I was looking for the best price on 4 (!) 02 sensors for the M3. Turned out that amazon dot com was the winner 'cause of my Amazon Prime program membership cheap shipping. Then I started to do a little research and figured out I could buy all my consumables for a track season in the M3 on Amazon with nearly free shipping.
I already get my Valeo 600 wiper blades from them...
In reply to Ranger50:
that's all well and good, ask away, so long as you understand that you're not paying for said advice and YOU'RE asking because YOU don't know the answer. if i had a nickel every time someone said, "my car wouldn't start, i had to get a jump to get here, what's wrong with my car?" me: sounds like you need a new battery annoying customer: squints um, are you sure? i think its the starter, the car wouldn't start, its the starter. me: well YOU asked me, pal. if you already knew, why bother asking?
In reply to Strizzo:
BTDT. Easier to just hand over the starter as the "customer is ALWAYS right." 
I've also seen it both ways too. The "integral" solenoid stays on draining said battery. Selling battery to customer then having to endure the tirade over selling the wrong parts because it was the starter and vice versa. Even after offering the FREE battery testing and them refusing it.
What I am saying is they are asking stuff that they need to figure out for themselves before even coming into the store to purchase. The "Why should I purchase x over y?" questions. And not just the stuff written down on the sales sheets. They want the personal answer they can't answer themselves.
This will date me, but when I was behind the parts counter the one item you could sell, and be guaranteed the guy would come back and say it's defective because it didn't solve his problem, was a rebuilt carb. No matter how much time I spent pumping them for symptoms and trying to get them to comprehend what the real likely problem was, it was always the carb.
Which is why we had a rigid "no returns" policy on carbs.
I was just at the local AutoZone today. Had to buy a waterpump and thermostat. They have those parts stocked, and have never had a problem with getting the needed parts from them.
Now, I have to buy more because I snapped a bolt off the thermostat housing, and most of the bolt threads for the waterpump are packed with rusty particles.
Boiled the thermostat to see it didn't open. Wife probably blowed engine as she drove it for a couple few miles with the needle in the red and it knocked then shut down.
Advance used to be OK but went down hill the last few years. RockAuto has much better prices and selection if you can wait a few days... I saved over $40 on a pair of BCA front wheel bearings (inc. shipping) over AA, which I'd wait a day for them to truck in so I was only out two days.
The sales ppl used to really know their stuff but n e more just know how to look up models and part numbers. Their on sale items run out in a few hours... sorry we only had one case of 'that' brake fluid. Don't try to take a AA online part # there cause they'll say we can't order that. Counter ppl are on the phone half the time while paying customers wait in lines.
I don't know what happened to their service but I suspect bean counters are now running the company instead of car people.
Advance Auto Parts 4Q Net Income Jumps By Michael Felberbaum, AP Business Writer
Manufacturing.Net - February 10, 2011
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Auto parts seller Advance Auto Parts Inc. says its fourth-quarter net income rose nearly 40 percent on higher sales and the improved availability and pricing of parts.
The Roanoke-based company said late Wednesday that it earned $48.1 million, or 57 cents per share, in the period ended Jan. 1, compared with $34.5 million, or 36 cents per share, a year ago.
Advance Auto Parts says revenue rose 11 percent to $1.27 billion.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected the company to earn 54 cents per share on revenue of $1.25 billion.
The company has seen a net addition of 143 new stores over the past 12 months, but sales also rose in established locations. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with a 2.4 percent gain in the year-ago quarter.
"The vital signs of our industry continue to be very favorable," CEO Darren R. Jackson said in a conference call with investors on Thursday, adding that he does see potential headwinds like rising gas prices and the rebounding U.S. auto market.
Jackson said the average age of vehicles on the road is more than 10 years old and the number of miles driven continues to increase modestly. But he said, "Consumer preference still favors necessity as a result of the sluggish economy and job market."
Auto parts retailers have boomed in the past two years as recession-weary Americans fixed up old cars and postponed new-car purchases. But the parts sellers might be ready to downshift amid surging car sales and a spreading economic recovery.
Major parts-store chains have posted impressive sales and net income growth since the economic downturn started in late 2007.
Advance Auto Parts forecast its 2011 full-year earnings in the range of $4.60 to $4.80 per share. The company expects to open between 120 to 140 new stores and forecasts sales at stores open at least a year will increase in the low- to mid-single digits. Analysts were expecting earnings of $4.61 a share.
For 2010, Advance Auto Parts said its net income rose 28 percent to $346.1 million, or $3.95 per share, compared with $270.4 million, or $2.83 per share, in the previous year. Revenue grew 9.5 percent to $5.93 billion.
The company, which sells automotive parts, accessories, batteries and maintenance items, has more than 3,563 stores in 39 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
In midday trading Thursday, Advance Auto Parts shares were down 77 cents at $65.23.
I haven't had issues with my local Advance...The worker bees know to leave me alone since I only talk to the two or three knowledgeable people. They know me by name, and vice versa.
If I want modern toyota parts, they're in stock. If I want geo or datsun parts, I order them whether there or elsewhere.
(+1 on rock auto, BTW....they saved me a LOT on a datsun transmission mount.)
I still go to Advance because I worked the counter at one outside Atlanta during college. The local ones are starting to lose their good people, but selection and price is pretty much the same as any other fast food parts chain.
My favorite question from a customer while I was behind the counter?
Middle of a sunny Saturday with customers stacked 5 deep all down the counter...
guy: "I've got a 19xx VW. Everytime I get below a half-tank of gas, it starts cutting out. That means it's from low fuel pressure, right?"
me: ---pause while I consider how lost he is vs the others waiting in line, balanced by the possibility he has a gravity feed gas tank on his roof---....."Um. Yep, sounds like you nailed it. Can I help who's next?"
We did pretty well with knowledgable counter help at that store, but that trend is going away. Of course, that's because automotive knowledge is also declining in general.
at the autozone i worked at, it was not uncommon for someone's response to "what kind of car do you have?" to be "um, its blue?"
ddavidv wrote: This will date me, but when I was behind the parts counter the one item you could sell, and be guaranteed the guy would come back and say it's defective because it didn't solve his problem, was a rebuilt carb. No matter how much time I spent pumping them for symptoms and trying to get them to comprehend what the real likely problem was, it was always the carb. Which is why we had a rigid "no returns" policy on carbs.
I remember one time selling a guy a real expensive Holley Street Avenger carb for his Chevelle. You know the guy I'm talking about: the d-bag that thinks that he's the E36 M3 and knows what he's doing, but would be better off driving a gold Camry serviced only by the dealer. He said his old carb (also a Holey) was getting all crappy and the car wasn't running right, and a new carb would do the trick. He was hooked by a tagline on the box that said "Bolt On and Go!!!" He buys it and struts out of the store all full of himself.
He comes back a few hours later, all angry, with the brand new carb filled with fuel and wants to return it. I asked why, as the thing was brand new and shouldn't have any issues. He tells me that the box tagline that caught his eye was false advertising. 
He said that he bolted it on and it ran worse. In other words, it didn't "go". I asked him if he adjusted anything on it, and he said that it was a universal carb and should just work. It shouldn't need adjustment, ever. 
My manager stepped in and returned his money, because he knew I would have him throwing fists at me from telling me what an idiot he is. 
Being a parts guy blackened my soul and caused me to hate my fellow man.
Being a parts guy is like being a waiter or waitress; it will make you misanthropic as hell.
I flogged race car parts back in the '70's and '80's and did counter sales for a Caterpillar dealership and some small local parts house chains until about '86 (talk about dating yourself!). The stories go on... one that sticks out was this d bag who bought a 'test pipe' (they were sold so you could remove the cat and 'test' to see if it was your problem ). This assclown brings the thing back, says 'it wouldn't fit the car'. I stick my fingers inside, they come out covered in soot. Nice even coat, too. Company policy was no refunds on installed carbs, electrical or exhaust parts. Obviously it had been installed, thus no refund and I said so. The guy went ballistic, threatened to whip my ass and I grabbed my counter stool, ready to swing if he jumped the counter. The owner of the place came running and somehow got the guy to calm down, escorted him out of the store and told him to never come back.
But about Advance and their ilk, hell I know more than the guys behind the counter. I don't want to be an ass etc so I go huntin' online, find the numbers etc then go to the local store with P/N in hand. FWIW, I do the same with the local NAPA store, all the smart guys (the few left) are at the main store 30 miles from me.
things like these make me happy that we have a napa in my school and get parts at store cost=]=]=]
lol
minimac wrote:1988RedT2 wrote: ....Advance can't have more than one at the counter even when the store is full of customers. Nothing like standing in line for 10 minutes ....While the counter guy is talking to someone on the phone, that wants a price on a part they may or may not buy. The ten customers WITH CASH IN HAND, wait while he looks up part numbers, checks in the back,etc. After this happened more times than I care to recount, I, and others, walked out without buying anything. After calling the manager to complain, my position was the counterman should take care of paying customers first and either put phone guy on hold or have him call back. He stated I was already in the store and had what I wanted, so I should have waited( to pay and go on my way) while someone else(on the phone) needed help. I refuse to go back. But I'm a dick that way.
This problem can be solved by having a USEFUL store website. It would seem I'm asking for a lot though. Even stores that I enjoy going into like NAPA, have pants-on-head retarded websites that make me wanna hurl my breaker bar at my computer instead of my fender. I'm no computer software buff, but I'd bet that all the chain stores buy the same crappy web software.
If buying car parts online were as easy as buying computer bits from Newegg or home audio/video bits from Monoprice, we wouldn't be having this discussion, save for the people that walk into a store wanting a part with some urgency, in which case a good website should have a functional "check local inventory" option.
Unless NAPA screwed the pooch, their Pro-Link catalog is stupid easy to use and get parts inventory from the local NAPA. But then again, you have to be setup in their system to access/use it.
I'm fortunate that my local Napa actually has people in it that give a crap and know how to use the wall of books behind them if the computer doesnt have the answer . Which seems to be the problem in a lot of chains. If that computer doesnt know it then they dont have a clue either. I use them in my professional life(dealership) and private.
Well, one strike against Pep Boys today.
I need new sway bar links for my truck. Not sure how much they would cost, I go on Rockauto and see they are pretty cheap. $13 ea for the base versions. $17 for the HD versions. Not feeling like waiting, I figure I'll just pick them up at Pep Boys - figuring they couldn't be that much more expensive.
Wrong.
$62.99. Each.
So I guess I'll have to wait a few days for them to arrive from Rockauto...
ShadowSix wrote: The problem that is you don't have the right kind of car. I could rebuild my '88 Chevy C1500 stem to stern out of the in-store stock at my local Advance.
...minus frame.
fast_eddie_72 wrote:foxtrapper wrote: "You want the internet price? We'll need a managers permission, and he's not here today."Ian F wrote: Since RockAuto arrived, I've hardly bought any parts from one of the 'big three' (Pep Boys, Advance, AutoZone).I get a lot of stuff at Rockauto too. Sounds like Advance is trying to become more like Rockauto. I make sure I pop into my Advance from time to time just so they see my face spending a buck from time to time. When you need that tool loan program, I like to feel like I'm not taking advantage. But it's tough *not* to order from Rock Auto. Prices are good and you see everything they have available so you can make a choice about what part you want. Kinda hate to think the local stores will go away though. It's a tough spot.
advance will match rockauto.
maddabe wrote: advance will match rockauto.
Please go try it and report how well that works out for you.....
EDIT: Holy cow reading back I was bitter..... Good to see that hasn't changed.
I usually end up buying from Rock Auto if it's major stuff that I have planned, it's simply better prices for better replacement parts (as long as you don't buy the cheapest ones they sell...some very awfully-built suspension pieces exist out there!) than the local chains. The closest chain around here is Autozone, so I use them for oil, filters, coolant, wipers etc. They take used oil, too. The guys behind the counter are real winners, though. Wouldn't want to have to walk them through getting me anything more complicated than spark plug wires...
Although I did need an exhaust gasket a while back. Walked it, said "I need an exhaust gasket, triangular, three bolt holes, 2.25" diameter opening." "For what kind of car?" "No, I promise you every car in history uses those, I just need one with a 2.25" opening." "No, you have to tell me what kind of car." Facepalm. "2000 Saturn...SL2...yes, the DOHC one. Hence the 2."
holy year old necropost.
Ranger50 wrote:maddabe wrote: advance will match rockauto.Please go try it and report how well that works out for you..... EDIT: Holy cow reading back I was bitter..... Good to see that hasn't changed.
It's company policy to match online retailers. Same brands, p/n and warranties. I actually work for McParts, not that I'm real happy to admit it.
In reply to madmallard: I forgot what year it is
Used to work at Advance many years ago. Didn't have one here when I moved here so I went to the other one. Advance opened a store right across the street from AZ. Went there and was disappointed in the inventory and staff. AZ still has more parts in it. Learned the hard way don't get anything for a Mazda there though, it's crap. Started going to O'Riellys, they are closer and usually have what I need or get it quick. For things that can wait for delivery, RockAuto is the place.
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