I worked at a Pep Boys for a month. They are more worried about selling gadgets that you would normally buy at Wal-Mart than they were with auto parts. Anyway, everyone else that worked there was at least 15 years younger than me and they were more interested in playing around than actually working. Within my first 30 days the manager told me he was putting me on over-night to completely re-do the store and he would give me one of the kids to help. I was not into that so I quit.....The manager was the type who it did not matter if he was managing a auto parts store or a shoe store. He would just walk around the store and bitch about everything. If you asked him the right way to do something, he was always to "busy" to show you. Never to busy to bitch at you though.........I lasted a month there.
I went to the closest parts store last week looking for a part. Here's how it went: Me: "Hi, do you have a universal turn signal switch?" Clerk: "What are you putting it in?" Me: "Ah, a car..." Clerk: "What make and year?" Me: "Seriously?" Clerk, confused: "Yes sir, what make and year?" Me: "I want a universal turn signal switch, the whole unit that you fit into a car without a turn signal switch in it." Clerk, getting testy: "I need the make and year to know which one to sell you." Me: "Do you know what a universal turn signal switch is?" Clerk: "Sir, I need to help other customers". He then turns and walks away... I wish this was a joke. When I was a kid we took stuff into Napa, heck, they even had a machinist on site to fix your stuff right then and there. It didn't matter if you brought in a piece of a final drive for a '42 Oliver Clettrac or the master cylinder off a brand new car, they could look at it and tell you what you needed to have done. You could get any quantity and quality of bolts from a bin right next to the service counter. If it was a specialty tool they'd loan it to you for a few hours if they knew you, and ask for a deposit if they didn't know you. I really miss those days
I use the local ABC store. Most of the guys there are young, and sometimes they dont know what Im talking about.....They pretty much let me go into the back and pull my own parts. I know this is an exception, those guys are awesome. I think its damn cool they let me back there, its easier for everyone.
all these examples are exactly why I love living down the street from Topp's in Anaheim, CA.. Those dudes definitely know their stuff. I remember a couple years back I needed a starter for my 50 chev coupe with the old 216 babbit pounder 6 cyl.. they had one on the shelf. Ive been loyal ever since.
to be precise, from Feb 1969, to May 1969, the option, RPO JL8(4 Wheel Disc) was available for ALL Camaro models, at a cost of around $625 for non SS/Z-28 models. IIRC, this was to allow the Camaro entry to the SCCA Trans Am series racing. even the NAPA in my area went to shit, as did Penn Jersey when the old gray haired grease monkeys that ran them went to the big drag strips in the sky...
I have a local Lincolnway Autoparts and a Carquest right next to each other. They can find stuff you need, mix paint, do machine work, all that stuff. I am truly blessed.
I went to one of the chain parts stores recently for some brake parts. Kid at the counter could not find it in the computer, so he let me browse the parts behind the counter till I found what I needed. I was happy.
the chain i was with actually put a bounty on locally owned stores. they told us commercial salesman that if we caused a local to close by stealing their customers we would get a bonus..25 bucks!. good money for causing unemployment for your neighbors..many was the time i sent customers to the locals..the few that were left...
I try and always use CarQuest. They always seem to have the parts I need for my rock crawler and if they don't have them they seem to know what will work to get me home.
Actual story: I had a 64 dodge polara 500 4 speed ( 440 engine - tranny out of something else which I didn't know) but I needed a throw out bearing for it... not wanting to drive all the way into town, I called the nearest store which was Wheels, who was bought out by advanced I believe) anyways like others on here, got a real winner. Store: Thank you for calling wheels, how can I help you? Me: I need a throwout bearing for my dodge. Store: Year, make , and model. Me: Thats the problem, I 'm not exactly sure, All I know is that it is the long tailshaft. Store: Whats it in? Me; The car is a 1964 Dodge Polara but the engine/tranny are different year, it's not original engine and tranny. Store: 1964 dodge throwout bearing eh? Me: the engine and tranny are not original.all I know is that it is the long tailshaft 4 speed tranny. Store: hummm let me see here... you said it was a 64 dodge right? Me: yes but the tranny is from some other mopar Store: just a moment... 3 minutes later... what was the the car again? Me: a 1939 hoyt calgwell ! Store: Nope ... I don't see nothing here for a hoyt clagwell sorry Pick up the phone and called Bob at Napa Napa: Bob here. Me: Bob, I need a throwout bearing for my dodge Napa: Long tailshaft of short? Me: Long Napa: yep I got one. Me: I'll be there in 20 minutes! For me, those "automart" stores are great for oil, cleaning supplies, additives, but when it comes to parts, it's either napa or a couple of other "mom and pop" auto parts stores around here I go to.
Parts stores are like everything else, gotta pay the bills which is done by customer service, job #1. But, a lot of the folks in the stores are not car guys as they are fewer and fewer and the young ones who are car folks are still learning. I have several who are car guys and understand that the computer is great for late transportation but not for the old cars. They are trying to master the art of BOOKS and is is a lot harder when you are not a car person. We are an independent NAPA and sell NOS refills and custom battery cables, and have a huge selection of nuts and bolts and tools. So we see a lot of old car guys and the radiator hose deal is a regular for sure. Just remember, the kids are doing the best they can with the limted training that is avaliable.
Luckily a Napa store opened near me with a retired mopar parts man & retired shop owner & I have Napa pro link on line so I can order my parts online see if they have them in stock ect walk in with a part # Usealy they tell me you know where its at as they have other customers to take care of
I understand about the kids doing the best they can, It's just the opposite with some of the old guys having to enter the parts in the computor... same frustration!
I've learned to save a lot of time and aggravation...I never ask for SBC valve cover gaskets. I just say 1970 Chevrolet Nova 350 V8 automatic with AIR, PS, PB and PWs...valve cover gaskets? Don't try to fight the system. Make something up. My favorite was over 30 years ago..pre computers. I asked for a 6V headlight bulb...2 headlights or 4? I said 6Volts. He said 2 or 4 headlights? I said it don't matter to me I'll buy whichever 6V type you find first. I have such fond memories of Neal's auto parts on Kenilworth ave. Each counterman had his own station with galvanized sheet metal covering the counter. You remove the shoes and take them in to avoid the core charge hassle. Place them on the counter and the counterman went to the shelf without checking the books. He always came back with the right parts. It wasn't that long ago that foriegn car parts were sold at foreign car parts stores. No Chevrolet parts in the house. No Toyota shit in the conventional parts store either. Each place new their shit. Once it all started to homogenize, shit went down hill.
I am sooo lucky. There is a Carquest not far from where I live and the guys there actually know cars. On-site machine shop, they mix paint and I have rarely stumped them even when buying some obscure parts for my '56 Dodge. I buy enough there that I get a bit of a discount that makes the prices pretty darn close to the no-brain chains.
I stand corrected. Should have used something more solid to get my point across, But you understand that 4,6 and 8 cylinders cars had different brakes on some models and that it was real information that the parts guy probably needed, regardless of their incompetence.
Just my .02 on this; Nice to read about somebody who still holds a job because he likes it and isn't chasing money...! It must be hard on you seeing all these (cheap) feckers taking up jobs... Nail-->Head. I'm one of those rare guys. I'm no super-expert, but at least I still have an interrest in my job and still love messing around with cars. Exactly. I work at a European-based company that only sells US-parts. We have severall guys with 25-years-plus of experience and to be honest...; most of 'em just can't keep up... We are a universall company that is mostly GM-based, but we we do anything from Mopar thru Infinity . ALL of the programs we work with are either VIN-based or need a manuel input of make, model,year and option-codes... It's possible, but a real headache to work around this mandatory input. If you have to process 150-something inquirys per day, you simply don't have the time to always do so... ''Sorry, can't help you... '' On the other hand; If you simply go with the flow and just make up a car of which you're sure the part you want is in, most shop-people can help you out in no time. Shiva.
I've gotten to the point that I look up what I need online, there are tons of catalogs to look through. I then type the part number into Oreilly/Advance/Autozone's website and if they have it, I go to the store and tell them I need part # XXXXX, it takes all of the guess work out of it.
You'll probably never end up with the wrong part. But if you mess up, you can't blame that dumb kid at the counter It's nice to have customers like that, you can't imagine how many come in that barely know the color of the car they're driving...
when i was 15 i went to work at big wheel rossi my dad even made up a quiz for me before i applied so that i knew what i was doing this was back in before the computers.not all kids are idiots but a lot of customers would just wait for the old guys but a lot of the kids these days could care less one time i went to a checker ant set a bbc water pump core on the counter and said i need one of these for a big block chev first question "what is it" i should have walked out right then i swear if you look a water pump in a book its probably an image of one of them sbc or bbc ive found that its best to bring in the old part with you whenever possible since the allmighty computer will often give you the wrong part even after the proper info is entered especially on late model fords if it seemed like a better idea 3 mos into production run they changed it
QUIT YER BITCHIN! You just gota be smarter than the punks Here's a helpful tip for you. Go here http://shop.oreillyauto.com/ and see what the part actualy fits that you want to use. For instance, look up the shock length you want from the list on the hamb. for instance 33033 Most parts have a list "see all vehicles this product fits" then you can search a common one, then see what the cheap shock p/n is. which is 59041 (BTW front shock for a 72 C10, $17 each) Better yet, that "see all vehicles this product fits" link can be a shopping guide in the junk yard. (no I don't get used shocks, but you get my point) And I did a stent part time at vatozone.
My dad is that grizzled old guy behind the counter and the other employees don't understand why customers ask for him. x2 on NAPA. They seem to always have in stock what everyone else has to order, in a smaller size store. Go figure. I did regain a little faith the other month when rebuilding the wheel cylinders on my '61 Olds. I swung into the Advance Auto Parts behind my house and asked for a wheel cylinder kit. No dice. I already knew the cylinder diameter so I asked the counter GIRL to look up a kit for a '88 Honda Civic. Once she found that I asked if I could go with her to get the part. All the brake cylinder kits were stored on the same shelf. So I told her where on the package to find the diameter and we dug around the kits til I had enough to do the job. I thanked her profusely and reminded her that the computer only knows so much, sometimes you have to think outside the box. No idea what the wheel cylinder kits are for, but I don't care cause the seals fit perfect.
Napa is pretty easy for me just go online and look up what you want. Give the kid at the counter the part numbers, most of the time they can take it from there.
Guess we have it really good here. No reason to go to the chain stores. The NAPA stores are helpful, but Smith Auto in Dinuba CA is legendary. It's an old place that reeks of car smell because they have a big and very active machine shop in back. Their employees are car guys that know their stuff. Everybody should experience a place like Smith Auto at least once so they know what a real parts store looks (and smells) like.
Not always. My wife (quite the decent mechanic) goes to our local Napa and asks for rear bearings and seals for our 1962 Corvette. The kid behind the counter immediately cops an attitude and says, "we don't carry any parts for IFS...you need to go to a specialty Corvette parts place". My wife tells him that it is not IFS, that 1962 is the last year Corvette with a straight axle and that it is the same bearing used in the passenger cars from 1955. Kid says she wrong and tells her he can't help her. Don't tell my wife what she does or doesn't know when it comes to cars! She immediately went back to our garage, pulled the axle out of the housing, pulled the bearing and went straight back to Napa. She drops the parts on the counter in front of the kid, oil still dripping out of them and tells him to actually turn on the computer and look up the parts....clearly the car has a conventional rear end and she is delivering the proof. Kid still refuses insisting it is IFS and tells her that she will have to deal with somebody else! This was 2 years ago. She still won't go to Napa for parts, even though the kid quit his job shortly after the incident. Makes me do all the parts sourcing now. I still have a great mechanic, though!
In the early eightys I worked at a parts store in San Diego. Unlimited auto parts. Fulla car guys. It was a pleasure to work there and folks came from all over the county. If we didnt have it one of us knew who did or where to get one. I miss those days,bad. I still keep in touch with one of em and I gotta say he's a dammmm good friend. It was virtually a car show infront of that store. they sell mattresses there now. One of the funniest stories was this guy and gal came in looking for the padding they put over the roll bars. Tom Too asked what diameter bar and she replied about headboard size. Thats when Tom looked up from THE BOOKS and notced she had him on a leash. Gotta be one of the funniest things Ive ever seen.
One time I went to advance and wanted a clear 3/8 inline fuel filter. The guy didn't have a clue and he was probaly 40. Around here oriellys is the best. Most of the employees are interested in cars. One has been a mechanic for 25+ years.
The Jalopy Journal
