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In the old days, the "mom and Pop parts stores" had knowledgeable countermen who knew cars and knew parts and could help the customer.
Today's fancy volume stores have people who look up parts on the computer, and most have very little knowledge of vehicles or parts..
NAPA is probably the closest thing to a real parts store from the ones listed...
In the old days, the "mom and Pop parts stores" had knowledgeable countermen who knew cars and knew parts and could help the customer.
Today's fancy volume stores have people who look up parts on the computer, and most have very little knowledge of vehicles or parts..
NAPA is probably the closest thing to a real parts store from the ones listed...
I have an Advance and AZ right across the street from each other...Although I utilize both regularly, I go to the Advance when I have questions that need answers, as there is one (and only ONE) capable person there who knows what they are talking about. That person will actually refer me to someplace else, if they have a better part or price, and will make certain I go there armed with the knowledge(part number, brand, etc.)to be certain I'm getting the right thing....That's an almost totally unheard of thing these days, and I always make certain this person gets a little spiff at Christmas time from me.
Like Donn says, most of the people at these stores just know how to retrieve data from a computer screen. Nothing agravates me more than going in to get a common part like a halogen bulb for the headlights, and I end up playing a game of twenty questions like what engine code? is it 4X4?, auto or manual tranny? and a plethora of other questions completly unrelated to the part you need........They should pay me for my wasted time in dealing with this BS.
Bottom line, I'd agree ...The people make the place, the rest is pretty much generic these days..........
The thing with the 20 questions is rellevent to the buyes needs.
A counter person is NOT a mechanic and does not know when a mid yr change was made on a car assembly line...what parts were used on different models of the same brand overlapping what yrs.
Some gizmos are modified and installed in the latter part of a yrs production assembly model...thus the term "limited production item".
Ask any well knowledged mechanic and get the true answer from their experience.
I prefer NAPA from the ones listed, but usually go to one of the few semi-independent parts stores we still have around here. The local NAPA guys are pretty knowledgable, they have most wear parts for German and Japanese as well as domestic cars. NAPA parts are generally of good quality, not necessarily the best, but at least good. And frequently they offer an "uprated" part like in the brake pads, where they offer 3 different pads "good, better, best" in many applications.
The local AutoZone actually has one older guy who actually knows his stuff, he drives a Corvair, so I know if the Corvair is in the parking lot the "doctor is in".
I get a lot of parts from mail order, for older rigs. Many Toyota and Subaru parts are not the same in aftermarket as a genuine OEM part from the dealer, particularly this is true about Subaru.
The thing with the 20 questions is rellevent to the buyes needs.
A counter person is NOT a mechanic and does not know when a mid yr change was made on a car assembly line...what parts were used on different models of the same brand overlapping what yrs.
Some gizmos are modified and installed in the latter part of a yrs production assembly model...thus the term "limited production item".
Ask any well knowledged mechanic and get the true answer from their experience.
Steve (retired mechanic)
But we do get the VIN when necessary to establish RPO codes and production dates. Our mantra/creed has always been Make, Model and Year, not "they're all the same".
I'm one of the old guys behind the counter (now at a dealer, but spent 13 years at an aftermarket "mom and pop"). What's been said is true - except for the recent layoffs which have forced a few into the field, the chains try to employ kids who'll work for lower wages, and have only the knowledge of how to answer the computer's "questions". We learned in the catalogs before the computers came along, so we're not paralyzed if the power goes out.
Brian (certified GM parts)
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