I work in one of those store, honestly a lot of customers don't even know their cars, a lot of shops and mechanics don't even know their parts. Then you deal with the ego of people who think they know more but always get parts mixed up
Some of the box stores are asking more than the dealer for certain parts. The biggest problem is the quality. The parts never were that great but now they are junk right out of the box, half the time they don't work. They sell junk by saying "lifetime warranty" and they will just keep exchanging it out for another garbage part that won't last. Warranty just means an exchange but you won't get your money back when you eventually have to find an oem part from a junkyard that is 100 times better than the new part you bought. There are a few things like hoses or belts that may be okay to use but that's about it.
@@wildestcowboy2668 Batteries are nice because you can exchange them easily. Only problem is a battery that was about $100 a few years ago is now over $200.
This is why I scrounge junk yards and take spare parts I need in the future from freshly crashed cars. Nothing like a new oem bmw part, undamaged, on a totaled car sitting waiting for me :)
This is your best bet a lot of the time. I got a motorrcraft rotor for $15 dollars a few days ago. The cheapest one at either store was close to 100. I’m more confident in that used part than a new one from them from China.
This can make your place look like a pack rat den in just a few years. Then you can’t throw stuff away because it’s in such new condition. My dad did that and wouldn’t let us throw it away even after he had retired and even after he got a stroke that weakened half his body and one ankle left useless. Walked with a walker and foot brace. Only when he was close to death did he say get rid of that junk.
As a former employee of one of the stores you are talking about, I must agree with you on one thing. They hire people now with no automotive experience at all. But in their commercials they say we're all automotive experts. When I first started they actually did hire people that knew about cars. Also within the last couple of years their parts have gone to crap. Raise the prices and lower the quality.
Thanks for telling the truth. Do you still work there and you still tell people that truth keep spreading the fucked up news about O’reillys and AutoZone what a disgrace this country has become just to get your money for all fucking drug addicts without doing drugs.
There’s supposed to be programs to educate the employees, but I’ll tell you personally none of our higher ups in our branch push it or use the educational materials, which is a shame.
@@duck7322we had to attend a class but it was mostly about their history and upselling I started without knowing what an alternator was but now I’m attending trade school and have a much better understanding about parts the only issues I’m still working on are on seals and gaskets / miscellaneous cables
I've been buying Kirkland Signature oil from Costco for all my old rigs that take it. Dirt cheap, good quality, works great! I still buy "need today" parts from O'Reilly's for my domestic vehicles, and pray for the best.
You are absolutely right. I am the sales manager of a Chinese auto parts. We can wholesale to foreign customers or retail to foreign customers. This will save you a lot of money.
Scotty kilmer explains it best, AutoZone & O'Reilly was built on retired mechanics/mechanics that weren't able to do that kind of work anymore. Over the years it got so watered down that the person at the counter has never done an oil change. The average diy knows more than them. I have been in both stores myself to where I have over heard conversation to where they have givin false information to customers because they didn't know the information or they will just say idk instead of finding out. I personally have asked them simple questions just to see if they knew, like the difference in regular & voc brake cleaner, they all fail that question.
It's so funny how people assume that their system gives them unlimited information to answer any question. They are not mechanics, they just sell parts. People need to know what they need when they come in. Pretend you are buying parts online and don't have anyone to ask questions to. Also, it's much different than a dealer which only has parts for their own cars and can easily have more knowledge of those parts. A store like autozone sells parts for every type of vehicle so it's just ridiculous to think that they would know everything about every vehicle. Ask me about subarus and Hondas and I'll help you out, you have an American car, sorry, I don't know a thing about American cars. Unfortunately they aren't masters of all while getting paid minimum wage, you want someone that knows about cars then talk to a mechanic that's paid to know and not an auto parts Sales person. I'm a manager of one of these big name stores and the women that work in my store know more about cars than a majority of the men that come in to buy parts... So while you may know your stuff and were just testing someone, there is no reason to expect them to know as much as you since you sound like a mechanic. The best advice I give people is to look it up. You can find pretty much any information you need on UA-cam or elsewhere on the internet. People these days are just lazy and want everything handed to them. Yes, we can scan your car and read the check engine light and relay that information to you but it's up to you to figure things out from there. Our system only gives recommendations.
Agreed, in most Autozones (and other stores) I have gone into are usually young kids (late teens or early 20s) and I usually feel like they have never even turned a wrench, yet alone have any knowledge working on cars. That being said, I have run into situations where even the store manager did not really know what he was doing. I once tried to rent a slide hammer from Autozone and the manager brings me this small box, barely bigger then my hand. I tell him "there is no way that is a slide hammer", he replies "it says so on the box". I open the case and its an adapter for a pulley. I say "look, I am not going to argue, but that is not a slide hammer, slide hammers are huge" and then I showed him a pic of a slide hammer. I left the store and went to a different Autozone, that at least had it boxes labeled correctly. So its a hit or miss, with most of the time it being a miss.
LOL Absolutely, I went to a Large ACE hardware store yesterday and the 22 yr old children there are friggin CLUELESS stupid. Cant even understand that I ask for a thread cleaner bit. LOL "HU Whats that" LOL, this count is Millennial - WOKE RETARDED STUPID Start to finish. In the same DAY, SAME DAY, Asked for Plasti-gage pkg, The guy on phone at advanced AP store, had NO clue what I was asking. So I described what it is for, checking clearances on engine rebuilding. I Asked if he EVER even rebuilt a car or any engine, LOL LOL LOL, He said NO, LOL, the ppl in businesses are so bankrupt for common sense. Well even back in the early 70's when I had to figure it out ALL by my self, Guys I was around were too bust playing with theirselves rather then figure out life's issues poke their car they drive. Ya this USA is friggin IN desperate need for common sense.
My friend walked into a fcp euro parts store to buy parts for his bmw drift car and they initially told him he had to wait 2 hours in their store to buy and get his parts like wtf
I just bought $300 worth of Boxster maintenance items, end links, and wheel bearings from FCP Euro this past Sunday, and even with their free shipping, the box arrived at my house in STL today (Wednesday). Crazy.
They abit pricey for aftermarket. You are only saving likd a third of the price vs if you buy it at the dealer. Ive compare parts and theres a reason why they are priced different. And imo that extra that u pay is worth it. But it depends if u wanna keep ur car or just use it for a couple of years
Fluids are very expensive at autozone. They tell me it’s a supply issue, yet I buy it at Walmart or Amazon at the prices I’m historically use to. Less porches more BMW’s. I can’t even fit in a Porsche at 6’4.
My Dad started working on Model T's and A's back when, and he always worked on his own cars. He was a very good mechanic. He bought a 1992 Ford F150 brand new and the time came when it needed brakes. He pulled the front wheel bearings for some reason. Maybe he was replacing rotors or just regreasing them, I don't know. But when he saw the bearings were stamped made in Japan he was pissed. There was his new Ford truck with Jaanese parts in it. That woud never do. So he went to the parts store and got a set of Timlen, made in USA bearings. Some years later I bought that truck from him and I was replacing rotors and I decided to replace the wheel bearings. I noticed the made in USA stamp on the old Timkens when I removed them. So I decided to replace them with new Timken bearings. I was talking to someone who knew about this stuff and when I told him I wanted Timkens bearings he told me that Timken bearings were now made in several countries including China. I was shocked. I could find Timken bearings but none were made in USA. I finally did find the USA bearings but I had to order them from a bearing store in Michigan. That was a long time ago so I doubt that you could find Timken bearings made in USA anywhere today.
@@gypsyjoeyautozone has their own branded parts? It's entertaining watching morons complain about nonsense. Stop trying to save money on non-oem parts and you won't have these problems.
I'll agree with this to a point. I've found that the stores in a bigger city are often staffed with younger folks without knowledge or skill to review and check the parts being ordered. If I have to get a part in town, I'll usually order it online and pick it up in the store to ensure if there's a mess up, it's me. --- My local store in my small town has some pretty good guys. I was looking for some bearings for my F350 this summer, and one of the 'old-timers' took the time to go thru the 3" thick parts books to cross ref the parts, pull the micrometer out of his counter and we probably spent 2 hours in total tracking down the right parts after the 'city kid' ordered the wrong crap 3 times. -- This old-timer is also the resident paint expert in the mix booth, and I'll wait until he's working to get paint mixed, or look for odd-ball parts every time.
I've worked in retail most of my life.I had an interview with local AutoZone 2 years ago.they were funny hire me. I wasn't aware they left messages in my voicemail.I'm used too actual phone calls. They want salespeople. Knowledge of simple stuff,brakes rotors recommend little bottles if stuff counter,aka upsell. If you can sell, your hired. If you know the DM ,manager and no knowledge of carparts..your hired.but that's almost everwhere.its about sales....not quality or quality of carparts.
I've worked in retail most of my life.I had an interview with local AutoZone 2 years ago.they were funny hire me. I wasn't aware they left messages in my voicemail.I'm used too actual phone calls. They want salespeople. Knowledge of simple stuff,brakes rotors recommend little bottles if stuff counter,aka upsell. If you can sell, your hired. If you know the DM ,manager and no knowledge of carparts..your hired.but that's almost everwhere.its about sales....not quality or quality of carparts.
I've worked in retail most of my life.I had an interview with local AutoZone 2 years ago.they were funny hire me. I wasn't aware they left messages in my voicemail.I'm used too actual phone calls. They want salespeople. Knowledge of simple stuff,brakes rotors recommend little bottles if stuff counter,aka upsell. If you can sell, your hired. If you know the DM ,manager and no knowledge of carparts..your hired.but that's almost everwhere.its about sales....not quality or quality of carparts.
I've worked in retail most of my life.I had an interview with local AutoZone 2 years ago.they were funny hire me. I wasn't aware they left messages in my voicemail.I'm used too actual phone calls. They want salespeople. Knowledge of simple stuff,brakes rotors recommend little bottles if stuff counter,aka upsell. If you can sell, your hired. If you know the DM ,manager and no knowledge of carparts..your hired.but that's almost everwhere.its about sales....not quality or quality of carparts.
Double check Walmart prices. They aren’t always the lowest. I bought a cabin air filter at Walmart and saw it a week later at auto zone for $3 cheaper and not on sale, regular price.
Hey Nathan I know this might be a little of topic but I just want to thank you because I drive a 2009 bmw 550i and your vídeo about Fixing P0420 definitely helped me. Keep up the good work and great content.
As a NAPA employee, I appreciate you sir. NAPA filters are made by wix, oil is made by valvoline, batteries are made by deka just as a few examples. 3 very reliable brands.
@@lonewolftech I work as a full time master tech and i always have issues with parts fitting and part quality from Autozone or a oRiley Sometimes have to replace same part again because it failed so quick. But with NAPA thy seem to be pretty close to OE. Very little issues i face. If you want to be precise the OE parts is the best option obviously.
It's true, I just left working at one of the big box companies and they hire people who don't know anything about auto parts at all, it makes for more sales even if it's the wrong part making the customer have to keep coming in. And the parts are all from China and a lot of time the kids don't label or the warehouse just doesn't care enough to look at returns or warrantys, a lot of times the parts don't even match the the part numbers. You're better off with going TRQ if you can wait, plan your repairs and order them ahead of time.
As a former parts sales manager, i agree, dont buy autozone brand parts for your bmws, they're overpriced and shitty made and had to do count less warranty swaps because they failed prematurely Whenever I had a customer that wanted the cheapest thing for their bmw I always advised them on the oem options if we had them available. If not I'll tell them to just go to fcp or ecs
I’ve only had one issue at Napa when buying lug nuts. I also found that duralast makes decent parts. Not the best but serviceable parts. Sometimes better than OEM.
TRUTH. In the past three years I had bought a brand new water pump, new thermostat sensor, & recently a new alternator. All those duralast all those were bad! I will never by chinese crap again
Where I am at unless you walk into the store with the part you will 9 out of 10 times get the wrong one or they will say its discontinued or no eta on the part. Parts have been a joke lately to find. I love my job but part hunting drives me insane.
So, you knock two popular (by location), retail stores for parts. What retail auto parts store do you recommend? I don't consider Walmart a car parts store.
Late October I needed to change the alternator in my X5...went to O'Reilleys... and so it began a week of disaster. After 2 NEW alternators I finally got a good one that worked. Again, I needed something quick so buying online was not an option.
I work For a parts store and you’re right they will hire anyone 🤦♂️ I myself have over 15 years of automotive experience and I’m Only working for a parts store due to a bad accident I was in that left me in a coma for 2 months with multiple disabilities. I’m a manager and can defiant that no one I work with knowsjack shit about cars and if they know anything it’s how to install batteries and wiper blades
Aint to go againts, but its an auto part store not mechanics. They shouldn't know how to. The only thing they should know is how to order the right part, that's it. You should know what part is you needed to order. Or take it to a mechanic and have them tell you. They are just helping you out as much as they can, but is not their job. Its an autoshop store. 😄
I have a Pontiac G8 GT and you absolutely need to have an oem GM alternator or the car will basically pull a Biden and shit itself and forget what it was doing. I didn't believe it at first, but I learned the hard way when I needed to replace the alternator.
Duralast is just a brand it's not a manufacturer. Saying duralast is made in China is false. For example duralast brake pads come in a duralast box but are manufactured by bosch. This is the same for every duralast branded product that exists.
@@NathansBMWWorkshop I've noticed the Bosch plugs I've purchased identify, as I recall, "Made in Taiwan". That was some 5-10 years ago when I had my '87 e30 m20 325e. Seems Bosch had started farming out for lower costs.
@@jamesluke7377 I’ve found some with the same 4 digit code for plugs are made in Germany or China. I bought some on eBay after ensuring on the box they were German. They’ve been running strong without issue for 40k since replacement.
I worked at an oreilly i had to give out both prices for a reman or new. I tried to push them to get new. If the new was more I would knock the price down for them. If they wanted a reman and it didn't work, I'd tell them to bring it and we will warranty it for them.
Those Porsche clutch hydraulics are an absolute pain. It's very easy to miss the slave location. The cylinder has to be fully home before the bolts can be put in. It's even harder on the automatic adjusting pressure plate cars as the clutch is under tension until it's done its self adjust. And to cap it off bleeding the master is almost impossible. Porsches instructions say to pressure bleed it with a huge volume of fluid. Vacuum and normal manual bleeding do not work at all. On my car I ran out of fluid so I ended up with a pedal that needed to be pumped in the morning. It fixed itself after a few weeks use.
This is how America is nowadays. Whether it's auto parts, hardware store, clothing store, outdoor clothes, you name it...many times the owner(s) are lucky to get a human being to work there...a body...let alone anyone who knows anything about what they're selling! I've walked into a Verizon store to shop for a phone and there's one person there with a half dozen customers waiting to talk with the salesperson. Customer service has gone to shit.
I think that I f dealerships would lower their prices a bit on consumable auto parts they would earn more by sales volume, because people would prefer OEM parts even if a little more expensive than aftermarket parts. But their prices are so ridiculously high that they force customers to buy elsewhere.
I have an 04 G35 that needed a new front axle. The OE part was like $700 or something and of course it needs to be ordered. Orielly's had one for $125 and had it available for pickup the next day. I went with Orielly's and that part seemed like it was one of good quality. I don't think you can put a blanket statement on these parts stores and say they're all bad.
And if you buy that Chinese rebuilt axle it won’t last long, the last ones I bought were not balanced from new , and they are rebuilt with the finest Chinese steel so they wore faster than if they would have made them out of plastic
I purchased a set of brake calipers from Orielly's for a 2015 Charger 5.7 and had to exchange them 3 times in a row before giving up on them due to leaking. Will never buy parts from them again. After the first return they didn't want to honor their own return policy. Mind you, the first return I did was on the SAME DAY I purchased them and I had to fight with management to get them exchanged. The first set of calipers were return due to having a healie in it! I had to fight them again for the second and third exchange before fighting them AGAIN for getting a refund when I gave up on their calipers.
In a pinch Napa, O’Reilly, Advance and Autozone in that order. e.g belts, pulleys, filters and brake pads. I’ve even had instances where the parts had INA or Timken stamped on them. But I don’t buy anything beyond that. I learned the hard way w a thermostat housing that leaked like crazy.
There are only 2 battery manufacturers that supply every single lead-acid and AGM battery that is sold today. The brand names are irrelevant. Also, you’re making some MASSIVE generalizations here. The AutoZone in my town is staffed with car guys and girls that work on their own stuff and that you see at meets and shows regularly. They will generally go out of their way to help people out when they’re able to. The very few times that I’ve had issues with parts from them, they’ve always made it right and then some. Maybe the ones that you go to just suck.
walmart batteries arent worth it they dont last long real reason why customers dont get parts they want is cuz they dont look at owners manual or specifications and they always go for the cheapest brand
i did rock auto for my parts when my 03 Eclipse GTS suspension was shot, dont regret it since i've had bad experiences with autozone and o reilly for brakes, never again.
I'm relatively new at fixing cars. Ive put a starter on from autozone. It lasted 4 weeks. I swapped it out, a week later and there's problems. Do you think it's just a junk starter? It was a new durlast both times.
You are absolutely right. I am the sales manager of a Chinese auto parts. We can wholesale to foreign customers or retail to foreign customers. This will save you a lot of money.
@@NathansBMWWorkshop Thanks for the quick reply. Should I be using Group 65, Group 35, Group 24? I don't see and H6, H7 for the $59. Id love to use a $59 one in an E46, but I don't know which Group Size I should get.
Duralast is garbage. AutoZone & O'Reilly parts are twice as expensive as RockAuto and the parts are worse quality. NAPA also sucks. I got a set of sway bar links from them and the boots cracked after a few months. I returned them for full refund. I am never buying from any chain parts store ever again. The parts have gone downhill so much in the last 5 yrs. The lack of quality has reached a point to where it's brazen.
When you were looking for your slave cylinder at Autozone why didn’t you order it online and have it shipped to the store? At least you would know for sure you’re getting the right part and it is normally within a day or two delivery. Also it sounds like you like quality. Why didn’t you buy the Sachs slave cylinder made in Germany that AZ sells? Just wondering. You might be in a location that you can’t do that in or something. Agree on help at parts stores. Not like it used to be. But if you do your own research you can have them type in the part number you want and even cross reference if needed. Chinese parts suck too btw.
Sooooo True !!! I had been buying at OReilly's for years and I needed a O2 Sensor, I had a code calling out a O2 Problem... No Problem I'll just go to OReilly's and get a O2 Sensor.... Oh Boy! I first tried a Walker, Didn't work, Then I put another on the other side (Upstream) Didn't Work, Replaced All 4 O2 Sensors with Bosch... Didn't Work.... Bought 4 OEM AC Delco O2 Sensors.... IT WORKS !!!
Hey brother got a question on towing with the sequoia. I have a 1st gen tundra and going to use it to tow my car occasionally around 6000-6500lbs. I ordered the firestone air bags should i pair it up with a weight distribution hitch?
Got relatives in CT & they talk about the taxes. Then they inquire about taxes in TX (where I live). FCP takes a few days longer to get down here but someone said “patience is a virtue”.
- It seems to me there’s a few categories of parts. There’s Chinese rebuilt/remanufactured which may or may not have a brand or store brand name you recognize. There’s brand name parts such as Raybestos, Monroe,Denso from known or unknown country origin. And there’s OEM which in my definition should be a genuine part of the vehicle brand, example a genuine Honda part if the car is a Honda. It should be in vehicle branded , licensed packaging.
You fix euro cars and want big box part stores to carry niche market items? Good luck on that one. Secondly you can go to Walmart and pay less and talk to the lady stocking cat litter about your engine management needs. And if your a badass that knows everything already you better keep it that way as I’m sure your theory’s make you no friends in the parts world.
I took lifetime warranty brake pads to exchange at AutoZone. The woman made me pay $14 dollars more,for the price of when I bought them,to the price now. What a rip.
I generally like my local Auto Zone. The guys are decent and try to help. Sometimes, you can get OEM parts cheaper than aftermarket. Overall, it's good to have a local brick and mortar store.
Bought a fuel filter for a c class Mercedes for maintenance and the next week the car stalled out due to bad manufacturing of the cheap filter ,friend was not happy
I have a Machine shop and we sale parts 80% of the parts that costumers bring from local Auto Zone and Advance AP to be use in the Machine shop service are wrong it has to do with the lack of knowledge from the Counter salesman
Any parts store can mistake a slave cylinder for a master cylinder. Knocking the parts store for that means nothing. Batting 100 for 8 years, O'Reilly finally screwed up. I called in for some Standard Ignition parts. I got a cab ride down there and the young, new guy didn't have the parts ready yet..... I told him I was getting a cab and wanted to walk in, grab the parts and walk out........ because I was taking a cab. He had the house brand parts, and i'd requested Standard. 🙄 By the time I left, it had been over 10 minutes. I'm 6 miles, round trip to O'Reilly's. Cab ride was $40. 😡 .....waiting time in the parking lot probably cost me $20. I never went back to complain. The guy is new. Nobody is perfect during their first week, so why get the young guy fired. I could have yelled and screamed, but..... .....I was young once too. ......I almost forgot. Included in my parts request was a cap, rotor, pickup coil and an ignition module. ......he gave me a coil instead of a pickup coil. 😂 I had been hunting down an extremely difficult randomly occurring miss. I was grasping at straws replacing parts. It wasn't the module. It wasn't the cap or rotor. Should I go back down and make the young fella possibly lose his job because he gave me a wrong part? I was wrong too, so it didn't matter if he gave me a coil spring instead of the pickup coil. Anyone can screw up. The store name when this occurs makes no difference.
The repair shop that changes my oil told me that they stopped buying parts from Auto Zone, because they are Junk, Best Warranty's and the most problems. I reminded them that they had put Auto Zone dura last brakes on my truck. The brakes work fine, but I'm concerned about them.
I bought a fuel filter at auto zone for a 95 4runner that would have been easier to remove the body to install because you can only turn the wrench 1/16 of a turn if that. After 1000 mini turns finally getting fuel line nut tight, the seat surface for the fuel line inside did not seat. It was too deep and fuel shot out everywhere. It was so hard to install it being buried by a cable housing and torsion bar it made me wish it was in the fuel tank. I was furious. I will pay for OEM parts from now on. 16 bucks and 2 hours later. Screw napa. Auto zone. Oreillys. All of them with their made cheap last 3 years parts. Alternator lasts 2 years when the OEM one lasted 25. No more junk! My 89 pickup OEM fuel pump lasted over 300k miles. Rant over
Bro you’re right oh yeah my roommate younger than me tells me is it OEM and I’m like oh shit no I just learned about OEM. I can pull out transmissions and put them back in clutches. I’m learning stuff every day and I was born here in America Anacortes actually greater bodywork engine work you name it comes naturally, but thanks for the advice on spending the extra black. How do I get my Chevy 350 to have more horsepower?
If you are working on high end BMW's and Porsche's you are doing a disservice to the owners of those vehicles by putting AZ and O'Reillys parts on them. Stop being a cheapskate and put OE parts from the dealership on those cars! If that was my Porsche and I found out you put a Duralast slave cylinder on my car, I would be pissed and make you put an OE one on instead!
I'm trying to get a rack and pinion for my 06 f-150 and I've been at it for awhile. So far Rock Auto sent the wrong part and Napa sold me a defective part. These kinds of things were extremely rare before the government shutdown.
I mean, I never buy anything from any of these parts stores unless I am verifying with my own eyes the make/ model/ correct parts, etc before it's pulled or ordered.
So I’ve been in the parts business for 35 years. I’ve toured many different manufacturing facilities over the years. 30 years ago there were many companies making parts. That is no longer the case. Many of the parts you buy in a parts store are exactly the same as your car was built with. I will ask a trivia question. Who makes every brand of precious metal spark plugs( except Denso)?? Hint. It’s one company. 😊
AutoZone sucks I went in there to order a part for my 2006 Dodge Dakota it was a wheel bearing they told me they ordered it and they never did I waited five days and I went there and the guy says well there was no part ordered so they ended up giving me a refund and then when they finally ordered the part they gave me the wrong part and then they refunded me a quarter charge and did not give me all my money back so I had to go in there and speak to the manager and it was nothing but a horrible experience every time I go in there I did not know what the hell he was talking about or doing
I’m told after 10 years, OEM parts no more because vehicles obsolete? Long time ago, I replaced alternator on my work truck, with NAPA alternator. It did not last, piece of crap alternator caught fire, lucky the whole truck did not burn, only alternator. I don’t remember how I returned to work that day.🤔
I buy oem parts whenever possible. I've had horror stories with after market parts. I bought an evap purge valve and and a canister vent solenoid from AutoZone because GM was on strike and I was unable to get the parts. However, I have since replaced them with the OEM GM parts and that solved my problem.
Oriellys are the most guilty of incompetent workers. Years ago worker almost couldn't install a battery. Making excuse as if something was broken. Months later i had the pleasure of running into the best most honest mechanic youll ever meet. He noticed it wasnt compatible for my cars charging system and recommended i warranty. Long story short, I replace any battery like checking air in tires. Harbor freight has more knowledgeable workers and auto isn't their specialty.
Great video. I love working on cars. I don't mind getting Chinese parts but it has to be independently certified through a rigorous sampling scheme and tested using destructive and non destructive methods. I worked as a quality engineer and took my job very seriously and with pride for two medical device companies that manufactured implants and the other made drug delivery devices.
Like I always say, I find the exact part I need, do my research and order it. Or even AutoZone can get the part number I got. I check my boxes before I leave the parts store. Especially oil filters, take them out of the box and check them to make sure the oil filter wasn't dropped when shipped or when being put on the shelf. Sometimes even customers pick up a oil filter, drop it and then put it back on the shelf. So check before you buy or at least before you leave.
I just dropped a couple oil filters at my local auto part store, guy behind the counter said "Hey buddy, what are you doing?" Told him I was just giving em the drop test.
@@Orange-Jumpsuit-TimeIf you want to go through that, go for it. But how many people handled the boxes before they go on the shelf. Maybe even forklifts picking up the pallets in the back or unloading the trucks. But I'll let ya deal with the return side. I'll check before I pay on that. Saves a headache, time, gas and money to just check. It's not like the box is a pain to open for any brand of the oil filters either.
You buy what you can afford and if you dont like what is offered as a sale in autozone then you go to another store. I dont see why not buy from there. Unless all there parts fail which they dont. Sometimes you can find cheaper parts elsewhere and sometimes you just dont want to go through the hassle to deal with it and make sure is not a chinese part. So you buy from autozone. I dont think is a bad store. I had bought many parts that had lasterd their normal wear and tear. As for the employee hell they arent mechanics its your job to order the right part and verify before purchase and shipment. Even if your at the store or better yet if you order online. So cant blame the employee that is your mess up.
As far as ordering a part at my local auto part store, I don't rely on the help whatsoever. First, I check to see if the part is listed in stock, if so, I call the store and give him or her the part number, of course he or she looks it up on their computer and acknowledges that indeed it is in stock. But that's not good enough, I request that they go back to the parts area and confirm that the part is physically in stock, and if so, that they put it aside for me and that I will be there shortly to pick it up. Then I print out the picture of the part, showing price and part number. Upon arrival when they ask "can I help you?", I just slide the printout across the desk and tell them this is what I want, and that it has been put aside for me. Bought a used 2002 S-10 in 2010, first thing I did was replace all the caliper and brake pads front and back with Duralast Gold parts that have the lifetime warranty, so far, I've replaced those worn out parts two times for free from Autozone.
Sadly; everything you say is true; being that nothing is made in America anymore we are at the mercy of what the market offers; thanks for this video !!!!!!!!!
Bought a brand new dura last gold starter from AutoZone for my BMW X5 5.0 I.... Four months later it left us stranded at a gas station after getting gas over 300 miles away from home on a Sunday after 5:00 PM ....had to do the tow truck thing ......cost a lot of $$$ .😝😝😝😝😝
That's why remans get a terrible reputation. If the actual manufacturer rebuilt it it is pretty much a new part. I learned the hard way several times over to stay away from remans unless it is from say like honda direct.
To me, Rockauto is the same, body parts etc..I have an E60 M5, learned long ago about buying "cheaper" parts. I just put both throttle actuators and idle control valves....Rockauto [if they had them] we about $300 each, I bought Bosch from Germany, $600 each. Same for brake rotors. My last M5, I bought rotors from Ebay, NEVER again, out of round...
I work in one of those store, honestly a lot of customers don't even know their cars, a lot of shops and mechanics don't even know their parts. Then you deal with the ego of people who think they know more but always get parts mixed up
Yeah its partly his apprentice mechanic's fault not the cashier. He should've known what a master cylinder is. 😂
Some of the box stores are asking more than the dealer for certain parts. The biggest problem is the quality. The parts never were that great but now they are junk right out of the box, half the time they don't work. They sell junk by saying "lifetime warranty" and they will just keep exchanging it out for another garbage part that won't last. Warranty just means an exchange but you won't get your money back when you eventually have to find an oem part from a junkyard that is 100 times better than the new part you bought. There are a few things like hoses or belts that may be okay to use but that's about it.
😢 What bout batteries my nigga
@@wildestcowboy2668 Batteries are nice because you can exchange them easily. Only problem is a battery that was about $100 a few years ago is now over $200.
i remember back in the day the rep from Johnson Controls told me that they made like 80% of the automotive batteries out there. Regardless of brand.
That's a lie
It's continental and there's one other company that does batteries can't remember there name atm
Still do
I had issues with Autozone Duralast branded parts. I try to stay clear. My best luck has been with Rock Auto or Napa.
Just spent 3 hours on a duralast wrong part.. belt just a little too short,, OMG
RockAuto, Napa, Duralast. All their parts are made in either China or Taiwan. You take a gamble with all of em
One Napa belt is made by Gates. Consumers make their own choice, and most of time it is price they want, not quality.
@@RIPdBOONdoes that mean that Amazon parts are the same as well?
This is why I scrounge junk yards and take spare parts I need in the future from freshly crashed cars. Nothing like a new oem bmw part, undamaged, on a totaled car sitting waiting for me :)
This is your best bet a lot of the time. I got a motorrcraft rotor for $15 dollars a few days ago. The cheapest one at either store was close to 100. I’m more confident in that used part than a new one from them from China.
@@cygnus1965I done told you bout China boy but your generation insists on buying their products....wait till they own u
@@cygnus1965 All rotor brands are manufactured in Taiwan or China. 😅🤣😂
This can make your place look like a pack rat den in just a few years. Then you can’t throw stuff away because it’s in such new condition. My dad did that and wouldn’t let us throw it away even after he had retired and even after he got a stroke that weakened half his body and one ankle left useless. Walked with a walker and foot brace. Only when he was close to death did he say get rid of that junk.
As a former employee of one of the stores you are talking about, I must agree with you on one thing. They hire people now with no automotive experience at all. But in their commercials they say we're all automotive experts. When I first started they actually did hire people that knew about cars. Also within the last couple of years their parts have gone to crap. Raise the prices and lower the quality.
Thanks for telling the truth. Do you still work there and you still tell people that truth keep spreading the fucked up news about O’reillys and AutoZone what a disgrace this country has become just to get your money for all fucking drug addicts without doing drugs.
I don't think there's anything wrong with hiring people with little to no mechanical experience. As long as they're willing to learn.
There’s supposed to be programs to educate the employees, but I’ll tell you personally none of our higher ups in our branch push it or use the educational materials, which is a shame.
@@duck7322we had to attend a class but it was mostly about their history and upselling I started without knowing what an alternator was but now I’m attending trade school and have a much better understanding about parts the only issues I’m still working on are on seals and gaskets / miscellaneous cables
I've been buying Kirkland Signature oil from Costco for all my old rigs that take it. Dirt cheap, good quality, works great! I still buy "need today" parts from O'Reilly's for my domestic vehicles, and pray for the best.
You are absolutely right. I am the sales manager of a Chinese auto parts. We can wholesale to foreign customers or retail to foreign customers. This will save you a lot of money.
@@floydautoparts856you are most of what's wrong with USA
Thanks for running it in the ground
Summit racing stocks alot of oem demostict auto parts. Free shipping over 100 bucks. If you can wait 2 to 3 days.
@@johnmourer5747 Overpriced! Know your parts and use Rock Auto.
Who in their right mind would go to these autoyunks for these type of parts ? You want quality you need to go to who ever manufactured them.
Scotty kilmer explains it best, AutoZone & O'Reilly was built on retired mechanics/mechanics that weren't able to do that kind of work anymore. Over the years it got so watered down that the person at the counter has never done an oil change. The average diy knows more than them. I have been in both stores myself to where I have over heard conversation to where they have givin false information to customers because they didn't know the information or they will just say idk instead of finding out. I personally have asked them simple questions just to see if they knew, like the difference in regular & voc brake cleaner, they all fail that question.
I just work there until I finish college I don’t give a shit what people think
It's so funny how people assume that their system gives them unlimited information to answer any question. They are not mechanics, they just sell parts. People need to know what they need when they come in. Pretend you are buying parts online and don't have anyone to ask questions to. Also, it's much different than a dealer which only has parts for their own cars and can easily have more knowledge of those parts. A store like autozone sells parts for every type of vehicle so it's just ridiculous to think that they would know everything about every vehicle.
Ask me about subarus and Hondas and I'll help you out, you have an American car, sorry, I don't know a thing about American cars.
Unfortunately they aren't masters of all while getting paid minimum wage, you want someone that knows about cars then talk to a mechanic that's paid to know and not an auto parts Sales person.
I'm a manager of one of these big name stores and the women that work in my store know more about cars than a majority of the men that come in to buy parts...
So while you may know your stuff and were just testing someone, there is no reason to expect them to know as much as you since you sound like a mechanic.
The best advice I give people is to look it up. You can find pretty much any information you need on UA-cam or elsewhere on the internet. People these days are just lazy and want everything handed to them. Yes, we can scan your car and read the check engine light and relay that information to you but it's up to you to figure things out from there. Our system only gives recommendations.
Agreed, in most Autozones (and other stores) I have gone into are usually young kids (late teens or early 20s) and I usually feel like they have never even turned a wrench, yet alone have any knowledge working on cars. That being said, I have run into situations where even the store manager did not really know what he was doing.
I once tried to rent a slide hammer from Autozone and the manager brings me this small box, barely bigger then my hand. I tell him "there is no way that is a slide hammer", he replies "it says so on the box". I open the case and its an adapter for a pulley. I say "look, I am not going to argue, but that is not a slide hammer, slide hammers are huge" and then I showed him a pic of a slide hammer. I left the store and went to a different Autozone, that at least had it boxes labeled correctly. So its a hit or miss, with most of the time it being a miss.
LOL Absolutely, I went to a Large ACE hardware store yesterday and the 22 yr old children there are friggin CLUELESS stupid. Cant even understand that I ask for a thread cleaner bit. LOL "HU Whats that" LOL, this count is Millennial - WOKE RETARDED STUPID Start to finish.
In the same DAY, SAME DAY, Asked for Plasti-gage pkg, The guy on phone at advanced AP store, had NO clue what I was asking.
So I described what it is for, checking clearances on engine rebuilding. I Asked if he EVER even rebuilt a car or any engine, LOL LOL LOL, He said NO, LOL, the ppl in businesses are so bankrupt for common sense. Well even back in the early 70's when I had to figure it out ALL by my self, Guys I was around were too bust playing with theirselves rather then figure out life's issues poke their car they drive.
Ya this USA is friggin IN desperate need for common sense.
@@ThePigessI'll bet you are just a breathe of fresh air
I highly recommend FCP Euro or ECSTuning. Either one will send you quality parts. Shipping may take a while but it's worth it.
My friend walked into a fcp euro parts store to buy parts for his bmw drift car and they initially told him he had to wait 2 hours in their store to buy and get his parts like wtf
Here is the thing about fcp/ecs, alot of the time they are as much or higher priced than the actual dealer
I just bought $300 worth of Boxster maintenance items, end links, and wheel bearings from FCP Euro this past Sunday, and even with their free shipping, the box arrived at my house in STL today (Wednesday). Crazy.
They abit pricey for aftermarket. You are only saving likd a third of the price vs if you buy it at the dealer. Ive compare parts and theres a reason why they are priced different. And imo that extra that u pay is worth it. But it depends if u wanna keep ur car or just use it for a couple of years
He complained about the price and talked about how duralast is made in china yet he gets his parts from Amazon and his oil from Walmart come on
Fluids are very expensive at autozone. They tell me it’s a supply issue, yet I buy it at Walmart or Amazon at the prices I’m historically use to.
Less porches more BMW’s. I can’t even fit in a Porsche at 6’4.
They have been expensive for 20 years on batteries and oil , freon etc, im 6'4 and can fit in all my porsches fine
@@NathansBMWWorkshop I tried a Porsche boxer and and a 944 couldn’t fit in either. I’m wider in the shoulders and not by a little.
@@NathansBMWWorkshop 6'4"? I had no idea.
My Dad started working on Model T's and A's back when, and he always worked on his own cars. He was a very good mechanic. He bought a 1992 Ford F150 brand new and the time came when it needed brakes. He pulled the front wheel bearings for some reason. Maybe he was replacing rotors or just regreasing them, I don't know. But when he saw the bearings were stamped made in Japan he was pissed. There was his new Ford truck with Jaanese parts in it. That woud never do. So he went to the parts store and got a set of Timlen, made in USA bearings. Some years later I bought that truck from him and I was replacing rotors and I decided to replace the wheel bearings. I noticed the made in USA stamp on the old Timkens when I removed them. So I decided to replace them with new Timken bearings. I was talking to someone who knew about this stuff and when I told him I wanted Timkens bearings he told me that Timken bearings were now made in several countries including China. I was shocked. I could find Timken bearings but none were made in USA. I finally did find the USA bearings but I had to order them from a bearing store in Michigan. That was a long time ago so I doubt that you could find Timken bearings made in USA anywhere today.
Michigan has all the bearing and cogs/sprockets you’d ever need.
Auto zone isn't for exotics. It's your fault for getting Porsche parts from auto zone.
It's like going to Denny's and complaining about the lower quality of their steaks.
Thank YOU dude is crazy.
Autozone is TRASH. I'm literally on my 4th alternator in a week and this one is bad too. They are JUNK
@@gypsyjoeyautozone has their own branded parts? It's entertaining watching morons complain about nonsense. Stop trying to save money on non-oem parts and you won't have these problems.
Yeah dude is crazy
I'll agree with this to a point. I've found that the stores in a bigger city are often staffed with younger folks without knowledge or skill to review and check the parts being ordered. If I have to get a part in town, I'll usually order it online and pick it up in the store to ensure if there's a mess up, it's me. --- My local store in my small town has some pretty good guys. I was looking for some bearings for my F350 this summer, and one of the 'old-timers' took the time to go thru the 3" thick parts books to cross ref the parts, pull the micrometer out of his counter and we probably spent 2 hours in total tracking down the right parts after the 'city kid' ordered the wrong crap 3 times. -- This old-timer is also the resident paint expert in the mix booth, and I'll wait until he's working to get paint mixed, or look for odd-ball parts every time.
All auto parts made in China that it the problem period 😮
I've worked in retail most of my life.I had an interview with local AutoZone 2 years ago.they were funny hire me. I wasn't aware they left messages in my voicemail.I'm used too actual phone calls. They want salespeople. Knowledge of simple stuff,brakes rotors recommend little bottles if stuff counter,aka upsell. If you can sell, your hired. If you know the DM ,manager and no knowledge of carparts..your hired.but that's almost everwhere.its about sales....not quality or quality of carparts.
I've worked in retail most of my life.I had an interview with local AutoZone 2 years ago.they were funny hire me. I wasn't aware they left messages in my voicemail.I'm used too actual phone calls. They want salespeople. Knowledge of simple stuff,brakes rotors recommend little bottles if stuff counter,aka upsell. If you can sell, your hired. If you know the DM ,manager and no knowledge of carparts..your hired.but that's almost everwhere.its about sales....not quality or quality of carparts.
I've worked in retail most of my life.I had an interview with local AutoZone 2 years ago.they were funny hire me. I wasn't aware they left messages in my voicemail.I'm used too actual phone calls. They want salespeople. Knowledge of simple stuff,brakes rotors recommend little bottles if stuff counter,aka upsell. If you can sell, your hired. If you know the DM ,manager and no knowledge of carparts..your hired.but that's almost everwhere.its about sales....not quality or quality of carparts.
I've worked in retail most of my life.I had an interview with local AutoZone 2 years ago.they were funny hire me. I wasn't aware they left messages in my voicemail.I'm used too actual phone calls. They want salespeople. Knowledge of simple stuff,brakes rotors recommend little bottles if stuff counter,aka upsell. If you can sell, your hired. If you know the DM ,manager and no knowledge of carparts..your hired.but that's almost everwhere.its about sales....not quality or quality of carparts.
Double check Walmart prices. They aren’t always the lowest. I bought a cabin air filter at Walmart and saw it a week later at auto zone for $3 cheaper and not on sale, regular price.
Hey Nathan I know this might be a little of topic but I just want to thank you because I drive a 2009 bmw 550i and your vídeo about Fixing P0420 definitely helped me. Keep up the good work and great content.
I love my 550i
Standing in a garage with a few Porsches and talking down a poor,working persons parts store. I’m out of here.
I like Napa, they seem to have quality parts that last.
As a NAPA employee, I appreciate you sir. NAPA filters are made by wix, oil is made by valvoline, batteries are made by deka just as a few examples. 3 very reliable brands.
No different than any o Riley’s
@@lonewolftech
I work as a full time master tech and i always have issues with parts fitting and part quality from
Autozone or a oRiley Sometimes have to replace same part again because it failed so quick. But with NAPA thy seem to be pretty close to OE.
Very little issues i face.
If you want to be precise the OE parts is the best option obviously.
They have the same suppliers as O’Reillys. It’s literally the same parts with different logos.
The difference is you pay 2-3 times as much at Napa.
@@ZombiesgameplayFTWtry a different NAPA
It's true, I just left working at one of the big box companies and they hire people who don't know anything about auto parts at all, it makes for more sales even if it's the wrong part making the customer have to keep coming in. And the parts are all from China and a lot of time the kids don't label or the warehouse just doesn't care enough to look at returns or warrantys, a lot of times the parts don't even match the the part numbers. You're better off with going TRQ if you can wait, plan your repairs and order them ahead of time.
As someone with a starter in the V I appreciate him speaking on it
Buying parts from some suppliers today is like gambling at the casinos, more likely to loose
As a former parts sales manager, i agree, dont buy autozone brand parts for your bmws, they're overpriced and shitty made and had to do count less warranty swaps because they failed prematurely
Whenever I had a customer that wanted the cheapest thing for their bmw I always advised them on the oem options if we had them available. If not I'll tell them to just go to fcp or ecs
I’ve only had one issue at Napa when buying lug nuts. I also found that duralast makes decent parts. Not the best but serviceable parts. Sometimes better than OEM.
TRUTH. In the past three years I had bought a brand new water pump, new thermostat sensor, & recently a new alternator. All those duralast all those were bad! I will never by chinese crap again
Where I am at unless you walk into the store with the part you will 9 out of 10 times get the wrong one or they will say its discontinued or no eta on the part. Parts have been a joke lately to find. I love my job but part hunting drives me insane.
So, you knock two popular (by location), retail stores for parts. What retail auto parts store do you recommend? I don't consider Walmart a car parts store.
What I want to know, is why , you went to AutoZone/O' Reilly, ect. To buy parts, for a Porsche?
Late October I needed to change the alternator in my X5...went to O'Reilleys... and so it began a week of disaster. After 2 NEW alternators I finally got a good one that worked. Again, I needed something quick so buying online was not an option.
I wouldn't call a week quick..... boy
Why wouldn't you have them test the alternator out the box after the first one failed? They do free alternator testing and it takes 2 min..
I work
For a parts store and you’re right they will hire anyone 🤦♂️ I myself have over 15 years of automotive experience and I’m
Only working for a parts store due to a bad accident I was in that left me in a coma for 2 months with multiple disabilities. I’m a manager and can defiant that no one I work with knowsjack shit about cars and if they know anything it’s how to install batteries and wiper blades
Aint to go againts, but its an auto part store not mechanics. They shouldn't know how to. The only thing they should know is how to order the right part, that's it. You should know what part is you needed to order. Or take it to a mechanic and have them tell you. They are just helping you out as much as they can, but is not their job. Its an autoshop store. 😄
I would view someone's judgement suspect on everything, knowing that person had been in a coma for two months.😅🤣😂
I have a Pontiac G8 GT and you absolutely need to have an oem GM alternator or the car will basically pull a Biden and shit itself and forget what it was doing. I didn't believe it at first, but I learned the hard way when I needed to replace the alternator.
😭😭😭
“Pull a biden” Bruh lmao 💀
Duralast is just a brand it's not a manufacturer. Saying duralast is made in China is false. For example duralast brake pads come in a duralast box but are manufactured by bosch. This is the same for every duralast branded product that exists.
Problem with Amazon is warranty a lifetime part is a pain in the ass. Also, American made parts don’t seem any better quality
Speaking of Bosch... I used to like their spark plugs and wires. They are at best anymore, ok. As of current, I'll go with NGK.
German Bosch is still the way to go for BMW or Porsche.
When i changed the Gwagon plugs awhile back i simply couldnt find NGK for it , used Bosch and you can tell they are not near as good
@@NathansBMWWorkshop I've noticed the Bosch plugs I've purchased identify, as I recall, "Made in Taiwan". That was some 5-10 years ago when I had my '87 e30 m20 325e. Seems Bosch had started farming out for lower costs.
@@number1Schumacherfan I possibly can get my cousin in Northern Ireland to order German made Bosch plugs and ship to me.
@@jamesluke7377 I’ve found some with the same 4 digit code for plugs are made in Germany or China. I bought some on eBay after ensuring on the box they were German. They’ve been running strong without issue for 40k since replacement.
I've had pretty good luck with Rock Auto if you can wait a day or two for shipping...
I just put a failed Duralast thermostat on my maxima.. This job is NOT fun to redo.
I worked at an oreilly i had to give out both prices for a reman or new. I tried to push them to get new. If the new was more I would knock the price down for them. If they wanted a reman and it didn't work, I'd tell them to bring it and we will warranty it for them.
Totally agree with you. I guess it’s ok to buy there as long as you want to change out the parts again and again.
Yes and of course the new slave cylinder is already bad , so now i get to swap that out again lol
Stop buy Chinese aftermarket parts… if you do that it’s your own problem.
Those Porsche clutch hydraulics are an absolute pain.
It's very easy to miss the slave location. The cylinder has to be fully home before the bolts can be put in. It's even harder on the automatic adjusting pressure plate cars as the clutch is under tension until it's done its self adjust.
And to cap it off bleeding the master is almost impossible. Porsches instructions say to pressure bleed it with a huge volume of fluid. Vacuum and normal manual bleeding do not work at all. On my car I ran out of fluid so I ended up with a pedal that needed to be pumped in the morning. It fixed itself after a few weeks use.
This is how America is nowadays. Whether it's auto parts, hardware store, clothing store, outdoor clothes, you name it...many times the owner(s) are lucky to get a human being to work there...a body...let alone anyone who knows anything about what they're selling! I've walked into a Verizon store to shop for a phone and there's one person there with a half dozen customers waiting to talk with the salesperson. Customer service has gone to shit.
Why not just buy Porsche parts from the Porsche dealer? I would probably never go to napa or autozone for any parts unless I drive an old Chevy truck.
Because you would have more in parts than the car was worth just buying simple things
I think I went into one of those once last year to get car wash soap
Literally the only safe item in there
Could have bought that car wash soap cheaper at walmart 😂
@@NathansBMWWorkshop true, that's where to get it! Autozone, etc are good if Walmart runs out, that's about it
It's so sad America has gone to shit quick
I think that I f dealerships would lower their prices a bit on consumable auto parts they would earn more by sales volume, because people would prefer OEM parts even if a little more expensive than aftermarket parts. But their prices are so ridiculously high that they force customers to buy elsewhere.
What about programing differn batterys in bmws
Walmart hasn't sold a car battery under 100 in quite a few years now
They still sell them, they raised the price to $69 now I believe
@@NathansBMWWorkshop for what? A lawnmower battery?
@Nathans BMW Workshop cheapest battery for a 1992 Honda civic. Smallest car battery I've ever seen is listed for $149 for what they carry in store
@@julietbihary9811 yea civic battery’s are crazy money , we just bought one for the figaro , but standard size batteries are a lot cheaper
I have an 04 G35 that needed a new front axle. The OE part was like $700 or something and of course it needs to be ordered. Orielly's had one for $125 and had it available for pickup the next day.
I went with Orielly's and that part seemed like it was one of good quality. I don't think you can put a blanket statement on these parts stores and say they're all bad.
And if you buy that Chinese rebuilt axle it won’t last long, the last ones I bought were not balanced from new , and they are rebuilt with the finest Chinese steel so they wore faster than if they would have made them out of plastic
@@NathansBMWWorkshop it wasn't rebuilt. The parts were machined differently than oem.
I purchased a set of brake calipers from Orielly's for a 2015 Charger 5.7 and had to exchange them 3 times in a row before giving up on them due to leaking. Will never buy parts from them again. After the first return they didn't want to honor their own return policy. Mind you, the first return I did was on the SAME DAY I purchased them and I had to fight with management to get them exchanged. The first set of calipers were return due to having a healie in it! I had to fight them again for the second and third exchange before fighting them AGAIN for getting a refund when I gave up on their calipers.
In a pinch Napa, O’Reilly, Advance and Autozone in that order. e.g belts, pulleys, filters and brake pads. I’ve even had instances where the parts had INA or Timken stamped on them. But I don’t buy anything beyond that. I learned the hard way w a thermostat housing that leaked like crazy.
There are only 2 battery manufacturers that supply every single lead-acid and AGM battery that is sold today. The brand names are irrelevant. Also, you’re making some MASSIVE generalizations here. The AutoZone in my town is staffed with car guys and girls that work on their own stuff and that you see at meets and shows regularly. They will generally go out of their way to help people out when they’re able to. The very few times that I’ve had issues with parts from them, they’ve always made it right and then some. Maybe the ones that you go to just suck.
walmart batteries arent worth it they dont last long real reason why customers dont get parts they want is cuz they dont look at owners manual or specifications and they always go for the cheapest brand
Your owners manual references parts ?
i did rock auto for my parts when my 03 Eclipse GTS suspension was shot, dont regret it since i've had bad experiences with autozone and o reilly for brakes, never again.
What's your opinion of getting name brand OEM part from Rock Auto?
I'm relatively new at fixing cars. Ive put a starter on from autozone. It lasted 4 weeks. I swapped it out, a week later and there's problems. Do you think it's just a junk starter? It was a new durlast both times.
Yea I've gad issues with autozone/oriellys starter/alternator/bearings. Crap parts
You are absolutely right. I am the sales manager of a Chinese auto parts. We can wholesale to foreign customers or retail to foreign customers. This will save you a lot of money.
Got an ever start battery from Walmart February 2018. 65 group until right now starts every time no problem.
Hi Nathan.
Which Walmart battery would you use for an E46?
None of the $59 ones are listed for my E46.
Thanks in advance.
We us the $59 ones all the time
@@NathansBMWWorkshop Thanks for the quick reply.
Should I be using Group 65, Group 35, Group 24?
I don't see and H6, H7 for the $59.
Id love to use a $59 one in an E46, but I don't know which Group Size I should get.
@@colinjones6974 I think we usually use 24 or 24r, have to check which side your terminals are on
@@NathansBMWWorkshop Outstanding! Thank you. Love your channels, from MREs to G-Wagons. Keep up the great work.
Aftermarket parts are garbage period....... I only buy my parts from the Dealership they are quality parts
Duralast is garbage. AutoZone & O'Reilly parts are twice as expensive as RockAuto and the parts are worse quality. NAPA also sucks. I got a set of sway bar links from them and the boots cracked after a few months. I returned them for full refund. I am never buying from any chain parts store ever again. The parts have gone downhill so much in the last 5 yrs. The lack of quality has reached a point to where it's brazen.
When you were looking for your slave cylinder at Autozone why didn’t you order it online and have it shipped to the store? At least you would know for sure you’re getting the right part and it is normally within a day or two delivery. Also it sounds like you like quality. Why didn’t you buy the Sachs slave cylinder made in Germany that AZ sells? Just wondering. You might be in a location that you can’t do that in or something. Agree on help at parts stores. Not like it used to be. But if you do your own research you can have them type in the part number you want and even cross reference if needed. Chinese parts suck too btw.
I had Autozone rotors ship to home free.
Sooooo True !!!
I had been buying at OReilly's for years and I needed a O2 Sensor, I had a code calling out a O2 Problem... No Problem I'll just go to OReilly's and get a O2 Sensor.... Oh Boy! I first tried a Walker, Didn't work, Then I put another on the other side (Upstream) Didn't Work, Replaced All 4 O2 Sensors with Bosch... Didn't Work.... Bought 4 OEM AC Delco O2 Sensors.... IT WORKS !!!
Hey brother got a question on towing with the sequoia. I have a 1st gen tundra and going to use it to tow my car occasionally around 6000-6500lbs. I ordered the firestone air bags should i pair it up with a weight distribution hitch?
You won’t need a weight hitch for that
Move to CT. I get parts from FCP next day.
Here its 1-2 weeks , and damn those prices are extremely high there
Got relatives in CT & they talk about the taxes. Then they inquire about taxes in TX (where I live). FCP takes a few days longer to get down here but someone said “patience is a virtue”.
@@richarddrozd1201 taxes thing is over done. Folks leave CT all the time and then come back when they realize they can’t make ends meet down South.
@@petersideris6216 Best time to go south is when you can bring a pension with you. Take care.
- It seems to me there’s a few categories of parts. There’s Chinese rebuilt/remanufactured which may or may not have a brand or store brand name you recognize. There’s brand name parts such as Raybestos, Monroe,Denso from known or unknown country origin. And there’s OEM which in my definition should be a genuine part of the vehicle brand, example a genuine Honda part if the car is a Honda. It should be in vehicle branded , licensed packaging.
You fix euro cars and want big box part stores to carry niche market items? Good luck on that one. Secondly you can go to Walmart and pay less and talk to the lady stocking cat litter about your engine management needs. And if your a badass that knows everything already you better keep it that way as I’m sure your theory’s make you no friends in the parts world.
I took lifetime warranty brake pads to exchange at AutoZone. The woman made me pay $14 dollars more,for the price of when I bought them,to the price now. What a rip.
I took my 2017 lifetime warranty brake pads to exchange at AutoZone, Charged for the new ones until I brought the old ones back.
I generally like my local Auto Zone. The guys are decent and try to help. Sometimes, you can get OEM parts cheaper than aftermarket. Overall, it's good to have a local brick and mortar store.
Bought a fuel filter for a c class Mercedes for maintenance and the next week the car stalled out due to bad manufacturing of the cheap filter ,friend was not happy
I have a Machine shop and we sale parts 80% of the parts that costumers bring from local Auto Zone and Advance AP to be use in the Machine shop service are wrong it has to do with the lack of knowledge from the Counter salesman
Any parts store can mistake a slave cylinder for a master cylinder.
Knocking the parts store for that means nothing.
Batting 100 for 8 years, O'Reilly finally screwed up.
I called in for some Standard Ignition parts.
I got a cab ride down there and the young, new guy didn't have the parts ready yet..... I told him I was getting a cab and wanted to walk in, grab the parts and walk out........ because I was taking a cab.
He had the house brand parts, and i'd requested Standard. 🙄
By the time I left, it had been over 10 minutes.
I'm 6 miles, round trip to O'Reilly's.
Cab ride was $40. 😡
.....waiting time in the parking lot probably cost me $20.
I never went back to complain.
The guy is new. Nobody is perfect during their first week, so why get the young guy fired.
I could have yelled and screamed, but.....
.....I was young once too.
......I almost forgot. Included in my parts request was a cap, rotor, pickup coil and an ignition module.
......he gave me a coil instead of a pickup coil.
😂
I had been hunting down an extremely difficult randomly occurring miss. I was grasping at straws replacing parts.
It wasn't the module. It wasn't the cap or rotor.
Should I go back down and make the young fella possibly lose his job because he gave me a wrong part?
I was wrong too, so it didn't matter if he gave me a coil spring instead of the pickup coil.
Anyone can screw up. The store name when this occurs makes no difference.
Channel is doing good brother Nate.
Let’s get you to 200k this year
The repair shop that changes my oil told me that they stopped buying parts from Auto Zone, because they are Junk, Best Warranty's and the most problems. I reminded them that they had put Auto Zone dura last brakes on my truck. The brakes work fine, but I'm concerned about them.
I bought a fuel filter at auto zone for a 95 4runner that would have been easier to remove the body to install because you can only turn the wrench 1/16 of a turn if that. After 1000 mini turns finally getting fuel line nut tight, the seat surface for the fuel line inside did not seat. It was too deep and fuel shot out everywhere. It was so hard to install it being buried by a cable housing and torsion bar it made me wish it was in the fuel tank. I was furious. I will pay for OEM parts from now on. 16 bucks and 2 hours later. Screw napa. Auto zone. Oreillys. All of them with their made cheap last 3 years parts. Alternator lasts 2 years when the OEM one lasted 25. No more junk! My 89 pickup OEM fuel pump lasted over 300k miles. Rant over
Bro you’re right oh yeah my roommate younger than me tells me is it OEM and I’m like oh shit no I just learned about OEM. I can pull out transmissions and put them back in clutches. I’m learning stuff every day and I was born here in America Anacortes actually greater bodywork engine work you name it comes naturally, but thanks for the advice on spending the extra black. How do I get my Chevy 350 to have more horsepower?
Yup, I have a tough time going to Autozone. They seldom have what I want as you stated.
If you are working on high end BMW's and Porsche's you are doing a disservice to the owners of those vehicles by putting AZ and O'Reillys parts on them. Stop being a cheapskate and put OE parts from the dealership on those cars! If that was my Porsche and I found out you put a Duralast slave cylinder on my car, I would be pissed and make you put an OE one on instead!
is Advanced auto part store okay
Only remanufacture alternator or starter that I trust is at NAPA DENSO remanufacture. They are expensive though $500+
I'm trying to get a rack and pinion for my 06 f-150 and I've been at it for awhile. So far Rock Auto sent the wrong part and Napa sold me a defective part. These kinds of things were extremely rare before the government shutdown.
I mean, I never buy anything from any of these parts stores unless I am verifying with my own eyes the make/ model/ correct parts, etc before it's pulled or ordered.
Nate, you should KNOW by know! I get mine from FCP Euro.
So I’ve been in the parts business for 35 years. I’ve toured many different manufacturing facilities over the years. 30 years ago there were many companies making parts. That is no longer the case. Many of the parts you buy in a parts store are exactly the same as your car was built with. I will ask a trivia question.
Who makes every brand of precious metal spark plugs( except Denso)??
Hint. It’s one company. 😊
AutoZone sucks I went in there to order a part for my 2006 Dodge Dakota it was a wheel bearing they told me they ordered it and they never did I waited five days and I went there and the guy says well there was no part ordered so they ended up giving me a refund and then when they finally ordered the part they gave me the wrong part and then they refunded me a quarter charge and did not give me all my money back so I had to go in there and speak to the manager and it was nothing but a horrible experience every time I go in there I did not know what the hell he was talking about or doing
I’m told after 10 years, OEM parts no more because vehicles obsolete? Long time ago, I replaced alternator on my work truck, with NAPA alternator. It did not last, piece of crap alternator caught fire, lucky the whole truck did not burn, only alternator. I don’t remember how I returned to work that day.🤔
Where should I get my parts then
I buy oem parts whenever possible. I've had horror stories with after market parts. I bought an evap purge valve and and a canister vent solenoid from AutoZone because GM was on strike and I was unable to get the parts. However, I have since replaced them with the OEM GM parts and that solved my problem.
Oriellys are the most guilty of incompetent workers. Years ago worker almost couldn't install a battery. Making excuse as if something was broken. Months later i had the pleasure of running into the best most honest mechanic youll ever meet. He noticed it wasnt compatible for my cars charging system and recommended i warranty. Long story short, I replace any battery like checking air in tires. Harbor freight has more knowledgeable workers and auto isn't their specialty.
bought some groceries at wall mart yesterday , few choices and expensive. wont do that again.
I bought crankshaft sensor for 135$ from advance Auto parts found out it's bad
Also, Napa requires it employees to be ASE certified.
Only use Genuine or OEM
Come on George i love changing parts two or three times for no reason, by the way the porsche slave cylinder already failed after 2 days 😂
Great video. I love working on cars. I don't mind getting Chinese parts but it has to be independently certified through a rigorous sampling scheme and tested using destructive and non destructive methods. I worked as a quality engineer and took my job very seriously and with pride for two medical device companies that manufactured implants and the other made drug delivery devices.
Like I always say, I find the exact part I need, do my research and order it. Or even AutoZone can get the part number I got. I check my boxes before I leave the parts store. Especially oil filters, take them out of the box and check them to make sure the oil filter wasn't dropped when shipped or when being put on the shelf. Sometimes even customers pick up a oil filter, drop it and then put it back on the shelf. So check before you buy or at least before you leave.
Tf kind of oil filters you using that deform from a drop? I’d recommend changing brands immediately… because that shouldn’t happen
@@lonewolftech Go grab any brand and drop it.
@@lonewolftechHe is just commenting in a man's section, probably a switch hitta
I just dropped a couple oil filters at my local auto part store, guy behind the counter said
"Hey buddy, what are you doing?" Told him I was just giving em the drop test.
@@Orange-Jumpsuit-TimeIf you want to go through that, go for it. But how many people handled the boxes before they go on the shelf. Maybe even forklifts picking up the pallets in the back or unloading the trucks. But I'll let ya deal with the return side. I'll check before I pay on that. Saves a headache, time, gas and money to just check. It's not like the box is a pain to open for any brand of the oil filters either.
You buy what you can afford and if you dont like what is offered as a sale in autozone then you go to another store. I dont see why not buy from there. Unless all there parts fail which they dont. Sometimes you can find cheaper parts elsewhere and sometimes you just dont want to go through the hassle to deal with it and make sure is not a chinese part. So you buy from autozone. I dont think is a bad store. I had bought many parts that had lasterd their normal wear and tear. As for the employee hell they arent mechanics its your job to order the right part and verify before purchase and shipment. Even if your at the store or better yet if you order online. So cant blame the employee that is your mess up.
As far as ordering a part at my local auto part store, I don't rely on the help whatsoever. First, I check to see if the part is listed in stock, if so, I call the store and give him or her the part number, of course he or she looks it up on their computer and acknowledges that indeed it is in stock. But that's not good enough, I request that they go back to the parts area and confirm that the part is physically in stock, and if so, that they put it aside for me and that I will be there shortly to pick it up. Then I print out the picture of the part, showing price and part number. Upon arrival when they ask "can I help you?", I just slide the printout across the desk and tell them this is what I want, and that it has been put aside for me.
Bought a used 2002 S-10 in 2010, first thing I did was replace all the caliper and brake pads front and back with Duralast Gold parts that have the lifetime warranty, so far, I've replaced those worn out parts two times for free from Autozone.
Sadly; everything you say is true; being that nothing is made in America anymore we are at the mercy of what the market offers; thanks for this video !!!!!!!!!
Bought a brand new dura last gold starter from AutoZone for my BMW X5 5.0 I.... Four months later it left us stranded at a gas station after getting gas over 300 miles away from home on a Sunday after 5:00 PM ....had to do the tow truck thing ......cost a lot of $$$ .😝😝😝😝😝
That’s very true man is so f**** hard to buy parts now because you don’t know who to trust anymore is pushing me close to don’t do anymore mechanic
That's why remans get a terrible reputation. If the actual manufacturer rebuilt it it is pretty much a new part. I learned the hard way several times over to stay away from remans unless it is from say like honda direct.
To me, Rockauto is the same, body parts etc..I have an E60 M5, learned long ago about buying "cheaper" parts. I just put both
throttle actuators and idle control valves....Rockauto [if they had them] we about $300 each, I bought Bosch from Germany, $600 each. Same for brake rotors. My last M5, I bought rotors from Ebay, NEVER again, out of round...