Small town service

Topic: Small town service (Read 3483 times) previous topic - next topic

Small town service

May 04, 2018, 06:35:12 PM

So my buddy has a 98 nissian, the alt randomly died on him. Get to messing with it today, and the alt plug is broken, someone broke the tab on the connector, taped it up and left it hanging. Hit a bump and the plug comes off.

No big deal, drove down to the local AutoZone. Nothing on the shelves, when I did my 3g, they had half an isle full if random alt plugs, bought them for quite a few cars helping people out over the years. No big deal, go to the counter.

Tell the guy I need an alt plug pig tail and the guy just says, "nope we don't even carry those, never have can't even order them". Won't even type into the computer and look. Pissed me off, so I take off to orileys.

At orileys they were at least nice, tried looking up a few different connectors, says he can special order one but its a week out.

So we take off and hit Napa. Napa tells me "We don't carry parts for anything older then 10 years old" and won't even type in the computer or pull out a book. By this point, I'm sick of getting the run around, and ask for a manager.

Manager is nice, but "won't be able to find anything for a puppiesanese car that old" and really half asses it looking at parts, just thumbing through paper catalogs, not even with electrical connectors.

Pissed off I go out to the car Google "98 maxima alt pigtail" and get a part number. Click the link, shows AutoZone and says its in stock at the local store. So I go back with a part number, and the kid behind the counter can't even figure out how to search the part number.

Long story short, ran out of time and ended up ghetto rigging it to get by for a day by throwing zip ties around the alt over the plug to keep the connector in.

I am the nicest guy in the world when I get to the counter at an auto parts store. I also deliver pizza, and tons of the guys behind the counter know me by name, I bring them pizza all the time.

What me off, I feel like I am just getting the run around because they assume ill have to go to the city anyways, and they'd rather not go through the effort of ordering it.

Now before you say it must be a rare connector or might be hard to find, dodge, nissian, mitsubishi and Hyundai used them on a ton of cars all the way up to 2007. I can understand not being able to get it same day, or ordering it or even picking it up from the warehouse, but instead they would rather not bother and hope I just go away.

Its no wonder all these stores are going away. I just ordered the part online at Amazon. It will cost me $7 shipped. I did the standard 2 day shipping. Ordered at 3:30pm local time. I just got a conformation email saying it should it shipped at should arrive at 9am tomorrow morning.

I probably spent $7 in gas driving out to the parts stores to get the run around

Small town service

Reply #1 – May 04, 2018, 07:24:39 PM

Unfortunately, it's the culture of our society anymore. Bunch of lazy people breeding more lazy people.

Small town service

Reply #2 – May 04, 2018, 07:47:53 PM

What me off the most is my buddy whose car we were working on was there and used to work at that AutoZone. When the kid couldn't find the part number he was telling him where to click and he wouldn't do it.

Small town service

Reply #3 – May 06, 2018, 07:56:59 AM

Quote from: tirefryr;465548

Unfortunately, it's the culture of our society anymore. Bunch of lazy people breeding more lazy people.

you said a mouth full!,, 100% agree

you can tell the smarts of a person by how passionate they are about topics that have no real answer or academic solution.

these are generally a small tiny portion of our society who focus on low hanging fruit as a way to show how brilliant they are. Its because they know inside themselves they aren't that useful at all , not good a much of anything and simply walking around being angry and being an active partint in the latest movement makes them feel good.

Small town service

Reply #4 – May 06, 2018, 08:46:40 PM

I broke down one time going to a car show, one of the heater hoses busted and a NAPA was about a block away.

Stopped in and asked for a heater hose for a 4 cyl. thunderbird and this guy was a manager and told me that ford never put a 4 cyl. in a thunderbird.

He wouldn't even look it up. I asked another counter person and he found one for me. What's wrong with these people?

Small town service

Reply #5 – May 08, 2018, 01:56:04 PM

Quote from: Turbojet;465594

I broke down one time going to a car show, one of the heater hoses busted and a NAPA was about a block away.

Stopped in and asked for a heater hose for a 4 cyl. thunderbird and this guy was a manager and told me that ford never put a 4 cyl. in a thunderbird.

He wouldn't even look it up. I asked another counter person and he found one for me. What's wrong with these people?

Wow - I had the exact same experience. At the local NAPA, the manager said, "You must mean mustang. Ford never made a 4-cylinder thunderbird." I said that it was a Turbo-Coupe, and he then said that "Ford didn't introduce the turbocharged four cylinder until 2015, and that was a Mustang!" He then laughed at me with his buddy also working behind the counter and said something to the effect of, "If you have a four cylinder thunderbird, we'd love to see it."

Just walked out.

Small town service

Reply #6 – May 08, 2018, 04:38:34 PM

Similar situation when I went to the junk yard to upgrade to the Mustang GT spindles ... the guy wanted to fight me on the fact that I was asking for the complete assembly (spindle and brake components) off of a four lug '87-'93 era GT ... "nope, those are only five lug" ... doesn't matter that I'm looking through the window at one as we're having the conversation ...

Small town service

Reply #7 – May 10, 2018, 12:34:37 PM

Eh I've only had the opposite a experiences in my small town here

Small town service

Reply #8 – May 10, 2018, 04:42:14 PM

I look up the part # I want on the auto parts store website, see if my local store has it, write the part # down, go to the store, and ask for the part number. I get the exact thing I want every time because I cut out the guy who doesn't know what he's looking for.

Small town service

Reply #9 – May 10, 2018, 10:59:26 PM

Quote from: thunderjet302;465702

I look up the part # I want on the auto parts store website, see if my local store has it, write the part # down, go to the store, and ask for the part number. I get the exact thing I want every time because I cut out the guy who doesn't know what he's looking for.

I like to do that too. But at the same time, why do these guys work here? I know we can't all be car guys, but they cant even be bothered.

I had recently replaced my wheel bearing on one side. It had made a bit of noise, even after regreasing it and adjusting it a few times. A few weeks ago it got worse, so I decided to just swap it out. New bearings in, all good, no more noise.

Fast forward to Monday night, as I'm driving into town, hit a pothole whole turning off the highway and the new outer wheel bearing shatters. Its about 1am, nothing around and I'm 25 minutes out from anyone being able to come and get me.

Still on a highway and no real place to pull over, i coast along nice and easy at around 5mph and milk it into town. Occasionally the wheel starts to lock up, I can "re-center" it by holding the brake for a second or two, then I can coast along with minimal grinding for another bit.

Milk it into a parking lot, park it overnight since the parts stores are all closed. Next morning I start tearing it all down, end up cutting the race off with my new 20v grinder and a hammer and chisel.

Go to the parts store, get the bearing. Go to put it on, its not the right part. Box has the correct part number, but wrong bearing in it.

Long story short, it took me about two hours of driving back and forth and 4 visits to get the correct bearing. Of course the spindle was messed up, I just wanted to get the car home.

I end up litterly hammering on the wheel bearing to get it onto the spindle, using a socket and what's left of the chewed up washer.

Both the nut and washer are messed up, so I go to the same AutoZone that I bought the wheel bearing from, guess what? They don't carry the spindle nut, washer, or anything supposedly.

I asked the manager (who saw I was having a hard time on one if my first trips back) why they carry the wheel bearings but not the nut to hold it on. The manager says "I haven't even seen a car that uses that style wheel bearing in 20 years. You're lucky you even had the wheel bearing."

I found this pretty ironic, as the dude was on his smoke break leaning on his AutoZone stickered ford ranger that uses the same spindle nut.

Orileys had a spindle hardware kit on the shelf, so I didn't even have to bug anyone, and I got the right part the first time. They were out of stock of the wheel bearings though.

Napa told me every part was special order.

Small town service

Reply #10 – May 10, 2018, 10:59:43 PM

Quote from: thunderjet302;465702

I look up the part # I want on the auto parts store website, see if my local store has it, write the part # down, go to the store, and ask for the part number. I get the exact thing I want every time because I cut out the guy who doesn't know what he's looking for.

Small town service

Reply #11 – May 17, 2018, 06:23:31 AM

I use the chain auto parts stores for buying cans of brake clean on sale or car wax when they are clearancing it out. Gave up on using them for actual parts a good while ago.

There is a small, long-time independent, parts store close by that is affiliated with CarQuest but still has the same guys at the counter running it that they have always had. Place is always busy. They obviously cannot carry everything but they WILL find it and get it there fast based on my numerous experiences with them. That is why all the local repair garages go there and pass the chain stores by.

Small town service

Reply #12 – June 12, 2018, 11:07:48 AM

I've finally been finishing the head gasket/timing chain on my '87 3.8. I just find the exact part I need beforehand, put it in the online cart, print out the cart, and take it in the store for them to lookup. Worked pretty well except for one part the employee fat fingered and gave me the wrong part (correct part type, wrong application). Now I've learned to double check all PNs before leaving!

The plastic AOD TV bushing at the engine fell apart when put it back in. Turned to the googles to try and find the proper bushing. Found where a brass bushing had replaced the POS plastic piece, but the Coolcat website explicitly left out my '87 as being a candidate. I decided to just head to the dealer and see if by some off chance they had one in stock and see if it fit. The counter guy was younger than my 'bird and was having issues navigating the menus to find the bushing. Eventually he called in a gray beard who knew the plastic PN by heart. While the first guy was ringing it up, the gray beard came from the back room with the brass bushing (that the first guy looked up in his system with the correct PN, but couldn't find it). $33, but I didn't have to wait one to come in from and online vendor.

Small town service

Reply #13 – June 12, 2018, 12:07:55 PM

Quote from: thunderjet302;465702

I look up the part # I want on the auto parts store website, see if my local store has it, write the part # down, go to the store, and ask for the part number. I get the exact thing I want every time because I cut out the guy who doesn't know what he's looking for.

Pretty much this.

Outside of consumables, I rarely even shop at my local part places. If I do, I tell them what part number I want.

Small town service

Reply #14 – June 12, 2018, 05:01:39 PM

Quote from: Chuck W;466074

Pretty much this.

Outside of consumables, I rarely even shop at my local part places. If I do, I tell them what part number I want.

Stuff I don't need in a hurry = online

Brake pads I need today = parts store