Rant: Auto parts store employees can really be useless sometimes

[Rick Moore]

About 30 years ago when I lived in Olando, I had a71 GTX. I believ it was Autozone, asked for some front brake shoes 11x3. Guy looms in his computer snd says they don't make that size brakes for yhat car. Told him OK, give .e 11x3 for a 71 Satellige. He goes in back and pulled them out. Some things never change.

 

[joe smith]

At 66 years old I remember the shelves of books with the pics and info in them... I too blame the computers...
I find it difficult at times to find parts at Jegs or Summit because the site will ONLY let you look for a particular year or model... Trying to find a Yoke for my new Tremec in an 83 is almost impossible... No way finding parts for the 9" rear end in it....

 

[747mopar]

In the world of the internet, there is no reason to visit your local parts store unless it's urgent. Anybody that can post on FBBO can order the parts they need, delivered to their door, without giving the DUMB generation a hard time.

I respectfully disagree, I'm a firm believer in supporting my community. Maybe I'm old school but I still prefer walking into my local auto parts store, shoot the **** and leaving knowing my money is helping people I know (I rarely buy online). Our local store is locally owned and is on it's 3rd generation of family ownership so there is none of that BS with needing make, model and year so yes it's a different situation with me.

I've walked into O'reilly's on a Sunday when my local parts store was closed and sat a resistor and starter solenoid (Ford style) on the counter and the kid says "what's that"? In my case it was for a boat that wasn't in their computer but for fucks sake those are so common! I eventually had to give him a model that I knew came with the 2 parts before he would even look! Had it been at my local store he would have walked back to the warehouse and came back with both parts just because he knows his job. I don't blame the kids, I blame these chain suppliers, lack of training, poor wages, whatever it is they don't attract knowledgeable employees.

 

[MarPar]

knew feces from shinola

 

[Danny Tuel]

I look everything up on my phone and store it in the app's shopping cart.

If it's in stock at my local store, I go there and show them the item on my phone and they direct me to it on the shelf. easy peasy.

I do the same thing and still get told they don't have it in stock sometimes. You need lots of patience to shop for parts today

 

[oldbee]

Alex, the answer for the 440 is-----J-11Y! Somehow no one answered, but they all knew it. SemperFi from a 2311. Jeff

 

[ckessel]

I respectfully disagree, I'm a firm believer in supporting my community. Maybe I'm old school but I still prefer walking into my local auto parts store, shoot the **** and leaving knowing my money is helping people I know (I rarely buy online). Our local store is locally owned and is on it's 3rd generation of family ownership so there is none of that BS with needing make, model and year so yes it's a different situation with me.

I've walked into O'reilly's on a Sunday when my local parts store was closed and sat a resistor and starter solenoid (Ford style) on the counter and the kid says "what's that"? In my case it was for a boat that wasn't in their computer but for fucks sake those are so common! I eventually had to give him a model that I knew came with the 2 parts before he would even look! Had it been at my local store he would have walked back to the warehouse and came back with both parts just because he knows his job. I don't blame the kids, I blame these chain suppliers, lack of training, poor wages, whatever it is they don't attract knowledgeable employees.

I do the same thing and still get told they don't have it in stock sometimes. You need lots of patience to shop for parts today

For sure when you have a local store with knowledgable people and great owners, thats where to spend your money. May not be as cheap as chains/mail order but having that knowledge base saves you a lot of grief. On the part being in stock, I always told people that a part is like an employee[ of course with some exceptions] in that the item has to sell a given amount in a months/quarters/years time. If it has low to no movement, it gets booted for something that has turnover and sells. You have to know that a lot of parts for older cars are not going to be in stock for that reason and must come from a warehouse or sometimes directly from the manufacture. Fluids, filters, spark plugs may be on hand if they also fit other vehicles and get sold a decent amount generating income.

 

[moparedtn]

About 30 years ago when I lived in Olando, I had a71 GTX. I believ it was Autozone, asked for some front brake shoes 11x3. Guy looms in his computer snd says they don't make that size brakes for yhat car. Told him OK, give .e 11x3 for a 71 Satellige. He goes in back and pulled them out. Some things never change.

It's the database parts sellers have that is so innacurate sometimes.
Even ones like Rock Auto insist a lot of these musclecars (that came with 11" brakes standard)
are only shown with 10" brakes - or one of my favorites is the one for Advance Auto that insists
my GTX only came with a 318.

 

[moparedtn]

I respectfully disagree, I'm a firm believer in supporting my community. Maybe I'm old school but I still prefer walking into my local auto parts store, shoot the **** and leaving knowing my money is helping people I know (I rarely buy online). Our local store is locally owned and is on it's 3rd generation of family ownership so there is none of that BS with needing make, model and year so yes it's a different situation with me.

I've walked into O'reilly's on a Sunday when my local parts store was closed and sat a resistor and starter solenoid (Ford style) on the counter and the kid says "what's that"? In my case it was for a boat that wasn't in their computer but for fucks sake those are so common! I eventually had to give him a model that I knew came with the 2 parts before he would even look! Had it been at my local store he would have walked back to the warehouse and came back with both parts just because he knows his job. I don't blame the kids, I blame these chain suppliers, lack of training, poor wages, whatever it is they don't attract knowledgeable employees.

Too many parts of the country don't have local parts stores with seasoned vets behind the counter at all anymore,
unfortunately.
All you can do in those cases is do your own looking up of parts, then go pick them up.

 

[moparedtn]

I do the same thing and still get told they don't have it in stock sometimes. You need lots of patience to shop for parts today

That's when you call them and tell them to lay hands on the parts, then have them waiting on the
counter for your arrival.

 

[Coronet_Arch]

Our local NAPA has people who actually know parts and understand when you are building something non standard. They also still have some of the old picture books.

 

[Mark Barnes]

I've been let down too many times by local parts stores. Case in point- had to buy a blower motor for a Jeep TJ last week. Autozone, Advance Auto, O'Reilly = $100-$130. Rock Auto = $28.
Considering that the big box stores are gonna sell me the same Chinese **** anyway, I'll take the lower price every time. My other big box store pet peeve- they used to have a good selection of hardware, nuts, screws, bolts...and especially brass fittings. No more. Blister packed, generic crap, and very little selection. They used to let me behind the counter at Autozone because they knew it would be easier for me to go get what I wanted than to explain what it was 10 times.

 

[Slap Stick]

I get to have fun at the parts store!
Just noticed the L motor mount on the Dakota is broken.
Lucky me!

 

[Basket case]

I needed a brake line for the road runner a few years ago on a Sunday. My CarQuest was closed. So wanting to drive the car that day...I stopped at AZ. Argued with the pimple head behind the counter that a '69 Plymouth did not have Metric fittings....and I had the old one in my hand. Went up the street to Advanced and had the new line in under 5 minutes. If my Car Quest is closed I'll look it up myself online and pick it up at the store.

 

[dadsbee]

Four pages later and the OP has never returned, Ed was correct....

 

[Master Gunner]

I also work behind the counter, (great job for a retired vet) and can tell you this is only going to get worse as time goes by. The generation that grew up working on cars, tractors, and trucks is slowly going away. As stated already Management feels that if you ask the questions that the computer prompts, anyone can sell car parts. We are a typical small town parts store, still have all the books, and refuse to throw out the old ones out.

The other problem is that without paying people to learn the trade, why would anybody stick around long enough to retire? You can say dumb kid, but without any training and decent pay, they're not going to stay long enough to learn the performance side.

Asking for a year, it is not a bad question, in the original post he said plugs for a SB Mopar, but not LA or Magnum. With all the resto mods out there, the year of the motor does become important. Also as we know, there is a hard break on parts for a 72 vs 73 and up.

Are there bad parts guys out there? Yup, we hear about the ORielys guys all the time, but instead of getting mad, maybe help the guy through it. Odds are the kid will only be at that job for a year or two, until they find one that pays better.

Ok, rant off, feel free to flame me

Mark

 

[Basket case]

I worked for nine years at an IH truck parts department. We would get guys that would need a certain part, and when you would ask them questions, they would cop an attitude and say you don't need to know that, they're all the same. One of the old timers got this guy, so he went back and grabbed a part off the shelf, and the customer asked him if it was the right one, the partsman said "it has to be, you said they're all the same"

 

[70runner]

The only way I buy form AZ or O'Reilly's is walk in and say "I need part number ######. Your site says you have one in stock" Pay and leave. Easy peasy.

Yup. Like everything else in the People's Republik, many Oreillys and AZ stores have adopted diversity-is-our-strength hiring practices. NAPA, not as much, you can usually find a boomer who can handle beyond the computer requests.

 

[mopar 3 B]

Yup. Like everything else in the People's Republik, many Oreillys and AZ stores have adopted diversity-is-our-strength hiring practices. NAPA, not as much, you can usually find a boomer who can handle beyond the computer requests.

You can even find some that know were the books are. The computer doesn't show the right master cylinder for my 83 D350 1 ton with the 4500 lb. front axle. The book listed it.

 

[Basket case]

I prefered the [arts books over the computer anyday/