What is your favorite local parts store?

[MKinner]

personally, i would have to say that Napa is my favorite. not advertising, just saying that i have received good service and good quality parts from them. my least favorite is advance auto. every time i go there for something, i have had bad luck, or some sort of issue with the part. for example, i stopped there to buy a wiper motor for the truck. i go to install the ground wire to the terminal that is stamped to the case, and BOING, it pops off. Hmmm, just my luck. fortunately i got my old wiper motor working by the "tap on the casing method". anyway, i thought i would vent my minor fustration here, since my wife is tired of hearing about it, lol. who is your favorite parts store, chime in!!! #ad

 

[Dieselnut59]

NAPA is my favorite also. PepBoys is my least favorite, right along with AutoZone. NAPA is more expensive but their quality is higher AND you pay the guy who takes your order, unlike the autozone/pepboys wait in line for the part, wait in ANOTHER line to check out.

 

[2broke2smoke]

figured i'd be the only one to pick napa ...



local napa is heads and shoulders above the competition around here ...

 

[MEby]

I definately agree on Napa. They have the best Customer service of anyone near my town.

 

[rbattelle]

Does it have to be auto parts stores? My favorite parts store is a place called Midwest Electronics Surplus.

For auto parts, I almost never go to the local stores. I usually order from Rock Auto. I'm not a big fan of the local Napas. They rarely have what I need, and when they do the prices are outrageous.

Ryan

 

[JApol]

Growing up the only parts store in town was NAPA. They are still in the same building and have a hydraulic and metal shop in the back. The also still have the library of part number books on those huge racks to look up numbers while you are sitting on the BOSCH spark plug or NAPA shock stools. No matter what store I walk into across the country I can smell the hydraulic fluid soaked work benches

 

[CRuth]

Definitely NAPA. They're the only ones who don't bat an eyelash when I order parts for a 1960 CJ5. And they are quality parts. I'd much rather pay a bit more for quality than the crap I get from autozone or kragen.

 

[AMink]

I like NAPA too. I get a discount because of where I work. That helps a LOT! I really don't like Kragen much. I go there occasionally because it is walking distance from my house (don't ask), but they usually don't have what I need, and when they do, it's low quality.

 

[lmills]

NAPA or Carquest for me, since they know what they are looking for. I also frequent the autozone and adavnce auto, but I usually know which parts guys to go to so I don't get the deer in the headlights look. LOL

 

[MCummings]

I like NAPA.



Autozone is neat for colored zipties and trinkets. They do have a large assortment of oils.



Honestly, I prefer French-Ellison here locally. Freightliner and Rusch don't stock Cummins parts.



The French Ellison guys stock large coolant lines (Intercooler boots for the twin turbos and the gaskets for both the little and big turbos.





Merrick

 

[WDixon27]

for the stuff i can't get from our shop's supplier o-reilly gets the job done, i go there first because i can get shop prices, auto zone sucks unless you need some crap like light up bug squirters, i love napa but the one close to the shop went tits up a few years ago, advance usually has what i need when o-reilly craps out

 

[JFlagg]

I prefer NAPA too, plus the NAPA by my house is owner operated. The owner is behind the counter every day, plus he has an 24V so has the parts I need in stock everytime I've been there

 

[tgordon]

Grew up with Car Quest, only auto parts shop in town, then used Auto Value, got company discount and they are very knowledge at the store. Since we moved I don't know, we have Carquest and NAPA close by with a warhouse for Carquest about 30 minutes away for good parts back up. Once I begin fixing up the long list of repairs I am sure one will stand out.



Troy

 

[catoiler]

Yep all the "drive through" stores such as schmo boys,flake zone and the like are "toy stores"!! NAPA and Carquest seem to be the best around here. I don't like trying to explain to the "burger flipper" that a upper ball joint on my 60 Dodge is the same one as one off a 80's or that the car they need to look up a part for in the computer is to old and is not in their data base so they dont know how to do it the old fashon way and use the catalog. Napa And Carquest don't have any problem finding the oddball parts I always need. gotta say one day I was in a bind and went to auto zone for some brakes for the wife's car and could not help telling the kid behind the counter who thought he knew cars I needed a fuel filter for my 47 chrysler saratoga and he asked what motor it had the 6 or straight 8, told him no it had a 5 cyl diesel boy that got him! guess I should have told him I put a Mercedes motor in it!!:-laf

 

[ACerf]

Frankly I don't think that any of the parts store are that great any more. When I was younger you could go into a parts store and buy just about anything. But the parts stores today are more interested in sell accessories. I am not inclined to purchase many parts from these stores, because I don't think the quality is there. Parts store of days gone by, were interested in sell USA made parts and they were proud of the parts they sold. Now it is price thing with these stores for their aftermarket parts. But believe me, they are more interested in selling you a Pine Tree smell good or a License Plate frame.

Good example; I called two parts stores looking for "Silicon Paste". Neither of them knew what I was even talking about. They thought I wanted glue. One was a NAPA store.

For those of you that don't know what Silicon Paste is used for go to the 3M website. It is very handy for use on O Rings, plastics and rubber.

 

[rbattelle]

For those of you that don't know what Silicon Paste is used for go to the 3M website. It is very handy for use on O Rings, plastics and rubber.

I get it at Lowe's. Plumbing section. Gunk brand.



Ryan

 

[catoiler]

Get mine from Cat!

 

[Dl5treez]

South Tacoma National Auto Parts.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

NAPA



Sometimes Autozone has a better price on a part of the same quality.

 

[CRuth]

for the stuff i can't get from our shop's supplier o-reilly gets the job done, i go there first because i can get shop prices, auto zone sucks unless you need some crap like light up bug squirters, i love napa but the one close to the shop went tits up a few years ago, advance usually has what i need when o-reilly craps out

Light up bug squirters? Oh man. I need to run over to autozone and get some of those :-laf