Doing the parts guys homework.

[earlyre]

around here, we've kinda lucked out in the parts chain dept.
most of the peon employees know their stuff, as they are largely students in either the auto/diesel, or High Performance/Motorsports programs at the the college just down the street..

the managers are a bit flaky though...

 

[fenixguy]

Wow! Going to a store to buy car parts, so old timey! I use this service called "Amazon" and sometimes one called "eBay". I amaze my grandpa by finding the exact same part online that he found at Advance/AZ/Napa for half the price.

Example: I just bought a radiator for his '99 CR-V. NAPA had the exact one (Denso) for $113. I got it (same part #) on Amazon for $60 shipped.

No really though, I find the part number of what I want then shop around for who has it the cheapest. Sometimes Advance will be cheapest with an online coupon. Sometimes shipping makes it cheaper to buy in a store. Sometimes I need the part right now and can't wait.

I've had way too many less-than-pleasant run-ins with parts guys, including at the dealer. It's not their fault they don't know every single part in their inventory and every single vehicle it'll fit. And they can't/don't want to be held responsible when they sell you an automotive part that might fit your tractor/mower/snow mobile/etc... I've worked in retail and I can tell you, there is NO way to know every single piece of inventory you have.

One little anecdote about an AZ employee: I was behind a customer who was wanting to purchase oil. She asked, "ain't I s'posed to run differn't oil in the winter?" Counter guy, "yeah. Your car probably calls for a 5w-30. You can run a 10w-40 or 50 in the winter since the higher numbers protect more". My wife (who is subjected to car talk all the time) was with me and whispered, "that's not quite right is it?". I just hung my head and pretended not to hear them.

 

[tom slick]

I look up John Deere parts on John Deere's website then call the local dealer because 7/10 times they can't find what I need. I think part of that is the limited types of equipment they normally sell and service. It's bad enough that a coworker orders his personal JD parts from a dealer 100 miles away and has them shipped and it's about 20% cheaper. That parts dept is on the ball.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
They go by what their computer tells them. Finding a parts guy who works for AZ, AAP, PB, or any of the big parts stores that thinks out of the box is like winning the lotto. It happens, but good luck. I do my own homework too, this way I know I get the right parts.


This 100%. If they cannot look it up by punching in the model of a car it doesn't exist.

I usually solve this by going in with a part number, even if the part is for a car. I'd rather get the right one instead of having the counter guy make a mistake on the computer and give me one for a different model (Grand Cherokee vs. Cherokee for example).

My local NAPA has a group of really good guys who will think outside of the box. Their service is top notch, so I don't mind paying a few bucks more. There is a reason their parking lot is always full.

 

[ArcticDriver]

This is a very insightful thread.

Its like going to the butcher and being angry they don't sell dairy or vegetables.

I did not realize auto parts stores were supposed to know about old tractor parts not in their catalog.
I mistook the word "Auto" in their store name as meaning they sold auto parts.
I did not know it was A-OK to "play" with a guy and treat him poorly when he was just doing his job.
I always treat working people with respect.

I did not know so many guys on BITOG have problems with dealership parts departments.
In 50 years I have only had good fortune and good relationships with my parts counter guys.
We laugh and joke.

I didn't know so many BITOG guys know how to interpret P/N sequences better than the dealer parts counter. I guess they must not have ever owned a Ford.

I guess my biggest concern right now is can I still be BITOGer if I don't sing along in your choir?

 

[bdcardinal]

Something like this you need to come in with part numbers. For example, I have no cataloging for anything older than 1980MY. Now being Ford most anything that old is obsolete anyway.

Also when you come into a parts department and the friendly guy behind the counter asks for something like a ID tag, they aren't doing it to practice talking. My cataloging will show parts for a differential in lists based off the tag number. You can tell me it is an 8.8 until you pass out, on my end it only shows tag numbers.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted By: Chris142

I smiled and said " I knew that you had tractor parts" as I paid and left.


Right on! did you make sure to give him the finger too?

Seriously tho, when I was a parts person straight out of highschool I couldn't tolerate customers who expected me to know everything about all the parts on our shelves, including what can be cross referenced to other parts.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I always walk in with the part number. I don't trust the employees to look up the right part number.


We have a winner here!!!!

 

[02SE]

My only reason for posting in this thread is to say to a 'parts guy': Happy B-day bdcardinal.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: 02SE
My only reason for posting in this thread is to say to a 'parts guy': Happy B-day bdcardinal.


Thank you!! Keep trying to see you on TV.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Kruse
NAPA has the best selection of parts for larger trucks and ag applications, but they've been trying to jack up their prices by telling me that the part I want is special order and I'll have to pay a much higher price because of UPS shipping charges.
Is it any wonder I get most of my parts online?


Them charging you UPS is a slap in the face. They should be able to do that sort of thing on a "hub run" for free.

 

[01rangerxl]

Get an online commercial account set up with all the chains in your area. The pro sites are way better than the consumer ones, close to the in store cataloging, and have interchange search features.

Can't expect people at AZ to know tractor parts.. you're lucky the one guy knew a GM rad cap would work. Their books under the counter show step rails and tonneau covers, they can't help you with tractors unless they personally know tractors.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: Kruse
NAPA has the best selection of parts for larger trucks and ag applications, but they've been trying to jack up their prices by telling me that the part I want is special order and I'll have to pay a much higher price because of UPS shipping charges.
Is it any wonder I get most of my parts online?


Them charging you UPS is a slap in the face. They should be able to do that sort of thing on a "hub run" for free.


While I don't care for how my local NAPA is ran, they'll ship stuff for me for free. The hub store is about 30 miles away.. typically, they can get it for me that afternoon. Call first to order and it's just 1 short trip into town.

I've been charged for freight from the local Kubota and Kawasaki dealer.. it's just them trying to get every last dollar out of you. It never used to be that way.

 

[JDJ]

Ya know.. back about 10+ years ago I worked at Autozone... back then we had the computers, yes, but we also had paper catalogs up the wazoo, and binders full of part number cross references. We used them. Tractor parts? Let's see what matches up... probably just an old Delco system anyhow.

Now, the guys they hire aren't bright at all... if the computer doesn't show it, it doesn't exist. Lazy. I would have kicked that parts monkey out of the store if I was working at the time. And no, I'm not an old timer... I was in my early to mid 20s at the time but knew enough to not trust ONLY the computer database.

Sad that things are so [censored] there now. We used to actually get ASE certifications and formal training on diagnostic procedures and parts knowledge.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: Kruse
NAPA has the best selection of parts for larger trucks and ag applications, but they've been trying to jack up their prices by telling me that the part I want is special order and I'll have to pay a much higher price because of UPS shipping charges.
Is it any wonder I get most of my parts online?


Them charging you UPS is a slap in the face. They should be able to do that sort of thing on a "hub run" for free.

At the Napa I work at, if we have to order something from the local warehouse, there's no shipping. But if the part has to come from another warehouse out of state, it gets shipped directly to the store via UPS. So we charge shipping to customers when parts come from out of state to recover our UPS cost.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: exranger06

At the Napa I work at, if we have to order something from the local warehouse, there's no shipping. But if the part has to come from another warehouse out of state, it gets shipped directly to the store via UPS. So we charge shipping to customers when parts come from out of state to recover our UPS cost.


My latest experience with NAPA wanting extra shipping was when my brother needed a full brake replacement on his Ford F600 truck. He started buying the pieces one by one for a job that was to be done a month or two after the pieces were on hand. The pieces included brake shoes, wheel cylinders, the hydrovac and miscellaneous parts. He was told numerous times that "Our warehouse only has ONE of these in inventory and it just happens to be 500 miles away in a warehouse in XXXXX'. It'll take four days to get here and you'll have to pay UPS shipping.", I went to an O'Reilly store. All parts ordered after that arrived overnight with no additional shipping. The parts also cost less even before the UPS shipping was added. Granted, the parts for the F600 were slow movers, but it has happened a few times before at this NAPA store, just too many times for it to be a coincidence.
I don't really like going to our local O'Reilly store. Matter-of-fact, it's usually not a good experience with a new counter man (or woman) about every time you walk in there. But it saved my brother a bunch of money just on a single brake job.

 

[01rangerxl]

O'Reilly's does come through in a lot of situations. With some later model cars, they have availability nobody else does. I needed an alternator for a new body Impala the other day and they were the only place that had it (I work at a GM dealer in parts). Also bought the Warn hub o-ring kit from them for my 1994 Ranger.