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Advance Auto Parts Closing 500 Stores

The ones that do turn drums and rotors are outrageously priced. O’Reilly’s quoted $30 per rotor for turning. That’s a lot to pay to have an inexperienced kid mess them up. I found a real automotive machine shop that did them both for $30 and they were perfect. Sadly, he has since sold off his equipment and retired…
It seems the way of the day. Sublet shops I'd patronized for decades... parts stores, radiator shops, machine shops, etc. have slowly disappeared in my area.
 
Things sometimes turnaround. In my province a fellow started a parts chain and basically just kept buyin out all the little parts stores or ran them into bankruptcy. It was impossible to beat his prices so we all went there. He died and his chain is still pretty big but the prices are now too high. So guess what? Everyone I know has switched to the inconvenience of Rock Auto and small, independent stores are starting up again. I like the little guy so I patronize the little upstarts anytime I can, they're always busy when I go in too so I think others think the same way.
 
I find I need a loan everyone I go to O'Weirdlys ...$14 for an oil filter? $15 for a quart of synthetic 10w30?

As a side note... last year I applied for a job at the Irishmans store...online. Never got a reply.

Yesterday, 18 months later, I got an email asking if I was ready to start my new career at their company!!
 
I live dead center within a square mile of main roads. I can walk either way a half mile to an auto parts store at the end of my neighborhood. Going north, I have an Auto Zone, O'Reilly, and Pep Boys. Going south, I have a Advanced and a Napa.
I almost never use any of them except for basics. I drive a couple of extra miles to an old school auto parts store that usually always has what I need in stock and used to be less expensive, but not so much anymore.
 
I saved $300 once by buying parts from rock auto instead of buying them from advance. It was a radiator and electric fan and the radiator from rock auto was the heavy-duty version. Only thing was, I had to wait 3 days to get the parts. It $pays$ to shop around.
 

Pep Boys used to be really good stores (and services) when I was growing up. How do they compare with their competition nowadays?
 
All these types of stores are for emergencies only, or oil, antifreeze and fuses. Advance is where I drop of my used engine oil from Cora. I've bought my batteries from Autozone since forever, garden tractor, waverunners, boats and more cars than I can count. Their guarantee on batteries was great years ago, not now. Nothing is as it once was. Tires and batteries, Costco.
 
My guess is that rockauto is the reason for at least some of the brick and mortar store closings.
 
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