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Pepboys is by far the biggest and has the most opitions when is comes to getting your part. Not to mention there the only auto parts store that has a service center. So good luck getting something installed at AZ, advanced, or OR. So I always choose Pepboys for anything auto.
I used to be Auto zone only, but have switched to O'Reillys. NAPA lost me in 93 when I needed a timing chain for my 73 Maverick with a 250. They would have had to order it, and the chain and gears were seperatley priced. The chain was $49.95 and the gears were $39.95. Our then new Auto zone had one in stock (also a TRW like NA
PA) complete with gear and chain for $29.95. Guess where I bought mine! But a few years ago I noticed Autozone parts were not very good anymore, so now it's O'Reilly's.
Pepboys is by far the biggest and has the most opitions when is comes to getting your part. Not to mention there the only auto parts store that has a service center. So good luck getting something installed at AZ, advanced, or OR. So I always choose Pepboys for anything auto.
Around here, at A/Z, Advanced, or O'R, you may see people, and techs turning wrenches in the parking lot for somewhat minor work, like brake work.
I have an Autozone about a mile from my shop and an Advance about 3 or 4 miles, and I drive past the Autozone to get to the Advanced. Autozone staffs their stores with 2 people and one is always in the parking lot, checking batteries and replacing wiper blades. If you go in for a can of something you have to wait because there is no one at the register and the only other guy there is looking up parts for all the customers in front of you.
At least Advanced seems to put more employees on the floor, so I rarely have to wait and I think their parts are a little better. Autozone calls their parts Duralast, but they should be called Don't last. I have stopped buying any parts from them because I have had 2 and 3 of the same part fail, sometimes right out of the box.
Pep Boys is pretty useless, unless you know what you want and just grab it off the shelf.
Well I work for one of these parts stores and for the most part they are mostly the same as far parts quality go as many of them use the same suppliers, and hire similar people that no nothing about cars and care less about their jobs since they don't pay **** for us to live on.
Napa and Carquest usually has better quality parts, but what people don't know is that O'Reilly's carries name brand products that make parts for Napa and Carquest. Like Gates belts and hoses, Napa and Carquest belts and hoses made by Gates. Napa Suspension is made by Moog which you can get the actual brand at O'Reilly for much cheaper, Shocks and Struts, are made by Monroe, just like what Napa and Carquest sells.
Personally when it comes to Thermostats and Gas Caps, I prefer Napa and Carquest parts as Stant makes them compared to the crappy Motorad Stats and Caps which Vatozone and O'Really sells. Also water pumps are very cheaply made and not manufactured well from the Zone and the "O". Napa pumps are made by Gates, and their quality control is much higher than what you'll find in the no name box brands the other 2 sell.
Batteries made by Johnson Controls which makes batteries for Autozone, Napa, O'Reilly, and Carquest. So at the end of the day, they are all very similar and the only real difference is the prices.
You'd think as parts store, giving advice to customers, and helping them trying to figure out what is wrong with their vehicle (which can end up making a customer waste his or her money on something they might not need), they would hire former mechanics with a lot of knowledge, but they don't, because they pay the same wages as a Micky D's employee and no way in hell will someone with that kind of work experience will settle for low wage job like this.
Many customers don't understand that their might be 1 or 2 counter people up front helping customers, but their might be many more in the back putting away parts, checking in inventory, answering the commercial phone lines, stocking, cleaning up, whatever it may be, and some of them aren't really trained or meant to be working up front. Running a parts store is a lot of work, and takes many people to make it run smoothly.
It's not like going to a grocery store where you're in and out and know what to expect, at a parts store, you will have someone on the phone looking up parts, running to the back to grab a part, dumping oil, talking to a customer for 5 minutes trying to help them, so the service is and will mostly liking be much slower than shopping at a Walmart.
And true, they never hire enough people, or they might have enough employees to do the job, but the companies are so strict and anal about payroll, that they rather sacrifice service and getting things done, in order to make a profit and save money.
Oh and if the store doesn't meet sales expectations or is low volume, then expect to only have a few employee's working their.
Well I work for one of these parts stores and for the most part they are mostly the same as far parts quality go as many of them use the same suppliers, and hire similar people that no nothing about cars and care less about their jobs since they don't pay **** for us to live on.
Napa and Carquest usually has better quality parts, but what people don't know is that O'Reilly's carries name brand products that make parts for Napa and Carquest. Like Gates belts and hoses, Napa and Carquest belts and hoses made by Gates. Napa Suspension is made by Moog which you can get the actual brand at O'Reilly for much cheaper, Shocks and Struts, are made by Monroe, just like what Napa and Carquest sells.
Personally when it comes to Thermostats and Gas Caps, I prefer Napa and Carquest parts as Stant makes them compared to the crappy Motorad Stats and Caps which Vatozone and O'Really sells. Also water pumps are very cheaply made and not manufactured well from the Zone and the "O". Napa pumps are made by Gates, and their quality control is much higher than what you'll find in the no name box brands the other 2 sell.
Batteries made by Johnson Controls which makes batteries for Autozone, Napa, O'Reilly, and Carquest. So at the end of the day, they are all very similar and the only real difference is the prices.
You'd think as parts store, giving advice to customers, and helping them trying to figure out what is wrong with their vehicle (which can end up making a customer waste his or her money on something they might not need), they would hire former mechanics with a lot of knowledge, but they don't, because they pay the same wages as a Micky D's employee and no way in hell will someone with that kind of work experience will settle for low wage job like this.
Many customers don't understand that their might be 1 or 2 counter people up front helping customers, but their might be many more in the back putting away parts, checking in inventory, answering the commercial phone lines, stocking, cleaning up, whatever it may be, and some of them aren't really trained or meant to be working up front. Running a parts store is a lot of work, and takes many people to make it run smoothly.
It's not like going to a grocery store where you're in and out and know what to expect, at a parts store, you will have someone on the phone looking up parts, running to the back to grab a part, dumping oil, talking to a customer for 5 minutes trying to help them, so the service is and will mostly liking be much slower than shopping at a Walmart.
And true, they never hire enough people, or they might have enough employees to do the job, but the companies are so strict and anal about payroll, that they rather sacrifice service and getting things done, in order to make a profit and save money.
Oh and if the store doesn't meet sales expectations or is low volume, then expect to only have a few employee's working their.
I have a Pep Boys less than a mile from my house. I use them when I want to get tires mounted or alignment for my BMWs. Their service people are very friendly and get me in and out quickly. I have no complaints about their store.
O'Reilly for oil change specials. Advance for parts due to order online pickup in store and wide availability of 30 to 40% off coupons along with generous referral portal bonus rates (usually can find 5 to 8 % at ebates or fatwallet).
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