Funniest lines from the parts counter

I had the stupidest thing ever happen to me at a Tulsa Oreillys the other day. I drove one of my seldom driven cars to town... started raining.... junk wiper blade. Pull in, score the good looking chick behind the counter, she gets my wipers, I pay...... she even offers to put them on for me! Macho me says naw... I can do it!
Well I’m kinda long in the tooth.. and can see better up close with out my glasses( I know ..odd) so I lay my glasses on the hood so I can see how to spring that little clip thingy to replace the blades. Do one, then the other..... reach for my glasses...... not there......look on the ground...... there they are, I had walked all over them, busting them.
Driving home.... figuring out that I’m going to be out $200 bucks at least.......then I think.... I COULD have watched her bend over and put them on!

That’s why I don’t go to Oreillys anymore!




Bones

 

I had an interesting experience at O'Reilly's recently. I put power steering on my El Camino in 1990. I used parts from a 1970 model. After so many years, the pump and gear were leaking. My son has a commercial accouterments there and said to go there and use his account to get his discount. I go in and am approached by a very lovely young woman working the counter. I tell her I need a power steering pump overhaul kit and a power b steering gear overhaul kit for a 1970 Chevelle. It takes her some time to look them up but tells me they are on the shelf and off she goes to get them. It seemed like an eternity before she came back with the kits. She had the store manager in tow and asked me if I really wanted these parts. I said yes a I needed those 2 kits. The she and the manager proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't try to overhaul them myself because they were complicated and only done by specialists! I started turning wrenches at 14 and retired t 64 after 50 years in the business, doing brake and front end for many years, overhauling from five to fifteen gears a week. I was never considered a specialist, only a journeyman mechanic and it was just part of my job. After that, I was told that many special tools were required. I said that only two were needed, an inch pound torque wrench and the other could be made from a length of broom handle if necessary. Our whole industry has been dumbed down in order to move more cars in and out of the shop and sell assemblies to reduce "problems" and make more money. It isn't just counter people that are much better at being fence posts, but several areas. And, sadly, we are all the worse for it.

 

You're lucky they had the kits in stock.

 

Gotcha. But, I am a veterinarian and I already have a full set of fallopian tube removers.

 

Duece, I look upon your experience as a positive note. The chick had the knowledge that,that was a complicated repair and was good enough to give you a heads up. I sure she had no knowledge of your past experience.
We tend to get testy when our own knowledge and experience is questioned. Several times when I was in parts in the previous century, I sold carb kits to people that I knew shouldn’t be buying them, they needed the rebuilt carb. But I sold them what they wanted.... they would come back and want a refund on an opened kit credited to a rebuilt carb, for example.
A mechanic with fifty years experience looks just like a carpenter with fifty years experience, from the view point of the parts person.
I travel all over the USA during the Summer and Oreillys is my go to parts store and I usually find good people there. There are always exceptions to every rule.




Bones

 

What chaps me now is the pricing in parts stores. When I work at Basolos Automparts in the previous century, we had a pricing hierarchy. List, high net, low net, jobber, and distributer are the ones I remember, it has been almost fifty years. It depended on who you were and your attitude as to which price you got, and at our store it was the discretion of the partsman , with some parameters, as to who got what. Being an employee I got jobber, which at that time was roughly 25/30 % of list.
I went into xxx store that I have purchases thousands upon thousands of dollars of parts over the years and priced ball joint for my avatar car. List was $70, my price was $68, through my old account it was $65. My “ discount” was the same as anyone’s almost. Checked online , Rock auto, $28. $28 vs $68..... guess where I went. If the chains would get competitive on price, especially for those of us that have purchased from them for years, I might spend more money there, but I’m retired now and have nothing but time! I buy about 85% on line now that they don’t recognize me anymore, because the computer tells them I don’t buy like I used to. Just my .02




Bones

 

Bones,

I have to deal with that everyday now "Rock Auto/Amazon" has it for this price why are you so expensive?. Loosing more of the back yard guys I used to deal with because they can wait..
There is one customer that WILL NOT use Rock Auto for ANY rotating assembly due to warranty issues any more he has been bit several times having to either buy another part send the old one back in and WAIT for them to check it and IF it checks out bad and then wait again for a refund, He had 3 that they said was good and sent that one back with NO refunds ! He brought to me to check them and they tested bad... go figure ! Also getting your core money back if there is a core charge is exhausting I was told>
Yes a BOX store is going to be a bit more pricey on most things but when there is a issue bring it in get another part with in minutes or a few hours from the DC and you are back and running the same day.
What happens when you are on the road and that Rock Auto/Amazon part fails.. GO TO A BOX STORE and buy a working one when it could have been a warranty Xchange.

Remember Box stores have a LOT more over head than those internet places.
Don't get me wrong, I myself will shop the internet for items I can use and wait for. But if I need a WARRANTY I will pay the Xtra at a box store and if there is a problem I know it will get taken care of NOW not weeks later.

Yes the internet is a GREAT thing to get stuff at great DEALS. But I foresee even the box stores are going to have issues with the internet just like the Mom and Pop stores did when the box stores started popping up every where.

And one more thing even mechanic shops are having people bring there own parts in from the internet and having the shops putting on those parts... The shops are also loosing $$ because they don't have the mark up on the parts any more.
Then when the part fails or it is incorrect the customer wonders why that the shop wont change it for FREE...

And that is my 2.5 cents worth

 

JD, I agree with everything thing you said, my “ go to “ guy, that has been my “ go to” guy for forty years gave me the exact same speech. But... $28 vs $68????
That’s my gripe. I gan get two for less than the price of one. I might be their huckleberry if it was $28 vs $48... but not $68.
And then were is the loyalty?... you may ask me the same question.... but they abandoned me first. Guys like me are the buyers that made the chains, back when they were just becoming chains. When I was in charge of where I spent big accounts, they extended curtesy to me. Now that I come in only for personal stuff, it’s regular Joe prices. And even “ my “ guy claims he can’t over ride the computer, with out repercussions on his part. You now have to have your name on that list. No name, no discount. Even then I had him check the big account discount, and it was just a little better than mine.Wouldn’t ask him to jeopardize his job for that.
It all come down to corporate greed.





Bones

 

Bones, I completely agree with you on the greed part. My shop spends at least $20,000 a month at OReilly and our shop price is maybe 2.00 cheaper than off the street price on a hundred dollar part. Last week I priced a fuel tank sending unit for a 2002 F-350 Diesel and the OReilly price was over $700 for the Motorcraft part. I was astounded. Just for shits and grins, I looked at the Rock. Same exact part, same part number, their price was $340. I understand about the brick and mortar store stuff, but more than TWICE!?? That’s a load of crap. My Boss will not do the Rock Auto thing, and I get that, but that’s just corporate greed like you said. It makes me thing twice when I buy parts for my stuff. If I don’t need it now, and am not concerned about warranty, I go to the Rock. Besides, OReilly screwed my Wife out of her last commission check when she quit.


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that's not funny

 

At $20, 000 a month..... and they don’t give you a deep discount....... I’m shit out of luck!




Bones

 

AutoZone is closest to me, so out of laziness i went there to get motor oil.

motor oil.



me: "i don't see 15W-50 on the shelf, do you have it out back? do you carry it?"

idiot: "we don't carry that kind of oil anymore. you need to get a newer car."



(paraphrased, from memory, but idiot really did tell me my 'car was obsolete'.)

turns out they don't carry it. i don't even bring used oil there anymore.

 

i worked with a guy whose pickup was overheating. new radiator didn't fix it, new thermostat didn't, either. he started to install a new water pump and noticed that there was no fan belt...

 

needed a resonator for my caddy, $90 at the local parts store (lifetime warranty). midas wanted $35 installed. BUT--see the rust on this pipe? i'll probably break it getting the old part off. your muffler has some rust, too, so that'll need replacing. and this pipe from the converter to the muffler will probably break, too. i guess a lot of rubes fall for that. i just looked at him and asked, "how do you sleep at night?"

 

I worked at Thrifty Auto Supply, and later at Lake City Ford, on the parts counter. I started out on parts books, then progressed to computer catalogs. I was just out of high school, but worked with a bunch of old guys, that knew everything. I wish I would’ve asked more questions. At the Ford garage, we would get yelled at for diagnosing over the phone, as that was the service department’s territory. Big network of very knowledgeable old guys there.


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Here's how it used to be: 30 years ago I went in to a new auto parts/junkyard in Kansas City. Asked the old geezer about front wheel bearings for my 53 Buick. I had a new Hollander book I was proud of, so while he's looking at a book I says something like, " I think it's same as 54 Olds", something like that.

He says, "You ain't telling me nothing I don't know." I just stood there, so he says, "You hear me boy? I said, 'you ain't telling me nothing I don't know' ". I got the bearings.

 

Hollander Manual! Now there’s a term you never hear anymore! I would hazard a guess that very few people under the age of 50 have ever even heard of one, much less seen one!


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I don't think it works that way, the shops I've used in this situation don't have a problem with me bringing in parts. They are a little old school. But there's no warranty, they are clear about that. And if they were losing money on the deal they wouldn't agree to do the work, the labor charges are just going to pencil out different.

 

Yes they do bump up the labor rates to try and accommodate the difference.

It is still a domino effect though the local parts house is NOT getting the $$ for the parts either so the local salesman is not making his commission to pay his bills....

 

A friend that owns a shop up here will not install customer supplied parts, too many headaches


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On line parts ,,,
The price difference is huge on some stuff. My parts guy says his cost is more than the online prices and he's only making a few bucks. I told him he should buy it from Amazon and sell it to me then we'd both make some more money. Of course he didn't get it. Amazon got my money that day and he didn't get any because he didn't get it.

 

Went to Auto Zone for a Lisle stretch to fit belt tool for my daughters car. The parts guy said sir belts are not stretch to fit there is a tensioner you loosen up to change them. I explained to him that many new cars were using stretch to fit belts and there is no tensioner or other means to adjust the belt. The tool lets you remove the belt so you can use it again rather than cutting it off like the OEM intended. So the parts guy goes behind the partition and I hear him telling the manager about this guy who thinks there is such a thing as a stretch to fit belt. The manager comes out and in this condenscending tone starts to set me straight. I stop him, write down the part number of the Lisle tool and advise him to read up, a manager should know about car parts. And I leave.
Funny thing, we buy a lot of parts where I work, commercial shop. The Auto Zone guy comes buy wanting to set us up as a commercial account. I explained to him what had happened to me and how they were going to have to better educate there managers. Enjoyed that.

B

 

just learned something new-never heard of those belts!!

 

I’d sent you home too.....lol




Bones

 

First hit on google search for ‘Lisle stretch to fit tool’ comes up as part number/photo in Auto Zone store...........
Maybe the staff just aren’t up to date.

 

Same here

 

Do you really expect to find a real parts guy at places like Autozone or Advanced? I used to work there and it was like a revolving door for young kids, they get a few paychecks and they are gone.

 

There is a limit to how much shit parts guys are willing to put with, whether it's retail or dealership. Long hours, short commissions, poor holiday conditions, shitty management and idiots at the counter or on the phones. No one likes to be disrespected by techs and customers when they are really trying to help you out. And not one of them gets the factory support that techs do. Techs are walked through every new system and vehicle that is coming up by the dealership and parts guys have to make do.

 

It's happened
I've been blessed with 4 good countermen at my local advanced over the last 10 years. Ive seen 25 come and go. They get promoted to commercial parts pro then are held back by their corporate BS. Being Held Stagnant and become disgruntled , they quit or get fired. Takes about 2yrs to get them pissed off.

Based on my outsiders view of my local store.
Store managers are usually pretty good, but they are more concerned with store logistics and stomping out fires . The district commercial account reps (the guys that come out to your shop) are useless. PR brown nosers who have no idea of the resources available but want you to buy bulk supplies.

General and district managers are another story altogether. Recruited from a pile of restaraunt and grocery store rejects with no clue about vehicles.

 

I fought that battle and found out there was no point in it. You're absolutely right about the Rep being a prick who promises the account far more than you can deliver. I had back stabbing drivers who wanted their old Pro back and did everything they could to make things worse.