NAPA parts again please

Tom in Mo.

Well-known Member
So from the previous thread there are a lot of guys that don't like NAPA parts. Where are you going for parts if not the dealership? I ask because I need ujoints and rotors and prefer not to buy them from FiatChrysler.
I have had pretty good luck with Oreilly.
 
Many parts from Oreilly's have life time warranty's so even if they go bad they are free other then the labor
 
I'm going to bet that in today's world all parts stores are buying china stuff as much as they can. Go for the best deal or the middle of the road stuff.
 
Rock Auto. Or if I need it right away, I
buy it online and pick up at Advance
Auto. I can get 20 to 25% off that way.
 
Many parts from Oreilly's have life time warranty's so even if they go bad they are free other then the labor

I'd rather have a good part with a regular 90 day warranty than a cheapo part with lifetime warranty.

I bought an alternator for my toy car from Oreilly because the local NAPA did not have anything on the shelf. It lasted about a year. Replaced it on their warranty and the next one did not last much longer. Since it is about a 3 hour job to change, not counting the round trip to Oreilly and back, when the second one died I just bought the good one from NAPA. Been in there for ~4 years now. Cost about double, but I figure I have saved way more in hours not wasted changing them out.
 
I like napa for semi and straight truck
parts. They are way overpriced on filters
unless you can catch a sale. For pickup
and auto parts I go to rock auto or the
local O'Reilly's.
 
I've had no problem with Napa parts. They even had new water pumps for my flathead Mercury. I've had good luck with Rock Auto online
too. I'm guessing they both get their parts from the same place. Rock auto is cheaper but the dollar conversion and shipping put them
up pretty close to Napa Canada. Recently bought a steering rod end for the 52 Mercury from Rock Auto. We will see how it lasts.
 
Nearest NAPA store closed a couple of years ago, so my only choices are AutoZone, Advance and O'Reilly. If I have the chance to plan ahead I'll order from Rock Auto. Rock sells OEM parts for less than the chain auto parts stores sell their store brands. I would really like to patronize the local stores, but their prices are usually exorbitant, and quality is suspect.

I did a brake job recently where I ordered pads and rotors from Rock. All Delco parts; the quality was first-rate. But I should have ordered all new Delco calipers as well. I had to replace the two rear calipers, and I had a hard time finding a store that had them in stock. The rebuilt aluminum calipers had been sand-blasted so heavily that they no longer fit properly.
 
Our napa so far dont stock lower grade parts,they
been in buisness over 60 years,family
operated.they have parts people that know lots of
parts in their heads.
When you ask prices they say we can have the
cheep part here in the morning but we stock the
better part
 
A couple of years ago, my brother needed a complete brake job done on his 1970 Ford F600. It's the perfect size truck for getting into the areas of the field that his semi truck can't get into, but I digress...
Anyway, NAPA was always his favorite place to buy parts, so that's what he hits first. His truck is up on blocks, harvest is a long way away, so he starts buying pieces a few at a time. He starts by the big rear shoes. NAPA counter guy tells him that they can be ordered, but the entire NAPA inventory has only ONE set and they are 500 miles away in some obscure NAPA warehouse...have to get them here by UPS for $30 extra. So my brother bites and orders them. Next, the front shoes. NAPA only has ONE set in their system, 500 miles away...costs an extra $30 for UPS shipping....same story as before. As I will be the one doing all the installation work on this, he tells me about it and all kinds of red flags go up. I hit the local O'Reilly store and they can have everything overnight with no extra shipping. Care to take a guess why the NAPA store was doing that? To make an extra $30 each time.
We finished up buying all the remaining parts from O'Reilly. Not that I like the store, it's just that the parts cost less, were available overnight, and no extra shipping costs. Personally, for my own stuff, I like RockAuto.
 
I buy most of the parts I get from autozone and o'really's. I've just started a list of brands of parts I won't buy. At present the list of bad parts is Crown, Bosch, Valuecraft, Equus and Omix.
 
I try and buy most of my parts from napa.I
had worked at a napa store for about 8
years but that was years ago.Had got a few
bad parts from rock auto. All the stores
have the option of good or cheap parts.The
owner of the store or a really good counter
person can really make the difference when
making a purchase. Most stores won't pay
for good help so you get a kid that doesn't
have a clue unless it's in the computer
program. In most cases if you save 25% on
parts what you get is junk.
 
Is something going on with NAPA? In this area 3 NAPAS have closed in the last year or so. Two of them are now AutoZone.
 
It seems that NAPA service varies from store to store. We had an excellent one near but it closed a couple years ago.
We still have one old school privately owned parts house near me where I go for any suspension parts. They do carry a cheap line, but they also carry Moog
Pete
 
(quoted from post at 05:48:02 06/07/19) Is something going on with NAPA? In this area 3 NAPAS have closed in the last year or so. Two of them are now AutoZone.

Yes something is going on.

NAPA is trying to encourage store owners to own chains. I you have a single "mom and pop" operation it's more expensive for NAPA to service it. I'm friends with a couple who own an auto parts store. Was a NAPA till they go fed up with NAPA policies and constant pressure from NAPA to purchase more stores. So now they are something else.

As far as parts not being in the system and having to be ordered? That's the NAPA business model. They are dropping stuff that doesn't move. Like brake parts for trucks that no one drives. And you can get those parts without the extra charge as long as you can wait for them to get to you. I've done that several times. Ordered something when just checking availability. Shelf space to store items cost money. NAPA would prefer that those parts be in a store that they contact and say "hey we need those back, delivery truck will pick them up and we'll give you credit for them". That way a store stood the cost of storage. Then once back at the warehouse it's either UPS or on the next truck truck back to the regional ware house the the next truck to the central warehouse (keeping in mind it's not the next truck. It's then next truck after it's logged in as received then logged out as shipped. So it may be a day or 2 or more depending on truck schedules.) Can take several weeks to work it's way too you but no extra charge. But some parts due to lack of demand are going to become NLA. Keeping in mind that storage cost money and they figure that per day they know what's profitable and what's not.

Rick
 
Don't forget on RockAuto you have to add the shipping charge. Also if you need to return a part, core or have a warranty claim you will have additional charges.
 
We have a Napa store and repair center. I needed intake gaskets etc and the lifters were rattling on my
5.7 one ton van. I had my back broke 6 months earlier and felt I couldn't do it. So I asked them how
much $600 plus parts. Took it to them on the date requested. After they tore it apart they said the
parts were going to be $400 and take a week to get there. I said yea if you include the cam. I went down
to Oreileys and picked up the parts for $150. Got it back a week later they charged $1000 and $20 a
gallon for 2 gallons of antifreeze said it didn't have any. I had just changed it the month before and
there was a gallon in the back. lesson learned
 
Our local NAPA service facility is now owned by a scam artist

And it's sad, because half the guys in the shop have worked for me at some time or other in different venues. In fact, I was once a Ford Service Manager in the same building.
 

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