Princess Auto in town.. I could spend days and thousands in there buying ****, but the people there are so stupid I don't shop there unless I need to. I asked one girl where there 4 to 7 pin adapter for trailers were... "HUH!?" is what I got.

You really need to watch what you're getting cheap on though... I stress it all the time, something like brakes I like getting factory replacement like AC Delco (Not the Delco you see at NAPA either) just for the added confidence... I've gone through dog and pony shows with "cheap brake jobs" from mechanics working out of a steel shed behind a bowling alley... NEVER AGAIN.

My buddy wanted me to install a wheel bearing on his Sunfire with him... I asked him where he got it and when he said "Parts Source" (pretty much identical to Autozone) I told him I didn't want to have anything to do with their parts "I don't want you playing the blame game with me WHEN it fails"... Sure enough, 2 weeks later he called me up and said "Did I mess up my wheel bearing!? It's gone again!" I told him to go buy AC Delco, and that was 4 years ago, he's put another 50k on that wheel bearing with no issues.

Don't get me wrong... Aftermarket like Munroe and others have had good track records and I would consider buying their parts if I found the dealer part to be astronomically priced.

 

I just bought new calipers from autozone a few weeks ago. They came with bleeders and crush washers. The old bolts that go through the bAnjo fitting went together fine. No problems so far. ALWAYS use a socket on bleeder or at least a box end wrench, never an open end unless you know they will open. Just my .02

 

imo autozone is a worthless store. their parts suck and there employees don't know very much. i went in looking for a relay and the dumb blonde working there didn't even know what that was. another time i went in with a u-joint in my hand and said i need one of these. then gave them all my info and they said that part didn't exist. i turned around, walked out and went to oreilys. had very good luck with oreilys.

 

OK first of all (and I don't mean to be sexist) look at the person behind the counter. If it's a she and she looks like she just changed out of a cheerleading outfit before coming to work then ya expect to get a doe in headlights when you ask her were anything is. I've seen guys working at autozone that couldn't figure out why they couldn't start their car in drive.....it's all realative, I've been to napas, auto parts, and even GM dealerships that didn't know what they were talking about. So that is why I don't mind knowing more then the person behind the desk, it just means I'm smarter I'm complaining about the specific inventory brands autozone carries and chooses to carry. I've seen these brands pop up in the advance auto parts stores also, it's just they have more variety of brands that I can choose from.

 

the info I posted is from the store manager, I needed bleeder screws cause the person got got the blazer from never took care of it. went to Napa first but they were out and wouldn't get in till Mon [this was Sat at 1645 they close at 1700]
got online and checked online at local AZ about 10 miles and they had some carded
for like 3.00 drove there and the manager helped me. got the part number and lo and behold they had all the carded parts in a shopping cart. after about 30mins of looking he went in back and grabbed 2 new calipers and spent another 20mins getting the bleeder screws out he used both a flare wrench{which I have taught is the right tool] and a socket still ended up with the flats rounded. I told me about the threadlocker and he also thought its stupid.

 

everyone starts with 0 posts

 

everyone starts somewhere

 

Just for fun tell them you have a F superduty. When they cant find that tell em you have a F450, that's when they get really confused.

 

wow guys. I'm not a big fan of any auto parts stores around here but i will say this. My autozone is very good, they don't hire stupid people. most of the guys working are the old guys who work on cars in their garages. they can look at a part and tell you how long it'll take to install, what you'll need, and heck, help you out after work if you offer to pay them a couple bucks.

My pep boys is bad, they tried to hire all 17-18 year old girls to look pretty while cleaning the windows. The guys in the back are knowledgeable though.

Advance wins over all because they always have what i need in stock, are very knowledgeable and if they don't have the part, will ship it directly to my house for free. IDK if thats anywhere else but thats my store's policy.

I prefer advance but pep boys and autozone are both on my way home from school and are usually good with prices.

 

Subjectively, I'd recommend you make a few visits to each store in your area. In my area it's AutoZone, O'Reillys, Advanced Auto and NAPA. Visit with the counter workers and make up your own mind who has the most expertise. In my town, I believe it's O'Reilly's.

Next, when you need to buy something, make sure you know what it's supposed to look like and check the item. All these guys are in competition with each other, so expect them to buy inexpensive parts. "Let The Buyer Beware".

If your favorite place can't help with a part, go to the others.

Years ago, I dealt solely with Autozone in my town, but they had an exodus of quaility staff and I move to my OReillys and have stayed with them 15 years.