You guys have it easy. If I walk into a parts store and say I want a part for a Fiat, the kid usually says "Who makes that?". It's been years since I bought parts for them in parts stores. Years ago I started buying up old dealer inventories so now when I want parts for it, I go in the garage or ask my internet buddies. I get most of my other car parts from ebay or special interest groups. I plan to lean on the nailhead listserve a bunch when I get to building it. About the only thing I buy parts in autoparts stores for are my two 14 year old Japanese minivans (the newest cars I own). Autozone always seem to have the stuff and the kid can find it on the computer. They do act like its an old car or something though, which I think is weird. I do miss those guys who had the small starter and alternator shops who'd rebuild them for you for $25 though. Seems like everyone of them had a homemade plywood test bench to check them on and had parts bins with everypart for all makes and models ever made.
haha some good stories in this thread going to my local parts store looking for spark plugs: 'Hi, i need some spark plugs for my flathead v8' 'Ummmm...ok....what year?' 'It's a nineteen fift..' 'WHOA WHOA WHOAAAA' Eventually we found the right plugs.......in the LAWNMOWER section.
A good portion of the problem has to do with the companies themselves. Autozone, Advance, etc, are only going to stock parts that they sell a lot of. They're also making the decisions to do away with paper catalogs, and have everything computerized. It's all about profit. A part for a 56 Chevy sitting on the shelf for years doesn't make them money. It's the Wal-Mart mentality: Stock only what sells quickly, and if it doesn't turn over quickly, quit stocking it. It's not the fault of the kid behind the counter. I'm in my fifties and when I drive my 56 Nomad or 46 Ford pickup to the parts store, the young guys have a million questions and seem really interested in learning about old stuff. I don't fault them for not being experts about the stuff I drive, anymore than I want the guy with the 1914 Ford Model T to fault me for not knowing all there is to know about his old car. Parts warehouses are doing the same thing. Rarely do they carry unusual or old parts anymore. It boils down to volume and profit. I can remember when rear wheel bearings for a tri-five Chevy were $10. Not anymore.
Took me several tries to find a Ridge Reamer the other day. 2 outta 8 parts people even knew what I was looking for.
I love these stories. I used to get crap from the autozone nerds all the time. But one time I went to Kragen and ordered up some new springs for my Olds and then the next day they were at the store! It was pretty amazing to actually get what I ordered.
This brings back a lot of memories, some good, some bad. I worked in the parts business for about 20 years. Worked with some very well educated people. Worked with some extermely dumbshits also. Probably the best person I worked with didn't know how to change his own oil. But he had a way with the ones that walked in needing something and didn't have a clue. I suppose it was one of those things about 2 people that didn't know squat could figure it out between themselves. He was also smart enough to know when he needed help. Personally I deal with 1 of 3 counter people that I have known/worked with for about 20 years. They always know I need what I need and don't ask the same old questions. I give them the info that they need and that is that. One of the worst I had to work with "knew it all" as long as it pertained to a SBC. I heard him give so much bad advice to people that I was amazed he still had a job. Then I found out that he was 1 of the bosses favorites and cold do no wrong, mostly because he could lie so well and get out of the firestorm he created. Good ridance to bad parts guys.
Few years back I walk in AutoZone with a friend who was going to buy a 3310 750 Holley Vac Secondary carb. The kid asked what year and so on,when my friend said it was for a 53 Chevy truck,kid said it never had a carb like that,so my friend said try a 72 Nova since it has a Nova frt clip,again kid said they didnt come with that,so my friend in his as patient voice as possible said "turn around and grab that box off of that shelf to your right and sell it to me please".....the Holleys were right there and we were out. My 2 personal experiences at AutoZone was a voltage regulator problem with my lights dimming on my 67 Impala I had with a built 11 to 1 408 small block with 3500 10" and 4.11's......it was a slow nite so guy walks outside and I open the hood to show him the issue and he says "thats a nice 96".....I say you mean 396? and he says yeah......I say its a small block that bigger than a 396 but smaller in size.......confused the living crap out of him. The next was when I was fixing to go to the strip with my 68 Nova so I drive over there for some extra parts and ask for 2 sets of points for a dual point distributor Chevrolet......parts guy asks "what year" and such so I say just lkook up a 68 Camaro 302......he quickly says "there wasnt a Chevy 302".......I left never to visit an AutoZone ever again. TRUE stories guys!!
i go to o'reilly's the other night (just opened here) to get a detent cable for the 700 i'm putting in my 57 chevy. here goes, "can i help you sir?" "yea, i need a detent cable for a 700R4" "uh, what?" "it's for the transmission" "oh, ok, what kind of car?" "well i'm putting it in my 57 chevy but......" he starts looking, so , i just let him go to be an ass. "what size engine?" "well it's a 350 but.....") he starts looking again. i'm just about to let him off the hook and he says. "dose it have an automatic transmission?" he out dumb assed me and he wasn't even trying. i finally get the cable. it's a cheap piece of shit made in PAKISTAN ! "DEATH TO AMERICA" unless we're making a few bucks! guess we are rubbing off on them after all.
Car Quest...two doors down from where I work......greybeard behind the counter. I was looking for a thermostat for my 56' Buick. The (young) manager was lookin' at me like I was crazy, thumbing through books and checkin' the computer...grey beard looks at him and says sit down son I will get it for him (he knew all the cross reference numbers)...LOL. I have become fast friends with this guy. When I walk in he tells all the youngin's to step aside and that he will take care of me because I drive a real car. Just lucky I guess. Fitysix
Wow.. I was more depressed with the disaperance of my generation of doing things ourselves, instead of just swaping parts.. But I guess the whole thing took a turn to bashing idiot counter guys... not that some of them don't deserve it. LOL The best one around here is only 19, but he usually has a clue... and he knows what to ask when he doesn't. My boy is just getting interested in cars, and it brings back memories of me at his age. Changing plugs, pulling heads for valve jobs, watching the guy at the starter shop check the armature on his growler... simple things that kids of today will never experience.
Couple of years ago I got my smart mouth thrown back at me. I asked for a set of small block chevy valve cover gaskets and got the obligatory "year, engine, body style, color, questions. I just told the kid that it didn't make a damn just get me a set of SBC valve cover gaskets. He went and got them, sacked them up and I paid without looking. Got home ready to go to work on the car, took out the gaskets and yep center bolt gaskets, heck I've never owned a chevy engine with the new style covers so it never occurred to me. I was nicer the next time in.
You may, or may not believe the following customer service experience I got from Advance Auto. I sent an email to their customer service saying the stores I went to had the most ghetto parking lots in the world. The paint was so bad the only way you could tell which spots were handicapped was to look underneath their delivery van real close. 2 Days later those vans were no longer parked in the handicapped spots. 2 Weeks later those parking lots were painted. Both stores that I go to. Yeah, I know most of the people inside are idiots cause the job pays peanuts. But somewhere, somebody actually listened and did something about it. Believe it or not.......
It's not just auto parts it's every I went to wal-mart for a x-mas tree stand for a real tree. I asked a clerk for help she said the stands come with the trees
Major problem is: no company these days wants to pay a decent wage (what is minimum now $7.00 an hour)...hence, you get high school-,or just after, aged kids that can read a computer...anyone that can read a computer, is a "parts person" at Auto Zones, Advance, Checker, O'Reilly, et al... and if that computer cannot tell you what to do with those two pennies you gave them in order to get a quarter back, you're liable to get 23 cents...or two quarters back...it's just that the "counter kids" all drive Rice crap these days and have no idea you used to be able to fix/modify old cars... R-
The moral of the story here is if you can find a good local parts store with people who know what they're doing, give them your business and stay away from the chain stores! Otherwise they're going to disappear and we won't have any choice.
Not so much, especially if you're a young guy that the old timers behind the counter aren't interested in respecting. I've gotten screwed far worse over the years at the mom and pops. But at least I paid a premium for the disrespectful screwing. Mom and pop shops seem to exist solely to deliver parts to professional shops. Walk in customers are a thorn in the side.
wanna know what kind of people i deal with every time i go to our auto parts stores......... ...... have you ever had a parts store clerk spend 10 minutes looking for a "piston return spring" for a '72 monte carlo before????? its so hard not to laugh
Maybe I've been lucky...we have a local store here in the Minneapolis area (Red Rooster Auto Parts) where I've been going for at least 25 years and I never had a problem, even when I was a young pup. They have good service and their prices are very comparible with the chain stores.
Lmao............I was in a local NAPA one day a few years back and this old backyard mechanic I had known for years came in to get a few tune up parts. He absolutely blew the counter guy away when he asked for a "rotor button" for a 250 Ford. I knew what he meant....nobody else did !!! I'm ROFLMAO and the counter guy asks whats so damn funny? I told him what the old guy wanted and he says "well it don't look like a button " and the old guy spoke up and said......" Dammit they used to !! ""
Don't get me started, I spent almost 40 years in the parts business. I hate to go to a parts store and try to buy anything they can't punch into a computer. Sometimes I take the part number with me and that really screws 'em up. Hand them a part and say I want one of these. Won't happen!
i reckon i can count my blessings living in a small town that everyone knows everybody my local parts store knows me and all the rides i have ,the store personel are mostly retired guys who have worked on everything know to man and are a frigging bundle of information on just about anything on wheels ..
Guess I'm lucky! We got an old time independent parts house locally that was started just after WW2 by a guy that raced Hudsons as a hobby. The old timer is still around and his guys (graybeards all) look up part numbers (when they have to) in actual BOOKS !! I love going in that place and having the counterman saying, "Just what the fuck do you want?" and knowing what I'm talking about when I tell them. They've even got an attic with thousands of NORS parts from back in the 40's-50's.
AUTOZONE BLOWS- Trained chimps could do as well as the IDIOTS that work at the one by me. Ever have one of these morons tell you over the phone they could order the part you need, only to give you a blank stare and say "who told you that? Sorry, but those have been discontinued" AFTER YOU DROVE ALL THE WAY THERE??? FUCK AUTOZONE
i think most of the hireing these days is done by head hunters, they themselves have no experance in the fields there hireing for, they get the job by bullshiting there way in, then how would they ever know if someone is the right guy for the job? i dont think its just me but as time keeps passing service everywhere is going down hill, i have to admit i do know younger guys in parts stores who know whats what, thank god.
I wasn't going to chime in as I agree with most of your experiences, but I work at an AUTOZONE. I do the job because I like it!(definately not for the pay) No mom and pops is interested in hiring a 6'6" 290lb tattooed guys who might know something. It gets pretty frustrating at times having to walk some of these morons through looking up parts, but I enjoy helping people out. As for the haters, if some of you didn't come in with such an attitude, you'd probably get better service! The guy with the small block valve covers.....The parts guy probably did that on purpose! I have know qualms digging through the parts books, but if someone comes in with an attitude, I might as well play stupid...a variable venturi what??? Huh??? Most of my locals know who to come talk to when needing anything more than plug wires. As for the Walmart comments, you're absolutely right. I can't tell you how many people I have to send somewhere else to get the right part because the company I work for wont carry it because it doesn't sell. I have a '56 Desoto, a '27 T Modified, and a '53 Jeep and i can't get squat for parts from my work Oh well...Life goes on.
A good dose of this is true. Another problem, it's hard to find people who want to work, let alone do a good job of it, pick an age group. I work on the parts counter, mostly sell medium and heavy truck parts. I source parts from in town, and all over the country. I'm picky on what parts store I cast a shadow on or call, and who I will talk to. Y'all are exactly right about finding somebody who can look up a part period, or who can knows their part in the game "I Need A Part That Fits..........." Do any of you remember the article in Rodder's Digest Mag? It was about a Parts Man, and a parts boy. Sometimes a parts boy can grow up to be a Parts Man. In some cases, you can do very well with dealing with your favorite parts person. Some are more resourceful than others. Some have their hands tied behind their backs. In today's corporate enviroment, the parts we need are getting harder to source. "Our survey says that type of vehicle isn't common to our largest customer base, we shouldn't stock that in our largest warehouse, special order only." In some cases, what was common to find 20 years ago is now discontinued, or the price is 4 times what is was. In others, quote a guy on how you can sell it, he'll say "I found it on whateverdotcom for a lesser price." What do we behind the counter? Last rant about this, you might be surprised of the lack of counter guys that like race cars, hot rods, performance modifications. You'll be very surprised how many career mechanics that have NO interest in vehicles outside their jobs. Again, pick the age.
Back in the 1970's I was making almost that much at a good paying Auto Parts store. Here 30 + years later they have only gone up to around 10.00 per hour..... You have me beat by just 10 years - remember how simple it was when Detroit used the same part for more than 1 model year...
To all that are bashing, i can completely understand getting livid with some of these people, but you got to think about it, its not that persons fault that the guy\gal that interviewed them decided that retail experience was worth more than automotive experience. I work at an Autozone, im in management as well. I make $9.96\hour, been there almost 3 years. I have people that will not talk to other people in the store, they insist on talking to me or one other guy there (younger than me). I've gotten 29 chevy parts for customers, and ive gotten parts for cars that were too new for the computers or the books. I took the job as a second job and then quit the first because of the hour commute, they gave me more pay, so i made the same thing in the end, blah blah blah, $9.96\hour aint much, thats why your not getting the help you need, some people may not care enough, most just dont know enough, and the ones who do know enough wont work there because they wouldnt be paid enough to do it. SO instead of bashing on the guy\gal at the counter, why not contact the fucking company (and im not talking about on a local level either, im talking corporate) and tell them they need to up the pay so they can actually get some knowledgable people behind that counter? Wouldnt it make sense to do that? Im sure that if everyone did this even half the time they had a problem they would at least consider it, hell who knows might just work. Or you can all continue to bitch and whine about it and in some cases apparently try to make their job harder. As a side note, that valve cover gasket thing sounds like something i'd do....
i had a girl at checker tell me on the phone that corvettes didn't have lower radiator hoses. i guess she just couldn't find it on the computer. i swear the people at auto zone if you asked for an 1157, would want to know what kind of car you were working on before they went looking for it. the only reason i go to auto zone anymore is to dump waste oil.
The Jalopy Journal
