Why Do Enthusiasts Hate Walmart Products?

[Gyro Gearloose]

The problem with Wal Mart is you never know when they are going to totally cheap out some product. I could give you a list of several different items I've bought and used for years and then when I buy the replacement it craps out in a few months. I'm always a little worried they are going to start sourcing their oil filters from those Pakistani guys on youtube.

 

[Ayrton]

I've had a lot of bad experiences at my local Walmarts, so I don't go in them anymore. At one time I was also concerned with how the employees were treated.

I have a couple friends who work at Walmarts now, and they like the company.

While I am still not going inside, I use the curb side pickup a couple times a month for things I can't get elsewhere like motor oil, car cleaning products, etc. These are the items that are the big savings anyway.

I'm just not going to subject myself to the crazy lines, etc.

 

[CDX825]

Thats your group on facebook? That's cool! I joined it awhile back. Some cool stuff posted on there for sure.

Let me just say as someone that is a member of many automotive groups on facebook the amount of bad information in regards to oil and filters is nuts. Its not just your group its pretty much all of them. There are still tons of people out there that think that penzoil is made of wax and causes sludge, Fram filters are cheap junk, and that not changing your oil every 3k will cause your engine to self destruct, switching to synthetic causes leaks, etc.

 

[97prizm]

I created a group on Facebook called Mileage Impossible which is supposed to feature cars with high miles (250k+ and beyond).

Sometimes we have to ban a few folks. But in general, the site is pretty good at regulating itself and keeping it civil. Except for one weird thing.

Mention Walmart products even once, and it's Looney Tunes time for all the Internet trolls to come out and start screaming like banshees.

People accuse you of abusing your car. Buying junk. Being an idiot or worse. It's like wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey at a Philadelphia Eagles game. The hate gets thicker than raw honey.

I really don't get it. Even 30 years ago I always bought Supertech oil and filters, along with the store brand coolant. They were perfectly fine for my daily driver which is still on the road 30 years and 400,000 miles later.

The price was always the cheapest (excluding rebates), and the quality was always there. I have probably bought over $250,000 worth of parts and fluids for the vehicles I have sold at my dealership and even today, I still buy Walmart labeled products without thinking twice.

There is almost a Pavolvian reaction that Walmart = cheap crappy product. That may be true for some items, and don't get me started on the hundreds of poorly kept plants they throw in the trash bin every month. But when it comes to the basics I think they're perfectly fine.

I don't think it's necessary the oil or filters. It's the terrible business practices that Walmart engages in that make it difficult for small engines to operate or the fact that they cause companies to sell to them for almost nothing.

 

[97prizm]

I've had a lot of bad experiences at my local Walmarts, so I don't go in them anymore. At one time I was also concerned with how the employees were treated.

I have a couple friends who work at Walmarts now, and they like the company.

While I am still not going inside, I use the curb side pickup a couple times a month for things I can't get elsewhere like motor oil, car cleaning products, etc. These are the items that are the big savings anyway.

I'm just not going to subject myself to the crazy lines, etc.

After a hit piece against Walmart years ago employees spoke out and said the company has really turned itself around and isn't that bad to work for.

 

[SC Maintenance]

All retailers have their own brand of stuff and all play games. I had to buy trash bags at the grocery store and was unhappy because it was a few bucks more than Walmart but when I got home I realized the same bags in the same size box has 25 in it - not the 20 Walmart had. About the same price per bag. The same size box was the Walmart game.

Try to buy the same brand and size TV. Will look identical at every retailer but all have different SKU. What’s different? Who knows.

At least at Walmart there is no loyalty card and buy 1 buy 10 - same price, unlike most places now.

 

[John105]

I created a group on Facebook called Mileage Impossible which is supposed to feature cars with high miles (250k+ and beyond).

Sometimes we have to ban a few folks. But in general, the site is pretty good at regulating itself and keeping it civil. Except for one weird thing.

Mention Walmart products even once, and it's Looney Tunes time for all the Internet trolls to come out and start screaming like banshees.

People accuse you of abusing your car. Buying junk. Being an idiot or worse. It's like wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey at a Philadelphia Eagles game. The hate gets thicker than raw honey.

I really don't get it. Even 30 years ago I always bought Supertech oil and filters, along with the store brand coolant. They were perfectly fine for my daily driver which is still on the road 30 years and 400,000 miles later.

The price was always the cheapest (excluding rebates), and the quality was always there. I have probably bought over $250,000 worth of parts and fluids for the vehicles I have sold at my dealership and even today, I still buy Walmart labeled products without thinking twice.

There is almost a Pavolvian reaction that Walmart = cheap crappy product. That may be true for some items, and don't get me started on the hundreds of poorly kept plants they throw in the trash bin every month. But when it comes to the basics I think they're perfectly fine.

Imho same reason as when in 2008, I used Costco premium 93 gasoline, in my 2007 (relatively new) BMW. Some on the forum went as far as saying I don’t deserve to drive a BMW. Back then, the kool Kidz pumped Shell V Power only, burning 15-20 cents a gallon out the tailpipe in all their hipness.

I envision Mick Jagger singing…

“But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke, the same cigarettes as me…”

It’s the birds of a feather conundrum.

 

[RAVL]

If you have knowledge of the product, and an understanding of the application (cars driven on a normal cycle don’t need oil that costs $15 a quart) then Walmart is fine and a good value. Other than generic parts like a car battery, I would not buy repair or replacement parts there, and neither would I buy them at an auto parts store. But for commodity items, it is a good place to shop. I have bought Mobil One there for years for the best price.

 

[SHOZ]

WalMart's gas stabilizer is half the cost of the real Stabil product. It also takes twice as much for the same protection....

 

[wpod]

There are some things I shop for a Walmart and some things I shop elsewhere.

 

[Kira]

And don't forget that sitting on one's fat rump and spewing anti-anything screed, is just another example of "Little people standing for something". It's everywhere!

 

[4WD]

I drink Wal-Mart's "Great Value" decaffeinated coffee. It's not nearly as bad as you'd think it is... LOL.

And I get a 2 pound can of it, for what some people pay for one grande cup of whatever at $tarbuck$.

Drinking that in half and half trying to cut down on caffeine …
It’s not bad at all …

 

[4WD]

And don't forget that sitting on one's fat rump and spewing anti-anything screed, is just another example of "Little people standing for something". It's everywhere!

The struggle is real!

 

[John105]

WalMart's gas stabilizer is half the cost of the real Stabil product. It also takes twice as much for the same protection....

Their DOT3 brake fluid is a lot cheaper and has a large size, so I use it

 

[Skippy722]

The HT200 code reader used to be one the best deals in code readers out there. Autel quality at Walmart pricing.

Best code reader I have ever bought ever. Thankfully you can still get the AP200 for about the same price.

 

[TomYoung]

I am not sure what this post is about. If we are concerned about Walmart as a corporation squeezing out legacy businesses, or about the store being a place where an echelon of society shows up filthy, smelly and with children running around wild and unsupervised, then simply go elsewhere. If this is about Supertech oil and filter products, the record (the Bitog record) pretty clearly shows that they are uniformly excellent choices, often a great value. Same story for Kirkland) products. Some assert that there is a difference between, say Castrol from Walmart and Castrol from Autozone. There is not. For most of my cars, I am a value shopper, and get my stuff from Amazon or Walmart. Amazon usually wins.

 

[TomYoung]

Their DOT3 brake fluid is a lot cheaper and has a large size, so I use it

Stabil is a product where the brand does matter.

 

[Cheetah-kins]

I created a group on Facebook called Mileage Impossible which is supposed to feature cars with high miles (250k+ and beyond).

Sometimes we have to ban a few folks. But in general, the site is pretty good at regulating itself and keeping it civil. Except for one weird thing.

Mention Walmart products even once, and it's Looney Tunes time for all the Internet trolls to come out and start screaming like banshees.

People accuse you of abusing your car. Buying junk. Being an idiot or worse. It's like wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey at a Philadelphia Eagles game. The hate gets thicker than raw honey.

I really don't get it. Even 30 years ago I always bought Supertech oil and filters, along with the store brand coolant. They were perfectly fine for my daily driver which is still on the road 30 years and 400,000 miles later.

The price was always the cheapest (excluding rebates), and the quality was always there. I have probably bought over $250,000 worth of parts and fluids for the vehicles I have sold at my dealership and even today, I still buy Walmart labeled products without thinking twice.

There is almost a Pavolvian reaction that Walmart = cheap crappy product. That may be true for some items, and don't get me started on the hundreds of poorly kept plants they throw in the trash bin every month. But when it comes to the basics I think they're perfectly fine.

I learned a long time ago that many of the comments and much of the advice you get on forums is worth exactly what you paid for it. Keeping that in mind, when I read people having a meltdown over a brand or store they hate for no particular reason, it doesn't surprise - or concern - me.

 

[kschachn]

I don't think it's necessary the oil or filters. It's the terrible business practices that Walmart engages in that make it difficult for small engines to operate or the fact that they cause companies to sell to them for almost nothing.

Say what?

 

[Kira]

At least you won't find a raft of threads on that particular nuance.