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None of them really because they all pretty much sell bottom of the barrell chinese made garbage parts. I order online from RockAuto most of the time for name brand quality parts. Even if they don't have parts made in the USA at least you can get reputable brands. I would never put a part called duralast on my vehicle
None of them really because they all pretty much sell bottom of the barrell chinese made garbage parts. I order online from RockAuto most of the time for name brand quality parts. Even if they don't have parts made in the USA at least you can get reputable brands. I would never put a part called duralast on my vehicle
That's funny because Rockauto is one of the biggest peddlers of Chinese parts. I bought Moog balljoints, struts mounts and tierods and they were all made in China. The strut mounts were junk after about a 1000 miles and the outer balljoints lasted only 1500 miles longer.
Some of the biggest brands in the automotive industry have given their name to the Chinese to make a buck.
A new Autozone recently opened near my home. When I needed a 3 inch sealed beam fog light for my motorhome, I decided to give them a try.
I showed the counter person the old light, saying "I need one of those!"
He immediately went to the computer, asking "What is it out of?"
When I told him, it was a motorhome, he said "I don't have parts for those!" He didn't even bother to look at the numbers on the bulb!
Since he obviously knows next to nothing about finding parts without the computer program, I have not been back, and will never go back!
Besides, if he does not have motorhome parts, he obviously would not have parts for the Ford V10 F53 chassis, either!
I voted for NAPA, although I use O'Reilly often, as well.
By the way, the counter person at O'Reilly found the bulb without going to the computer...
NAPA is my fave, but there's not one near me anymore. Advance is right up the street, and they loan tools.
Never been to Auto Zone, Car quest, or O'Reillys. I like the selection of the "help yourself" items at Pep Boys. I agree that the counter help at PB are generally slack jawed drones; that has been my experience.
There's a local chain around here that has good counter help. It's the kind of place where most of the stuff is in the back, and they don't carry much in the way of "consumer goods". I go there for calipers, master cylinders, stuff like that.
I usually drive old cars so I get a lot of stuff from LKQ "U-pull". I like rockauto.com's selection and prices, but I'm still a little hesitant to order from them. They had the best price on new struts for my Lumina, but I wrecked the car before I could order the struts.
To answer the OP's question, I would say it depends on what you want. If it is antifreeze or motor oil or wiper blades, then it does not matter where you buy -- just go with which one has the lowest prices.
If you are fixing up a car in expectation of selling it, then again it hardly matters -- just go with the cheapest prices.
But if you are buying a starter or alternator or front axles or wheel bearings, and you want the car to last as long as possible, then buy from NAPA. You may pay more, but you won't have to replace the same parts again for a long, long time.
If you can wait a couple of days, Ebay is your best bet. Just make sure and check the seller's feedback beforehand.
Be especially cautious if the eBay seller is located in North Carolina. There's a very shady outfit there that uses several different company names. Their parts are horrible so it's "buyer beware."
The best auto parts store is the one you don't have to go into and it's Rockauto online. Pretty much everything they sell is way cheaper then the parts stores and they sell name brand OEM quality parts. The stores are all shifting to store brands which are garbage. I could care less about warranties. Who wants to do things over and over again? I buy quality and do it right.
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