International Parts Idiots

[sassyrel]

I'm on a rant [/QUOTE]

now George---tell us how you REALLY feel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! mental parts midgets is right, but i think some of the old parts men and women are loosing it also..and to tell ya the truth, one place i get near all my parts from, has 5 gals in there. and they are good!!! serious, and they have been at it a few years--

 

[DeepRoots]

George, are you saying that it isn't ok to grease brake bleeders?
I mean, they look the same....

 

[razorback]

This is a little more expected but I went into advance auto yesterday to get a new starter for my 460. I put the old one on the counter and tell the girl I need a starter for such and such and all the details. Then shes says well what part do you need. (keep in mind i put the starter right infront of her and said a starter to begin with) Poor girl doesnt recognize a starter and is working at an auto part store.

was she attractive at least?



autozone has some winners.. when i first bought my rx7 i wanted to see if they had rebuild kits.. i asked for a kit for an 87 rx7 turbo. then what the kit would come with. he goes "misc gaskets, head gasket.." i then told him it doesnt use a head gasket.. the expression was classic. its ahrd to find parts for projects.. im putting a dodge 360 into the same rx7 and finding parts is a pain.. i have to have them look up a certain model for engine/trans stuff then a different one for body,lights, brakes, etc.

 

[RLDSL]

For years , the best parts man in the region around here...was a woman. It was always kind of funny going into this big NAPA and ther would be all these young new guys in there picking their noses with nothing to do with the occasional customer going to them, but then there was this big long line of old mechanics behind this old wrinkled gal behind the counter waiting on her, and everytime the new guys would try to help, they'd get, "nope, I'm waiting on her". That old farm gal was a better rigger than I am. It didn't matter what crazy obsolete thing I was working on, , if no part existed, by golly, she would find something that would work. I think we all sat down and squalled the day she retired , hasn't been a person in the entire area to take her place since. If it weren't for the internet for parts, I'd be out of luck.

 

[towcat]

in the days BC(before computers), you had to earn your stripes to work at a parts counter. those who made it that far, made a decent livable wage. I've been there. Then came the computers......now any drooling, snot dripping, grade school reject can sell you a part as long as they can punch in year/make/model/motor size. good partspeople are obsolete thanks to a society that is constantly pushing for cheaper, cheaper and cheaper. you complain about paying more for your parts in order to pay the wages of a good partsperson? pay less and get a minimum wage button pusher.
the good partspeople can still be found, they're hidden away from the general public due to the use of excessive bad langauge. we can easily make Clint and his barbershop buddy look like ******* with our bad langauge

 

[MUDKICKR]

i like going itno advance auto and asking them for piston return springs, and i have had few that dont fall for it.

 

[fordpower21]

bored and on break at school we called auto zone for spark plugs for my idi they then asked me what brand i wanted told them autolite would do fine then had wait for a couple min on the price when they said it wasnt availible

 

[Goofyexponent]

call a paint store sometime and ask for "checkered" paint....lol

I remember we sent a guy from a jobsite to a place called Bridgeport to get some chains for a lifting project we had to do....we told him to ask for sky hooks, or cloud clips to make sure we could lift the old fuel tanks out of the ground and place them on the lowboys.....he was gone for 3 hours....

 

[Exekiel69]

i like going itno advance auto and asking them for piston return springs, and i have had few that dont fall for it.

Those are dealer only parts

 

[typ4]

The local napa has a new kid, Ihate the place anyway, owner is a ****, I told them the car color was green, he called over 3 other countermen, who are actually competent, and they told him " well that option was on the screen last week" ,just totally messing with him, he wont last. oh ,I needed a headlight bulb and they were out of them on the wall hangy rack.

 

[geonc]

George, are you saying that it isn't ok to grease brake bleeders?
I mean, they look the same....

BIZACTLY

You know you are dealing a winner when you don't see a FL 1995 Motorcraft oil filter on the shelf and patiently wait for a counter persons attention and when that person can't figure out how to look up the actual number you just all but tatooed on his arm after being asked to repeat it for the 4th time....


you watch their eyes glaze over and begin their chant....
make---model---year--- 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive--- have AC---4-6 or 8 cyl --std or auto ---2 or 4 door--

Repettive service/actions will over time all but guarantee memory retention in those "wanting" to advance as opposed to those just wanting a paycheck

The truly sad fact is when these knuckleheads of the service industry---regardless of venue---wait staff/servers---counter sales/help etc... get the exact same **** poor service when on the receiving side...

....Better stand back and watch the ***** matter hit the air recirculation device because "THEY" {in their own mind} do it much better

 

[fuzzy1626]

i like going itno advance auto and asking them for piston return springs, and i have had few that dont fall for it.

Thats harsh

 

[Goofyexponent]

I got another one! I worked for a towing company this past winter.....I was told that when towing a true 4x4 (f150, silverado, ram, etc) that i should follow this list of procedures..

1 pick the vehicle up by the back.
2 place the transmission in neutral with the e brake off (regardless of it being auto or manual)
3 and tie the steering wheel off with the seatbelt.

Why in god's name would i place the TRANSMISSION in neutral? I argues that even if the transmission was in neutral, the transfer case could be engaged.....and you won't be able to tow the truck. Why not just leave the transmission in PARK, then make sure the transfer case is in 2wd or neutral? that way if the truck came off the hook, the thing is in park with the ebrake on and won't go rolling away on you....

this guy had been towing for 25 years supposedly and "knew it all". any thoughts?

I used to pick them up by the back, leave them in park with the e brake on, and MAKE SURE THE T CASE WAS IN NEUTRAL OR 2WD....or make sure the manual hubs were unlocked.

 

[sle2115]

In high school (yeah, a few years ago!) I had an advanced math teacher who had a noise in her car. She was a very intelligent woman (at least in the class room). Anyway, she knew I worked on cars and such cause I drove a 1966 LeMans and a 1967 GTO that I had worked on extensively. Anyway, she asked me to look at her car. I did, and JOKINGLY said it was the muffler bearings. I thought EVERYONE had heard that and knew no such thing existed. Anyway, I found the source of the rattle, a shock cover had come loose, told her that too.

Later that night, I get a phone call while I was at my buddies house. It was the math teacher's mechanic...she had called my mom and got my buddies number. Anyway, this mechanic (use the term loosely) said that he found the shock cover and had replaced the shock, but while he had it on the rack he wanted to fix the muffler bearings too!!! He asked me where they were as he was having trouble locating them. I asked to speak to the math teacher, she got on the phone I told her to get her car down off the rack, pay for the work that was done and NEVER take her car back there again and that I would explain it to her the next day!!! I can't believe the "mechanic" was even smart enough to operate the lift!

 

[91f2504x4]

I would much rather deal with the high school kid at autozone who is willing to listen to me when I tell him what I need than a self professed "experienced parts person" that has no clue what the he11 they are talking about and are willing to argue with me that I don't know what I need. I went in the local advance auto to get a new u-joint for the rear of my truck, the woman at the counter was kinda cocky anyway and when I told her what I had she ran back and grabbed a U-joint and came back and said "that is what you need", I said "that looks a little small I don't think that is right, are you sure that is the one for a diesel?" She replied "everything is the same except the engine, this is the one you need." I said" I am pretty certain the diesel has a bigger U-joint than a gasoline engine truck" and she said, "I have been working parts since before you were born, "I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING"." So I said "ok I will see you in a few when I come back to get the right part after I get mine out." I came home pull the u-joint out of my truck and headed back to advance with it in my hand and the wrong u-joint that she gave me , that she knew was right. When she seen me come in she went to the back and didn't come out the entire time I was in there getting the correct u-joint. I was very nice to her and she just kept getting cocky saying she knew more than me, I would much rather have the high school kid who is willing to listen to what I am telling them, then have to deal with that crap. Everyone has to get their start somewhere and I doubt many "seasoned professional parts people" are going to work at advance or auto zone for what they pay. Although it would be nice to be able to buy some parts without having to make up a year and make for everything you want, and the fact that they can't look up anything by part number alone is kind of crappy.