99StockGT

Glad I'm not the only one who has had this soul searching moment. Once spring comes around and a 4 door more "adult" sedan becomes something I am truly going to consider these are 2 of my demons I must confront...personally I know if I get a G8 there's no way I won't have it under the knife within months. Plus it would look sexy in the garage next to the LeMans The CTS-V might survive such a fate.

I would honestly love to make a sign to point to in situations like these. Trouble shooting a car is very similar to troubleshooting in IT, you have to trace the symptoms back to the source(s). Unfortunately a lot of sales folk for a number of reasons will give uneducated wisdom or guesses when it comes to codes. This goes back to the earlier comment about not over promising, if you don't know don't stick your neck out! In the days of the internet 99% of customers can do very in depth research on their code before making a decision..heck as long as our store isn't swamped at the time I'll usually assist them right then and there with doing a bit of peeking around. Would I love to staff my store with mechanics and certified techs from all walks of life and brands of cars ABSOLUTELY.. however you all might start to balk at $25 spark plugs and $250 honda civic batteries Talking down a customer who wants to cure a random miss-fire code with a set of $1.69 spark plugs and won't take any other advice is an art...not a science

Unfortunately I'm not sure how much I'll have access to performance upgrades for many cars since that's something most of us already have a vendor for or get custom fabbed but it's something I will be looking into. As far regular every day parts, pieces for DDs, hell even just fluids and car-care materials I would love to see more CR folk in my parking lot. All of my toys are put away for the snow season but once the sun returns and the white stuff disappears I've always got one parked outside the store

Highly looking forward to seeing this in Detroit next month. Hard to imagine how much improvement they can get over the current fantastic beast the boys at the bowtie have created...

Lol nope thats not me. Right company, wrong location. As of about 3 months ago I'm the new GM of the Bethel Rd. Advance Auto Parts store. Feel free to stop in and say Hi, I'm almost always here (Except Sundays). Still working out an appreciation scheme for the CR crowd, but rest assured you WILL be taken care of. That invite of course goes to all of you..even Draco

Mr. DHarris89 you are certainly welcome to come back and visit any time I'll make sure to introduce the crew. It's still a bit of a work in progress but I would say we 95% of the time we have a pretty great range of truck/tuner/muscle car folk in the building during most business hours. Sometimes it seems admitting that you DON'T know something has fallen out of fashion, unfortunately its more a sign of good character than lack of knowledge. I totally hear you about the being a place to hang out. That's certainly something I have done in the past myself. None seem to really host cruise ins anymore I've noticed though? Is that a semi-dead experience or have I just been working too much to notice? And Draco..yes yes I do. Though sometimes that drive is even longer and more painful than the drive to the ACTUAL warehouse.

Just giving the scoobie love some grief no hostility intended. Draco and i know each other and have worked together. In the year the sawmill store has been open they have done a great job. Already one of the best in the city. And I'll admit to a little bit of parts envy

Psshh don't listen to Draco he's trying to Hijack my thread for his own bold faced ambition Plus he's on vacation right now so who knows how bad they have become without his leadership right now! But yes I agree the Sawmill store has a pretty good crew. One of the best around.

Maybe it was more of a small town thing, back in my home town one of the better known parts stores often hosted cruise ins and the like. Though I will totally agree with you that scene got taken over by ricers and people who couldnt keep from attracting cops. Diversifying our part supply is actually something I would be more than happy to look into if there is actually a demand for it and I can move the product I'll sell it. Redline Oil I can absolutely stock if there's a need for it. Not sure about the fills but if there are enough people requesting it I'll see what I can do. And Cordell..if you come in with a shopping list of parts and seem to know what you're talking about, the only thing I'll question you about is the project you are working on. And probably if I can go for a ride once its done.

Dharris89 - I know that store has gone through a lot of crazy restaffing/expansion over the last couple of years and now have a mini warehouse in the back of their store so at the very least their parts availability is pretty awesome. It's not going to be on par with the actual distro center that NAPA has, but still pretty dern good. What really got me thinking about this the other day was a the large amount of parts ordering I know going through online retailers with no storefront or onhand inventory, just a site an email address and an 800 number. I've done very little online shopping in my life, and I'm in the age group that came up during he true birth of the internet and worked at several of the largest ecommerce companies in the country...I don't know to me I would rather buy from people than from a screen and a click. Unfortunately as many of you have said even that can be ruined by a smart ass or know it all behind the counter. Are car part stores "hang outs" like they used to be? Or is that something anyone even wants any more? I've been into tuing/customizing my own cars for 15+ years but things were much different...back in my day. That and people had more money to "invest" in projects

Sounds like this is more becoming a question of the people behind the sale versus the sale itself. Which is a good thing for those of us working on getting the right people in place Product quality I can certainly understand though, when you buy a part especially something with a Lifetime warranty you expect it to last unfortunately not all products are created(or remanned) equal! Geeesammy - I can certainly feel your pain. I can't tell you how many times a customer will come in for a light bulb not even knowing the year or manu of their vehicle. The "do you have it here? If so lets take a look real quick" can be a life saver but ... we all eventually run low on patience I'm sure you have also had an untold number of "you install these for me, right?" ranging for everything from headlights and tail lights to alternators and everything else. Makes you wonder sometimes why they think shops charge for everything we do and we would just give away such a service huh? Cordell - The uniform is definitely a double edged sword...if you can come in rattle off a couple part numbers and get what you need great. As long as the person behind the counter can follow simple instructions. Unfortunately a lot of our "parts people" in the major retailers don't have the wrench knowledge but will sometimes pony up and try to talk shop as if they do. I'm sure we have all seen that issue in action. Personally I love seeing techs in my store...you typically know what you want, have done some research on availability and price, and are FAR less likely to return the part...as long as we give you the right one Most of the big box parts guys have local hubs/warehouses/DCs that they can get parts from pretty quickly..usually same day. If they aren't going out of their way to earn your business that's their problem, there are always other part suppliers who will treat you better. Hell, I've sent drivers all over this city for parts as simple as a lug nut or wheel stud for people. If I take care of you on the small stuff and treat you fairly, I know where you will come for the big stuff!

Warranty isn't necessarily that different between part shops honestly. Though finding someone who is willing to HONOR that, especially the spirit of it is. That kind of goes back to having good people behind the counters though.

A car parts shop "of the people by the people for the people"? Basically I have recently found myself running a car parts shop here and I'm trying to get a feeling for what the enthusiast car owner is looking for. People who care about their cars, work on their cars, and FIX their own cars would be a big draw and I have no problem taking care of those kinds of people however I need to. If that's discounts, great. If that's staffing my stores with ex-wrench turners and gear heads, fine I can do that. I'm a fan of doing research before I stick my neck out and as I said before, I figured who best to reach out to than the folks here.

That's somewhere close to the answer I was hoping for, so thank you Fubar! I can beat anyone on price, as long as its reasonable..but to me having somewhere I can actually have a reasonably enthused conversation with someone who doesn't give me a dull blank look while grunting at a screen is certainly work an extra $1 or two.

Trying to learn before I leap personally. What others take from it they may. Figured what better way to get in touch with some DIY car folk than ask here. Batteries are necessary, light bulbs woo woo exciting, wiper blades I dream about during lunch breaks...but what I think makes a shop more fun/interesting for me are the interactions with customers and the staff. Not to mention it's a bit better image in the parking lot seeing some fun/interesting/sexy(?) cars in the parking lot...gives the average customer more confidence in buying when they know true "Car Folk" buy from the same shop. Hopefully that makes sense..

Hmmm ok. So if I provide some semi-educated folks to answer the phone or work the parts counter, price I won't have a problem beating the O' O' O' Reilly's discount...what about free hot chocolate? Will that be a winner?

Not to be too incredibly personal but what kind of discount are you looking for? I'm sure we all understand businesses are in business to do business...so what are you typically talking? Blanket discount? Discount on specific areas? ie..brakes..suspension..exhaust?

Searched for something on topic about this and didn't find anything to satisfy my curiousity so why not toss my first New Thread here on the subject. So what makes your call? Price? Part availability? Knowledge of the staff? Available space in the parking lot to do a burnout after your purchase? Completely selfish reason for me asking this which will come later , just trying to educate myself for now :fa:

Pound for pound I think these are one of the best cars ever built for a true driver. Not super expensive, not overly complicated, and enough power to enjoy but not get yourself killed in without really really trying. Unfortunately it feels like less and less children are following the car lovers foot steps...I truely hope your daughter does! Great post and look forward to meeting you at the AutoXs this year!

Some other photos of the toys as I promised. http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u590/Midwestmodels/DSC09084final.jpg Just a few photos of one of the toys getting cleaned http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u590/Midwestmodels/DSC09389final.jpg My baby/money pit http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u590/Midwestmodels/IMG958015.jpg

Ty. She's one of those "it doesn't happen in real life kind of situations". Almost entirely origional, bone stock other than Flowmaster mufflers and mid 50s on the clock. Definitely a fun ride to roll around in and MAN where did those bench seats go? I have some other photos of her I'll post on various photoshoots it has guest starred in if that will help the Rep

Ah! Demasked already! Just another day slinging auto parts and listening to Techno All the toys are sleeping for the winter as gifts pile up under the tree for each. Problem with owning multiple rides is paying the repair/upgrade bills on them!

For further reference all 3 of the toys (Stealth, Mustang, and LeMans) have been cared for at one point or another at IPS in both their old and new locations. As I'm sure you can all imagine, the Stealth has required quite a few more trips to "the shop" than the others.

Well thank you for the welcome, I assure my skin isn't treollish green. Though I think I played a troll a LONG time ago back in the EverQuest days

Ty Sir. Nice rainy Saturday morning, good day to be forum cruising