i was just wondering where you guys like to shop for your car parts i like napa cuz their close to my house and have really good customer service i like autozone because of their prices but they cant help for sh!t. And kragen i like because they have alot of parts in stock and sometimes i like shopping for myself. whereas at napa they think i dont know nothin because i'm a teenager.
i usually go to checker. i used to like to see there face when i asked for a sbf starter for a 351w. they'd always ask for what car. i'd say any sbf. they'd say they had to know the year so i'd tell them it was for a 71 maverick. they'd look in the computer and scratch there head and tell me i must be mistaken cause they sure didn't make them that way. after they don't have the parts i would then go to napa. higher price, but if it's not in stock they can have it by the next day. i bet i spend more at summit or jegs though.
NAPA= Never Any Parts Available. lol i usually go to napa anyways just because its 1 mile from my house.
I know the feeling. I've never heard of kragen? I usually go to Auto Zone or Advance. Theres another one called O'Reilly that I pass all the time but I have never been there. My grandpa has always gone to Napa but there aren't any of them around here.
advance...although if i am in no big hurry (and since i have too darn many cars i am usually in no hurry) i use rockauto.com. they have just about anything my cars need... mavs karmann ghia jeep sentra frontier between the two i am usually covered.
Mostly just Advanced since I work there and get a nice 20% discount but if I'm not in town the usually O'reillys.
I use Hi-Lo/O'Reilly. Simply because the guys know me, know what I am working on, and are willing to help me put something better on even if it is not the part that is recommended "by the book". They can get just about anything I want, and are not afraid to tell me "you gotta go to Jeg's for that one!" Sometimes, when they are busy, I don't get the attention I want, but that happens everywhere.
I use Schucks (Checker, Kragen) for most things. I worked there for a few years, quitting in 1999, so I know how to work their computer catalogs. They actually have potential for being a great parts house due to the huge buying power and large network of stores and warehouses. Trouble is they refuse to pay anyone a decent wage, so they end up with either people that don't know anything or hate their job so much that they aren't interested in helping.
I like certain brands of parts so it forces me to go to multiple places. In my home town though we are down to a Autozone only the NAPA store just closed. I buy quite a bit online though also. Just bought a CPS for my Powerstroke from the www.powerstrokeshop.com in Indy.
None of them are worth a thing around here. They all have a bunch of pimple faced know it all punks working at them. Had a guy down at O'Reilly a little bit ago tell me that the PIP sensor for a '84 SVO was a dealer-only item. I gave him the O'reilly part number and he had it in stock. Guess he really didn't know it all.
Carquest is the only place to go if you have an older car,if they don`t stock it,they usually can get it within 1 day.