State of the Auto Parts Stores 2024

the Napa near me seems to cater to shops and don't care for the diy/saturday folk so much,i think they're leaving that to the chain stores.it was way worse when it was corporate and now privately owned it's a little better but it's tough getting there for me due to their hours.it's to bad because if you've ever been to a GOOD napa you'd realize how wide their product lines carry. i used to frequent a napa growing up with my dad to have parts turned and they had an actual machine shop there.they carried all kinds of stuff in that store that you wouldn't think they would,napa/ecklin etc etc.that place was cool they let us look around in the back when looking for a non application shaped rad hose.i used to have paint made at that same store when i was in high school.
there's a few chains within 25 minuates from me and i'm very fortune in that respect but the chain stores are a crap shoot for a lot of parts and if you're looking for something other than a no name random it's 🤞i try to check their sites before hand to map out my route of where i can get what.it's a pain but again i'm just happy to have access to the stuff i need semi locally.a lot of places only carry one of thing's which is odd but i'm sure they have their reasons.I'm not buying as much as i used to but a lot has changed.it all kinda speaks to to the state of the automotive hobby/industry as a whole.cars/people aren't what they used to be,stores can become straight retail and employ no real car people there.it feels like cars made in he last 30 years don't NEED as much attention as say cars before i was born.that said i agree with Jim about the state of people working in stores these days across the board..
i did visit a local speed shop yesterday and they had the bowl gaskets i needed,it's gotten waaay smaller..i used to work nearby 20+ years ago and shopped on the regular but it's run by a guy that races and wouldn't give much time of the day for the little guys and acted like he was doing us favors,it just got old.I'm sure the retail parts game's gotten tough on their end too.

Part numbers, folks. Do your own lookup and give them part numbers. Works fine for me when I buy locally

Although the Autozone (nobody else had it "in stock" on their websites) guy wanted to know what a $9 V belt was for "for the warranty".

Parts that aren't "I need it now" are Rockauto, Amazon, or eBay buys

O'reilly's near me has been my go to for a while now. With that said, I still cringe every time I walk in. If it's for a specific vehicle, they either have it, or can get it quickly.
But last week I walked in needing a part for a custom job and I literally saw the counter guy's eyes glaze over and his arms slump. He could not locate what I needed.
Another parts store up the street had older people working there and he had what I needed.

How many of you out there have had to order parts for a car or truck you don't own just to get the damn part you need for a project?

A couple people here have mentioned Napa paint. My 80 Elcamino has dark claret paint. The code I think was 76. I gave the info to my local Napa and they matched about perfect! I used it to paint my wheels. Will for sure use them again when I need paint.

Perfect example: yesterday a friend of mine was putting a rebuilt transmission in his truck. 350 TH. He added fluid to it and when he put the dipstick back in the tip broke off so he had to drop the pan. Only one parts store out of six had one pan gasket. One of the stores asked him if this was a gasket for the rear axle. The world is in sad shape!

Last TH350 was produced in 1986. Stores don't stock parts for 40 year old applications because those inventory dollars could be better used for parts that are better sellers.

Average age of the US fleet is 12.6 years

It's hard for old guys like me to accept that the things that were common when I was younger have been bypassed...but I'm learning, and planning farther out.

Napa is my only option in my town of 890. Their main customers are the nearby dairies and farms. There's a couple shops in town too. There's probably more belts and fluids stocked for farm equipment than anything else. However, there's 5 other Napas in their network so they can usually have most things delivered to their store within a half day. I don't shop there much but 75% of the counter guys are competent.

Across the river, within 20 minutes drive is O'Reilly, Autozone, and Advance. O'Reilly is the only one I ever deal with. Most of the counter staff sucks. I've gotten to the point where I won't even deal with the females.

I buy my OEM Toyota filters from dealership outlets via ebay. Jugs of Valvoline come from Amazon. Air and cabin filters in bulk from Amazon or Rockauto. If it's scheduled maintenance or not urgent, usually ebay. There's motorcycles, trailers, mowers, and a tractor in the mix too.

I maintain and monitor my fleet pretty closely, so there aren't a lot of surprises. Considering the annual mileage they rack up, I don't use auto parts stores much at all.

In summary, I'm the counter guy now.

I made this purchase online for in store pick up (in 2021). Two young men were "working" when I went to pick it up a couple of hours later. They had found one item of the five. I asked if I could assist in the search. I found the other four in a matter of minutes, never having worked at the store.
Some times the desire to fulfill the need surpasses the desire to say "I couldn't find it".