I notice recently the quality standard on parts is very poor. It seems that parts are breaking down sooner, and many of the employees there lack experience and basic common sense. Most of the parts I bought, broke and left me stranded on the side of the road. WTF!

i had 2 alternators go over 3 months. i also went there a while ago with my buddy to get parts for his trans am, and the worker said, " who makes trans am, dont you mean transport?" i LMAO while thinking to myself this assclown got hired over me?

Some of the guys and girls that work at autozone dont know sheeit

I JUST KNOW THAT IF YOU WANT REAL SERVICE DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT GO THERE. I WALKED OUT OF AUTOZONE RECENTLY BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WOULDN'T HELP ME EVEN THOUGH I WAS STANDING THERE FOR TEN MINUTES AS THE MANAGER WALKED PAST ME AND DID'NT BAT AN EYE. I GUESS I WAS THE WRONG TYPE OF CUSTOMER.

• I bought A fuel pump for my truck, and it lasted less than 12000 miles
• I exchanged it under warranty for another fuel pump, and it lasted less than half an hour.
• I bought an alternator, and it lasted less than less than a 7 months.
• I bought a ignition coil for my Pontiac and did not last more than 6000 miles.

and many more that I do not recall. I am done with them

Oh another thing, Auto Zone does not have enough employees. Every time I go there, I have to wait in line for at least ten minutes. When I get the part,I have to wait another ten minutes because the cashier is helping a customer behind the parts counter.

I had that problem last night.. only it was 20 minutes each. Its unreal.

I have to agree with everyone.

Last week I went to auto zone to get a serp belt for my 91 350. I told the guy I wanted a 97" belt with 6 ribs. All he wanted to know was what car it was going in. After explaining to him three times it is not the stock length belt.

Then he came back with a 908K6 belt and said this is a 98" belt but I dont have the 97." I had to explain to him the 908 is 90.8" and the belt I needed was a 970K6. His response was... "Why didnt you tell me that in the first place? All I need was the part number." So my response was "If you knew what you were doing, you would know the 97" belt with 6 ribs is a 970K6.

Now I drive a little further and deal with the guys at NAPA.

Oreilly auto parts serves me and the business well. good prices to.

Its funny you should mention that, cause I was there for the same thing, only I was looking for a 83.5 inch belt. (3.1 smog and ac delete) When I told them it wouldnt match up with a car in their system they looked at me like I had a giant blue spider on my head. Even after I told them it would be a 835k6 they were trying to figure out why it wasnt in their computer for any cars. morons.

napa ftw

Lol, I had similar experiences. I had an AZ alternator seize up on me causing the belt to snap and left me stranded. An AZ starter just quit on me one day in the mall parking lot and the starter was only 3 months old. I now goto Napa strictly for electrical parts.

Plus most of the employees are retards. If it's not in their computer it must not exist. One time I went into AZ to get Fel Pro 1204 intake gaskets for a SBC, simple right?? The moron kept asking me my year and make of car and I told him it's not gonna be listed for my car. I already gave him the part number, all he had to do was look for it in the computer and pull it off the shelf!! So he tells me it's not in the computer and tries selling me a whole tpi gasket kit. Told him no thanks and left.

Ironically the guys last name was Lingenfelter. Hopefully not related to the legend.

all autozones are different. I have never had a problem with the parts I buy for the three vehicles I buy parts for. I tend to get the part numbers off the internet before I walk through the door.

Summit and other parts retailers TPI intake felpro intake gasket set 30-40 bucks

AZ 22 bucks.

It just goes to show you AZ is the walmart of the auto parts industry so do not expect a whole lot of customer service.

If you want to utilize the the low prices do not go after 5pm during the week and after noon on the weekend. and get your own part number online.

It all comes down to the old saying, you get what you paid for. I personally have not had any problems at all with the parts I bought from them. Their batteries are considered to be the best by Consumer Reports and can attest to that (as long as you get the Duralast brand). They have value parts and better quality parts. Don't go looking for a $20 alternator to last as long as a $50 alternator.

That just depends. I know the autozone i go to i have a friend and mostly knows his stuff and gives me GREAT deals if you know what I mean. Gaskets, oil, cleaning stuff, is all stuff that wont fail. starters and other stuff i just dont buy.

At Autozone you get what you pay for if you buy the valuecraft stuff you get valueCrap.But the duralast stuff is name brand stuff under the autozone house brand name.Duralast batteries=interstate.Suspension=federal moguel/moog.valuecraft oil filters =Stp and so on.I will agree that the staff can be bone heads and they need to improve on there knowledge and insight.But what can you expect when there making 7.25 hour..

At least they don't give you a hassle when you bring back something that has a lifetime warrenty. I've gone through 4 alternaters in the last 7 years and only paid once. Do you think i'm going to pay for another one, no i'm just going to keep bringing it back. And no if my explorer ever needs an alternater i'm not going to buy the same brand.

i work at autozone and advance #1 autozone hires anybody (no piss test like other part stores) so its not gearhead person most likely. find one with older white guys cause your more likely to get the right part without stupid question #2 parts go in 3 catagorys good better best you get what you pay for anything other that best IT IS REBUILT #3 the parts are made by the same companies there are side contracted companies that give them different names.
IF YOU BUY VALUECRAFT YOUR A CHEAP B***H

they dont teach us manuals we provide the extra service and your att. decides if you get the right part(some of use know what we are doing but if you come in acting like an *** your getting the wrong part.
*** holes dont get the red carpet treatment of us get the out manuals and looking it up

you have to give respect to get it and return if they dont know something lead them down the right path. i hate working for advance auto cause im a Autozone person i have always used there parts. for an extra tip 2 out of ten parts are bad but that is with anything nowadays
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there computers work four steps part, year, make and model watch what there doing

You need to be careful which AZ you go to. I go to one that's further away because the employees are better. But, I buy from AZ because they've got a great warranty. I picked up some 1LE calipers for about $35.00 per caliper. One was a reman, the other was new. The reman started leaking. Took it back. Got a new one without any trouble at all.

One other thing. I used to buy Fel-Pro replaceable thermostat housing gaskets from Summit for about $13.00 a piece. $4.99 at AZ.

A lot of parts places are going downhill nowadays. You always get parts in white unmarked boxes that say "Made in Taiwan". My dad was talking to a guy that works at bumper-to-bumper and he said that a lot of the parts companies have been merging lately. So it will be a lot tougher to find quality stuff.

From what I've heard, Hi-tech who makes the bearings for autozone bought out Clevite, dunno how true this is, but the part numbers are the exact same.

I usually buy my parts from AZ but I try to stick with the brand names that I am familiar with. The customer "service" is usually an afterthought but if I wanted knowledgable service, I'd pay the extra $5-10 a part and buy from NAPA. As it is, I get my own part numbers online and just give them the list, they pull the parts, I pay my money and no questions asked.

As far as quality parts getting more scarce (at least on the shelf), that might be true but these businesses also must respond to the demands of the marketplace. AZ wouldn't carry $14.99 alternators if people would stop buying them- they can't make money when their crap parts sit on the shelves. So the power (in a way) is in your hands people.

well i've worked for advance and i currently work for autozone...the old saying you get what you pay for goes along way...valucraft...what the hell were they thinking....but to be honest with you id say 8 outa 10 times something goes wrong is because it wasnt installed correctly....the last time i went to advance auto LMAO...they had a little table setup with applications coffee and cookies there...i thought wow how sad is this....and to the claim from ealrier that autozone dont have drug testing....thats wrong (or at least at my store) i will not hire anyone that cant pass a drug test....but yeah we do need more qualified workers....not some chump off the street that drive a import with a big wing thinkin...wow man my car runs 10's...my honest opinion there should be some automotive knowledge and or automotive education... granted all store need "workers"...grunt labor is in ever business in the industry...you'd be suprised how many guys come in and cant even fill out an application....ya know thats just down right sad.....anyhow my piss and moan session is done i hope this gives you somewhat of an outlook on the company i work for...i have to say i enjoy it

I couldn't agree more, i work at Advance as well. you come in with the arrogant 'my **** don't stink' attitude and your gonna get piss poor service. and you need to remember, sometimes the part numbers you guys have, are not always the part numbers we go by, NGK spark plugs are the easiest example i have:


the number on the plug usually looks like this: BR9ES
the number we go by is a 4 digit number that is not even on the spark plug.

While we can cross the number on the plug to our stocking numbers, it can take a bit, so once again, you need to be patient and not a dickwad.

When i worked at autohell I used to check all parts before i sent the customer out the door and a few times the part i had just pulled off the shelf tested bad. And yes they will hire anyone I got in many arguments with the employees after i left I tried to return my battary under warranty and they insist the battery was not the problem even though there tester said charge and re test over and over again even after they charged it.

maybe its just my store?

Manager: owns his own shop
Asistant Manager: has 10 years experiance in parts/shop
2nd Asistant Manager(me): Auto Body Tech
and all the part time and other full time sales guys have formal experiance in the automotive industry and know atleast enough to help the majority of the customers.

The only people at my store that don't really know all that much about cars are the delivery drivers. which really is fine, since they don't work the sales counter.

The manager that was hired to run the store i worked at did not know the difference between a 2bbl and 4bbl carb and she had no auto experience.

I had the same problem with my belts. I have a march electric water pump pulley kit. It requires one 37 inch belt and one 38 inch belt. I got the part numbers and took it down there. "what make and model?" YOU DON'T NEED IT! THE PART NUMBERS RIGHT HERE!!!

They seem to never have anyone working any more. They have 5-6 parts computers and 2 people working them and if you're lucky, one at the counter. I've got a duralst battery that I took to get recharged last weekend. I gave it to some fat chick and she said it would be 45-60 minutes. I asked if they would call when it was done. She says no you just have to come back up and see. Advance will at least call you up whn it's done. So I come back after 50 minutes only to find out the dumb biotch never even hooked it up to the charger!!! Then I find out the machine they hook it up to gives them the exact time it will take to charge!

Autozone is the best. I buy a lot of parts and tools from them.

I don't have a problem with parts or prices, but if I need help I better go to o'reily or NAPA.

see next

I'm gonna add my two cents here, I like the place, maybe they are just better in the w. ky area. I've been in there covered in grease and never had a problem with service or returns. I was having problems with my Pass key system and went there just to get the resistance in the key read and they had no objections even though i told them I didn't need to buy anything.

My problems with other places:
Advanced auto generic parts, shift cable would barley work, and something else i can't remenber but was pissed over.

O'rileys tried to take a starter back and they wouldn't take it back because i wired it up and tried it but that wasn't the problem

NAPA Too expensive 30 amp relay was like $18 AZ had one for $2

Car Quest haven't had bad experiance yet but prices are more than AZ

I do agree there prices do rock I just make sure i know what i want and make them test any part before i leave.

If that was directed towards me I never acted like an ***. It would be nice to have more employees with SOME automotive knowledge, and that goes for any parts store. I have got felpro gaskets at AZ just by giving the felpro p/n, no problems. Like I said the guy behind the counter probably didn't know what he was doing. After telling him about 3 times the p/n will not be listed for my car I just gave up.

Another example from Advance auto...I was looking for a distributor cap and rotor, again simple right? Kid behind the counter tells me I need to buy the WHOLE FREAKIN DISTRIBUTOR! So I calmly tell him "no, I have bought them separately many times before." After some more searching with the help of the manager he finds the right parts for me...and no I never acted like a d1ck. Just imagine if a customer who didn't know better came in looking for the same parts and agreed to buy a whole distributor.

I do like AZ for other stuff like brake pads and waxes and such. You really can't screw those up.
If I really wanted to be a prick I should ask if they have a radiator for a 68 VW bug or plug wires for an 83 Vette.

no direction to anybody its for everybody to know

everyone's parts are just as generic as anyone elses.

No reason for O'Riley's to return that starter for you, you installed it. it isn't their fault it wasn't your problem. i assume they have the same policy on electrical parts as we do at Advance, No return's on electrical parts once installed, unless they are defective.

NAPA can be expensive, unless you get to know the owner/manager.

As for carquest, never really had to buy anything from them

i too work at AutoZone and i strongly agree with the entire line of thought that if you act like a prick you aren't going to get good customer service. Coming in and making us feel like we don't know anything isn't the right way to keep us motivated on serving you. Everyone makes mistakes and we aren't all car experts...if we were would we really be there working for under $10/hr

here are a couple suggestions i have

*if you are really worried about getting the wrong part then find and older person with a grey shirt (im only 21 and a red shirt and if i am lost with a certain part then i will do the same thing...) they USUALLY have more car experience and auto parts retail experience....
*Look for flare (i.e. patches, pins, and whatnot) on the persons uniform/polo shirt to see if they have any certifications....the more certifications GENERALLY means they will have more car knowledge
*from all of the AutoZones i have been in i have never seen a battery charger that tells you exactly when it will finish charging....they have a red,orange, and green light.....green means go!!
*If you buy something electrical and rebuilt ask if they can test it before you buy it....i try to do this every time i sell an alternator because i know how much of a hassel it is to swap them on most new cars
*PLEASE remember you phone number that you give us for your warranty!!!! AutoZone has the best warranty setup out there...but it is useless if we cannot look up your warranty!!!

Before I decided to get back in the military I was a a 1st asst.manager for Advance. We were just converting from Discount to Advance actually. The freaking regional office WAS IN MY STORE!!! aghhhh, thats right, the DM and all the hot shots were in the same damn building. Anyway, the 2 store managers knew there ****. One really did, the other was OK but was a great actor. I was considered the subject matter expert when it came to "cars" lol Needless to say, the management team there was phenominal and we were really big on customer service....Really, we had to be and wanted to be. Our customers were loyal and we started to develop a following/fan club. Anyway, our crew was above par also. Really knew their stuff. A few bad appels later and the whole team began to fall apart. I took over the store, then left for the Army.........my old crew quit or transferred and a whole new team came in. When i got back from my deployment I went in to visit and the place was a ****hole. We lost so many commercial customers and I'm sure the regulars as well. Store looked like crap and the crew sucked. Point in case: it's sad, but it seems like all these damn parts stores are going downhill FAST!

Yeah my AutoZone experience involved a 300pound "ghetto" looking white woman... (bad start I know). So I am standing there at the register, waiting. The other guy there is helping someone pay for something. She is sitting there on the phone and I go "Ughh Hello?" and she looks in the back and goes "Dan come help this kid." Before "dan" (or whatever his name was) gets there I overhere here conversation...which inlcuded the word "coke head" and phrase "but I still loved him".
So "dan" gets to the counter and I say "What valve covers do you have instock for a pre'86 Chevy Smallblock." He looks at me like wtf is that and says "What year vehicle." I go "It's not for a vehicle its for an engine rebuild" (I didnt know exactly what year the block was at the time). He goes "Hmm well I can type valve covers in the computer for you." I was like forget it and just walked out with my cousin. The best part of it was the fat a$$ lady said "Whats valve covers? I dont think they make them anymore." Before calling "dan"...


If you work at AutoZone you should go get a job at Advance Auto because I have one literally 2mins from my house and going in there is like being graced with 100 years of car + Chevy experience. From every person in there too...

In Summary AutoZone Stores accross America should be destroyed with small arms nuclear weapons and Advance Auto Parts should be elected next president...

You know- i often ask myself that same question....

I dunno if yall knew this- but the whole AZ problem is that they are 51% owned by Wal-mart INC...

What do you mean valuecraft is crap? Well maybe the paint, but I love the carb cleaner, its the best stuff I've used. I pretty much buy it by the case because I use it for everything-cleaning parts, starting POS cars I work on, blinding myself in one eye temporarily...

I think the best thing autozone has is there green powerade and snack section

IROCZZ3- love the avatar!!! Brings back memories from high school back in the 90s.

Now I have two AZs near me and both of them seem ok, but one in particular until recently was run by a team of potheads who understood imports but didn't know a damn thing about Third Gens. Surprisingly, the last couple of times I went in there, the staff were helpful and understood what I was asking for. New manager I think.

We had a parts chain in town once that I loved- Western Auto. They only carried name brand parts and many of the guys that worked the counter had extensive parts experience. Shame they closed up. So as a replacement, we get Walmart style service and parts. I thought the drive in the business world was towards better quality???

No, its not towards quality, Its towards Quantity and how cheap they can make this or that for, and how much they can sell it.... Same thing is happening with gas prices.. Just raised here from $2.78 to $2.88 10 mins ago..

ohh, and to whoever it was saying that if the customer has a bad attitude you give them the wrong crap or whatever......I was thinking about calling you a moron, but I won't b/c I know how bad i always wanted to do the same. I just consider myself too professional to stoop down to their level. Also, if you maintain your professional discipline and bearing you might just turn that ignorant, arrogant customer into a pleasurable consumer. I have turned a few a-holes around and they ended up being pretty decent after they got over their "bad day" and "expensive repair" attitudes.

Now, there are those who are just full time a-holes, so it's hard to deal with them. Just consider it a challenge and an opportunity to develop some sort of reasoning/people skills LOL

I use an advanced auto here, and car quest also. Advanced has cheaper prices but you get what you pay for hah!

both places im cool with the people there because im literally in either one of them once a week. Great old guys that work at Car Quest, and have tons of experiance, gave me tips of stuff, stuff they have done. Advanced auto just hires kids with no experiance, but the manager and assistant manager are cool there and can actually be of help.

I know the guys at my local AZ, and I get hooked up.
Most ( I stress the people I hang out with there) know the stuff.
They do have a assistant manager that is a complete clown...
thinks that an exhaust and new fuel rails will get him 2 sec's in the 1/4... (newer dodge 1500 hemi)...
I have turned in an app there at least 3 times...
they hired some girl that does not even know the difference between a HEI and NON HEI cap...
I was also looking for a point elim. kit... she was like WTF is that?
I said, here give me the keyboard, stand there and try to look pretty...