Parts Stores
- Thread starter Dayzedandkonfuzed
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That Parks and Rec scene cracks me up every time. It is so relatable.
When I was still working at an auto body shop, I didn't go to the parts store, the parts store came to me. We had a CarQuest account and just ordered whatever. Not much selection that way, and the prices were maybe not always the cheapest, but they were never far off and you couldn't beat the convenience factor. Carquest at the time was reasonable, shop grade quality stuff too. Then the shop closed and Advance bought out Carquest around the same time, and I've never had a go-to place since. Things like motor oil, PB Blaster and brakleen I usually get at Walmart because the price can't be beaten.
When it comes to parts stores, I follow the brands of parts more than the stores. NGK, Denso, Timken, Bilstein, Moog, Fel-Pro, Wagner, Wix, Motorcraft, Akebono, Gates, Spicer, Fluid Film, Evapo-Rust, etc. Whoever has it in stock/cheapest is where I shop, I usually check online to see if it's in stock first. Excluding Napa and Carquest, I try to avoid the house brands (Duralast, Brakebest, DriveWorks) on parts that matter like brakes, starters, alternators etc, unless I know a quality company is making it for them and putting it in a different box.
I shop online at Rockauto if they can beat the local stores on brand and price, and I try to use OEM stuff on my Subaru so I buy a lot of stuff for it online from different Subaru places.
If I had to pick one chain parts store I guess I like O'Reillys the best. We just got them about a year ago. I would say Napa but they never have anything in stock and it usually takes a couple days for them to get it. I know full well there is zero intelligence at the parts counter except for the rare employee who might actually know something then quickly realizes they are surrounded by morons and quits within a week. I don't expect any advice or recommendations from parts store people. They are in the retail business, not the repair business, and that's fine.
So that's like you, me, and about 5 other people. Quite the market they are missing out on...
When I was still working at an auto body shop, I didn't go to the parts store, the parts store came to me. We had a CarQuest account and just ordered whatever. Not much selection that way, and the prices were maybe not always the cheapest, but they were never far off and you couldn't beat the convenience factor. Carquest at the time was reasonable, shop grade quality stuff too. Then the shop closed and Advance bought out Carquest around the same time, and I've never had a go-to place since. Things like motor oil, PB Blaster and brakleen I usually get at Walmart because the price can't be beaten.
When it comes to parts stores, I follow the brands of parts more than the stores. NGK, Denso, Timken, Bilstein, Moog, Fel-Pro, Wagner, Wix, Motorcraft, Akebono, Gates, Spicer, Fluid Film, Evapo-Rust, etc. Whoever has it in stock/cheapest is where I shop, I usually check online to see if it's in stock first. Excluding Napa and Carquest, I try to avoid the house brands (Duralast, Brakebest, DriveWorks) on parts that matter like brakes, starters, alternators etc, unless I know a quality company is making it for them and putting it in a different box.
I shop online at Rockauto if they can beat the local stores on brand and price, and I try to use OEM stuff on my Subaru so I buy a lot of stuff for it online from different Subaru places.
If I had to pick one chain parts store I guess I like O'Reillys the best. We just got them about a year ago. I would say Napa but they never have anything in stock and it usually takes a couple days for them to get it. I know full well there is zero intelligence at the parts counter except for the rare employee who might actually know something then quickly realizes they are surrounded by morons and quits within a week. I don't expect any advice or recommendations from parts store people. They are in the retail business, not the repair business, and that's fine.
So that's like you, me, and about 5 other people. Quite the market they are missing out on...
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No Auto Parts Available is what my coworker always called them. We were a Napa installer shop so I saw the good and bad from them.
I've always had good luck with Arnold Motor Supply finding the odd parts in stock or if I'm closer to South Dakota, Sturdavents has alot more in stock than most parts stores.
If they would keep things in stock as well as the consumer-oriented chains do, I'd probably use them almost exclusively. I think my local store is worse than most, but they never seem to have what I need, even the most common, basic parts. And while they can order it, parts take days to come in. Our old Carquest could usually have stuff delivered to us same day if you ordered it before 3 PM, even if it wasn't on hand. Also my NAPA store carries nothing in the way of consumables. No gloves, no spray paints, no PB Blaster or WD-40, no brakleen, no shop towels... literally nothing. They carry motor oil, antifreeze and transmission fluid. They have some greases but not much selection and I'm willing to bet that anything that's on the shelf has been there for at least a year. And their hours aren't great. Monday through Friday 7:30 to 5 and closed on weekends.
It sucks because I really like most of their auto parts. I've had great luck with their batteries, starters, alternators, water pumps, fuel pumps, filters, coils, ignition modules, etc. And the guys at the counter aren't mechanics, but they know the products they are selling very well.
Yeah... that comes down to the whole computer deciding what's common. I set up an auto meter gauge display when I was a manager, and got a call a few weeks later from the purchaser, telling me some of these numbers were really slow movers. She asked if she could change my stocking quantities to the highest movers. I said yes, of course. Then I looked at what she changed.... the highest movers were fittings and accessories, there wasn't a single gauge... so I changed it back. And yes, lots of people replace one door pin, one brake rotor, etc. Unfortunately probably more than the guys who know better (no joke, at least once a day I sell one brake rotor, and I dont even try to sell them on 2, I've learned my lesson there.) When I see something stock wise that doesn't make sense, like your fuel pump, I correct it immediately.
I also hate arrogant parts people, and they're right alongside lazy parts people. I have found myself being arrogant at times though, but it's usually when someone gets all defensive about a simple question I've asked. Still don't feel good about it.
It does sound like some of you have it pretty bad though. Shitty service is bad for any business.
Maybe it's because I am too young to have the parts counter Rain Man experience where they can quote any needed part from memory, but knowing that my Pontiac is a total mess of random GM parts that happen to work together, I will at least try to remember the original application that the part I need was in. If I am unsure or I am trying to go off-script on something, I will usually say so at the start and they can usually either find something that will work or let me search around in the back.
The whole computer thing only seems to offend the old-timers.
The whole computer thing only seems to offend the old-timers.
Don't forget the turbo guys. Yknow, all the guys with 10 second GNs buying them house brand piston rings. 😛
I've ordered more Buick stuff from TA (duh) and Northern Auto Parts (Souix City) than any parts store. Ditto on Northern and Macs Auto Parts for my tbird when I had that. I even had to go to the damn dealership for cam bearings for that stupid 454. Not a single parts store even carried BBC cam bearings.
Honestly... I think I just hate seeing all the shitty stores ruin it for everyone. I like my job and I'm good at it, but I see it first hand even in my store that most people don't and aren't. My store has 13 counter people, and 4 of them have over 100 years combined experience, so we're pretty fortunate.
Some of the stuff I'm reading here is pretty crazy for a parts store, like no consumable chemicals or 2 line sbc fuel pumps. We don't stock bbc cam bearings, but they're only 2 hours away, and we do stock bbc mains and rods in std and 10 over. I might have started this conversation with the wrong crowd
This was a mistake
Some of the stuff I'm reading here is pretty crazy for a parts store, like no consumable chemicals or 2 line sbc fuel pumps. We don't stock bbc cam bearings, but they're only 2 hours away, and we do stock bbc mains and rods in std and 10 over. I might have started this conversation with the wrong crowd
This was a mistake
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