Geeto67 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 As a notorious..um...what do you call it? Kitbasher? Tinkerer? hammer mechanic? Loon? you know that name for a guy who uses different parts from different cars to cobble them together or improve them - I HAVE to use auto parts stores. Why? often I am having to match up the part to figure out what it is I have and what I need. I don't have the time to order online, have it shipped, find out it is wrong due to some obscure mid year change, and then send the thing back and ask for another. When I do order online it is usually from a very model specific place that has an expertise in my vehicle: ECS for the Audi, Bavarian Auto works for the E30 (when I had it), Quadratech for the jeep. For me it is worth it to pay extra for the expertise of those groups in getting the right part, buying OEM and not aftermarket, and having a help desk I can call when it doesn't fit. If I owned a beige Toyota corolla and kept it stock and running with cheap aftermarket parts, then Amazon would be the way to go. Of all the parts stores AutoZone is the one that pisses me off the most. They usually never have parts in stock, when they do 50% of the time it is the wrong part. their "rewards" program is no reward at all because it resets every year so I never end up redeeming anything. The one on Sawmill I use most often and is probably the one I hate the most. Also they are always trying to sell me some fuel cleaner or some other garbage. The one on 33 close to downtown is less aggravating and has been helpful, and twice they have gone out of their way for me. Advance is slightly better. I use the one on Bethel, and they never seem to stock any of the off the shelf cleaning stuff I like which is a bummer (e.g. I like berryman carb cleaner but they usually only have gunk). They really helped me out with a set of rotors on the Jeep last year so for that I give them high marks, and their caliper mounting pins were actually the right size unlike Autozone's so there is something. Still everything in there is uber cheap and the selection blows for if I need to cobble something together. NAPA has always been my favorite, but I have yet to find a good napa store here in ohio yet. can someone recommend? I love Jegs. When it comes to performance parts you rarely can get anything cheaper regardless of source. For example I am shopping for Rancho RS5000 shocks for my jeep wrangler. Jegs? 50.99. Amazon? 50.99. Ebay? 50.99 and I have to worry about counterfeits from china if they are cheaper. Takes the same amount of time to order it to the Jegs store as it would to have it shipped from Amazon, and I can actually hold the thing in my hands at Jegs before I pay for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fubar231 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Commercial accounts is what keep most parts stores alive, and there will always be people trying to get stuff ASAP. I only go for fluids and batteries because shipping those can be a pain, plus there isn't much mark up in that stuff. Of course my lazy ass loves the internet for shopping and anything else I have the parts department at work order it through our commercial account. This. I just started working at Napa as a parts driver and you wouldnt believe how many places were going to nonstop, several times a day. Commercial accounts are HUGE business for those parts store. Also the thread was TL;DR , i just saw Scotts post skimming down and saw the commercial part and had to agree 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 I miss Jono at the Bethel Advance. I've been a pretty die hard customer of Advance. I've usually had better luck with the staff being smart. Though I have my fair share of awesome quotes from the latest high school kid that inevitably ends up there. At our old house there was one walking distance, which is convenient. There was a guy there that may not know everything but he was pretty darn sharp or at least willing to learn and reason with. Moreso he was usually very helpful and would do what it took to make me a happy customer. In the past I tend to go to advance for parts vs online depending on what the component is. Battery, yes (buy online with 40% off coupon). That way when it fails I can just come back and say gimme a new one. Same thing with other parts like alternators or coils, sensors, etc. I am the sucker that buys the lifetime warranty and then when/if it breaks I get it swapped out immediately without worrying about shipping junk. As Clay has learned (and I did a long time ago). They don't retain their records. Make sure you not only keep the receipt but that you make a photocopy of them. They quickly become illegible after sometime. So in short, it depends on the part i'm getting. I will say we went through 4! advance alternators. I paid premium for the NEW Delco Remy alternator with the lifetime warranty. yet when I got it it was this 'tough one' crap brand, supposedly its a brand of delco, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. Finally, an alternator left her stranded and I said...enough. They ended up taking it back and giving me a full refund. Got an alternator at O'reilly's and its been good every since. They've also treated me right on battery warranties. however their prices are INSANE. Even with the 40% off its on par with online prices. Oil prices are 1.5 to 2 times Walmart. That's insane too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acklac7 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 The guy at the counter was very nice, and said that they converted software programs and lost records more than 2 years old. He said it would've been difficult to retain everything given the extremely large amount of parts purchase info, which I appreciate. However, the $29 part is now $40-$57, and they don't have a record of my "lifetime" warranty? . Hilliard Advanced gave me the exact same line (word for word) 3 years ago. Bunch of horseshit if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Hilliard Advanced gave me the exact same line (word for word) 3 years ago. Bunch of horseshit if you ask me. The whole system update excuse I got about 2-3 yrs ago also, hence my comment on making copies of the receipts. I also think its a load of BS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 We spent about 100k with Advance last year. If the part I need isn't in stock, sometimes I will order online elsewhere. But time is money... Saving a couple bucks on a part and having to wait a couple days (amazon prime) is not worth the down time IMO. Parts stores aren't going anywhere in the near future. The days of having an Advance, an Autozone, and an O'Reilly all within a stones throw however are probably nearing their end. If ANY company is going to offer a lifetime guarantee on a product they need to be able to service that guarantee for more than 2-3 years. Not having records of the transaction isn't good enough. I'm surprised they would try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 "lifetime" when it come to warranty or guarantee is pretty much meaningless. You have to read the fine print for real terms. The one thing it never means is YOUR lifetime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted February 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 you guys are doing it wrong. shop on advance's website. find part you need, look on amazon for the same part but at much lower price. advance will price match. then you pick up in store or have it shipped. if its the wrong part or you changed your mind, then you simply return it to the store instead of having to go through the hassle of shipping it back. One thing your post reminded me of...QUALITY. While cheap exhaust parts for most street cars is going to be Wagner, and interior pieces are going to be Dorman (regardless of parts store or online source), I appreciate the choice you get online. As Berto mentioned, I only need to do the "Alternator Dance" where I swap 3-4 bad parts for good ONCE and I don't want to ever deal with that part company again. I miss Jono at the Bethel Advance. QFT. Although a few years ago they had this cool pothead guy in a blacked out 1st gen Grand Cherokee that would give crackhead "corporate rate" pricing on everything I bought; the receipt would say "Dirty Trails, LLC" or some ish like that. If I needed a part I'd drive by Crown Pointe plaza and look for his black Jeep before going in to buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonrottes Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 The only time I go to the part store is for fluids, goofy parts or looking for something that isn't supposed to work on my truck.. Though, The Advance in Georgesville is my favorite because the old guy (can't remember his name) drives a white 350z and has helped me piece together shit on my s10 more than once. hell I've even pretty much sworn of Jegs in favor of Summit. Seeing as every time I go to jegs they don't have the part in stock or is a special order part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltboostin Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 "lifetime" when it come to warranty or guarantee is pretty much meaningless. You have to read the fine print for real terms. The one thing it never means is YOUR lifetime. AZ had always been pretty good at keeping warranties. I have probably gotten 30+DSM wire sets over the years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewtoys Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 AZ had always been pretty good at keeping warranties. I have probably gotten 30+DSM wire sets over the years + 1 on axles too haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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