Quick answer: It depends on which of three things went wrong, and how the reason is recorded. If the part is wrong, defective or damaged in transit, LiveAutoParts covers return shipping and refunds in full with no restocking fee. If you ordered the wrong thing or gave incomplete vehicle details, our policy lists that under returns that are normally not available; where we do agree to take the part back, you pay return shipping and a restocking fee applies. Change of mind is not a return reason at all. Nothing ships back without a written RMA, and the terms printed on your quotation control.
The expensive part of a bad delivery is rarely the part. It is the ten minutes you spend describing what went wrong, because those words decide who pays the freight.
Three situations, three different answers
1. Wrong item sent, or not as described
The clean case. A mismatched part number, the wrong variation, or a part that materially differs from the written quotation, description or photographs is our error or our supplier's. Where the fault is ours we cover return shipping or send a prepaid label, the refund carries no restocking fee, and outbound shipping comes back on our verified error.
2. Defective on arrival
Also our side, with one condition: it has to still be uninstalled. A return covers an uninstalled part inside the 7-calendar-day window from confirmed carrier delivery; a warranty claim covers a part that proves defective after it is fitted, on a separate clock and limited to the part itself, never the repair around it (our used auto parts warranty guide has the full split). So if a part looks wrong on the bench, stop: fitting it anyway to "make sure" moves you out of the return column.
3. Buyer error — wrong vehicle details, wrong part, changed mind
Start from the fact that this is not a return you can insist on: our Returns & Refunds Policy lists a wrong part ordered by you, or an incorrect or incomplete VIN, under returns that are normally not available. Where we do agree to take the part back, you pay return shipping, handling and insurance, and a restocking fee applies. Our Terms are explicit that a part that does not fit because of incorrect vehicle information or part selection you supplied is a buyer-error return. Change of mind belongs in the same list, alongside fitment problems caused by trim, engine or production variations.
Why "it doesn't fit" is the most expensive sentence in a return request
Those three words cover two completely different events without distinguishing them. Either a different part arrived than the one on your quotation — seller error — or the quoted part arrived and your vehicle needs another one, which lands on you because the vehicle details came from you. Read cold, with no evidence attached, the second reading is the one that fits the file.
So describe the object, not your conclusion. "It doesn't fit" is a conclusion; "the quotation says six-bolt flange, the part delivered has eight" is an observation, and an observation can be checked. Anchor every claim to something photographable: the casting or OEM number, the recycler's tag, the connector count, the mounting pattern, a bracket present on yours and missing on the one in the box.
The first hour after delivery decides most of this
Our Terms require you to inspect a shipment in the driver's presence before signing, and state that signing without inspection constitutes acceptance of condition. At the kerb, and in the hour after:
- Note visible damage on the delivery receipt and photograph the packaging and the part before unpacking, keep it for a carrier inspection, and report shipping damage to us within 48 hours. Damage you do not write on the receipt has to be raised later as a concealed-damage claim, and carriers set those windows themselves — they are measured in days, not weeks, so raise it at once.
- Photograph the identifiers — casting numbers, OEM part number, the recycler's tag — beside the quotation.
- Do not install it, and do not attempt to install it. A returned part must come back as received — not installed, not attempted, not modified. Parts showing installation marks, fresh scratches or missing hardware may be refused, or refunded at reduced value.
Our guide to used parts shipping and freight claims covers freight receipts in detail.
The RMA has to exist in writing before anything moves
This is the step people skip, and it is the fastest way to lose a return you would otherwise have won. Every return must be authorised by us in writing before anything is sent back. Contact us within 7 calendar days of confirmed delivery, say what is wrong — wrong part, damage, or defect — and send photographs, your VIN and supporting documents.
Then pack securely, ship by a trackable method, and write the RMA number on the outside: a package without a visible RMA number may be refused and the refund denied, and unauthorised returns may be refused, discarded, or returned at your expense. Every returned part is inspected before a refund is approved: inspection takes 3–10 business days, and an approved refund reaches your original payment method within 5–10 business days.
Restocking fees, and what else comes off a refund
An approved refund can be less than what you paid. The published deductions: a restocking fee of 15% on standard parts or 25% on special and heavy orders — engines, transmissions, sheet metal, body panels; inspection, testing or diagnostic fees; return shipping and original outbound shipping where applicable; and loss of value from damage after delivery. No restocking fee is charged when the order was defective, incorrect or our error — those are refunded in full. On freight and oversized items, crating, freight pickup and special handling are non-refundable and yours, except on our verified error.
Cancelling is not returning, and it runs on its own clock. Cancellations are free within 2 hours of payment confirmation; after that and before shipment the same 15%/25% restocking fee applies, though parts already pulled, prepared or specially ordered are typically non-cancellable, and an order cannot be cancelled once shipped. If we cannot fulfil your order, you get a full refund with no fee.
Electrical parts stop being returnable when you connect them
Electrical and electronic parts are final sale once installed, tested or connected — and "connected" is the real line, not "installed". An electrical item has to come back unopened and unused, with any static-sensitive packaging intact. CarParts.com publishes the same restriction on opened or unsealed electrical parts, so this is an industry rule, not a house one.
The reasoning is not arbitrary. Connecting or testing a module incorrectly can damage it in ways nothing on the outside shows — unplugging a connector with the key still on can put a momentary surge of hundreds of volts through it — so the part still looks perfect and nobody can tell whether it is still good. Confirm fitment before anything is plugged in, and route the diagnosis to a qualified technician. Ordering a control module? Read which used parts need programming first, and treat an engine control module as a fitment-first job.
What US law actually gives you here
Less than most people assume. The FTC's three-day cooling-off rule covers certain sales made at your home, workplace or a seller's temporary location, and the FTC states plainly that it does not cover sales made entirely online, by mail or telephone. The FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule governs shipment timing, not returns of wrong or unwanted goods.
That leaves the policy, the quotation and your card issuer. Nothing in our policy excludes a statutory right that cannot lawfully be excluded, and nothing waives your right to dispute a charge with your bank — we ask only that you give us at least 5 business days to put it right first.
Give the VIN, and the question mostly disappears
Almost every buyer-error return starts as a guess about trim, engine or production date. The VIN removes it. Send your VIN with the part you need, then read the terms on the quotation before you pay — that document controls. Unsure what yours encodes? Start with decoding your VIN for parts.
