Somebody is making money during the recession

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/03/03/20090303biz-autozone0303.html

"10th consecutive quarter of double digit growth"...

LOL They have gotten some of my money this past quarter and they will get some more

Do they sell mufflers? The one on my pick up fell of this weekend....

Is there anybody on this board who hasn't dropped a little money at the Zone lately.

No AutoZoo's up here, so yeah there's a few of us who haven't spent any with them

God Bless Autozone.

I called Advance Autoparts and the muffler I need is $82!

Autozone, same muffler $27.99

Do they have a rewards card program?

P71 wrote: No AutoZoo's up here, so yeah there's a few of us who haven't spent any with them

The closest parts store to my place in North Portland is an Autozone and they are also open the latest, so they get a fair bit of my basic business (fluids, wiring, last minute parts, etc.) by default. I prefer the Napa in St. Johns when possible, they're pretty good.

Autozone does have a "rewards card" they do...every time you spend more than $20 you get one credit. After five credits you get $20 off your next purchase IIRC.

Bryce

The Baxter's right next to the race track isn't closer Bryce?

Up here we've got NAPA, Schuck's (CSK), Baxter's, a few really crappy local places, and a CarQuest that I have no idea how they stay in business. Same story in Bellingham. I remember having to drive down to North Seattle to get the nearest AutoZoo when one of their batteries took a dump on me.

The AZ near me is full of people who are paid minimum wage and don't know/care much about cars. I go to kragens/pimp boys most of the time. If a store cannot keep their invoices straight I don't care how cheap they are, the aggrivation isn't worth it. I'll see how much a replacement drum is for my pickup to see if they are cheaper though.

GPC (NAPA, basically) had a decrease of 6% for their last quarter (parts group only). If you find a good, independently owned NAPA store, you're in good shape. If you shop at a company-owned NAPA, good luck.

EricM wrote: Do they have a rewards card program?

Sure do!

Signing up for that ^^^

Depending on what part of NoPo you're in, the Baxter's in St. John's is also a good spot.

BTW, the Napa in St. John's is a local warehouse and is open 7 days a week. There is also a Napa on Columbia as well.

The Baxter's near PIR (Delta Park) is a warehouse and I think it also is open 7 days and of course there is a Baxter's in St. John's as well.

There is Radke's in NoPo (near St. John's) as well, off of Columbia Way.

Finally, if you need hardware or a small chunk of material, head to Parkrose Hardware. Well worth the trip for their metric hardware alone. http://www.parkrosehardware.com/

Dad lives in St. John's and his shop is there, so we've had to acquaint ourselves with the parts stores in the area.

I take advantage of their rewards program, but don't like it much. Spend more than 20 bucks 5 times in 6 months and get 20 back towards a purchase, but like say you spend 40 bucks in one shot, that doesn't count as 2 out of 5. So I find myself splitting up purchases if I can, but sometimes it's inconvenient. Like recently I spent 50 bucks there, I could have easily made it two purchases, but I was told they gotta be at least an hour apart or some E36 M3 like that.

I prefer the Autozone in my town to any of the other parts stores and given the number of times I have been in there I have gotten to know several of the guys pretty well. They have helped me a lot with various things.

The AutoZone in Salem, NH is pretty good. They're my primary store to get parts from since many of the employees there are car or truck guys- a lot of them are interested in my RX-7 build since they're pretty rare in my neck of the woods, and one owns a nearly identical Impreza to mine.

Right across the street is a PepBoys I go to occasionally when AZ doesn't have an item or the part is less expensive, like the brake master cylinder for my RX-7 I'm waiting on. The parts counter guys and managers are friendly, but the rest of the staff sucks and can screw up jobs as easy as an oil change (ask my dad how we know this).

There's at least 15 other part stores in my area, and they all range from tiny to downright sketchy. I won't shop at those places.

I shop at Autozone pretty much because of the rewards card. This means that I do a lot of crap like buying one rotor on Tuesday, one on Thursday and the pads on Friday. It sucks but if you are willing to spend the time to abuse their system the result is pretty close to a 20% discount.

Slanket Snuggie sales are up 690% and have a 6 month backorder

My local Advance is the shiznit, run by old hands and racers, they help out and have first hand knowledge, I even buy some parts from them

The only place in my town is a Car Quest. One wall is just window cranks from the 80's and 90's and most of there business is supling the local shops. But the are good for 90% of what i need. If they dont have it I head out to the 'Zone in Owego.

I was at one yesterday, had em check the starter for the challenge car for me, it was good, saved me $100.00 (though now i know i have a different issue ill have to figure out!) good prices and good service, , yep, ill my parts there.. though the one closest to me has been scratched off my list, luckily theres another just a few minutes more up the road.. no surprise they're making money, combine the above with the fact that people are fixing cars more than replacing , especially now.. makes for a good business to be in when most others are much worse off..

well, I have had a very mixed history with AZ...seems like around here, they kind of cycle through good crews and bad. Sometimes they know exactly what shims are needed for 93 corolla lifters, and sometimes they tell me chamois are in with the cleaning products . And sometimes they dont know what the hell Im talking about, but dont have any time to listen any further cause the phones are ringing, and 2 guys are outside on break, the manager is counting a drawer, and the guy Im talking to really doesnt give a damn anyway. I guess youll have that anywhere...minimum wage workers are everywhere, and finding one who actually cares is a rare find indeed.

Long story short, Advance and Napa are the best around here...you may pay a bit more, but its worth it to find people who know what theyre talking about and really want you to come back (and not because the sold you the wrong brake hose)

actually if you want to see making money in the recession look at assualt rifle manufacturers

most have a 1 year backorder, are gouging prices, and are cranking out as fast as they can

gun dealers in general are raking it in lately, thanks to the recession and obama.

Nobody asked me, but I can't stand the local AutoZone.

An actual phone conversation between me and the AutoZone flunkie:

Me: I need eight spark plugs for a 1976 Mercedes Benz 450SL, preferably Bosch. Do you have them in stock?

Them: Two Door or Four Door?

Me: Two Door.

Them: Automatic or Standard.

Me: Automatic.

Them: Gas or Diesel?

Me (sarcastically): Are you kidding? Um, I think it runs on gas but I'll have to check and call you back.

I pay more at the little local parts store because the guy behind the counter knows about cars and about parts. If I order something by part number, he doesn't ask me, "for what car?" I'm happy to pay extra for his expertise.

I go to Pep Boys once every couple of years to remind myself why I don't go to Pep Boys.