they employ morons.
i stopped by to pick up 6 quarts of Royal Purple 10W-40 for an oil change for my Cobalt. I get to the car and one bottle is open, three are 10W-30... i go back in to exchange out the leaker and the 10W-30... they've only got 2 quarts of the 40. and then they didn't want to refund my money...

fuck.
are there any good parts stores left in the known universe, or am I just blessed with the worlds' worst?

theyre all awful it blows my mind that someone can work for an auto parts store and not know anything ABOUT auto parts.


i go through AutoZone commercial at work and these dumb fucks didnt even know what self tapping screws were.

Sam, order that shit in boxes and have it shipped to your door. I only use parts stores for quick repair jobs. If i plan on working on a car, i order from rockauto and also have my fluids shipped.

I grew up on going to NAPA and I have never had a bad experience going to NAPA.

However, I have been going to O'Reilly lately since they bought out CSK Auto Parts and have added in-store pickup to their website. I can now order parts while I am at work and pick them up on the way home. And they have a DC here in Portland so if they need to order a part, I can have it by 5 PM at the latest.

I really love Carquest... or at least my local one.

I've always had trouble attracting really good parts people! There's very little margin in parts, and the investment to carry a good selection is high so it's hard to pay for any skill. It sucks man.... it's the one area of my business that seems to be a constant struggle.
I've found as a bit of a general blanket statement that car guys who know their way around a vehicle aren't good at/don't enjoy counter work customer service and those that love face to face customers, phone and computer work all day aren't very knowledgeable.

the guy who manages this store, Paul, is pretty good at his job and has always wanted me to come and work for him. But I am not working for $8 an hour. Just not happening.
for my parts needs, 99% of the time I go through either the dealership or the NAPA adjoined to the dealer. I get a mad discount because of my brother, but in this case, NAPA doesn't carry Royal Purple.

Posted by bandi I really love Carquest... or at least my local one.

Carquest is good too! They seem to always have the odd-to-find part.

One of my work sites is right across from the Portland DC which also has a store inside the DC so if I want a part ASAP, I can call them up and tell them I will grab it right at 3:30.

i once called Advance Auto for a coolant temperature sensor (not the sender for the gage) for a 99 Monte Carlo 3100 V6. I fought with the nitwit on the other end of the phone for ten minutes. She kept saying that my car did not have a coolant temp sensor and that I was mistaken... of course, I AM HOLDING THE FUCKING THING IN MY FUCKING HAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had to wait for NAPA to open the next morning.

Posted by Samurai i once called Advance Auto for a coolant temperature sensor (not the sender for the gage) for a 99 Monte Carlo 3100 V6. I fought with the nitwit on the other end of the phone for ten minutes. She kept saying that my car did not have a coolant temp sensor and that I was mistaken... of course, I AM HOLDING THE FUCKING THING IN MY FUCKING HAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to wait for NAPA to open the next morning.

Ha, yes...I've told you the story when I was in Buffalo and the nitwit at Advance Auto gave me the V-Belt for a 85 Caravan instead of a 95 Caravan.

Posted by bandi I really love Carquest... or at least my local one.

there is a carquest and an auto value i deal with, both are good old fashioned auto parts stores the guys still smoke in back and there is grease on the floors. best kind of place