You Can Tell You're at a REAL Auto Parts Store When...

Fuck, I'd be happy if someone asked me I was OK, no one gives a flying eff.

Why the hell do I hold doors open for people, let them merge in front me, greet folks with a good morning?

Hardly anyone else ever does, why bother anymore?

THE hardest job I ever had was selling shoes, it takes a lot to sell shoes, I had nightmares at night that I was doing nothing but selling shoes, but I did the job with a smile, because it put food on the family's table and we earned respect from people who didn't want to give it to us.

I figure eventually someone will care that you care, and every once in a while someone actually does say "thank you" after holding the door open for them. That's a good day.

 

I work at a REAL parts store, i run the machine shop in the back, the only problem is the new guy that started on the front counter, lets just say he wont be working with me to long, hes not very smart or courteous, and doesnt really know a thing about old cars, not gonna work.
I get a ton of calls a day and have to drop everything and go up front and find parts for people cause they know i know my hot rod parts and trust me, i think our biggest costomer base is hot rodders, street rodders and restorers, i think we had about 6 car guy is looking for their special parts yesterday alone. and yes i think its important to remember the costomers name, and they really like it when you ask them how the projects coming, especially when you remember what it is. i have costomers working on: Brian 40 ford, larry 27 t modified, bob 27 t roadster, lonnie 62 cadi, ray 66 bronco, mark 48 ford p/u, pat 40 chev 2dr, jon 72 chevelle, bob 37 chev, jon 32 tudor, carl 48 dodge, steve 36 plymouth, mikey 48 pontiac, dan & doug 32 tudor, i could go on, i know how important it is to make the costumers happy, find what they need and they will be back, and they really appreciate it, alot.

jeff

 

1.They know what Plasitgage is and have it in stock.
2. They stock 308, 309 and ER70S-6 welding rod.
3. They know how to remove a pilot bushing by packing it with grease and pushing it out with a pilot tool.
4. They'll rebuild a connecting rod while you drink their coffee and eat their cookies.
5. They tell you more Yugo jokes than you tell them.

 

when every time you get the right part, when they let you walk the rad hoses to find the one you need,when they dont have to look up the number but go right to the part,,balboa auto parts in the sfv is like that,,,,the owner just passed away, i hope the kids do just as good a job,,so far they are .....R.I.P.

 

Come on Nads...you must know that smiling shoe salesmen are toe freaks.

 

All my mom&pop places are gone around me too.

I have worked at area Pep Boys and Autozone on and off since 1990. I see a lot of the same guys I worked with then working at different stores. They may not be at the same one, but at least I see a familiar face. I have the rare pleasure of having two fellas at the closest Autozone that know me when I come in and ask about the cars. They know when I come in I don't want to hear any excuses about the computer doesn't go back that far. I miss the days of books. if you can get your hands on the books when they are throwing them away, get them.

Pep Boys absolutely sucks. A once great company that has gone to crap. Manny Moe and Jack would roll over in their graves to see how they treat people now. The people who work there do not care. They have books on the counter. I asked for a headlight dimmer for a 66 Galaxie. The guy tells me their computer only goes to 68. I ask them to let me look through the books and they refused. They said if it isn't in the computer, they don't have it. The idea of looking to see if the number in the book matched later years in the computer never crossed their minds. They would not even let me look at the books. More times than not, I have to hunt down a counter guy because they are all over the store instead of where they belong.

 

the local oreilly in st. joe i can just go in and get what i need all but ring up myself...

 

thank you Jeff,
there is hope for the world yet

 

They look for the part in a book not on a computer.
They have a book to cross reference the part.
Turn your drums or rotors while you wait.
Make a new hydraulic line from your old one or from your deminsions.
Have a driveline shop out back to make a new driveline from your measurements.
Have a machine shop to do valve jobs to complete engine rebuilds.
Where you can walk in with a grill from your project and deminsions of available space and they have a book on radiators and their measurements.
A place where you walk in and see farmers and ranchers waiting to pick up parts.
Where is this place? HUST BROS. IN MARYSVILLE, CALIFORNIA probably the last of the honest to goodness parts stores in Northern California,

 

I agree with what y'all are saying about REAL parts stores. I love 'em myself. We have a couple, but they're a distance from my house. So I use a little known trick to get what I want from the A/Z and Ad'vance Auto Parts stores a mile up the road from here.

The "trick" is that box, monitor and keyboard you're looking at right now... Go to autozone.com or advanceautoparts.com, and type in the vehicle that has the part you need. Find what you want, check to see if it's in inventory at your store and write down the part#. Drive to the store, hand the pimply faced kid behind the counter the number and say "Gimme this fucker! The website says you have it." They may stutter around with the computer for a sec, but doing this FORCES them to crack the books next to the 'puter. You'd be surprised at the stuff in these stores that nobody knows they have.

Actually, my local Advance store is pretty good. There are a few hot rod dudes working there, we BS about projects and they go above and beyond the call to find me what I want. 'Bout all that's missing are the stools and ashtray...

 

We should make up a must visit list for cities that we may visit.

If you are ever in Wash., DC suburban Maryland stop by Neals auto parts on Kenilworth Ave in Riverdale. It's a classic.

Painted on their delivery truck doors... "Need parts for an old car? call us. All the other parts stores do".

 

0h man, isn't that the truth. I always look up the number online and come in armed with it on a printout. BTDT with some real pinheads. Last week I went into my local NAPA and bought some taillight bulbs for my '97 Suburban, just snatched them off the rack and the kid behind the counter asked me if I was sure I got what I needed. I said yes but he wanted to show me sumthin' I guess. Dude, they are taillight bulbs, 3057s. And of course the computer proved me right and the kid was like, wow. It isn't so bad that they have the computers instead of books, it's the fact that it seems like nobody is learning anything. Try and remember you fuckwit. When I worked at a GM dealership as a parts puke we had a microfiche and books, books, books. Excellent exploded diagrams, ancient history...all gone now.

 

...and remember, the real parts stores are about 2% display area and 98% stock area. I put a 45 year old Iskenderian Polydyne water transfer decal on the door of the parts room I work in--it's a good test. If someone sees it and actually understands, they get a gold star.

 

Tommy -

that's a GREAT idea! The HAMB Real Parts Store Power Tour!

Actually...

There's enuf buying power here to create the HAMB-approved parts store list. A sticky (or separate category) of parts stores of substance, including:

Name
Address
Phone Number
Brief description
Names of counter guys willing and able to help.

Quite a few of the names and general locations are already posted here; would be a huge help to others to provide the info for general consumption.
Also - if keeping real parts stores in business is important - then we oughta walk the walk by making a point of supporting the indies as best we can. This is a way, methinks, to facilitiate the process.

 

yes, indeed.

 

When you ask for a thermostat for a 472 caddy and the guy says "same one as a small chevy" grabs it and comes back with a gasket 2, just knowing that was next on the list!




.

 

They MAKE speedo cables as you wait any length you want.

Turn your drums.

Offer to sell you one of the flat heads out back.

 

Wow…I’ve enjoyed reading this thread. My first real 8 to 5 job was in a small auto parts store, where the owner of the store did the hiring and firing. As I remember the interview was about a minute long. Do ya fix your own car? Can you drive a stick? Did you graduate High School? OK, Pays $2.90 an hour, be here before 8 tomorrow. I stocked shelves, mixed paint, put the acid in the batteries (they were shipped dry), swept the pieces of the old places ceiling up that were always falling on the floor. Figured there was no way to stump the counter guys. They had been working the counter for many years, a lot of times they never looked in the books. Just went back to the exact shelf and grabbed the part. The right part every time. They could also give out free advice on what was wrong with your car. (Are you sure you need a coil? Sounds like more like you just need a condenser.) I also delivered parts in the shop truck (a ’69 GMC). Plus I got parts at cost, a perfect first job for a young gear head.

I had some flashback moments at an old NAPA store in Sarcoxie MO last month. Its in an old building right on the town square, had that ‘ol parts store feel. The folks there went way out of their way to get a steering rack warranted for me. (And there was a bar stool to sit on. No duct tape on it tho) I wish it wasn’t an hour away. I’d buy my parts there. The chain stores need to realize that low price isn’t everything. I’m real cheep, but I would pay a little extra to go to a place like everyone here remembers.

But here in Springfield there are no such places anymore. I’ve taken to ordering parts off the Internet. I’ve had pretty good luck with partsamerica.com. They even had a rebuild PS pump and hose for the 65 Buick engine in my old truck.

 

There is a good parts store here where I live yet, same guys still work there that were there back in the early '80's when my dad had his service station, back when I could barely see over the counter. All the local mechanics buy their parts there, they are open for buisness in the morning way before the time that is listed on the door. If you absolutly have to get a part on Saturday afternoon or Sunday you can call the manager at home and he'll meet at the store and get you what you need. Yeah they have computers there and if the part isn't listed there they go for the books that are still in a rack at the front counter. I hope the place never closes.

 

Man you guys are really making me miss my old job. I used to work for a real auto parts store. Westminster Auto Parts in Westminster Md. This place was the real deal. I started working there when I was 21 so alot of the older customers didn't take to me at first but that changed. I learned that you have to lesson to customers and not just try to make a sale. We had miles catalogs on the counters and awhole room of them down stairs. The owner was good in keeping the old stuff around for cars ,trucks and farm. We made hoses and bent pipe. I can still remember alot of numbers in my head because it was faster then the computer. We had a machine shop next door the would anything,I used to hang around there alot. I quit and moved two hours away I found a job working in as a manger of a small Napa store. I hated it all the people I worked around where the dumb-asses you guys are takling about.
I found out the my loved parts store was sold to a Bumper to Bumper chain and on my last vist back home I stoped. It a chain store now no more catalogs no pipe bender no old anything. It sucks but the chain stores will kill these places.
Heres a couple more for the list.
When the counter guys fix the delivery trucks
When you get a box not a bag to carry your parts in
When the shop dog brings what it just killed in the store for you.
When no one behind the counter is has the same shirt on.
When all the part drivers are grandpa's age.

 

Unfortunately I still work at crappy autoparts store (checker ), but I got the job to learn about cars and am not afraid to look in the books. I wasn't gonna post on this thread but I walked into an advanced auto parts tonight with my fiance and she was looking for a generator for her 50 shoebox (they had the carb rebuild kit I knew this was alongshot but I can hope right). She asked the "kid" (probably my age, 24) and he just gave her a blank stare and said "generator? Hey al whats a generator"... Wasn't in his computer and when I asked to see the books all I got was another stare. Needed a battery too so she asked him about the 6 volt batteries and he shows us the lawn tactor batteries, that was aboutt he time we decided to leave.

Primo

Oh yeah If you ever buy something from Checker/Shucks/Cragen call advanced frst they have it cheaper 99% of the time. I haven't used my 25% discount in weeks because I use the price beat garuntee and come out less than with the discount.

 

Great thread, worked in a real parts store when I was in high school, BEFORE there was computers. Wish I had kept some of the catalogs. It was Tiger Auto Parts (very small chain) in Lithia Springs Georgia, I was there from 1977 to 1979. The owner was a car guy, sponsored many drag cars and the local strip. We kept beer in the bottom of the Coke machine for closing time (too young to drink it at home). It was a lot of fun calling our competitor down the street and asking for weird parts, tried our best to stump them. We kept speed parts in stock, intakes, holley carbs, headers. Very little polishes in the store, lots of cases of oil. I was a 145 pound 6 foot tall kid, the delivery guy would throw cases (24 can cases) of oil out of the back of the truck to me, told me if I missed I had to clean up the mess, went home bruised up more than once. Always tried my best to find what the customer needed, as far as matching something up to get them going. Many times saw head gaskets or intakes installed in the parking lot.
No good parts stores here now that I know of.

 

Ahhhh......I remember Tiger Auto Parts ! One of the few places that stocked speed equipment.

 

Thats actually a damn good idea. I hate walking into a store and telling them my car make and model but then having to explain I need brake shoes for a 58 olds rearend. The blank stare is too common.

 

im getting a real kick out of this thread. I used to be one of those counter guys for 5 years while I was in high school and college but I am an exception. I worked in a Canadian Tire (the canadian version of pep boys) and I was the only guy who would reference the PAPER catalougues. I used to get a kick out of the car guys who would come in and look at me and then go over to one of the older guys for help, but I would always end up finding the parts for the guy. You older fellas would always stereotype me for one of those snot nosed ricer types then I would end up helping finding what you were looking for, and from there on you would look for me everytime you would come in. I kinda miss the job but i sure dont miss the minimum wage. Finding a good parts guy is definently getting harder and harder, whenever I go in for parts now I just turn the computer around and start helping myself, I get a kick out of the look on the counter guy's face when he asks if I need help and I say "no" and keep on punching keys on the computer.

 

Hey, I resemble that remark!

 

"You Can Tell You're at a REAL Auto Parts Store When... this happens a couple days after posting on this subject!

So, the alternator goes out in Mom's '98 Escort. So, who's open on Sunday? Schmucks.

Go to the website; find P/N for alternator, price, and who's got it in stock.

Go to store with core in hand, alternator's not there, was another price (did I remember wrong? Nobody checked the website for me); gotta' go up to lynnwood. And gotta' take the core there dude.

At next store, was told I should first store where I paid was supposed to take the core. At that point, I told the guy, Marvin (who was pretty cool) that this deal was getting crappy; that I think the price had been changed on me, that the store who was supposed to have on in inventory and now I had to make trip three - when I'd gone to the trouble of looking all this up first!

He said I could drop the core there, and he'd find a way to get it to the other store, but if I was overcharged he really wasn't able to make the difference. Then he got on the phone and asked the web price - I was right. Then he called the first store and asked "why the hell wasn't this guy given the web price?"

So, I popped the alt in the car, printed out the web page w/ price, and drove it down to the first store where I got a refund. Way more time rounding up part shown in stock than putting the fucking thing in.

Glad to hear Titus and a few other guys know how a shop should run. Wanna come to WA?

-bill

 

when the guy at the counter doesn't say, what's a desoto?
dan

 

Can't really blame 'em, though. The counter guys at Autozone/etc are just as bad as your average joe mechanic if you pulled up in your rod and wanted something fixed

 

...and also notice how they answer the phone in a real parts store. It's more along the line of "auto parts, Bob" than "Thank you for calling Advance Auto, the best auto parts store in the world! My name is Tucker, and I'll be your counterman today. We currently have windshield washer solvent on sale for 99 cents. How may I help you today, and do you want fries with that?"