graywolf224 steve19438 Made in USA

There is a good reason you did not understand my post on Made in the USA.
I am older then the wheel and my mind is gone. Heres what I was trying to say.
napa stands for No Auto Parts Availible. If you were to go into the local napa
store here you would see hats toys banners posters promoting nascar and when in
season whatever sport was going on-say the final 4 basketball- they will have
hats,t-shirts key chains all kinds of china made garb for sale and a large can
of napa know how. If you needed parts it was always we can order it for you
due to the fact they had no inventory of real parts to speak of but by-gosh if
you wanted a hat or t-shirt related to sports they had them in your color and
size-- no problem we got it on hand. Yesterday my friend called and told me
about napa having a new in store display of Made in the USA tractor stuff-
gauges, wiring ,emblems ect. My friend who farms and has a welding business
does a lot of business with napa has to constantly order what he needs and
they in fact charge him shipping. He now does as much as he can on line but
still goes to napa as they get parts overnight on their truck, but have sent the
wrong product many times or its backed ordered. John Deere in our area has
plenty of hats and toys too and same story-- but parts,we will order it for
ya. I had to order a oil seal for my JD bush hog once along with the spring
loaded locking pin, stuff they should have on hand as the seal and pin fit in
most of the mowers. The rest of my post was just poking fun at how far behind
some business get from the customers needs.

Pop, OK makes sense now.

And you are right. Guess that these stores are individually owned and they do what it takes to make money.

And agree just as I dont want to go to Napa and buy a tee-shirt, I don't want to go to Target's and buy a a set of points.

Our Napa store here in Brandon, VT is ALL parts, especially in the hydraulic world of hoses, seals, etc. When I did my late 8N, they had everything in stock or it came the next day from Albany. I can't complain.

well I can only speak for the small NAPA store near me and it is all auto stuff and no glitz or NASCAR baloney. they did shut down their machine shop a few years ago but another NAPA about 10 miles away has one. when I need mineral oil I get it from the closest NAPA. they usually need to order it so I CALL first. it usually arrives the next day if I order before noon. never have been charged shipping.

using the phone first can save a whole lot of aggravation.

The NAPA store in my town (pop. 12,000) has always kept a good supply of auto parts. They just supplied me with valve guides, springs, and keepers for a 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel. The springs came from the Portland warehouse, but the guides and keepers were another matter. NAPA only had them in stock in Tennessee, so the store got them from another supplier overnight.

The biggest problem with any auto parts store is counter help. It is hard to find people who really understand auto parts and interchange. Catalogs used to be very good about providing dimensions and other performance data so you could substitute a different part either to make the vehicle work better or to get by until you could get the right part. Now they only care about make, model, year, and if it has air conditioning!

BTW, our NAPA has a display of vintage tractor parts available through NAPA, and keeps things like points in stock. The owner bought an 8N to grade the gravel parking lot, but hasn't had time to get it running yet.

Hear ya on the phone, I buy my parts on the net lots of free shipping out there now days.They drop it within 20 ft of the shop.

Must be who ever runs it and your right on the catalogs cause if the computer say nay thats as far as most places will chase it. Were your Power Stroke parts International-Ford or knockoffs.

Brandon NAPA is good for directions too Doug. Swung in when my tiny electronic map failed me... Could see it is all business... And busy.

The NAPA store in Rutland on State St is also excellent. I have done business there since the mid 60s. Gene has always gotten me everything I have needed. I know the people in both stores well.

The parts supplied were Sealed Power brand. Many NAPA parts are supplied by the OEM subcontractors. Most OEM parts are not made by the OEM, but are contracted out.

(quoted from post at 22:10:11 05/12/15) Must be who ever runs it and your right on the catalogs cause if the computer say nay thats as far as most places will chase it. Were your Power Stroke parts International-Ford or knockoffs.

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Well you do whatever you think is right. But don't cry when the folks at NAPA buy stuff from someone else or food from China or takes their vehicle to another repairer. Gotta remember, what goes round comes round.

Rick