Advance Auto Parts Closing 500 Stores

[DeltaV]

18,000 original miles on factory parts.

That's terrible!!!

 

[PRND21]

Will prices go up or down?

I walked into NAPA today at 1:30 for front rotors and pads for the Wife's Challenger GT AWD. $259cdn / rotor and $90 for 4 pads. "We can get them here by November 18th for you!". Nice, I'll go see if Partsource (owned by Canadian Tire), or Canadian Tire has some in house. 1:45 I'm walking out the door of Partsource with the identical part # rotors for $109Cdn each and $80 for the pad set....

Just a thought, is the Canadian Napa company owned? Some around here are. My semi-local Napa is independently owned, I’m thinking that there might be an incentive to price parts somewhat competitively. Parts not stocked are there the next day, I always call for uncommon parts so I don’t waste a trip, I can only remember once that I had to wait for a part and that was for my 57 Dodge pickup. I don’t have any money invested in them, and I’m not trying to sound preachy, I just want to keep them open.

 

[dadsbee]

Just a thought, is the Canadian Napa company owned? Some around here are. My semi-local Napa is independently owned, I’m thinking that there might be an incentive to price parts somewhat competitively. Parts not stocked are there the next day, I always call for uncommon parts so I don’t waste a trip, I can only remember once that I had to wait for a part and that was for my 57 Dodge pickup. I don’t have any money invested in them, and I’m not trying to sound preachy, I just want to keep them open.

Local store is independant and not even in NAPA's system to check stock. Store 40 minutes away is in the system and I already knew they couldn't get stock until the 18th at stated price. Independent store was the exact same price and time frame, they just can't be bothered to have their inventory online. Local NAPA has been my go to for over 30 years, but not anymore..

 

[Budnicks]

Never really shopped at Advance Auto
is the sign of the times, the past 3+ years
it's too bad they didn't wait about a year
may have been able to turn it around, better business environments
taxes structures etc., with better leadership at the top

Oh well, I hope my local Napa (DebCo) doesn't ever close,
lil' mom & pop store
with people who actually know cars & parts,
4 older people work there, I've known 2 of them for 30+ years
good to great service, even some lighter machine work too,
turning rotors, valve jobs, milling heads, pressing bearings etc. type stuff
much of it, the rest major machine work is NOW out of house though
still local too

 

[PRND21]

Local store is independant and not even in NAPA's system to check stock. Store 40 minutes away is in the system and I already knew they couldn't get stock until the 18th at stated price. Independent store was the exact same price and time frame, they just can't be bothered to have their inventory online. Local NAPA has been my go to for over 30 years, but not anymore..

My actual local Napa, 4 miles away, closed about a dozen years ago when an autozone opened next to it. One of those great old stores where you walked in the back door and everybody knew everybody. The good old days…

 

[Car #4]

18,000 original miles on factory parts.

Really! She must be on them all the time. I have a 15 Challenger and got over 100,000km (60,000 miles) before they needed changing.

 

[DeltaV]

Maybe Canada used nitric acid to melt snow. Lol

 

[dadsbee]

Really! She must be on them all the time. I have a 15 Challenger and got over 100,000km (60,000 miles) before they needed changing.

Nope, she knows how to drive. Outer pads are still as new, inners to the wear indicators and rotors are fawked. Gravel road and road brine, that and a shitty caliper design. Did her rears at less than 13,000 and they were toast. Yours must be highway miles, not local short drives. Car is 7.5 years old at 27,860km.

 

[DeltaV]

Nope, she knows how to drive. Outer pads are still as new, inners to the wear indicators and rotors are fawked. Gravel road and road brine, that and a shitty caliper design. Did her rears at less than 13,000 and they were toast. Yours must be highway miles, not local short drives. Car is 7.5 years old at 27,860km.

The parking brake shoes on the inside of the rear rotor hat are probably toast too. I'm assuming that's how they did the parking brake.

 

[dadsbee]

The parking brake shoes on the inside of the rear rotor hat are probably toast too. I'm assuming that's how they did the parking brake.

Yep, did those as well when I did the rears.

 

[toolmanmike]

50,000 on the wife's rig and original brakes and tires that I haven't rotated. (No need. No uneven wear)

 

[j-c-c-62]

I have a Tacoma PU 3rd one), that at times has towed 5000lb concrete blocks, at 550,000+ miles it still has original rear brake shoes and drums, which is a real big surprise as original owner.
My dad taught me a good attentive driver only uses the brakes when you arrive.

 

[Belvedere408]

Advanced auto parts took over all the car quests here. It's been pretty lackluster. Usually the last place I stop for any part.

 

[DeltaV]

Around here it's NAPA and O'Reilly's with a small fleet of pick-up trucks and vans running around/between their respective warehouses and commercial customers (e.g., auto repair shops, etc).

I've always had the impression that a significant portion of NAPA's business was serving auto repair shops, not the general public for the most part. I could be very wrong of course.

 

[SlinktRR]

O'Reilly's has Wix, Advanced has coupons that give you sweet deals for online pickup orders, Napa has random electrical and every gauge of spooled wire you need for an old car, and auto zone has...car wax?

There is an auto zone store/regional warehouse here in Dallas, that is one block from yet another retail auto zone, that is in turn across from an O'Reilly's regional warehouse. And they are building another auto zone down the street!

Not sure if this is sustainable... but I do like auto zone for one thing, I got a brake booster for my XJ jeep and they refunded me the entire amount for the core, I noticed when I got home with the receipt. Not sure what happened there. Too much building and not enough training?

 

[moparedtn]

I'll toss into the chat the fact that newer cars have "advanced" almost to the point where the average
owner isn't even able to repair them oftentimes anymore. Of course, this is by design...
Not to say our society is cranking out future shadetrees like it did generations ago, for that matter.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I've been dealing with a local chain in my area since I got my first car in 1975; Allied Auto Parts, which carried all of the big name products. Recently, they were bought out by Fisher Auto Parts & nearly everything comes in a Federated branded box, so now I don't know whose parts I'm getting.

https://www.fisherautoparts.com/NewsDetail.aspx?id=496

 

[Speedbird]

Advance online discount system is goofy.
Never use it.
I'm on a first name basis with the Advance and Oriely mangers.
Both middle age women that have been there a long time relatively speaking. Nice people.
The stores are across the street from each other.
I never waste their time. I know the part number before I walk in. It's usually to see IF they can GET the part or to order it and eyeball it first.
The way things have been parts wise I don't want to loose ANY options. Or them their jobs! Auto Zone is closer . One place can get it sometimes the other place can't.
Otherwise I have to wait for UPS from Summit or something.
Now, if we are taking parts for rice burners ...

 

[YY1]

We were reminded on the A body side, that Discount/Advance bout Car Quest a few years ago, and only closed a portion of those stores.
Perhaps those chickens have come home to roost.

I have one road near me that has four Auto Zones, four O'reily's and three Discount/Advance in the span of about 10 miles.
It also used to have a Car Quest and a NAPA.

 

[toolmanmike]

We were reminded on the A body side, that Discount/Advance bout Car Quest a few years ago, and only closed a portion of those stores.
Perhaps those chickens have come home to roost.

I have one road near me that has four Auto Zones, four O'reily's and three Discount/Advance in the span of about 10 miles.
It also used to have a Car Quest and a NAPA.

Wow, That's overkill. It amazes me they can buy land and erect a million dollar building for a store. And within a few years, close because lack of business. (because there are 10 stores in 10 miles)