Almost forgotten auto parts stores.
- Thread starter Chris142
- Start date
Giant
Murray's (which I think O'Reilly bought)
Murray's (which I think O'Reilly bought)
I think you means Kragen not Kraken, but anyways, CSK turn into O'Reilly.
I remember Rose in central FL. Parts City and Discount Auto Parts. Pretty sure DAP merged with somebody. We use to always joke- "Discount for who??" Was not impressed by their pricing.
Are they still around? Didn't they all become Adavance Auto? And are there any Western Auto stores around?
Never visited one but I remember the jingle with a gruff voiced man: We're sensitive at Royal Auto... Windshield washer for only a buck.
We R&S Strauss and Pep-Boys, Manny, Moe, and Jack when I was younger. Some independent stores that I forget the names of.
We R&S Strauss and Pep-Boys, Manny, Moe, and Jack when I was younger. Some independent stores that I forget the names of.
What ? There's one on North St near Jameson Ave (SR 309) and one by Memorial. Did either or both of them close ? There's gotta be one near the Lima Mall area, yeah ? I don't know where the others in Lima were. Never knew there was a Carquest in Lima either.
There used to be all sorts of single-location auto parts stores, for example, "John's Auto Parts" or "Undercar Specialty Warehouse", but KOI bought them and then Federated bought them. There are still "Genuine Auto Parts" around - they appear to be part of Hahn - and have a dozen locations around, but they're all small, older locations. They no doubt cater to repair shops although the public can buy from them. I've gotten a part or two from them and the location I went to, the workers were friendly and helpful. Some that really cater to wholesale accounts are the opposite. You'd better know what you need 'cause they ain't diagnosing your issue for you (nor should they, IMO) ! 
Vic Hubbard' Speed and Marine in San Lorenzo .It was a wonder store grand auto was a big store chain that did repairs and had a distribution center in San Leandro.
I thought it was in Hayward. The Oil Alley was different than any other parts store I've been to. They used to have another store in Fremont off of Stevenson.
There used to be an independent parts store, Bennett Auto Supply here in central and south Florida, they sold the "Parts Master" brand parts. They were bought out by O'Reilly's auto parts and they shut the stores down. Yay for stifling the competition and raising prices!
There used to be Hi-Gear auto parts stores in the Washington, DC metro area. The only one I ever saw was in the Manassas Mall, but apparently they were a local chain.
I was going through my dad's garage and he had a receipt from Trak Auto from around 1991 which mentioned that the parts warranty is good at any Trak Auto from "coast to coast".
Well, I guess so...they were only ever in 3 metro areas, Washington DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles. If that counts as "coast to coast"...
I was going through my dad's garage and he had a receipt from Trak Auto from around 1991 which mentioned that the parts warranty is good at any Trak Auto from "coast to coast".
Well, I guess so...they were only ever in 3 metro areas, Washington DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles. If that counts as "coast to coast"...
No. Trak Auto went bankrupt. Advance Auto bought/assumed the leases for the existing Trak Auto stores (probably saving Trak Auto from an early lease termination fee). But that was only in the Washington DC area. That did not happen for the Trak Auto stores in Chicago or LA.
Bumper to Bumper, and Greenlight are a couple.
Yup we had Bumper to Bumper, they were decent and the employees usually had a clue.
Discount Auto Parts (DAP) was swallowed up by Advance at least in this area. I always thought DAP was one of the better box stores... all the good people left after AAP though...
There was National Auto Parts (i think it was, could have been Nationwide) that had a number of large stores around Atlanta
Then there was Super Shops, which did have a nice selection of go fast stuff...
One that i really liked that imploded itself was NOPI. (Number One Parts Incorporated). For the uninitiated you could walk into NOPI back in the day and walk out with enough parts to mostly assemble a Beetle from scratch, they also had 412. Bus and 914 stuff but they specialized in Bugs from stock to Wild to Baja.... and their stuff was good quality, not Junk. Some OE from the Mexican line.
Then they diversified into carrying some stuff for other german cars and that was OK. When it went south is when they decided to do the - not sure how to put this - Asian car scene, then they decided to stop caring hard parts at all, just doo dads... what a fiasco...
Last I heard they were trying to be a distributor of auto parts, but pretty sure they are completely defunct for years now.
Discount Auto Parts (DAP) was swallowed up by Advance at least in this area. I always thought DAP was one of the better box stores... all the good people left after AAP though...
There was National Auto Parts (i think it was, could have been Nationwide) that had a number of large stores around Atlanta
Then there was Super Shops, which did have a nice selection of go fast stuff...
One that i really liked that imploded itself was NOPI. (Number One Parts Incorporated). For the uninitiated you could walk into NOPI back in the day and walk out with enough parts to mostly assemble a Beetle from scratch, they also had 412. Bus and 914 stuff but they specialized in Bugs from stock to Wild to Baja.... and their stuff was good quality, not Junk. Some OE from the Mexican line.
Then they diversified into carrying some stuff for other german cars and that was OK. When it went south is when they decided to do the - not sure how to put this - Asian car scene, then they decided to stop caring hard parts at all, just doo dads... what a fiasco...
Last I heard they were trying to be a distributor of auto parts, but pretty sure they are completely defunct for years now.
Toys R US too
Hayward.. you are right I haven't lived in the bay area since 2000.
