Thread: What Parts Store Do You Use?

I absolutely hate autozoe. Used to have two good workers there that would help out. They're gone of course and now its basically me typing stuff in their computer for the parts. Oreileys is good, they actually have knowledgeable people.

dude youre near O'Fallon? my cousins live there. true though about advanced not caring about nothing. all the o'reilly people seem to have a good understanding about what they're doing. advanced just needs to fire everyone and hire people who know cars and how to fix them, not drop outs who are looking for money. i attempted to applied there but you gotta be 18 and now I'm glad i didn't get a job there lol

Originally Posted by chris99gtp

I absolutely hate autozoe. Used to have two good workers there that would help out. They're gone of course and now its basically me typing stuff in their computer for the parts. Oreileys is good, they actually have knowledgeable people.

never been to auto zone. haven't been to a lot of the places come to think of it lol. RA and o'reilly are what i can live with. i actually like o'reilly brand fluids like their coolant, brake clearer, etc. same stuff, just cheaper. have of the other stores seem to be the "ricer" stores, selling garbage items and hiring retarded people

Originally Posted by HighOctaneRacing

Fixed!

am i missing something? i don't get it

yeah, what does VATO mean?

ohhhh i get it now. haha ricers

Originally Posted by Pontiac Racer

am i missing something? i don't get it

I do. English speaking people generally don't go near Auto Zone in this town, ese. "Vato" is dude in Spanish.

Near me, theres two O'reilly's. One is a hub. But if you want a half case of VR-1 10-30 you'll prolly have to visit both. Luck of the draw at the counter, you may get a seasoned pro or a thumbsucker who drives to work on a learner's permit or a plasti-dipped scooter. I do the counter work online then go to the right store with a slip of paper. Sometimes the kiddos think I'm about to rob them, lol. Too much TV. I've always worked at a local shop so I tell them where that is, and they apply the shop's discount on a cash with tax ticket. Keeps my prices decent, and hell no I really don't want to buy any car parts I can't touch first. Ventshades maybe!

So-we have lots of O'Reilly's, one Zone, one Advance in my home town. I use O'Reilly's personally. At work we use them all. In the city where I work, a few years back NAPA went through town hanging their sign on anybody's building who would agree to being NAPA-ized. Place I was working at the time, a body shop, even considered being a NAPA. I'm like... do whut? But NAPA, as most stores do, has bargain and quality choices covered as best they can in their product offerings. AND an old pro who rarely works the counter but takes the calls from shops then oversees their delivery. That guy does the real meat n taters volume of business, knows his parts and can get them to you, take them back, whatever you need. If all they hired was punks they wouldn't be in business long.

Originally Posted by HighOctaneRacing

Then how is Advance hanging around this long? Can't be because of the prices? I just don't understand how they stay in business.

No idea, man. I never been in there. You can bet that in some towns, Advance is the good store. Depends who runs it, and thats how stores full of goofs live on. Other good stores in the chain carry the bad ones on their shoulders money-wise. As with anything, its all about caring people. Thats something you can't buy but when you hire it, thats a bonus. There ARE fairly green counter guys that are willing and helpful. Sometimes theres like a freshman chick in there on weekends and if I need five things boyoboy I might as well just go down the street. My GTP rarely needs anything and nobody has anything for the elder GP. Last time I asked for a PF24 the old counter guy laughed heartily and asked if they still made those.

Its the key to stability in business, learned that at a dealer. If theres no new car sales, service department is loaded up. If weather is bad and nobody wants to come in for service or a new car, the body shop is full. A successful business will not have all the eggs in one basket, and with auto parts which are such a necessity... well you can see why its such a competitive arena. Lots of folks just want the cheapest one of whatever they need. Retail sales are squat and they treat them with proper attention in light of that. The "professional" parts sales that go out the back door into a white 2WD pickup is why they are in business, the retail area is a necessary evil.