Hot Rods Went to the auto supply store today OH MY!

Well, in my case, I had no choice! I was stranded! I did not take up much of their time looking up the part, as I did it myself! They did have to check if they had it! And I did buy a product!
The whole point of my story is that the manager of the store, probably a man that had worked there for several years was totally unaware of “what” I was doing! Let alone “ how” to do it! And I did find a product in their store that would solve my problem! I did! I was in a real jamb! Dead in the water 400 miles from home!
My post was just for information about one of my experiences.
And, I did not walk out like a “ smug jackass”, I walked out disappointed in the ability of a manager of a parts store. I might expect that from a counter guy, not a manager!





Bones

 

Here's my opinion on the parts counter for all you bad asses. I don't mind dealing with someone that isn't competent in their job, as long as they tell me that they're not sure what I'm talking about, or they haven't been there long enough to have it all figured out. It's the high and mighty "I know everything" guy that doesn't know anything that aggravates me.

 

Just left Oreillys

got what I needed

with a big discount cause they like me.

 

Nobody knows everything about everything. The kid has computer skills and someone comes in and asks for some bizarre part for a whatever. Why bust his balls? Has it ever occurred you to say what it does and maybe look for a similar part? maybe work together to solve a problem. I can heat, beat, form, and bend metal but I have no idea what the duration is on a Maxwell.
We all started someplace.

 

I had to hit the parts store Saturday morning in my small town. Younger kid working. I said d "hey I need the thing that controls my heater fan, heater only works on full blast. Looks like a credit card with a plug on one end."

It was sitting on the counter ten seconds later. I thought that was pretty damn good, considering I still have no idea what that part is called.... Lol.

 

There's only ONE auto parts store to go to, where I live. The NAPA store in Brea, Ca. They're all Gearheads or Hotrod guys. NO wasted time, NO stupid questions, BEST service ever!

 

As new technology takes the place of older technology, the knowledge and working experience for older parts and tools is also replaced by the knowledge of the newer technology.

How many could walk into a farrier's shop, or even more so, a blacksmith's shop (both of which could be considered "early transportation mechanics") and identify 10 percent of the tools, let alone have the skills to properly use them?

AnthonyWyrick said it best in one of the earlier posts in this thread "since they cannot speak your language, learn to speak theirs".

Jon

 

I have a commercial account at o'Reilly's, and a while back, you guys here told me to get a starter for a 90's Chevy truck for my car because it is a mini high torque starter, I think it was 427sleeper that tipped me that way. I looked it up on their website, $190ish. Called them, they ordered it. I went to pick it up and they laid it on the counter, I opened it and said that's it. They punched a couple of buttons and said $50. I asked if they were sure, website said $190, and they said yeah that's with your discount

 

I could walk into either and start working. BUT, ironically these days, some farriers don't even shoe horses like in the past. My ex's cousin is a super high-end farrier/horse whisperer. He gets flown around to events by the horse owners. They don't even use invasive shoes anymore. I own his old forge. They use high tech adhesives and synthetic shoes they glue on!

 

When I was ordering parts for the rod shop I realized the pricing tiers the shops used. There is the Pro-deal (like yours), The Bro deal (for regulars), the shmuck off the street price, and a couple others!

 

I just went to four separate auto parts stores trying to find 3/8 brass tube nuts... Once I got past the blank stare I got from most of the counter clerks, I discovered that these don't seem to exist anymore

 

For compression fittings? I’ve always get the at a hardware store.

 

Lol how many you need? I've got ya man!

 

One other thing we are loosing is "institutional knowledge". Those old guys had contacts spread throughout the warehouses and manufacturers that they could trust to give them the straight dope on the availability and location of parts. The young guys that care are just beginning to assemble that.

 

Talk about stirring a hornets nest!

 

I live in the same town as 40FORDPU but my experiences with the local parts houses haven't been as good. When I first moved here, there were two stores; a 'National' parts house (independent stores drawing off a large wholesale distributor) and a Cut Rate Auto Parts (CRAP for short). The National house had very knowledgable countermen and usually stocked whatever I needed. CRAP was the same, but due to their 'cut rate' philosophy quality was all over the map, so they were my fallback choice if the other didn't have it. But by and large, getting parts wasn't an issue. The one downside was none of them offered machine shop services beyond turning drum/rotors. Then things started falling apart...

First, the owner of the National store decided to retire. He sold to his lead counterman, but apparently the selling price was too high. Prices went up sharply, stock went down. Then Shucks (O' Reillys) opened a local store and cut prices compared to both of them. The National store struggled for a long time before going out of business after multiple owners. Now, I was familiar with Shucks. When I worked as a mechanic in Seattle, they opened one near our shop and we tried them. Much lower prices, but quality was lacking. But we had a lot of customers who would use their prices as leverage when given an estimate. It got to where we would offer customers a price choice between them and the local NAPA (which was where we had been purchasing all our parts) with the caveat that even though the part would be guaranteed, we wouldn't eat the labor to replace it if it failed because too many did fail. So I avoided them.

Meanwhile, CRAP was struggling also. Lacking a national 'footprint' and selling a lot of suspect-quality parts, that owner smartened up and affiliated with NAPA. But the physical plant was a dump; small, poorly lit dirty store, dirt parking, a real 'old school' store. They eventually built a new building, but that came later. But that was enough to lift them above Shucks and was the final blow to the National store.

So things were fine for a few years, until it wasn't. NAPA decided that carrying inventory was too expensive, and Shucks/O' Reillys still had uneven quality. Now, I was a known customer at both of these stores (it was still a small town) but I could no longer order parts over the phone ('corporate policy'). So if it wasn't in stock (which was getting all-too-common), that meant I had to drive 30 miles and an hour's time to order, then repeat to actually get the part. This was before they all had everything on-line, although that wasn't the fix they claimed when it did come. So I got into the habit of buying online. Summit and others have lightning-fast shipping and good quality, and was far more convenient for me. Rock Auto has been good also, although I've only started using them in the last year or so. I'd love to support my local stores, but they need to support me. 40FORDPU has had better luck I assume because he's buying primarily GM parts, but I'm a Ford guy and they just don't seem to stock what I need, even for my late-model stuff. Since all this happened, an AutoZone has also opened here but they're O'Reilly's lite as far as I'm concerned. Both of these stores seem to have high turnover in their counter personnel, which doesn't help either.

I get that finding parts for our now 60 year old cars is getting more difficult, but when you can't even get replacements for the more modern parts we use, something has to give. O'Reillys does the best job of the three locals of having parts so that's where I usually buy local, but you have to pay attention to the quality as they do still sell some junk IMO... If you have a stocking NAPA nearby count your blessings.

 

Again, a 30 second search gets you in the neighborhood.
Inverted Flare Fittings | O'Reilly Auto Parts (oreillyauto.com)

Suppliers to use for the various parts we have discussed in this thread
Edelman, Dorman, Weatherhead, Cardone, Wagner, Moog and many more.

You just gotta learn where to look! It takes some time and some sleuthing if you don't know it already but soon you will have a mental database on what to search. Walk around a couple parts stores, note the brands on the shelves, ASK questions etc....... Even Rock Auto gives you a breakdown by price point and you can see which brands are probably the better quality vs. junk and which might just be over priced.

 

If I have to look up my own parts and part numbers before I walk into a parts store and do part of the countermans job then I'll just buy from rockauto at a deep discount and have it delivered straight to my door in 2 days.

...

 

You missed the part where it took 30 seconds to find said numbers. I usually hit printscreen and take it with me. You can't believe how quick the counter guys (and sometimes gals) warm up to you when you make their jobs easier.

 

I snap a pic on my phone. Guess I’m “green” and saving paper

 

Ha!

 

I walked to the counter in a hardware type store on Saturday. I rattled off the part number I needed and quantity and said "that's everything for today." The lady behind the counter was over the moon, she said "you're my favourite customer today." Haha!

 

I usually get stuff cheaper than Rockauto after you factor in shipping. Or very close
I’d rather support local employed people anyway.
The return policy locally is better as well.

rockauto is a great part number source though.

 

About the only thing I have ordered from them is OT parts for my wifes peoples wagon. 99% of the stuff I buy here in town. But their site IS a great tool as we both have said.

 

I have a couple of OT DD’s that are 32 & 29 years old and surprisingly or not I’ve gotten most of the parts I’ve needed at a local dealership for them. I know the manager there and he gets me a decent discount on what I buy there. He can rattle off the part number and even knows if he has it in back. I don’t bother going online to get what I need except maybe to see if I’m in for a major expense. OEM is still best for the old beaters if I only want to fix it once or rebuild something for cheaper than a spray and pray part from the chain stores.
I only go to the chain stores for fluids and miscellaneous stuff. There’s also an ACE hardware store I use for any bolts and hardware I need. They have a couple of older guys there that will find what I need if I bring in an example of what I need faster than I would searching their bins.

 

Although I'm 37 I remember the days of walking into a parts store, saying "I need X part for this car", and the guy walks to the shelf and grabs it. That world is mostly gone around here, and that's sad to me.

 

I did try O'Reilly's - the guy emphatically told me they had no such fittings in the store... I went back to work and looked it up on my computer and lo and behold, O'Reilly's had them in a blister packed by Dorman. I called them up and gave them the part number to make sure they physically had it in the store, then made sure I told the guy at the counter that this is my second time because the first time he told me they didn't have them. Braindead

 

That's one thing about auto parts stores that bugs me. When I was first driving, and making minimum wage, I paid the full retail. Now I'm making good money, and with the employer account get a good discount.
So I empathize with the low-earning young folks that have to pay the "sucker price". I like that online prices are the same for everyone.

When Sears Roebuck started out they pointed out that their prices were fixed, and (to paraphrase) it didn't matter if you were an ordinary farmer or the Shah of Brahtpur, you paid the same price.

And their highly successful mail order business probably drove a lot of small retailers out of business.

Edit: Regarding the inverse flare nuts, I don't think I could bring myself to buy parts branded "American Grease Stick". Who the heck was the test group for that name?

 

Brake line pressure switch. Talk about locking up a parts store.

 

All of my buddy's know to walk in and say that it's for the body shop. They all use my account.