 4x4, and Performance Specialist for Cars, Jeeps, Trucks, and SUV’s! They buy my shackle hangers and sell them in a kit for the YJ spring conversion on CJs. From my end they have always been top notch to deal with and as far as I know they are family owned. We've never had to deal with a warranty issue but I have taken a few calls from their customers with questions, which I love doing. Never hesitate to call the manufacturer if possible.

 

IIRC Morris was sold within the last year or two. It's probably another name purchased by Transunion, aka 4Wheel Parts Whoresalers. I've seen lots of complaints about them on FB since Covid started.

 

Does anyone know of a Jeep parts seller that operates normally? Ie, if there is a legitimate problem they’ll take the part back and send a new one?

Drop shipping direct from a vendor IS normal for anything but the most basic things, and sometimes even for that. Nobody can afford to buy something that might sit on the shelf AND pay overhead for the floor space that shelf takes up.

Even when B&M stores stocked more things, returns were still subject to the manufacturer return policy. The store has to be able to get its money back.

 

I "shop around" quite a bit when I buy stuff, especially "Big Stuff" (anything over $1)

CSE was good to me a few years back, most everybody with a glass bowl fuel pump for "Willy", my '46 CJ2A was sitting at $50+

I found them at CSE for $21 and some change, I bought 2, still running the 1st one.

CSE Offroad

We carry a huge selection of aftermarket parts for Jeep Willys MB GPW CJ2A CJ3A M38 M38A1 CJ5 CJ7 CJ8 Wrangler YJ TJ LJ JK JL and Cherokee XJ. Save with free shipping

www.cseoffroad.com

I understand the satisfied repeat customer thing and such and dedication.

BUT THAT AIN"T ME!

I'm mostly dedicated to having some gas money left to get around on, in my starving wallet.

Among other shopping sites, I keep "Shopzilla.com" up on my favorites bar and use it frequently for anything.

I have found that keeping your search wording concise and to a minimum, and part numbers common to other places, will sometimes narrow your

searching down quickly and omit the junk.

So on those lines an example might be a Omix part number---many folks will have it, but one place will be less expensive!

-----JEEPFELLER

 

Living in Eastern PA, I'm very close to Quadratec in West Chester, PA and they are usually my go to place for Jeep parts. They are always pomp and upfront on as to whether parts you order or are looking for is in stock and estimate when said parts will arrive. Status email updates and so forth.
I use to purchase from Morris 4x4 also back in the day but not so much anymore. As others have said, they show parts in stock when they are not, just to lure you in to buying from them and then leave you hanging waiting for them. Quadratec does not do that.

 

I always use Summit Racing. There is very little they don't carry for Jeeps even my intermediate CJ5. When I look op a part, they tell me how many they have in stock and usually say if I order that day it ships that day. If it ships from the vendor, they tell me shipping date from vendor. I've only had one problem and that was in the early days of COVID when they kept slipping the ship date. After my last order shipped, I looked and the gas tank hose I ordered the quantity on hand had changed from three to two.

I made that order on a Monday, and they said I should receive it on Friday and every item came on Wednesday except one which arrived as promised on Friday. If they ship from Atlanta, I usually get my order the next day.

My last order I had to search for a $5.00 item to get the order to $99 to get free shipping. I needed a 2.5" hose clamp so that finished my order. I also found that they had clamps for almost $130.

Now everyone can post their horror stories about Summitt.

 

I always use Summit Racing. There is very little they don't carry for Jeeps even my intermediate CJ5. When I look op a part, they tell me how many they have in stock and usually say if I order that day it ships that day. If it ships from the vendor, they tell me shipping date from vendor. I've only had one problem and that was in the early days of COVID when they kept slipping the ship date. After my last order shipped, I looked and the gas tank hose I ordered the quantity on hand had changed from three to two.

I made that order on a Monday, and they said I should receive it on Friday and every item came on Wednesday except one which arrived as promised on Friday. If they ship from Atlanta, I usually get my order the next day.

My last order I had to search for a $5.00 item to get the order to $99 to get free shipping. I needed a 2.5" hose clamp so that finished my order. I also found that they had clamps for almost $130.

Now everyone can post their horror stories about Summitt.

I have absolutely no horror stories for Summit Racing and have purchased from them quite a bit but not necessarily for my Jeep parts and just for the performance parts like for the engine like headers, intake manifolds, internal engine parts etc. Summit racing is a quality distributor that has been doing it for decades. As for the Jeep parts I would rather purchase those from someone that emphasizes on just that "Jeep Parts". That would be a reliable distributor like Quadratec.

 

I ordered a SYE kit from Morris a few months back mainly because it was the only place I found it listed "in stock". Was supposed to be in my hands within a week at most. A month later after multiple emails and finally a request to cancel the order it mysteriously shipped within a day of the cancel request.

 

I will add this as well, drop shipping vs shipping and inventory volumes are two seperate issues.

Drop shipping simply means they ship from the manufacturer, or a warehouse, directly to you when you place the order. As long as there is stock/product available, it's usually (used to be) a relative non issue, because in many cases, you actually got items sooner than if they had to ship them from a store or local warehouse, because the manufacturer had staff that did just that, ship. Day in, day out, multiple times a day, with many carriers.

It kept the shops from having to 'guess' what part anyone might need At a random momemt in time, which helped them offer a larger range of product, but not actual inventory, which kept prices AND physical space needs down. This became more and more necessary as everyone stopped physically visiting the FLAP and FLORS, and instead relied on online purchases.

Now then, fast forward to the last couple years, where a previous 40 ft container shipped for $500-$800. The cost and availability of, say quadratec to get a full container of parts from a manufacturer in China to their warehouse in the US was pretty straight forward. Order the product, divide the x number of parts by the x dollars to ship, and off you go.

Fast forward to today, and that same container can cost upwards of $6-$8K to ship, IF you can get (order) one.

If you have 12,000-16,000 pieces of, say, leaf spring bushings in that container, it 'only' adds .50 cents apiece to each of the products in it. If you are shipping jeep tubs, and you can only fit in 6 or 12 at a time, it's substantially higher per unit.

Also, with covid, there are so many less containers and boat space to be had, you have to be able to both get a container , AND find boat space. Remember, this goes for getting the materials TO the manufacturer as well.

I was just talking with a local trucking and container shipping company here, and the owner was confirming all this as fact. (In fact, his stories).

While I 100% agree it's complete and utter BS to list a part you don't have, I have to also defend the practice of drop shipping, because no one can or will pay the price it costs to have a local shop pay/hold the inventory anymore, the commerce is all done on line.

Hoss

 

Recent problem with 4wd.com. I ordered a stereo that was in stock. It’s been a month and a half and I have not received the product or any updates. I’ve sent a couple emails (One after two weeks, and one after one month) requesting an estimated ship date, and they have not responded at all. I’ve tried calling several times, but the wait time is always over an hour. I did get through once, and they hung up on me when I asked if there was an estimated ship date. Dead serious, not joking. No way I will ever shop there again. Hopefully the stereo shows up someday.

 

Four-wheel drive and Morris are both in the same company. A month and a half is way too long I would have called my credit card company a long time ago and have that step in to get your money back.

 

Well, seems like this answers all the questions I have about ordering miscellaneous body parts for Christine in the near future.

That said, I tend to do pretty good with EBay. Haven’t found too many places so far in my search that seems to draw my attention.

I’ll be following this thread now lol

 

My advice is shop around. All the suppliers have issues from time to time, and some more than others. My experience has been look for in stock and verify. Shop prices as well. Sales, specials etc. have saved me lots of cash on exactly the same items offered by multiple vendors. I have only purchased 3 times from Morris. Service was fine. I have purchased many more times with Quadratec (33 items) with more out of stock issues. But the law of averages would say more orders, more items, more chance for backorder. My issues have been with price increases, showing in stock when item is not, etc. I have had the best luck with Amazon when I can use them. But you still need to check pricing as even Amazon has had some crazy prices. I keep a list of multiple vendors and look to see who has the item in stock, price, and don't forget shipping. Or sales tax if it affects your state, as here in Minnesota. In addition to Quadratec, Morris and Amazon I have used Rockauto, Summit, Collins Bros., Extreme Terrain, Torq-Masters, O'Reilly and even Ebay.

 

My advice is shop around. All the suppliers have issues from time to time, and some more than others. My experience has been look for in stock and verify. Shop prices as well. Sales, specials etc. have saved me lots of cash on exactly the same items offered by multiple vendors. I have only purchased 3 times from Morris. Service was fine. I have purchased many more times with Quadratec (33 items) with more out of stock issues. But the law of averages would say more orders, more items, more chance for backorder. My issues have been with price increases, showing in stock when item is not, etc. I have had the best luck with Amazon when I can use them. But you still need to check pricing as even Amazon has had some crazy prices. I keep a list of multiple vendors and look to see who has the item in stock, price, and don't forget shipping. Or sales tax if it affects your state, as here in Minnesota. In addition to Quadratec, Morris and Amazon I have used Rockauto, Summit, Collins Bros., Extreme Terrain, Torq-Masters, O'Reilly and even Ebay.

Your comment only has given answer to the above questions ask. Good contribution

 

I have had good luck with Morris in the past but did not realize they have been bought out by Auto Anything. I have had both good and bad luck with Q tec, 4wd.com, Extreme Terrain and ebay. Never had any issues with Summit.

 

I would love to hear what your experiences have been with 4wd.com. I'm considering sending them a big order when I do my YJ spring conversion...

 

I've commented about my EGR order with Morris, it's been chaotic

Ordered 9/6 website said in stock.
Then told it was being shipped from mfr,9/7 to9/9
on 9/7 they moved it out to9/15
on 9/13 they moved it to 10/6
on 9/14 an email said it's been shipped with Fedex tracking # for 9/16 delivery

I don't totally blame them. The supply chain is a mess. My EGR had physically broken, the engine was unrunnable, but fortunately I had grabbed a junkyard one, so the pressure was off (yes the YJ is in almost daily use)

 

Jim - Do you know if OK4WD started putting holes in their shackle bolt sleeves they sell to work with the old man emu bushings, that allow you to use grease bolts?

 

I don't. They don't get any shackle parts from me at all. Have you seen the sleeves they use? Some I've seen are formed and have a seam along the length. I make mine from DOM, much smoother I think. I do know they have at times, by customer request used my shackle sets in the conversion kit because I've drop shipped to their customer before.

 

Morris 4 x 4 - save time and look elsewhere - These idiots are not worth your money. Buy from a local guy and spend an extra $40 - you will save big in the long run.

 

I don’t know that they’re less expensive- but I’ve hated the five or six times I’ve called them.
Knowledge beyond lift kits, seats, and bare minimum parts for Jeeps that don’t cost $45k used was lacking.
cSE offroad was what I turned to - top knowledge going back to CJs and great inventory but he sold out for health reasons. Now seems to have been absorbed by another drop-shipper last time I looked.
At least quadratec doesn’t blow you off when you call.