Well, Granted I understand where your coming from... There is a an Autozone about 10 min. from me here that I would say I would have better luck going to walmart to buy a part... its bad... there was a girl working the counter one day when I was in the neighborhood...(working on my father in laws ride) and I went in and asked for a front disc brake caliper kit for a 1975 ford f100 yaddda yadda. she looks at me and starts talking about something else with the other guy and makes a comment about my shirt.... then she asks... what did you want.. I repeat.... She asks... whats a caliper. where do look.. she calls the guy over to help her. he starts looking and he brings me a part... im like thats a brake rotor. . . . no less its for a chevy. I sigh and repeat the whole spill to him again. after that he finally gets the part number correct. and goes and gets the part. I was like OOO mmyy looorrrdd where am I ??? dollar general?? ... now on the other hand my local shop... shoot. they are awesome.. very very knowledgeable. Always willing to help. I sometimes get a discount... and the guys are all know me now. and are into my build. I agree you have to pick your part. you obviously will get a cheap part if you pay a nickel for it. After all You get what you Pay for....
I usually go to Oriellys or Masco it is a local store. The owner is a car guy, he can quote part #'s off his head. I went to advance once and asked for a clear 3/8 inline fuel filter. The guy brought out probaly 50 and never found it. I had rather go to Masco all the time but he is higher on some stuff
I put an Autozone starter on my car for the same reasons...it was cheap and they had it. But I knew exactly what my engine came out of so I know I got the right starter. No problems so far. Like it has been said, if you go in knowing what to ask for then you'll come out with the right stuff. I bought a battery at one recently and they gave me a hard time about it. I went to the shelf, picked out what size and what amp battery I needed and went to the counter. They wanted to know what it was for so I told them, my '64 Olds. They told me I had the wrong battery. I disagreed, I know what I want. They kept hassling me until finally I just told them to sell me the damn battery so I could get out of there, and they gave me attitude about it. It was like dealing with the government!
Get in good with the counter guys,so when they can't find it, they will let you,step behind the counter and look it yourself.
I'll usually rebuild an original Ford or GM starter, you can still order the brushes and bushings, even from Autozone. For GM's, I like using the starter with the cast iron nose, and you have to use the brace that bolts to the block. Like was mentioned above, you have to check the clearance between the ring gear and the starter gear. You also have to know how to shim a starter because there is more than one way to shim one. I have also had a few aftermarket flex plates that were the culprit when someone blamed the starter.
Dude! Go to http://www.napaonline.com - it's about the same damned thing the locals have in the computer in the stores, and by doing a few searches yourself you can learn how the system works from the inside, and be able to work it better than them! Some part numbers for stuff come up online, and they can't find 'em in the system in the store without typing in the part number you found first! Go to the site, waltz into a store, and hand them a NAPA part number. Hell, you might call them before you head there and give 'em said part number in case they want to look it up and pull it for you while you're on your way. That way, when you get to the store, you don't have to be annoyed - just get your part, pay and leave. Yes, the guys at the store are SUPPOSED to be more than just a fulfillment house, but these days... well, you know. ~Jason ~Jason
Oldtimers I've talked to say never buy a parts store starter. Either rebuild your OE one, or get an OE from a rebuild shop. I'm rebuilding mine right now and it's FUN!
Yeah i don't think they make much money working. I got a starter from them and had to take it back. I try to stay away from them as much as i can.
i got a starter from there that had dead spot in it. meaning that it would start everyonce in a while and the other times i would have to climb under my car and hit it with a hammer to get it to start. finally i got fed up with it tookl it to auto zone for an exchange. the stupid bitch at the counter ran the usual test and the dam thing past. i told her what was going on and she did not give a fuck and would not exchange it(maybe because i was mad and had already called her a bitch). so i go back home put it back on and try agian and the piece of shit did the same thing. so the second trip to autozone i get a different guy. he bench tests the piece of shit and it passes again. i told him whag the problem was and he looked at me with a blank look on hisd face like i was talking to a wax statue. so i asked for the manager. while i was waiting for him i started shaking the starter to see if any thing was wrong inside and you could here a bunch of part flying around inside. the manager come over ansd says there is nothing he can do because the part is not broken. so i hold it up to his ear and shake the shit out of it. he then gives me a confussed look then ran to the back and got me a new one. i still go there because i am a cheap ass and ever since then they have been nice to me and exchange brakes and other parts with no questions. but sometime i want to punch the people behind the counter, because they always argue with me about my car.
manufacture, manufacture ! Just because you got two bad starter(yes bummer !)does that make them bad. Did they offer to make it right ? Did you talk to a store manager? I have had alot of luck with Autozone, when the local independent parts store didn't have listing for shocks on my 59 Wagon, Didn't get a huge amount of questions(what year & model) boom had them in a day ! You get what you pay for also ! And yes Newbie's remember no cursing, like Keith said in a previous post. We all have to rant sometimes, but keep it clean.
I do not even bother with Autozone or other chain type part stores.More times that I can count I wanted to ring the pimplefaced kids neck behind the counter because they wanted to know the year or model of the part I needed so they could look it up in the computer.Case in point I needed a vent hose for the radiator in my old plymouth,had the part in my hand and they did not have a clue.So I drove farther down the road to my old time mom and pop autoparts down the road, before I could open my mouth the counter guy pulled the roll of hose from under his counter.So I guess it pays to drive a few extra miles down the road!
autozone DOES suck. The one by my house is like trying to buy car parts at Kmart. They rely 100% on the computer, and if it cant figure it out then you must not need it.
Seems to me that if you heard the starter first, and it sounded like crap, then YOU STILL bought it. Who is the dumbass?
I bypass all the people at the counter and go right to the back to find what I need at the autozones in Bakers-land. It helps when you walk in and have a Roth/Moon shirt on that says RACE? or something to that effect. Plus they know me as the S.O.B. who likes to ask them questions that make them look real dumb because they can't answer with their faces glued to a computer that tells them the part never existed when I hand it to them. C'mon when you get asked if a 1930 model A had 4x4 or A/C what do ya do?-Weeks "The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.-Milton Friedman, vote wisely!"
i work at autozone and 99% of the people they hire are dip shits.most of their parts are made over sea's.i personally havent had a problem with the starters but have had costermers that have had problems,i always bench test before i let them leave the store.stay away most of their "wells" ignition parts they are junk,the same goes for their thermostats and rad caps and gas caps.if you need a shock of a certain lenght ask them for their gabriel shock book it has the lenght extended and compressed in the back.
The dipshits at the one I work throw the fuckin catalogs away as soon as they come in! "We don't need those..it's all in the computer"...Right dumbass then why can't you find it...LOL
Every now and then we do. I just snagged a new MSD , Holley and Edelbrock catalogs that were trash bound...these were the '08 editions !
Same deal here in S.E.TX NAPA is the only people I deal with. Our store here still has sales people who can use the old parts books.
What is an Autozone?????....... Oh You mean Ghettozone!!! The place that sells every gaudy thing you can bolt, or I sould say stick to a car. Yea, Ghettozone is my last resort. I had a 93 S-10 Blazer w/a 4.3, and got a waterpump from them. I bought the truck wrecked, and not running, so when I got it going I could not figure out why it would insantly start getting hot. I tried everyting, but could not figure out why it would get hot, so I took it to a friend that worked at a chevy dealership. No one there could figure it out. Finally another buddy said check the waterpump it could be wrong. I called Ghettozone to check and make sure it was the right pump. "Yes it is correct it says so right here in our computer." Finaly after working on it some more I got pissed off and yanked the pump at the GM dealership one night, and had my buddy go get a GM pump out of parts, and guess what? Wrong pump, it was turning backwards! The serpentine belt drive rotated the pump the opposite way. Put on the GM pump, ran perfect. I took the old pump back to Ghettozone, and they insisted it was the right pump, computer says so! Then argued with me that they would not take it back because I bought it 2 weeks prior. They said if something was wrong w/it why did I wait 2 weeks? You fucks it took me that long to figure out you sold me the wrong pump!!! I finally told them; "Ever see that Discount Tire commercial, where if your not satisfied with one of our tires, feel free to return it. Then the old lady throws a tire through the front window? Thats what I'm going to do w/this waterpump if you dont give me my money back!" Then after more heated arguring they reluctanly gave me my money back. The whole like 20, or 30 something dollars. Then, still insisted I was wrong, because "Our computer says so!" Yea, fuck Ghettozone! (Sorry If I hurt you fellings Jessy!)
Rebuilt the motor in the 87 dualie. upper rad hose needs to be swaped out. Go to the zone get hose.Wrong one! Call advance Go aet advance hose.WRONG ONE! Call napa go to get hose .WRONG F*#*ING hose. Just put old one back on need truck. Two months later On laber day Pulling camper up mountain hose gives up . Go to advance in little town with fingers crossed. Teen boys running store (Labor day) Teen girls talking to boys. I get antifreeze hose clamps Then ask for hose .After asking if they were working or dating . Kid looks it up on comp. brings hose Wrong one .I ask to see the parts books Kid says he dont know how books work. I spend 10 min. showing him. He figures out Dualie is under RV section Finds right hose .The comp screen does not show all info like the book. Got the stuff I need to check out Tell kid I want My empolyee discount He asks if I work for company NO I say but I have just shown you how to do your job thatshould pay somthing. He called the manger at home.I got on the phone and explaned the deal That the store just made the sale to me because of me . I got 20% off. Still would rather deal Napa . rtp
Everybody bitches about these parts guys,but after putting a lot of years in Parts and Performance from the mid-60's to early 80's I finally got out because it didn't pay for shit.The people you sold to had the toys you wish you could have but could never afford and the owners did not share the bucks so you could.Best way to get what you want use that computer and go to the stores website and look it up yourself,then print it up and take it to the store('cause the online price is usually cheaper)then they will match it and save you some bucks also CSK and Autozone will pricematch each other and knock off another 5%.You just have to learn to play the Game.
It's the same wherever you go. The chain outfit hires at just above minimum wage, and all they know is that computer, which can't function on vehicles like most of ours. And it ain't just auto parts, believe me! Same story for electrical supplies, plumbing, you name it! How many times in this thread have I read the story, "buy my hard parts at a good store with knowledgeable people behind the counter, only oil, filters, wax, etc at the chain outfits! Well Hell, those mom and pop places sell that stuff too! And it does help them stay in business! If you want them to be there next time you need a part that requires some knowledge to find, then you need to spend just a few more cents on that can of Brakecleen, or the jug of antifreeze! I had a sideline business of repairing and selling boat propellors and related. People would come running to me, needing their props repaired yesterday, and then go to Bass Pro Shop or Cabella's catalog when they needed a new prop because they were maybe 3-4 bucks cheaper and they didn't have to wait 3-4 days for me to get it if it wasn't in stock at my shop. Got to the point that the hassle wasn't worth what little I made, so I sold the equipment and inventory to a guy 1200 miles away! Now it gives me a great deal of pleasure when they come in with a $500 Stainless Steel bass boat prop that needs a new rubber hub insert that would cost them maybe $40-50 installed back when I was in the business, and I tell them I'm no longer in the business and the closest prop shop is 100 miles away! So buy your nitshit stuff also from the independent or NAPA or whatever REAL parts store you have and maybe they'll still be there next time you need something! Dave
Its hard someimes to buy from independent places near me. They all close at 5. I love theservice and parts they have . I work till 5 and have to settle for second best most of the time. And yes autozone does suck.
Been a parts store manager for 20 years going head to head with AutoZone for the last 10. They suck! They sell the cheapest crap they can get their hands on & disguise it with a warranty. The warranty is just a smokescreen! Their parts suck! They pay their help squat, therefore, their help sucks. Last I knew they still had Fel-Pro gaskets only because no cardboard gasket manufacturer was big enough to supply them. That's the only reason they have anything of quality. Go to NAPA, Car Quest, Parts+ even Advance & Pep Boys are better than those jerks. Absolute stuck on the side of the road last resort. I'd rather sleep in the car & wait for a parts store to open.
The people at my local AUTOZONE treat me well and get me just what I ask for. One guy told me he likes to wait on my as I know exactly what I want. I still go to NAPA but AUTOZONE is open lots more hours.
ROFLMAO..........Yeah, Fel-Pro gaskets, Melling engine parts, AC, Champion, Bosch, Accel, Autolite, NGK & Splitfire Plugs (made in China BTW), Gabriel shocks & Timkin bearings. All the major brand speed parts but most of the rest is "House" brand stuff. Too bad the big dawgs in the company have their heads up their asses.
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