[Bims328i]

When I started purchasing parts from FCP I was under the impression the lifetime warranty would equate to cash back in my bank account but noticed they changed their policy surrounding the warranty a while back.

So basically I have to buy the part up front anyway and now you only get credit on the site? How does this work in terms of say I warranty my VC but I have to pay another $550 to buy the replacement and then I just get $550 credit on the site once I ship it back?

I'm having trouble understanding how this helps as I would then need to maybe use the credit to pay for other things down the road other than what I was trying to warranty. Is that how this works now?

Then you just have credit sitting in your account and get $550 worth of parts for free??

[jbash87]

That's how I understand it, yes. I returned some oil from my last oil change and now I have a credit in my FCP account.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Yeah it got changed a while back to that. Last I emailed them they told me all the orders before the date they did it they would still honor with refund but I never tried it yet. Tbh mostly lost me as a customer especially since I'm in Canada because of the change. I mainly order from Rock Auto now I can usually get the same OE parts that I would get from FCP cheaper and all the tax and duties are paid upfront so you know the actual total. I reserve FCP for Genuine parts if it's cheaper than the dealer here.

[jadams161]

I pretty much buy my sub $100 items now from FCP. I continue to do the "free" oil changes and just keep exchanging the used oil for new on my cars. But its crazy to think that if you needed, say, 6 new injectors, that you would have $2500 in "credit" on FCP. Thats BS.

[Bims328i]

It's honestly lame I would have preferred them to drop lifetime warranty on consumables and smaller items like oil and filters but keep it for the expensive high dollar items.

[Gemini562]

Yep! Not exactly the flexibility you'd hope for when you hear "lifetime warranty". It's like, you're locked into buying from them again whether you want to or not.

[lowrydr310]

Your understanding is correct, you just get store credit now. I think if you keep buying things from them and need to do a warranty exchange it's still not a bad deal.

The good news is that FCP stirred up the industry a bit because I know at least one other euro retailer (Pelican) that stepped up their warranty game to match FCP's lifetime warranty. I usually order from them instead since their prices are nearly identical and they offer local pickup.

Great now I'm thinking about the FCP oil changes again when I said it wasn't worth the hassle. I've done it twice back when PayPal even offered free return shipping. So now I'd have to buy a shipping label ($15-20) to return the old oil and filter to FCP.... maybe I'll give it another try. Amazon or Walmart always has some LL-01 oil on sale for <$30/5qts with free 1 or 2 day shipping, so I usually just do that. I also didn't like the two oils I tried from FCP, both had a strange smell and color that I wasn't used to seeing (the same LiquiMoly oil I bought locally was much lighter in color.)

[whyzee125]

Yes, that's how it works now but parts purchased before this switch you actualyl get a cash refund.

Name a place that would give you a better warranty than that. You can save a few bucks buying elsewhere but you'd be straight outta luck if it fails after the warranty period. Personally I'd take the store credit of the full amount plus not having to worry about having it diagnosed at the dealer, etc. like if you bought from Tischer.

I'm a customer for life, I've been buying from them for eons and never once had a part fail but they come through every time with my oil changes, plugs, etc. and with how many parts and consumable cars use, you'll use that store credit for sure.

If you're pinching pennies that bad, buy crap parts on Amazon and purchase again a year later when they fail.

[Bims328i]

I've been taking another look at it and this last LTW did come in clutch no need to be cheeky with the pennies comment haha. I do prefer them as they do a really great job and have a lot of the parts I need.

I've learned not to fiddle around with aftermarket parts honestly. Even these TYC side markers. The silicone bead that touches the fender is already turning to mush and falling off both sides. Shoot even this rein upper coolant line is not so good imo. (one above cooling fan)

The passenger side marker started leaking a few months after replacing. Now just going back to genuine as the og ones lasted way longer.

Same with the sequential side markers off amazon. Absolute trash. Would not even fit unless you grind your fender and not going to do that haha.

Good number of parts are still in cash refund range. All in all I got about $800 in parts for about $600 along with some decent sales on some items. Cheers.