As a former Autozone employee, the complete lack of interest in cars from my coworkers shocked me. Why they didnt feel the need to learn more or at least try really made me sad.
I'll tell stories, idgaf. I hated wittdtjr, I sold just enough of it to not get yelled at and ignored it the rest of the time. I have literally walked people out of the store and told them to go to a mechanic to better spend their money. I'm a terrible bullshit salesman and I had no interest in doing that. I knew far too much for them to realistically complain about me and my bosses liked me because they didn't need to babysit me.
I'd had some of their employees scoping out and geeking out about my 88' Supra when I pulled in and having that kind of interaction is something I always remember. One time I went into the same store for "luxury metallic" Plasti-dip for the Supra plastic grill and asked a quick question about it to the cashier and they said "I don't know, I don't use that crap." They are always kids. The O'Reily's here in town always has old guys who are big into cars though and have been there a while. Auto Zone tends to carry a lot more product than they do though
@@rushnerd I probably wouldn't have really geeked out. I prefer weird cars or large displacement American cars. I remember I blew my coworker's mime because I sold a dude an air filter without asking him what car he drove. I was taught to look stuff up in physical catalogs while learning how to use the computer catalog. Oreillys training (at least when I was hired) is way better than autozone. Autozone is so corpo they have a fucking company cheer. You are supposed to do this twice a day at open and close (we never did) and are forced to do it at meetings. Their training as I was leaving autozone was slowly becoming "just sell the customer as much as possible" hoping it will solve their problem. Aftermarket on these newer cars also just isn't as cheap as it used to be. Trying to explain to people that a code scan just tells you what is going wrong not what is broken is almost pointless. The customers are still in some ways stuck in 2005 where there aren't 100 sensors controlling injector pulse width to the nth microsecond. It's all so frustrating because I'll try to do my job properly and explain "no, I don't know if this will fix your issue for sure" only to have people either go to the O'Reilly's down the street (which kinda sucked) and just get told "yeah replace it" or just buy the part and then get upset when nothing changes. My advice, if you don't want to work on cars or can't, do a year or two at O'Reilly's or autozone and then get hired at a dealer of your choice brand. Don't stay in those hell holes as long as I did.
I didn't sell the grease unless we got bitched at about it. I loved the people I worked with, I was lucky most of the people I worked with knew quite a bit about cars, but fuck upper management. I waited for a manager's position for a year just to get passed up by a kid who sits in the back and smokes weed on the job.
The most annoying part of Autozone (along with most other auto parts stores) is that there will be 3 employees working: 1 is hiding in the back somewhere, 1 is helping a customer look up parts for all of eternity and the other is in the parking lot doing wipers or batteries. Then there's me, holding a can of brake cleaner waiting 20 minutes to be checked out in line behind 2 other people.
You just spelled out the exact philosophy I have. Buy from either Wal-Mart or Costco when their oil is on sale. Filters from Rockauto. On the flip side, AutoZone's strategy is not geared towards the guy who is planning out their maintenance in advance. It's for the guy who just remembered that they need an oil change that weekend and need to get their materials quickly. Basically a convenience store for cars.
I went to an oreilly’s recently. I was doing an oil change on a nissan. The nissan has a copper crush washer to seal the drain pan bolt. It comes like this from the factory. Even has a nissan part number. I walk up to the counter with my oil and filter and say “hey i just need a copper crush washer for my nissan” dude look at me deadpan and says “your car doesnt have a crush washer” i said “it does but if yall dont have it its no biggie” dude walks away without saying a thing, comes back with a replacement drainplug with a rubber washer (the dorman bullshit) and says “this is what goes on your car not a crush washer” i had anticipated this and pulled up the nissan part number for the crush washer on my phone and show him and he says “you dont know much about cars i can tell” MY BROTHER IN CHRIST YOUR DORMAN DRAINPLUG WITH MYSTERY RUBBER RING IS NOT OEM NISSAN
Autozone's biggest fault is they dont pay well at all. When my store manager told me she was required 50 hours a week for a 25k salary, i knew that company was not for me. They pay you the bare minimum and expect the service quality of a veteran mechanic who has been in the industry for 20+ years from teenagers barely out of high school.
literally lol its awful the prices are unbearable and the workers at my store only got 20% off while i had friends at oreillys getting 50%. I was getting paid $11 but was doing way more work than everyone and guess what i got? a 0.30 cent raise. I had to work 3 hours to afford an oil change for my car lol.
I work at autozone, our shit is overpriced and we get no training. Also, I'd just like to add that we are not mechanics and its impossible for us to know every detail about your problem, we can point you in the right direction but its up to you to solve your problem. Spend some time in customer service dealing with idiots and their problems and you'll understand.
I hate people that come in assuming that we’re like mechanical wizards or some shit. At least at the store I was out most of us were knowledgeable about cars but we can’t fucking diagnose your car. I hated when we’d get phone calls by some dumbass asking us what could be wrong with their car like bro take that shit to a mechanic. You don’t ask the college student working at a pharmacy if your prescription is good at treating your STD’s or possible complications. That’s what a doctor is for.
Do more of these, Netgear. It's a fantastic format to talk about cars while you are working on your own. I think a series like this could seriously do well for the Feed channel. As far as future topics, I would like what "value" brands or products you like. Recently did my entire 01' Celica GT-S interior in Killmat and Siless Liner for less than the price of ONE BOX of Dynamat.
@@CollectorCarFeed Yeah, it's like no doubt Dynamat is by far the best, but it almost feels like a scam when I know I'll need $440 of the stuff to do the vehicle when I only spent $170 on two boxes of killmat and 63sq ft of the siless liner. Not doing pro audio, just want to make the Celica as nice as it can possibly be since they cheaped out on sound insulation.
@@Mark-mm2px I'd say about 67 Sq feet, but I haven't done the doors yet. Considering this car has ZERO soundproofing and it does vibrate a lot, yes it made a difference. When I bought it, it was pretty hollow/echoy sounding in the cabin which I can't stand. So two boxes of Killmat should be more than enough.
I want to add, if you go to an autoparts store out in small towns, away from the big cities, you're more likely to run into an employee with experience. Older retired mechanics and sometimes farmers will work those stores in retirement.
@@DieselRamchargerhow do you know he’s not talking about recently retired mechanics? Some will work as a mechanic up into their 40’s then switch to an auto parts store for some money with less labor intensive task so yes they would have current knowledge you’re acting like he’s talking about people who are 90 something but in reality he’s probably meaning a person who can’t do hard labor anymore so they retire to a store job, and he’s right a lot of older farmers and mechanics know their way around a vehicle even the newer stuff sad part is most newer vehicles are not owner serviceable so you’ll end up having to take it to a dealer certified auto shop or the dealer itself all the shit they have in cars now are so sensitive you look at it wrong and it’ll break!
@@DieselRamchargerhell My grandfather is 66 and knows a lot about newer vehicles hell after having a ford-150 sport for several years since the construction company he works for always used ford vehicles so him and my grandmother got the F-150 sport then the company changed from ford to ram and after he got rear ended in the new company truck he had just got almost a year or 2 ago that was his realization to get a ram because of how sturdy the body was yeah the front end was smashed and it was totaled but he made it out with minor injuries he himself said if he would have been in the ford with the all aluminum body he wouldn’t have made it out cause the person that hit him was doing upwards of 60mph probably close to 80-100+ and wasn’t paying attention, simply put just because some older people can barely wipe their ass much less navigate their way around a vehicle doesn’t speak for all older people especially in small towns!
I worked at Oreillys as a shift manager. Employees have no clue, but neither do the customers. Argue about which part is right and what it’s called, and after 20 minutes of arguing nobody is happy and the customer still got the wrong part. It’s a terrible minimum wage customer service job, I would never do it again. It made me actually lose some enthusiasm for cars and working on them because it all felt irritating very quickly lol
Yeah it's unfortunate. It goes both ways, I can only help customers as much as they help themselves. It's a DIY place not a "step by step explanation to replace x" place. It doesn't help that cars are increasingly not DIY friendly. The myth that the "check engine light tells you what's wrong" is the worst. Yes it does do that but it doesn't tell you why. It's why you go to a doctor when you have joint pain, you just know the resulting symptoms.
@@lolbuster01 Preach my man. The big “FREE OBD CHECK” sign making it seem like it’s as simple as pie. At the end of the day, I got tired of diagnosing things. Maybe if they were lucky and they allowed me to smoke a cigarette in front of them and the customer seemed nice, I could take 5-7 minutes doing a quick run down of the vehicle based off of the OBD reading. But the absolute worst is when I would read off the OBD2 code, it’s for a motherfu**ing O2 sensor, and they tell me they already took it to a “local mechanic” and had the replaced. Let’s go inside and look up the price of a new catalytic convertor. Some customers literally fought me like I was the one making the replacement cats and selling them for that price myself. So if you’re still doing that job, save as much money as you can, enjoy the discount when they actually apply to the product you want, and I give you my respect.
Here's a good topic... Knock off wheels, why you shouldn't buy them & the importance of good tires and just how much of a difference they make. It's crazy how many people don't seem to realize how big a deal a good suspension (wheels, tires, coil overs, breaks) is. It's the first thing I do to a car. Great video!
one of if not the only good video i ever watched by donut media talked about that, they were talking about how most people upgrade their engine first and then work through drivetrain and then do suspension and wheels, but they (correctly) said instead you should start with tires, and end up at engine. that's oversimplified but basically, wheels/tires & suspension components are the MOST important part about a project car's performance on a track, & that is a truth too few realize.
Even some name brand tires can be real turds. My 2021 Spark factory Firestone tires lasted one year. Whereas my 2015 Focus IS STILL on the tread it rolled out of the factory with 8 years and 61K miles ago. They're dry rotted to hell and ready to blow out at any second, but they still have enough tread for one more season. Continental tires for the win.
I'll never understand why mfs use reps when entry level decent wheels (like Enkeis) aren't too expensive. Anyone far enough into the scene to recognise wheels will be able to tell that your Rota Grids aren't TEs
Most aftermarket suspension is actually ass compared to OEM and can perform worse despite feeling sportier. You need to put real thought into it. Not talking about modding old shitboxes but actual sports cars
Nah, some reps are okay as long as you look into how they are made. If it's a cast wheel its usually good to assume it's garbage, but if it's forged or flow formed it's usually fine. It'll be better than all the dudes who buy "real" 3 piece wheels off marketplace that have been poorly rebuilt 87 times. The issue isn't the wheel being a "knock off," the problem is it being a cast wheel. You're right about tires tho you usually save money in the long run because more expensive tires last for longer anyway. HOWEVER JUST KEEP YOR STOCK WHEELS THEY USUALLY LOOK BETTER ANYWAY
I once had an autozone employee tell me he took the hood off of his miata as it was overheating, meanwhile his entire grille opening was covered up by an LED light bar 😂
They hired me at Lowe’s to sell appliances. I was 22 years old and knew nothing about the products. I had to RUclips everything myself and ask the old timers who took pity who had emotionally checked out years ago. I wanted to learn, and nobody cared. Made the company just shy of a quarter million dollars after cost of goods etc and they didn’t give a shit. Take advantage of any deal you can get and don’t blame the jaded employees, it’s the shitty company that is screwing you.
I was a Commercial Sales Manager for AutoZone for 5 years. As both a car guy and someone who was in upper management I could tell you some crazy stuff that company does. In fact I would be willing to if you want to do another video on this topic.
@@2tooful No, actually their oil is quite good; depending on which region you’re in it’s either made by Phillips 66 at the Bayway Refinery in Linden Nj or Warren in Omaha Nebraska.
As a former mechanic i never thought about this. You are so right and outside of having an autozone be a 3 min drive or 15min walk away from me they always seem like the first option. Mostly due to parts i need more immediately but if you go other places such as walmart or simply buy online you will save so much money. Connivence is expensive.
There is an old saying. “You are casting a vote to anything you spend money on” I compare auto parts stores to gas station/convenience stores. They operate similar to each other. They both rely on the impulse factor. I like to buy my oils from local fuel and oil supply distribution warehouses. You can often get them in 5 gallon buckets (or even 55 gallon drums), and save money that way. It’s also handy when you have multiple vehicles which take the same oil. They will often have the filters you need, sold by the case at a discount. I have one in my area that has literally everything available in bulk. Fuel additives, chemicals to make your own washer fluid, even antifreeze and brake fluid. The auto parts store is literally the worst place to buy stuff from. Agreed. This business model would not exist if people would just plan and prepare their maintenance ahead of time.
Not really that's just the brand at the top. Under you can see what place it's shipped from and it's not from the manufacturer. So if you want a warranty you need to buy one. I have a very common vehicle and zero are from Denso the oem of my 2012 RAV4 . All are from another store and Prime doesn't mean it's supplied by Denso . It means someone is just having your goods at a Amazon warehouse. You would think if Denso had things like spark plugs a Toyota oem part would come from them.
I have to admit I have a bit of blind brand loyalty with oreillys. Their prices have gotten worse, but every time i think of making the extra 15-20 min drive to walmart or napa to save a few bucks i think of all the times they let me dissasemble my garbagemobiles in their parking lot leaking all over causing a scene. Never given me trouble ovee it and even had them stay open late to get a part from another store so I didnt have to camp overnight.
I feel the same way. Also helps that an Oreilly is just a few min from my house. But damn have their prices for the little things skyrocketed. I think I paid $20 for a tiny tube of red loctite a few months back.
@@FearOfDeath1332you’re right. I was mistaken. The red loctite (Permatex 2203451)is 9.99. I was thinking about high temp thread sealant (Permatex 59235). That’s 19.99 at Oreilly, just checked.
Yes I like O'Reilly better, I go there all the time. They are typically a little cheaper but they are very expensive now. I bought a lower radiator house about a for long for a2005 baja and it was 30 bucks.
Stay away from Rock Auto!!!! When you receive a defective part, you're screwed. You have to go through manufacturer warranty process. Rock sells just as many junk parts as Amazon. At least Amazon it's hassle free returns. Orielly is severely overpriced!!! Our shop quit buying from them. Same brand part is always more. One example was an abs speed sensor. Standard brand they were $112. Automotive supply was $52 for exact same brand and part number.
You validated all of my car guy insecurities: 1) Walmart motor oil 2) OEM filters from Amazon 3) Interstate batteries 4) Costco gas 5) Harbor Freight tools Thank you
My thing about Costco gas is I don't want to play 70's Gas Crisis line sim for 2 cents off. Especially when the Budget gas station around is the same price and sure maybe is busy but not insane.
@@NEEDbacon Thats why you go in the morning right when they open, when there's a shorter line, because everyone is rushing to get to work and cant wake up 15 minutes early to get gas before their workday. Thanks, CCF and Netgear for this tip!
One time AZ surprised me was with a crank position sensor. I had ordered the OEM part from a dealer for something like $120 but I needed the car to get around for the 3-5 days for the special order part to come in. I went to AZ to buy the same part for $50 as the Duralast in house brand. I was okay with paying $50 to use the Chinese part for a few days because it was less than renting a car. I was stunned when the part in the box was the OEM manufacturer made part just repackaged in their house brand box. I waited until my special order part came in and compared it to the AZ part….completely identical. It was not a fake made to look OEM. The dealer was nice about allowing a refund in a special order part. I think I drove that car over 5 years before selling and never had that part give me problems again.
I work at AZ and I was shocked when I sold a thermostat housing for like $30 to a shop and I opened the box to inspect the part and it had the Mopar logo and part number stamped on it. Although I work there I agree with most the things in this video. They really should try and appeal more to educated consumers but honestly, they're getting so big I don't think they even care because there's a lot of cases where I can the part quicker than anyone else, or am just flat out the only one who can get it. They're banking on that situation happening more than it actually does though. Especially in my town.
I but most of my stuff on Rock Auto and try to pick the Motorcraft or Ford for my van but I sometimes will pick a part that I know is made for Ford by another company. For example, I am fine with buying injectors from Bosch since they damn near invented fuel injection and I know that they are the closet thing, if not the same as the ones installed from Ford when the truck was built. Denso is another company that I bought my ignitions coils from and I believe they were the exact coil that was in my truck to begin with, they just had a the Ford PN on the top. I try to avoid Auto Zone and other chain parts stores unless and emergency like you had. You can do some research on this stuff, and Rock Auto has alot to choose from, and many parts will tell you in their description that they ARE the OE MFG for the car companies. Delphi is another one for many parts, fuel pumps and electrical stuff like that sensor you got.
I currently work at Advance Auto Parts, and maybe I just got lucky. Most of the people I work with are genuinely interested in cars and actually want to try to solve customer's problems. However, it only takes a handful of stores or employees in my area at other stores to make us all look bad or incompetent.
My O’Reilly auto parts is so split. Half the time I work with the other car guys, which are amazing to work with, and then the other half it’s just the ones that hide from helping people and run off to do other stuff, poorly and unproductively too…
I work Purchasing at one of the competitors. Little insight, Oil is tough.. The sheer volume that Walmart buys per year compared to what anyone else can buy is insane. Margins are razer thin and it wouldnt surprise me if walmart was selling at cost or a loss. Even our employee discount wont touch Walmarts oil price...
For real. O'Reilly's is 3 minutes away. Wal Mart is 15-20 minutes depending on traffic. I'll spend a little more to save the gas, time, and breathe non-Walmart air.
My Walmart has an automotive center with a register right by the door. It’s literally faster than going to a parts store, assuming the cashier isn’t having a wank.
You got this pretty right, good to let other people know. Having 20 plus years in this industry you are correct, besides oil and filters, things like wiper blades and lightbulbs routinely have a mark-up of 500 - 1000%. Also love your "booming economy" sarcasm, you can always tell it's a booming economy when everybody starts "penny pinching". Keep it up
I felt the tf off after buying $30 wiper blades from oriellys didn't think much of sometimes later im walking in costco and see some general ones for like $11
I bought wipers for my 01 5 series on FCP Euro one time and they come with lifetime replacement warranty. Have gone through 3 sets and only paid 26 bucks
I buy Walmart brands for most of my oil and batteries. Used to buy their filters too, but switched to Purolator. As for exhaust parts, I price check locally. Unfortunately, whatever you save on RockAuto exhaust parts, will often be more than gobbled up by shipping charges!
Yes finally, another Hard Truth video. I fucking love these videos with Netgear turning the camera on and just spitting straight facts. Please make more of these videos!
I can't believe I've never noticed this before. I ordered a bunch of filters off rock auto for half the price I was paying for at auto zone. If I go to walmart and save the $10 on oil, I'll save $15 per oil change. Appreciate you netgear.
7:32 Exactly. The biggest problem with Autozone is forcing their employees to sell X number of goo packs per day (bulb grease, anti-sieze, etc), or they get written up or fired. They're almost pure profit to the company, so they push them heavily. Some employees will scan them and throw them in the bag without telling you.
Yes autozone employee here I’ll sell batteries or a lot of brake pads but I get told shit by the manager for not selling $2 grease bulb packets and I’ll get my hours cut I can sell $250 car batteries and $50 brake Pads but god forbid I don’t sell $2 grease packets no one wants I even told my manager I can’t force anyone to buy it
I just reduce the price of the battery by 3.99 for the lil pack thing. I sold a battery to a dude the other day and did that then he told me he was military so I did that too and it removed the original discount and I couldn’t change it so I just sent him on his way with it. I felt at the time it was worse to hold him up and re do everything than to just finish it
i remember few months ago i was there trying to buy brake shoes for my moms car. came there and got some brake shoes, the store manager was ringing me up. he toss in a can of brake cleaners. i though it came with the brake shoes so i didn't say a word. once he ring me and told me the bill, i told the manager WTF im buying? then he explain he added the brake cleaner, i told him that i though it came with the brakes, if it's not free i don't want it. so he finally took the brake cleaner off my bill and only ring me on the brake shoes which is what im only after. i was piss what they did.
I had worked in Autozone and shit, the manager get on your ass on that sales crap. Wage’s don’t pay good for understaffed people but that’s another problem.
It's not just autozone, pretty much all the auto parts stores will price gouge you. Something like a break caliper could be 2-3x as much as rock auto because they know you need these parts ASAP, so you will pay. Which sucks. The quality is so variable too, it's extremely difficult to know what you're getting.
Customer: “hI I nEed wiNdshieLd blaDes foR a 2013 eXt1500” Employee: “Wtf is an ext1500?” Customer: “YoU doN’t knOw caRs? YoU don’T kNow whAt aN ExT1500 iS? I don’T knOw whAt I dRivE, you’rE suPposEd tO knoW whAt I DriVe!”
As a plumber i have the same struggle when i go to home depot and the guys ask if i need help😂😂😂 half the time im helping the customers more than the employees😂😂😂
I can say the same thing about Advanced Auto Parts. As a former employee the amount of price gouging was absolutely crazy. From wiper blades to basic oil changes
Left AAP at the end of 08. I do remember selling the higher end wiper blades. At that time we received a spiff or commission. Fast forward 17 years later I’m working at AZ part time. Anyone who came into AZ for wipers I sent them to Walmart. Screw trying to sell higher end wipers that don’t last.
I worked at advance as a RPP. Would consistently make my weekly upsales on washer fluid alone. Even worse is the guy selling people stuff they don't need or will NEVER use, just to hit their goals
At the end of the day the people who work there make the store what it is. I once ran out of luck on the road and needed a new alternator. Guy at auto zone referred me to a local hero who worked out of an old van. One legged mechanic guy helped me out big time as I had zero mechanical knowledge at the time. Shouts out to Kyle you da man.
Man I needed to hear this. I always drove my ass to the autozone down the street because of the convenience but always felt I was getting ripped off, now I can confirm it. I just paid 67 dollar for oil and a filter for a forester from there!
Fuckin same. I just bought a god damn $209 battery at autozone for my mr2 Spyder, and learning that Costco literally sells them for about $90 cheaper made me so fuckin depressed. I’m tight on cash so that $200 hurts much more now.
I'm a current part sales manager at an AutoZone. Watching this video was very insightful. I went to school for automotive and am currently ASE certified as well as a car guy myself. I know of the company's reputation and I try to be different, but I understand every point you made in this. As for the "WITTDTJR" products, I normally don't force it upon customers. I just mention "hey, I recommend this kit as an extra protectant, but it's not required." I wish it was included with it, too, as it's really dumb to charge $1.99 for a packet of grease that's smaller than the palm of your hand. In terms of returns, I return their items if they need to regardless of what happens. If it were brake pads, I take a look at them first to see how they were worn, then return them just to label them as "Undamaged" or "Damaged." Overall, thanks for the insight, and I'll use this video to improve as an employee to be of better help to our customers.
@RBXbump Me too, I am with you 100%. We are threatened with write ups and reduced hours. And I don't speak Spanish and can't even properly communicate with half the customers. Not everyone has the ability to be a heartless salesman, if we were then we'd probably be working somewhere else like a car dealership and making expert salesman money.
@@uglyandattractive I'm way too honest of a person myself to be a sales person like that, so I fully understand you, lol. If anything, being more honest with customers is actually better for business than lying and telling them to get things they don't need.
I work at an autozone right across from an automotive university, almost all of our employees know as much if not more about cars than some techs I’ve talked to, and our boss always emphasizes educating people rather than selling them. I absolutely agree that the prices are steep for some stuff, but I’ve used STP for ages since it’s cheap and never had any problems.
Im a diesel mechanic with 25 years experience, but before. i started working on equipment I was a store manager at an autozone, I can tell you. Autozone employs anyone with a pulse, I left for that reason. The employees take no pride in what they do.
I recently got in an argument with an Autozone employee. I had a failsafe thermostat die on me, it stuck open. I noticed my Temps were way under. I took it out and returned it and it was under warranty. The guy goes yea these don't fail your car overheated. I was like I would've noticed that it didn't overheat sometimes they do fail. He debated with me that they don't go bad and that it was my car. I looked online and saw yea the failsafe MotoRads fail all the time.
@@firingallcylinders2949 Yeah failsafe is definitely one we try to avoid selling because the quality is garbage. Same thing can be said about TotalPro/Valucraft, terrible quality for pretty much anything but electrical components typically.
That's such an awesome joke. Some people actually took the bait. Awesome. Wait. I misread that. Is that 'automotive' university one of those scammer, non-transferable credit, non-regional colleges? Also, is 'University' a brand or college-type? .?.
Walmart also has decent prices for oil filters. It is best to look up the part number so that you can find exactly what you need. Their reference book in the store is usually pretty ratty and printed so small that it is easy to get the incorrect part.
Holy shit, literally like 7 hours ago i went to Walmart to get a tire mounted and balanced but I had to go to to work later and they would have taken too long, so Ill go back another day. Stopped by the auto section (realizing im 800 miles over an oil change) and saw my Castrol GTX for 22 bucks. 32 at Autozone. Literally had the same revalations Netgear talks about in this video, 7 hours ago
If you have someplace to work buy some tire irons and a manual tire changer from HF. There are plenty of videos here on RUclips that show how to mount your own tires. It's not that difficult for anyone who is in reasonable physical shape. In a pinch you can drive on a tire that's not balanced.
I was working on my G/F's 89 S10 she got from her dad, that sat for like 3 yrs, and sent her to get vac hoses to replace the rotted ones. Sent her with a section that had the 5/16th print on it and they sent her back with 7/16th... I usually always order parts online if I can wait, the price is always way cheaper. Got injectors a few yrs back for my 99 F150, got a whole set, for the price of 3 from any local parts store. They're still working fine even if they're Chinese junk. Pretty sure the stuff at the local stores are Chinese junk with a name on them...
Rock auto and Amazon are the whole saler, Walmart, advanced auto, autozone, any brick and mortar store is a middleman. Autozone will price match any brick and mortar store, so the arguement just becomes why does autozone not charge as little as the warehouse designed stores, the answer is the same reason any other store won’t price match online numbers
I worked in the automotive aftermarket parts division for 32 years before I got total automotive burnout from both retail and wholesale customers. I've worked for Pep Boys, Autozone, O'Reilly, NAPA, Auto Barn and several independents. They are ALL the same. When I started, you actually NEEDED automotive experience to work in a parts store. Now, any monkey who can type on a keyboard can work in auto parts. The upper management sucks, the managers suck and it seems like only high school kids work there- because none of them want to pay for experience. Like most companies today, it's not about pleasing the customer. It's about pleasing the overpaid CEO and his executives and making sure the stockholders are happy while the stores are understaffed and the workers underpaid. I buy all my parts online and refuse to ever, ever walk into ANY auto parts store. Hope they all sink.
As I’ve worked on my project cars throughout the years, AutoZone definitely has the smallest selection of products out of the big name stores, AND the highest prices. For me it’s always O’Reilly and Advance Auto Parts. They both offer price match and I’ve always had great service from both of those. But now, it’s Rockauto all day long. Found Knock sensors for an LM7 for $40-$50 each. Auto parts stores they were $100+.
The only time I go to chain parts stores is when it’s a crucial repair that I can’t wait for shipping on. They literally buy parts from Rockauto and charge 3x for them. As you said, fluids are an absolute no-go from these places. Walmart always comes in way cheaper, and they usually have more stock anyway.
Rockauto sells part at wholesale price pretty much, that’s my go to for my bmw parts, most of the time I can get oe manufacture parts instead of some knock off Chinese parts
@@2A5X4A The wide selection allows us to choose based on how long we plan to keep the car, and compare to retail store prices. Having the picture of the parts, and what all cars it is used for is a huge source of data.
@@Spiritof_76you right! And at least I know what brand I’m buying, and most parts are cheaper than retail store and are brands that manufacture for car companies.
Most of what Netgear said about Autozone also applies to Advance Auto Parts, especially with the prices. A 3 year warranty battery at Advance Auto goes for $215 where I work now, and even with my employee discount I dont see myself getting my next battery from there since it barely cuts the price. Not to mention with how many customers bring up the fact that they can get a battery with the same warranty from Walmart or Sams Club for over $50 cheaper.
I would just managed over ride to the lowest price with the stop sign Needed a starter which was alittle under 200 and it ended up being like 27 bucks before the core charge 💀
I buy my batteries at autozone. I k ow Walmart may be cheaper but duralast batteries are the best on the market and if it fails in 3 years or less, you get a brand new battery.
@@spicysnowman8886Advance is not going to prosecute someone over $200 bro. You’ll get fired at worst. Pay in cash and don’t attach the shit to your phone number and you’ll never get caught. It is not criminal to use your manager numbers to apply discounts.
Only exception on oil is in the fall(ish) season when autozone and advance auto clearance out their stocks of "old" oil. Oil that they couldn't sell throughout the year because they were charging $8+ dollars a quart for it. Can get top shelf oils for reasonable prices. For example, I picked up 10 quarts of Castrol Edge 0W-20 for $3.00 a quart last year, and a few quarts of Edge Extended Performace for ~4.00 a quart. A person's mileage will vary depending on the store.
I scored a BUNCH of $10, 5 quart jugs of oil at Autozone. They were not old, the manufactures had simply redesigned the container! I now have a 10 year supply of different oils!
From a former 12 year auto zone employee this is 100 percent the truth. Buy all your oil at wlamrt and buy your parts at rockauto. Make life easy on yourself.
Az has people at the main office who price check parts prices at other peoples stores. They know what they are doing. People who don't price ck are the losers.
We have a big name chain thats pretty much the only kind of autopart store in my country with physical stores. On average their prices are 10-40% higher on stuff like oil and majority of spare parts. I was shocked that i could save nearly 50% by ordering oil online from amazon.
I still shop at autozone, they price match walmart oil. But yes. They price gouge l. The reason I still shop at autozone is they are within walking distance. I also use them for their scan tool. I just don't buy whatever components is throwing the code..
Ive literally been buying my oil from walmart for a decade. I find mobil 1 full synthetic at walmart for like $23 to 26 all day and the autoparts stores would be closer to 40. Not to mention all the other odds and ends like degreasers, brake cleaner, starting fluid etc that I get at walmart.
Do more of this content!!! Do more IRL stuff in general! Tutorials, car talks, industry talks, all this shit is what the car community really needs and your channel brings a kind of energy that makes that kind of content easy and enjoyable to watch. Through all the commentary on wack ass FB marketplace ads you guys have built a HEAP of trust with your community and I personally hold you to the highest standard of trust when it comes to internet car advice. Appreciate u sm !!!
I've had good luck with some of their duralast products. Their brake pads like you said I haven't had any issues with. I've also had good luck with the duralast batteries. The heat here in Phoenix, AZ just kills batteries but the duralast I git almost 3 years ago is still going strong. My main gripe with AutoZone is their customer service. It's almost like go out of their way to hire the most inept people who know obsoletely nothing about cars tow work there.
Autozone replacement parts are hit or miss. Back in the day I replaced a metric crap ton of water pumps on Cadillac 4.9 engines. I don't know who made those pumps for Autozone but they were better than the OE pumps from the Cadillac dealer.
I'm a counterman at an independent NAPA, the amount of stories we've had from customers coming from AutoZone, O'Reilly's, Advance, is crazy. I'm pretty confident we are the best.
I buy my oil at Walmart, mostly Supertech. I use Autozone for let's say, Alternator testing and things like that. A while ago, I needed a socket to drain the fluid of a F40 transmission and they had it, about $8. Not bad. My experience with them are positive for the most part. I usually buy things I need there if the price difference is not too big.
@@xavierramirez1911 and apparently your reading skills aren't I said nothing about the tire caps being vehicle specific. When I go to buy oil, or even brake cleaner at my autozone, they ask me what car I have.
@@alextheonewarrior but the guy was talking about tire caps, therefore i said they’re universal, meaning they didn’t have to ask what car it’s from. don’t get your panties in a bunch about it. and btw brake cleaner is universal too
I worked there for almost 14 year's. I started in 02' and they have fallen hard since then and completely lost their way. Upper management doesnt give a rip about vehicles and what it actually takes to do the job right. By the end i didn't care, fire me, you're already short. I'm not selling your non ethical add on crap. I sometimes feel like thats why they hire who they do, they won't question any of their tactics. I could go on and on with stories from there. I don't see a future for them if they dont change. I am honestly shocked they are still as successful as they are.
I don't shop O'Reily's cause it's too expensive AutoZone was the place to get decent prices but you are right it's way too expensive now Walmart is go to place for oil and batteries
As a former auto zone employee, I completely agree. I've worked at AutoZone and O'Reilly and they each have their own pros and cons. The warranty stipulations always pissed off customers; they would always ask why would they need to buy more parts if they only need one. I get why they do it but sometimes it's over done. I always got customers getting shafted on the 'specialty' brakes that they discontinued.
@4lcmomulamula359 true but some places won't do anything. Some places will help you and some people could give a shit. Depends on the luck of the draw.
This is every car parts store, not just AutoZone. Unfortunately online shopping has killed the retail business. Also with inflation kicking everyone’s wallets, there has been a huge influx of theft. I work for one of the parts stores and you would not believe how many times I turn people away because they’re trying to return the old part off the car for their money back. There’s also a lot of parts swappers in the pro and diy scene, so half the time the part you buy, has already been used!
From an industrial perspective, I sometimes work on electric forklifts, and I cannot put an interstate battery pack in an electric forklift, especially not one that has an internal charging unit. The reason for this, as related to me by the engineering department of the dealer I work for, is that interstate doesn't make their own batteries. Apparently, interstate will not release a charging algorithm for their batteries, because they aren't sure how to charge their batteries best, being that they aren't made by them. Other companies like, say, Crown or Deka have charging algorithms that you can program into the charging units in order to ensure the safety and efficiency of the battery. Not sure how they are with automotive, i can't remember the last time I've put a battery in a car or light truck, and for semis i usually get them from the dealer since thats what my customers like to see. Im curious if there's similar tomfoolery in interstate automotive batteries.
Related but unrelated: the KA24DE calls for a ph3682 or whatever filter from Fram. It's the same thread and gasket size as the ph3600, which holds twice as much oil. Increase the capacity by 0.3 quarts and know the filter will do is job. Sold my 91 s13 with almost 400k on her, so there's proof.
I appreciate where you're coming from and I do agree that Autozone is at the bottom of the list, but If you as an enthusiast are relying on any employee at any retail auto parts store for decent service or parts then I am afraid that you are greatly mistaken.
Thing about Autozone is that they were one of the pioneers of bringing readily available car parts to your average consumer. Before hand everything was handled in the OEM shop, or a mechanic and you couldnt just casually go to a retail store to find what u need. And with that early stranglehold on the market will always come some sort of monopolization. They get to charge you 30$ for 15 inch wiper blades because ONCE UPON A TIME you couldnt go to any random store like walmart and get them. And they also stay in buisness without adapting much because the items they sale will never not be relevant (like blockbuster or physical media at gamestop), & they have big box store name value so wealthy people will go yo them thinking they have they best quality. But I heavily encourage people to look elsewhere. If you dont wanna do online shops like rock auto or Ebay motors then your local NAPA/Orilleys will have mostly all the same stuff for a fraction of the price👍🏽
@@AToolWithTools im refering to the pavement princesses. That get the giant behemoth trucks and know NOTHING about cars. Like the GDI mavericks and F-150 with 10,000 miles and not a speck of rust in sight. Or the 50k miles Rubicons without a trace of dust or sand in sight😂 or Type-R’s with ALL STOCK PARTS and nothing aftermarket😭😭😭. Their wiper blades or LED’s will go out, or a sensor will go bad and they think they will save a buck by buying the part before a trip to the mechanic
That or take advantage of them there was one time I went there for an alternator and they gave me the wrong one. I told them I’d be returning it in a little while when I got around to it. It had the right wires but the bolt nub was about 30 degrees off. This was an old school ford 302 with an after market bracket for the alternator so I flipped the turn buckle bracket and it would have worked as is but it ran into the body of the alternator so I took an angle grinder and cut into the alternator to get me by. I ordered an upgraded 100 amp alternator. I went to return this alternator that was covered in mud I stole the pulley nut and washer off cut into and threw across the garage a couple times and the guy took because he’s a minimum wage employee who didn’t give a shit.
im a current autozone employee, worked for them back in 2019 and i recently came back to my local store. it definitely is unfortunate the lack of knowledge from many associates, i definitely wish there was more knowledgeable people working at autozone. although the issue with that is it doesn’t matter. the system absolutely sucks then its my fault if i give someone a part with the wrong clip for their random ass 40 year old audi that no ones ever heard of 😭👎🏻 people think im dumb but its really just the system that sucks because they dont know what they are doing and idk what they specifically need for their random car. i wish people just knew exactly what they where looking for. also duralast batteries are great. ive had them in all my cars forever. superstart and other batteries are hella garbage 😂 yeah duralast is expensive but i suppose they all are. but yes interstate towing batteries are great 👍🏻 ( also talking about being a real car enthusiast, then not buying oem is CRAZY 😂) especially with oil filters.
The system is pretty bad. It lumps some parts together where it shouldn't and using the VIN sometimes doesn't even narrow anything down most of the time. Sometimes it lists completely bogus garbage for no reason, when's the last time you saw a v6 in a suburban? Never, yet the catalog will list the 4.3 in many years.
@@toeleg the system plus people not being able to tell you what they have ends up in a poor customer service experience. People with cars they "just bought" can't tell you what they just paid God knows how much for.
@@CollectorCarFeed Thanks, I'm going to start saving money now and drop Advance Auto Parts from my shopping locations now, and keep up on giving good advice for car guys (or normies like me).
I fact checked the price gouging immediately while listening. 100% correct. My CV joints I just bought were +50% more at autozone than the Rockauto you mentioned. Thanks a lot
Personally every part Ive purchased through rock auto has failed. Even parts that are under a supposed good brand. Sure rock auto warranties but I’d prefer to not repeat a week latter.
My only Auto Zone experience was trying to get vacuum lines for my old Camry. I gave the employee the part number and he spent ten minutes drooling on his computer and ten more minutes rummaging around in the back. After he came back he said that I should just go into the back look for it myself. I got a battery from them as well, but their military discount is pretty great and they took my old battery so I got it for like $90 off.
Dude, as a car guy my self I didn’t even think of this. (Can I call my self a car guy still?😅) thank you for this information. I never really put the thought into it, I totally fell for them being the first ones I think of.
AutoZone is the GameStop equivalent of the car part industry
Most accurate comparison I've heard yet
This post just set off my PTSD from working at GameStop...
100%
well said.
yeah gamestop sucks, bought 6 games from them recently and 4 didn't work even after getting an exchange
As a former Autozone employee, the complete lack of interest in cars from my coworkers shocked me. Why they didnt feel the need to learn more or at least try really made me sad.
The one near me told me to leave when i asked for help finding a bolt. 10/10 experience
I'll tell stories, idgaf.
I hated wittdtjr, I sold just enough of it to not get yelled at and ignored it the rest of the time. I have literally walked people out of the store and told them to go to a mechanic to better spend their money. I'm a terrible bullshit salesman and I had no interest in doing that. I knew far too much for them to realistically complain about me and my bosses liked me because they didn't need to babysit me.
I'd had some of their employees scoping out and geeking out about my 88' Supra when I pulled in and having that kind of interaction is something I always remember.
One time I went into the same store for "luxury metallic" Plasti-dip for the Supra plastic grill and asked a quick question about it to the cashier and they said "I don't know, I don't use that crap." They are always kids. The O'Reily's here in town always has old guys who are big into cars though and have been there a while. Auto Zone tends to carry a lot more product than they do though
@@rushnerd I probably wouldn't have really geeked out. I prefer weird cars or large displacement American cars. I remember I blew my coworker's mime because I sold a dude an air filter without asking him what car he drove. I was taught to look stuff up in physical catalogs while learning how to use the computer catalog.
Oreillys training (at least when I was hired) is way better than autozone. Autozone is so corpo they have a fucking company cheer. You are supposed to do this twice a day at open and close (we never did) and are forced to do it at meetings. Their training as I was leaving autozone was slowly becoming "just sell the customer as much as possible" hoping it will solve their problem.
Aftermarket on these newer cars also just isn't as cheap as it used to be. Trying to explain to people that a code scan just tells you what is going wrong not what is broken is almost pointless. The customers are still in some ways stuck in 2005 where there aren't 100 sensors controlling injector pulse width to the nth microsecond. It's all so frustrating because I'll try to do my job properly and explain "no, I don't know if this will fix your issue for sure" only to have people either go to the O'Reilly's down the street (which kinda sucked) and just get told "yeah replace it" or just buy the part and then get upset when nothing changes.
My advice, if you don't want to work on cars or can't, do a year or two at O'Reilly's or autozone and then get hired at a dealer of your choice brand. Don't stay in those hell holes as long as I did.
I didn't sell the grease unless we got bitched at about it. I loved the people I worked with, I was lucky most of the people I worked with knew quite a bit about cars, but fuck upper management. I waited for a manager's position for a year just to get passed up by a kid who sits in the back and smokes weed on the job.
The most annoying part of Autozone (along with most other auto parts stores) is that there will be 3 employees working: 1 is hiding in the back somewhere, 1 is helping a customer look up parts for all of eternity and the other is in the parking lot doing wipers or batteries. Then there's me, holding a can of brake cleaner waiting 20 minutes to be checked out in line behind 2 other people.
Your right but it’s exactly not our fault we try our best to help everyone at once 😂
I haven't stepped foot inside autozone, except one to buy an energy drink, and I almost walked out, because of this same scenario
This!!!!!!
I work at autozone, they hired me as a driver and never trained me to cashier they deadass just have us sitting and waiting. It's cringe
@@user-ty6we2sp2m Must be nice we have to be up front constantly and get the idiot customers who don’t know what kind of vehicle they got
You just spelled out the exact philosophy I have.
Buy from either Wal-Mart or Costco when their oil is on sale.
Filters from Rockauto.
On the flip side, AutoZone's strategy is not geared towards the guy who is planning out their maintenance in advance. It's for the guy who just remembered that they need an oil change that weekend and need to get their materials quickly. Basically a convenience store for cars.
Exactly!! 😅👍🏾
Costco sale usually works out to $3.35 per quart after tax. I buy 60hrs at a time.
I went to an oreilly’s recently. I was doing an oil change on a nissan. The nissan has a copper crush washer to seal the drain pan bolt. It comes like this from the factory. Even has a nissan part number. I walk up to the counter with my oil and filter and say “hey i just need a copper crush washer for my nissan” dude look at me deadpan and says “your car doesnt have a crush washer” i said “it does but if yall dont have it its no biggie” dude walks away without saying a thing, comes back with a replacement drainplug with a rubber washer (the dorman bullshit) and says “this is what goes on your car not a crush washer” i had anticipated this and pulled up the nissan part number for the crush washer on my phone and show him and he says “you dont know much about cars i can tell”
MY BROTHER IN CHRIST YOUR DORMAN DRAINPLUG WITH MYSTERY RUBBER RING IS NOT OEM NISSAN
Your the idiot you want oem nissan part why the hell you going to autozone. Go to the dealer you clown
Autozone's biggest fault is they dont pay well at all. When my store manager told me she was required 50 hours a week for a 25k salary, i knew that company was not for me. They pay you the bare minimum and expect the service quality of a veteran mechanic who has been in the industry for 20+ years from teenagers barely out of high school.
Been there done that
literally lol its awful the prices are unbearable and the workers at my store only got 20% off while i had friends at oreillys getting 50%. I was getting paid $11 but was doing way more work than everyone and guess what i got? a 0.30 cent raise. I had to work 3 hours to afford an oil change for my car lol.
Meanwhile the CEO of AutoZone Bill Rhodes made $18.8 million last year
How long ago was this? 50 hrs a week for 25k???? There’s no way. I thought I made dog shit money
I call bullshit. $25k annual is only $12/hr.
Someone lying
I work at autozone, our shit is overpriced and we get no training. Also, I'd just like to add that we are not mechanics and its impossible for us to know every detail about your problem, we can point you in the right direction but its up to you to solve your problem. Spend some time in customer service dealing with idiots and their problems and you'll understand.
Good times I do not miss 💀
I forgot to mention, i sold someone 2 batteries the other day for $500 lmao.
Lmao I work at autozone mfs i get speak NO english 😂
And they don’t even give u bonuses for making those sales they make so much money and none of it goes to employesd
I hate people that come in assuming that we’re like mechanical wizards or some shit. At least at the store I was out most of us were knowledgeable about cars but we can’t fucking diagnose your car. I hated when we’d get phone calls by some dumbass asking us what could be wrong with their car like bro take that shit to a mechanic. You don’t ask the college student working at a pharmacy if your prescription is good at treating your STD’s or possible complications. That’s what a doctor is for.
Do more of these, Netgear. It's a fantastic format to talk about cars while you are working on your own. I think a series like this could seriously do well for the Feed channel.
As far as future topics, I would like what "value" brands or products you like. Recently did my entire 01' Celica GT-S interior in Killmat and Siless Liner for less than the price of ONE BOX of Dynamat.
I used to love Dynamat Extreme, but Killmat's pricing (and Prime shipping) really makes it hard to back Dynamat anymore
@@CollectorCarFeed Yeah, it's like no doubt Dynamat is by far the best, but it almost feels like a scam when I know I'll need $440 of the stuff to do the vehicle when I only spent $170 on two boxes of killmat and 63sq ft of the siless liner. Not doing pro audio, just want to make the Celica as nice as it can possibly be since they cheaped out on sound insulation.
@@CollectorCarFeedNetgear is like Scotty Killer, but he gives advice that you can actually rely on
I have a celica too, how much killmat did it take to completly cover the interior, and was it worth it?
@@Mark-mm2px I'd say about 67 Sq feet, but I haven't done the doors yet. Considering this car has ZERO soundproofing and it does vibrate a lot, yes it made a difference. When I bought it, it was pretty hollow/echoy sounding in the cabin which I can't stand. So two boxes of Killmat should be more than enough.
I want to add, if you go to an autoparts store out in small towns, away from the big cities, you're more likely to run into an employee with experience. Older retired mechanics and sometimes farmers will work those stores in retirement.
Facts, just avoid the new hire
sweet. people with no relevant current knowledge.
@@DieselRamchargerhow do you know he’s not talking about recently retired mechanics? Some will work as a mechanic up into their 40’s then switch to an auto parts store for some money with less labor intensive task so yes they would have current knowledge you’re acting like he’s talking about people who are 90 something but in reality he’s probably meaning a person who can’t do hard labor anymore so they retire to a store job, and he’s right a lot of older farmers and mechanics know their way around a vehicle even the newer stuff sad part is most newer vehicles are not owner serviceable so you’ll end up having to take it to a dealer certified auto shop or the dealer itself all the shit they have in cars now are so sensitive you look at it wrong and it’ll break!
@@DieselRamchargerhell
My grandfather is 66 and knows a lot about newer vehicles hell after having a ford-150 sport for several years since the construction company he works for always used ford vehicles so him and my grandmother got the F-150 sport then the company changed from ford to ram and after he got rear ended in the new company truck he had just got almost a year or 2 ago that was his realization to get a ram because of how sturdy the body was yeah the front end was smashed and it was totaled but he made it out with minor injuries he himself said if he would have been in the ford with the all aluminum body he wouldn’t have made it out cause the person that hit him was doing upwards of 60mph probably close to 80-100+ and wasn’t paying attention, simply put just because some older people can barely wipe their ass much less navigate their way around a vehicle doesn’t speak for all older people especially in small towns!
@@CajunReaper95 you are just talking out your ass
I worked at Oreillys as a shift manager. Employees have no clue, but neither do the customers. Argue about which part is right and what it’s called, and after 20 minutes of arguing nobody is happy and the customer still got the wrong part. It’s a terrible minimum wage customer service job, I would never do it again. It made me actually lose some enthusiasm for cars and working on them because it all felt irritating very quickly lol
Yeah it's unfortunate. It goes both ways, I can only help customers as much as they help themselves. It's a DIY place not a "step by step explanation to replace x" place. It doesn't help that cars are increasingly not DIY friendly.
The myth that the "check engine light tells you what's wrong" is the worst. Yes it does do that but it doesn't tell you why. It's why you go to a doctor when you have joint pain, you just know the resulting symptoms.
Also working in a place that has the word FREE on the side of the building attracts the worst type of people.
@@lolbuster01 Preach my man. The big “FREE OBD CHECK” sign making it seem like it’s as simple as pie. At the end of the day, I got tired of diagnosing things. Maybe if they were lucky and they allowed me to smoke a cigarette in front of them and the customer seemed nice, I could take 5-7 minutes doing a quick run down of the vehicle based off of the OBD reading. But the absolute worst is when I would read off the OBD2 code, it’s for a motherfu**ing O2 sensor, and they tell me they already took it to a “local mechanic” and had the replaced. Let’s go inside and look up the price of a new catalytic convertor. Some customers literally fought me like I was the one making the replacement cats and selling them for that price myself. So if you’re still doing that job, save as much money as you can, enjoy the discount when they actually apply to the product you want, and I give you my respect.
@@lolbuster01it really does
Bruh what? They don't have shift manager.
Here's a good topic... Knock off wheels, why you shouldn't buy them & the importance of good tires and just how much of a difference they make. It's crazy how many people don't seem to realize how big a deal a good suspension (wheels, tires, coil overs, breaks) is. It's the first thing I do to a car. Great video!
one of if not the only good video i ever watched by donut media talked about that, they were talking about how most people upgrade their engine first and then work through drivetrain and then do suspension and wheels, but they (correctly) said instead you should start with tires, and end up at engine. that's oversimplified but basically, wheels/tires & suspension components are the MOST important part about a project car's performance on a track, & that is a truth too few realize.
Even some name brand tires can be real turds. My 2021 Spark factory Firestone tires lasted one year. Whereas my 2015 Focus IS STILL on the tread it rolled out of the factory with 8 years and 61K miles ago. They're dry rotted to hell and ready to blow out at any second, but they still have enough tread for one more season. Continental tires for the win.
I'll never understand why mfs use reps when entry level decent wheels (like Enkeis) aren't too expensive. Anyone far enough into the scene to recognise wheels will be able to tell that your Rota Grids aren't TEs
Most aftermarket suspension is actually ass compared to OEM and can perform worse despite feeling sportier. You need to put real thought into it. Not talking about modding old shitboxes but actual sports cars
Nah, some reps are okay as long as you look into how they are made. If it's a cast wheel its usually good to assume it's garbage, but if it's forged or flow formed it's usually fine. It'll be better than all the dudes who buy "real" 3 piece wheels off marketplace that have been poorly rebuilt 87 times. The issue isn't the wheel being a "knock off," the problem is it being a cast wheel. You're right about tires tho you usually save money in the long run because more expensive tires last for longer anyway. HOWEVER JUST KEEP YOR STOCK WHEELS THEY USUALLY LOOK BETTER ANYWAY
Autozone exclusively hires people who know little to nothing about cars
I wouldn’t say they hire people who knows nothing about cars more like hire people who don’t care.
I once had an autozone employee tell me he took the hood off of his miata as it was overheating, meanwhile his entire grille opening was covered up by an LED light bar 😂
They hired me at Lowe’s to sell appliances. I was 22 years old and knew nothing about the products. I had to RUclips everything myself and ask the old timers who took pity who had emotionally checked out years ago.
I wanted to learn, and nobody cared. Made the company just shy of a quarter million dollars after cost of goods etc and they didn’t give a shit.
Take advantage of any deal you can get and don’t blame the jaded employees, it’s the shitty company that is screwing you.
Also inb4 didn’t ask
The company gives no training outside of 5 minute click through computer courses.
I was a Commercial Sales Manager for AutoZone for 5 years. As both a car guy and someone who was in upper management I could tell you some crazy stuff that company does. In fact I would be willing to if you want to do another video on this topic.
Do a discussion here. I know a few people who work there
Hey can you do a stock check?
What a tease
Don’t tell me they reuse and repackage used oils 🤣
@@2tooful No, actually their oil is quite good; depending on which region you’re in it’s either made by Phillips 66 at the Bayway Refinery in Linden Nj or Warren in Omaha Nebraska.
As a former mechanic i never thought about this. You are so right and outside of having an autozone be a 3 min drive or 15min walk away from me they always seem like the first option. Mostly due to parts i need more immediately but if you go other places such as walmart or simply buy online you will save so much money. Connivence is expensive.
There is an old saying. “You are casting a vote to anything you spend money on”
I compare auto parts stores to gas station/convenience stores. They operate similar to each other. They both rely on the impulse factor.
I like to buy my oils from local fuel and oil supply distribution warehouses. You can often get them in 5 gallon buckets (or even 55 gallon drums), and save money that way. It’s also handy when you have multiple vehicles which take the same oil. They will often have the filters you need, sold by the case at a discount.
I have one in my area that has literally everything available in bulk. Fuel additives, chemicals to make your own washer fluid, even antifreeze and brake fluid.
The auto parts store is literally the worst place to buy stuff from. Agreed. This business model would not exist if people would just plan and prepare their maintenance ahead of time.
What's the name of that fuel and oil supply I be looking for one near me 😁
@@MiguelMartinez-hm1hg the one in my area is called A&I distributors. Any bulk fuel places, farm suppliers and co-ops will have them too.
Fun fact. Denso has a Amazon store front. And they make oil filters for almost every Japanese car. And they are the best quality filters money can buy
Mann and Mahle are as good as Denso.
@@TK-ec5bvMann more German no ?
Not really that's just the brand at the top. Under you can see what place it's shipped from and it's not from the manufacturer. So if you want a warranty you need to buy one. I have a very common vehicle and zero are from Denso the oem of my 2012 RAV4 . All are from another store and Prime doesn't mean it's supplied by Denso . It means someone is just having your goods at a Amazon warehouse. You would think if Denso had things like spark plugs a Toyota oem part would come from them.
@@Random-ed2xf My brother in Christ Toyota owns denso That's why Toyotas label is on it
@@1marcelfilms they are not as common in America but you can buy bearings from malle all day long here
I have to admit I have a bit of blind brand loyalty with oreillys. Their prices have gotten worse, but every time i think of making the extra 15-20 min drive to walmart or napa to save a few bucks i think of all the times they let me dissasemble my garbagemobiles in their parking lot leaking all over causing a scene. Never given me trouble ovee it and even had them stay open late to get a part from another store so I didnt have to camp overnight.
I feel the same way. Also helps that an Oreilly is just a few min from my house. But damn have their prices for the little things skyrocketed. I think I paid $20 for a tiny tube of red loctite a few months back.
That sounds wrong. Its like 8 dollars.
@@FearOfDeath1332you’re right. I was mistaken. The red loctite (Permatex 2203451)is 9.99. I was thinking about high temp thread sealant (Permatex 59235). That’s 19.99 at Oreilly, just checked.
Yes I like O'Reilly better, I go there all the time. They are typically a little cheaper but they are very expensive now. I bought a lower radiator house about a for long for a2005 baja and it was 30 bucks.
Stay away from Rock Auto!!!! When you receive a defective part, you're screwed. You have to go through manufacturer warranty process. Rock sells just as many junk parts as Amazon. At least Amazon it's hassle free returns. Orielly is severely overpriced!!! Our shop quit buying from them. Same brand part is always more. One example was an abs speed sensor. Standard brand they were $112. Automotive supply was $52 for exact same brand and part number.
You validated all of my car guy insecurities:
1) Walmart motor oil
2) OEM filters from Amazon
3) Interstate batteries
4) Costco gas
5) Harbor Freight tools
Thank you
Walmart “Supertech” full synthetic oil and oil filters are actually REALLY good. Especially for the price.
My thing about Costco gas is I don't want to play 70's Gas Crisis line sim for 2 cents off. Especially when the Budget gas station around is the same price and sure maybe is busy but not insane.
@@danielplumley2649can confirm. Sometimes you got a burner 🥵
@@NEEDbacon Thats why you go in the morning right when they open, when there's a shorter line, because everyone is rushing to get to work and cant wake up 15 minutes early to get gas before their workday. Thanks, CCF and Netgear for this tip!
anyone who shits on harbor freight tools just doesn't get it maaaannn
One time AZ surprised me was with a crank position sensor. I had ordered the OEM part from a dealer for something like $120 but I needed the car to get around for the 3-5 days for the special order part to come in. I went to AZ to buy the same part for $50 as the Duralast in house brand. I was okay with paying $50 to use the Chinese part for a few days because it was less than renting a car. I was stunned when the part in the box was the OEM manufacturer made part just repackaged in their house brand box. I waited until my special order part came in and compared it to the AZ part….completely identical. It was not a fake made to look OEM. The dealer was nice about allowing a refund in a special order part. I think I drove that car over 5 years before selling and never had that part give me problems again.
It’s all about internals. How the computer communicates with the ECU. You might think it’s identical but in reality it is not
I work at AZ and I was shocked when I sold a thermostat housing for like $30 to a shop and I opened the box to inspect the part and it had the Mopar logo and part number stamped on it. Although I work there I agree with most the things in this video. They really should try and appeal more to educated consumers but honestly, they're getting so big I don't think they even care because there's a lot of cases where I can the part quicker than anyone else, or am just flat out the only one who can get it. They're banking on that situation happening more than it actually does though. Especially in my town.
@@paulregener7016if it was the same manufacturer and oem why wouldn’t it be identical lol
@@Kavie93 He probably meant OE and not OEM so then it would be the same but OE and OEM are not the same thing
I but most of my stuff on Rock Auto and try to pick the Motorcraft or Ford for my van but I sometimes will pick a part that I know is made for Ford by another company. For example, I am fine with buying injectors from Bosch since they damn near invented fuel injection and I know that they are the closet thing, if not the same as the ones installed from Ford when the truck was built. Denso is another company that I bought my ignitions coils from and I believe they were the exact coil that was in my truck to begin with, they just had a the Ford PN on the top. I try to avoid Auto Zone and other chain parts stores unless and emergency like you had. You can do some research on this stuff, and Rock Auto has alot to choose from, and many parts will tell you in their description that they ARE the OE MFG for the car companies. Delphi is another one for many parts, fuel pumps and electrical stuff like that sensor you got.
I currently work at Advance Auto Parts, and maybe I just got lucky. Most of the people I work with are genuinely interested in cars and actually want to try to solve customer's problems. However, it only takes a handful of stores or employees in my area at other stores to make us all look bad or incompetent.
My O’Reilly auto parts is so split. Half the time I work with the other car guys, which are amazing to work with, and then the other half it’s just the ones that hide from helping people and run off to do other stuff, poorly and unproductively too…
I work Purchasing at one of the competitors. Little insight, Oil is tough.. The sheer volume that Walmart buys per year compared to what anyone else can buy is insane. Margins are razer thin and it wouldnt surprise me if walmart was selling at cost or a loss. Even our employee discount wont touch Walmarts oil price...
You get what you pay for in oil right?
@@dustinryan9671 You do, but Walmart carries the same stuff everyone else does besides in-house brands.
Walmart also has service centers and that’s why they have so much different bulk oils
@@laronthelion8561 the don't carry Amsoil or Royal Purple and their service sucks at least from my experience.
You're 100% correct, but sometimes I'll pay more so I don't have to step foot inside a Walmart.
For real. O'Reilly's is 3 minutes away. Wal Mart is 15-20 minutes depending on traffic. I'll spend a little more to save the gas, time, and breathe non-Walmart air.
Idk man not much difference between autozone and walmart
Walmart and Autozone are the same customers
My Walmart has an automotive center with a register right by the door. It’s literally faster than going to a parts store, assuming the cashier isn’t having a wank.
I get lost in Walmart. Can't find the exit.
You got this pretty right, good to let other people know. Having 20 plus years in this industry you are correct, besides oil and filters, things like wiper blades and lightbulbs routinely have a mark-up of 500 - 1000%.
Also love your "booming economy" sarcasm, you can always tell it's a booming economy when everybody starts "penny pinching". Keep it up
I felt the tf off after buying $30 wiper blades from oriellys didn't think much of sometimes later im walking in costco and see some general ones for like $11
@@clydedoris5002 Family dollar has some fits all type wipers for $8 that fit my porsche just fine. lol
1000% markup would be charging $110 for something that cost them $10, is that what you meant?
Oil is jacked the hell up too at AutoZone. Prices for oil at AutoZone vs Walmart is a $10-15 difference.
I bought wipers for my 01 5 series on FCP Euro one time and they come with lifetime replacement warranty. Have gone through 3 sets and only paid 26 bucks
5:29 "Because the economy is BOOMING & the nation is healing" LMAO I love when non political guys make subtle jabs at the govt.
I buy Walmart brands for most of my oil and batteries. Used to buy their filters too, but switched to Purolator.
As for exhaust parts, I price check locally. Unfortunately, whatever you save on RockAuto exhaust parts, will often be more than gobbled up by shipping charges!
Yes finally, another Hard Truth video. I fucking love these videos with Netgear turning the camera on and just spitting straight facts.
Please make more of these videos!
I can't believe I've never noticed this before. I ordered a bunch of filters off rock auto for half the price I was paying for at auto zone. If I go to walmart and save the $10 on oil, I'll save $15 per oil change. Appreciate you netgear.
7:32 Exactly. The biggest problem with Autozone is forcing their employees to sell X number of goo packs per day (bulb grease, anti-sieze, etc), or they get written up or fired. They're almost pure profit to the company, so they push them heavily. Some employees will scan them and throw them in the bag without telling you.
Yes autozone employee here I’ll sell batteries or a lot of brake pads but I get told shit by the manager for not selling $2 grease bulb packets and I’ll get my hours cut I can sell $250 car batteries and $50 brake
Pads but god forbid I don’t sell $2 grease packets no one wants I even told my manager I can’t force anyone to buy it
@@mikeoxsmall6061talk your shit man don’t take that bs
I just reduce the price of the battery by 3.99 for the lil pack thing. I sold a battery to a dude the other day and did that then he told me he was military so I did that too and it removed the original discount and I couldn’t change it so I just sent him on his way with it. I felt at the time it was worse to hold him up and re do everything than to just finish it
i remember few months ago i was there trying to buy brake shoes for my moms car. came there and got some brake shoes, the store manager was ringing me up. he toss in a can of brake cleaners. i though it came with the brake shoes so i didn't say a word. once he ring me and told me the bill, i told the manager WTF im buying? then he explain he added the brake cleaner, i told him that i though it came with the brakes, if it's not free i don't want it. so he finally took the brake cleaner off my bill and only ring me on the brake shoes which is what im only after. i was piss what they did.
I had worked in Autozone and shit, the manager get on your ass on that sales crap. Wage’s don’t pay good for understaffed people but that’s another problem.
It's not just autozone, pretty much all the auto parts stores will price gouge you. Something like a break caliper could be 2-3x as much as rock auto because they know you need these parts ASAP, so you will pay. Which sucks. The quality is so variable too, it's extremely difficult to know what you're getting.
Customer: “hI I nEed wiNdshieLd blaDes foR a 2013 eXt1500”
Employee: “Wtf is an ext1500?”
Customer: “YoU doN’t knOw caRs? YoU don’T kNow whAt aN ExT1500 iS? I don’T knOw whAt I dRivE, you’rE suPposEd tO knoW whAt I DriVe!”
As a plumber i have the same struggle when i go to home depot and the guys ask if i need help😂😂😂 half the time im helping the customers more than the employees😂😂😂
As a construction manager I can confirm😅
My local (small town) Lowes has a retired electrician and retired plumber working on the floor. We are lucky.
I can say the same thing about Advanced Auto Parts. As a former employee the amount of price gouging was absolutely crazy. From wiper blades to basic oil changes
and they tell us to sell the customers the most expensive Wiper
Left AAP at the end of 08. I do remember selling the higher end wiper blades. At that time we received a spiff or commission. Fast forward 17 years later I’m working at AZ part time. Anyone who came into AZ for wipers I sent them to Walmart. Screw trying to sell higher end wipers that don’t last.
@@briteidea08autozone wipers are ridiculously priced!
@@2A5X4A I buy my wiper blades from rockauto, premium blades on there are only $8 bucks and they last!
I worked at advance as a RPP. Would consistently make my weekly upsales on washer fluid alone. Even worse is the guy selling people stuff they don't need or will NEVER use, just to hit their goals
At the end of the day the people who work there make the store what it is. I once ran out of luck on the road and needed a new alternator. Guy at auto zone referred me to a local hero who worked out of an old van. One legged mechanic guy helped me out big time as I had zero mechanical knowledge at the time. Shouts out to Kyle you da man.
You're welcome boss!
Great channel & all good advice; this is why I had to subscribe! I used to shop at Chief Auto Parts before they became Autozone! Lol
Pro tip! Auto zone will price match oil an filters from walmart or other retailers just pull it up on your phone and ask i do this all the time!
these hard truth video's are what got me into this channel, and are the bread and butter of Collector Car Feed.
Man I needed to hear this. I always drove my ass to the autozone down the street because of the convenience but always felt I was getting ripped off, now I can confirm it. I just paid 67 dollar for oil and a filter for a forester from there!
Fuckin same. I just bought a god damn $209 battery at autozone for my mr2 Spyder, and learning that Costco literally sells them for about $90 cheaper made me so fuckin depressed. I’m tight on cash so that $200 hurts much more now.
Fucken SAME I’m getting a Costco membership now
I ordered mobil one synthetic for 30$ on Amazon, AutoZone wants 42, got the filter for 10 AutoZone wants 16
Bro, you need to make more videos like this. Fixing something but just talking about a topic. This is gold.
I'm a current part sales manager at an AutoZone. Watching this video was very insightful. I went to school for automotive and am currently ASE certified as well as a car guy myself. I know of the company's reputation and I try to be different, but I understand every point you made in this.
As for the "WITTDTJR" products, I normally don't force it upon customers. I just mention "hey, I recommend this kit as an extra protectant, but it's not required." I wish it was included with it, too, as it's really dumb to charge $1.99 for a packet of grease that's smaller than the palm of your hand.
In terms of returns, I return their items if they need to regardless of what happens. If it were brake pads, I take a look at them first to see how they were worn, then return them just to label them as "Undamaged" or "Damaged."
Overall, thanks for the insight, and I'll use this video to improve as an employee to be of better help to our customers.
Too bad we are required and expected to be at or above a certain percentage.
@@uglyandattractive Unfortunately. I really don't want to make it seem like I'm forcing things down customer's throats.
@RBXbump Me too, I am with you 100%. We are threatened with write ups and reduced hours. And I don't speak Spanish and can't even properly communicate with half the customers. Not everyone has the ability to be a heartless salesman, if we were then we'd probably be working somewhere else like a car dealership and making expert salesman money.
@@uglyandattractive I'm way too honest of a person myself to be a sales person like that, so I fully understand you, lol. If anything, being more honest with customers is actually better for business than lying and telling them to get things they don't need.
Store manager here and love this conversation, also agree with y’all.
I went the other day to get a serpentine belt that cost $60 you can go anywhere online for the same same belt for $20
I work at an autozone right across from an automotive university, almost all of our employees know as much if not more about cars than some techs I’ve talked to, and our boss always emphasizes educating people rather than selling them. I absolutely agree that the prices are steep for some stuff, but I’ve used STP for ages since it’s cheap and never had any problems.
Im a diesel mechanic with 25 years experience, but before. i started working on equipment I was a store manager at an autozone, I can tell you. Autozone employs anyone with a pulse, I left for that reason. The employees take no pride in what they do.
I recently got in an argument with an Autozone employee. I had a failsafe thermostat die on me, it stuck open. I noticed my Temps were way under. I took it out and returned it and it was under warranty. The guy goes yea these don't fail your car overheated. I was like I would've noticed that it didn't overheat sometimes they do fail. He debated with me that they don't go bad and that it was my car. I looked online and saw yea the failsafe MotoRads fail all the time.
@@firingallcylinders2949 Yeah failsafe is definitely one we try to avoid selling because the quality is garbage. Same thing can be said about TotalPro/Valucraft, terrible quality for pretty much anything but electrical components typically.
That's such an awesome joke. Some people actually took the bait. Awesome. Wait. I misread that. Is that 'automotive' university one of those scammer, non-transferable credit, non-regional colleges? Also, is 'University' a brand or college-type? .?.
Thank you Dutch. I will trust in the plQn.
Netgear out here giving us fatherly advice. Love all of the content on this channel
Thank you for sharing! This was like hanging out with a buddy, helping out in the garage and having a great conversation=priceless!
You had me with your sarcasm and poker face with that one line at 5:35 ...''The economy is booming and the nation is healing''.
Walmart also has decent prices for oil filters. It is best to look up the part number so that you can find exactly what you need. Their reference book in the store is usually pretty ratty and printed so small that it is easy to get the incorrect part.
Yes, they carry Toyota OEM for my Tacoma V6.
@@jpmag69it's cheaper at the Toyota dealership
Holy shit, literally like 7 hours ago i went to Walmart to get a tire mounted and balanced but I had to go to to work later and they would have taken too long, so Ill go back another day. Stopped by the auto section (realizing im 800 miles over an oil change) and saw my Castrol GTX for 22 bucks. 32 at Autozone. Literally had the same revalations Netgear talks about in this video, 7 hours ago
If you have someplace to work buy some tire irons and a manual tire changer from HF. There are plenty of videos here on RUclips that show how to mount your own tires. It's not that difficult for anyone who is in reasonable physical shape. In a pinch you can drive on a tire that's not balanced.
I was working on my G/F's 89 S10 she got from her dad, that sat for like 3 yrs, and sent her to get vac hoses to replace the rotted ones. Sent her with a section that had the 5/16th print on it and they sent her back with 7/16th...
I usually always order parts online if I can wait, the price is always way cheaper. Got injectors a few yrs back for my 99 F150, got a whole set, for the price of 3 from any local parts store. They're still working fine even if they're Chinese junk. Pretty sure the stuff at the local stores are Chinese junk with a name on them...
Rock auto and Amazon are the whole saler, Walmart, advanced auto, autozone, any brick and mortar store is a middleman. Autozone will price match any brick and mortar store, so the arguement just becomes why does autozone not charge as little as the warehouse designed stores, the answer is the same reason any other store won’t price match online numbers
I worked in the automotive aftermarket parts division for 32 years before I got total automotive burnout from both retail and wholesale customers. I've worked for Pep Boys, Autozone, O'Reilly, NAPA, Auto Barn and several independents. They are ALL the same. When I started, you actually NEEDED automotive experience to work in a parts store. Now, any monkey who can type on a keyboard can work in auto parts. The upper management sucks, the managers suck and it seems like only high school kids work there- because none of them want to pay for experience. Like most companies today, it's not about pleasing the customer. It's about pleasing the overpaid CEO and his executives and making sure the stockholders are happy while the stores are understaffed and the workers underpaid. I buy all my parts online and refuse to ever, ever walk into ANY auto parts store. Hope they all sink.
As I’ve worked on my project cars throughout the years, AutoZone definitely has the smallest selection of products out of the big name stores, AND the highest prices.
For me it’s always O’Reilly and Advance Auto Parts. They both offer price match and I’ve always had great service from both of those.
But now, it’s Rockauto all day long. Found Knock sensors for an LM7 for $40-$50 each. Auto parts stores they were $100+.
The only time I go to chain parts stores is when it’s a crucial repair that I can’t wait for shipping on. They literally buy parts from Rockauto and charge 3x for them. As you said, fluids are an absolute no-go from these places. Walmart always comes in way cheaper, and they usually have more stock anyway.
"They literally buy parts from Rockauto"
Where is your evidence for that?
Rockauto sells part at wholesale price pretty much, that’s my go to for my bmw parts, most of the time I can get oe manufacture parts instead of some knock off Chinese parts
@@2A5X4A The wide selection allows us to choose based on how long we plan to keep the car, and compare to retail store prices. Having the picture of the parts, and what all cars it is used for is a huge source of data.
@@Spiritof_76you right! And at least I know what brand I’m buying, and most parts are cheaper than retail store and are brands that manufacture for car companies.
Most of what Netgear said about Autozone also applies to Advance Auto Parts, especially with the prices. A 3 year warranty battery at Advance Auto goes for $215 where I work now, and even with my employee discount I dont see myself getting my next battery from there since it barely cuts the price. Not to mention with how many customers bring up the fact that they can get a battery with the same warranty from Walmart or Sams Club for over $50 cheaper.
I would just managed over ride to the lowest price with the stop sign
Needed a starter which was alittle under 200 and it ended up being like 27 bucks before the core charge 💀
@@afroman5531 you could probably get arrested for that shit
I buy my batteries at autozone. I k ow Walmart may be cheaper but duralast batteries are the best on the market and if it fails in 3 years or less, you get a brand new battery.
bro im a keyholder for 11$
@@spicysnowman8886Advance is not going to prosecute someone over $200 bro. You’ll get fired at worst. Pay in cash and don’t attach the shit to your phone number and you’ll never get caught. It is not criminal to use your manager numbers to apply discounts.
I go to Autozone or any parts store for parts when I need a part immediately and for older cars. Otherwise Ebay Motors or Rockauto/A1Auto.
It sucks when I was in my early 20s I used to really enjoy a AutoZone. Also a $20 hose online is 100 in the store which is wild.
Hopefully we get a Pucci trackday video just preaching truth in this vein!
Only exception on oil is in the fall(ish) season when autozone and advance auto clearance out their stocks of "old" oil. Oil that they couldn't sell throughout the year because they were charging $8+ dollars a quart for it. Can get top shelf oils for reasonable prices. For example, I picked up 10 quarts of Castrol Edge 0W-20 for $3.00 a quart last year, and a few quarts of Edge Extended Performace for ~4.00 a quart. A person's mileage will vary depending on the store.
Current Advance employee and I’ve never seen this happen seasonally before. Just depends on how inventory and planograms get updated.
I scored a BUNCH of $10, 5 quart jugs of oil at Autozone. They were not old, the manufactures had simply redesigned the container! I now have a 10 year supply of different oils!
From a former 12 year auto zone employee this is 100 percent the truth. Buy all your oil at wlamrt and buy your parts at rockauto. Make life easy on yourself.
Just ordering oil filters and other consumable parts for our fleet.
Az has people at the main office who price check parts prices at other peoples stores. They know what they are doing. People who don't price ck are the losers.
Finally a new hard truth video🙏 hopefully these become more frequent. Love y’all CCF
I love you record the struggles of regular DIYers trying to get the blasted oil filter off
Just dab oil on rubber seal add alittle inside. Hand tight should come off easy
We have a big name chain thats pretty much the only kind of autopart store in my country with physical stores. On average their prices are 10-40% higher on stuff like oil and majority of spare parts. I was shocked that i could save nearly 50% by ordering oil online from amazon.
I still shop at autozone, they price match walmart oil. But yes. They price gouge l. The reason I still shop at autozone is they are within walking distance. I also use them for their scan tool. I just don't buy whatever components is throwing the code..
$88 for 08 Ford Explorer upper control arms from AutoZone, $25 for upper control arms off of Rockauto. It's just a no brainer.
Ive literally been buying my oil from walmart for a decade. I find mobil 1 full synthetic at walmart for like $23 to 26 all day and the autoparts stores would be closer to 40. Not to mention all the other odds and ends like degreasers, brake cleaner, starting fluid etc that I get at walmart.
Do more of this content!!! Do more IRL stuff in general! Tutorials, car talks, industry talks, all this shit is what the car community really needs and your channel brings a kind of energy that makes that kind of content easy and enjoyable to watch. Through all the commentary on wack ass FB marketplace ads you guys have built a HEAP of trust with your community and I personally hold you to the highest standard of trust when it comes to internet car advice. Appreciate u sm !!!
I've had good luck with some of their duralast products. Their brake pads like you said I haven't had any issues with. I've also had good luck with the duralast batteries. The heat here in Phoenix, AZ just kills batteries but the duralast I git almost 3 years ago is still going strong. My main gripe with AutoZone is their customer service. It's almost like go out of their way to hire the most inept people who know obsoletely nothing about cars tow work there.
it's not their choice nobody with car knowledge wants minimum wage for it
Autozone replacement parts are hit or miss. Back in the day I replaced a metric crap ton of water pumps on Cadillac 4.9 engines. I don't know who made those pumps for Autozone but they were better than the OE pumps from the Cadillac dealer.
Auto zone isn't the only ones to do this. All the auto companies do this.
I was a PSM for AutoZone for 4 years. I'd buy my oil from Walmart and parts from Rockauto.
I'm a counterman at an independent NAPA, the amount of stories we've had from customers coming from AutoZone, O'Reilly's, Advance, is crazy. I'm pretty confident we are the best.
I agree. Napa is my go to big box autopart store
I wish I still had a NAPA near me.
They have shit pay and no training, what do you expect?
Napa recently saved my ass with a banjo bolt for my z32 300zx. I broke mine when manual swapping it lol
I luckily have an Autozone, Advanced and Napa all within a mile from my house. Napa is my first choice every time.
I buy my oil at Walmart, mostly Supertech. I use Autozone for let's say, Alternator testing and things like that. A while ago, I needed a socket to drain the fluid of a F40 transmission and they had it, about $8. Not bad. My experience with them are positive for the most part. I usually buy things I need there if the price difference is not too big.
One time I asked for tire caps at Autozone and they really asked me for what vehicle it is 🤣🤣🤣
They have to in order to get anything in their system, and they have to put what car you have in their system
@@alextheonewarrior i get that but tire caps are a off the shelf item they don’t have to search up for that
@@alextheonewarrior tire caps are universal
@@xavierramirez1911 and apparently your reading skills aren't
I said nothing about the tire caps being vehicle specific. When I go to buy oil, or even brake cleaner at my autozone, they ask me what car I have.
@@alextheonewarrior but the guy was talking about tire caps, therefore i said they’re universal, meaning they didn’t have to ask what car it’s from. don’t get your panties in a bunch about it. and btw brake cleaner is universal too
I worked there for almost 14 year's. I started in 02' and they have fallen hard since then and completely lost their way. Upper management doesnt give a rip about vehicles and what it actually takes to do the job right. By the end i didn't care, fire me, you're already short. I'm not selling your non ethical add on crap. I sometimes feel like thats why they hire who they do, they won't question any of their tactics.
I could go on and on with stories from there. I don't see a future for them if they dont change. I am honestly shocked they are still as successful as they are.
I don't shop O'Reily's cause it's too expensive AutoZone was the place to get decent prices but you are right it's way too expensive now Walmart is go to place for oil and batteries
As a former auto zone employee, I completely agree. I've worked at AutoZone and O'Reilly and they each have their own pros and cons. The warranty stipulations always pissed off customers; they would always ask why would they need to buy more parts if they only need one. I get why they do it but sometimes it's over done. I always got customers getting shafted on the 'specialty' brakes that they discontinued.
Brah even if the don’t Carry the brakes anymore the will refund the money for it and get you something similar
@4lcmomulamula359 true but some places won't do anything. Some places will help you and some people could give a shit. Depends on the luck of the draw.
This is every car parts store, not just AutoZone. Unfortunately online shopping has killed the retail business. Also with inflation kicking everyone’s wallets, there has been a huge influx of theft. I work for one of the parts stores and you would not believe how many times I turn people away because they’re trying to return the old part off the car for their money back. There’s also a lot of parts swappers in the pro and diy scene, so half the time the part you buy, has already been used!
Rock auto is my jam. Never an issue with their parts.
From an industrial perspective, I sometimes work on electric forklifts, and I cannot put an interstate battery pack in an electric forklift, especially not one that has an internal charging unit. The reason for this, as related to me by the engineering department of the dealer I work for, is that interstate doesn't make their own batteries. Apparently, interstate will not release a charging algorithm for their batteries, because they aren't sure how to charge their batteries best, being that they aren't made by them. Other companies like, say, Crown or Deka have charging algorithms that you can program into the charging units in order to ensure the safety and efficiency of the battery. Not sure how they are with automotive, i can't remember the last time I've put a battery in a car or light truck, and for semis i usually get them from the dealer since thats what my customers like to see. Im curious if there's similar tomfoolery in interstate automotive batteries.
Related but unrelated: the KA24DE calls for a ph3682 or whatever filter from Fram.
It's the same thread and gasket size as the ph3600, which holds twice as much oil.
Increase the capacity by 0.3 quarts and know the filter will do is job.
Sold my 91 s13 with almost 400k on her, so there's proof.
Yes, use the biggest filter you can fit. It won't hurt!
AutoZone is like the GameStop for cars
I appreciate where you're coming from and I do agree that Autozone is at the bottom of the list, but If you as an enthusiast are relying on any employee at any retail auto parts store for decent service or parts then I am afraid that you are greatly mistaken.
Thing about Autozone is that they were one of the pioneers of bringing readily available car parts to your average consumer. Before hand everything was handled in the OEM shop, or a mechanic and you couldnt just casually go to a retail store to find what u need. And with that early stranglehold on the market will always come some sort of monopolization. They get to charge you 30$ for 15 inch wiper blades because ONCE UPON A TIME you couldnt go to any random store like walmart and get them. And they also stay in buisness without adapting much because the items they sale will never not be relevant (like blockbuster or physical media at gamestop), & they have big box store name value so wealthy people will go yo them thinking they have they best quality. But I heavily encourage people to look elsewhere. If you dont wanna do online shops like rock auto or Ebay motors then your local NAPA/Orilleys will have mostly all the same stuff for a fraction of the price👍🏽
Wealthy people just take it to the dealership and let them handle it.
@@AToolWithTools im refering to the pavement princesses. That get the giant behemoth trucks and know NOTHING about cars. Like the GDI mavericks and F-150 with 10,000 miles and not a speck of rust in sight. Or the 50k miles Rubicons without a trace of dust or sand in sight😂 or Type-R’s with ALL STOCK PARTS and nothing aftermarket😭😭😭. Their wiper blades or LED’s will go out, or a sensor will go bad and they think they will save a buck by buying the part before a trip to the mechanic
People who lease cars don't even do any maintenance.
Napa is frequently more, while oreillys is the same pricing as AZ. You are getting shafted at all 3
The only thing I use AutoZone for is to take my used motor oil there to recycle.
That or take advantage of them there was one time I went there for an alternator and they gave me the wrong one. I told them I’d be returning it in a little while when I got around to it. It had the right wires but the bolt nub was about 30 degrees off. This was an old school ford 302 with an after market bracket for the alternator so I flipped the turn buckle bracket and it would have worked as is but it ran into the body of the alternator so I took an angle grinder and cut into the alternator to get me by. I ordered an upgraded 100 amp alternator. I went to return this alternator that was covered in mud I stole the pulley nut and washer off cut into and threw across the garage a couple times and the guy took because he’s a minimum wage employee who didn’t give a shit.
I worked for oreillys for a bit (well, 3 years...), all aftermarket garbage is exactly that. Garbage lmao.
M.A.G.A. MAKE AUTOZONE GREAT AGAIN! Put that on a shirt!
It’s my virtual car father 🙏
Auto Zone is like the Fram of auto parts stores…
My buddy is a mechanic and he tells all his customers to buy their parts online
im a current autozone employee, worked for them back in 2019 and i recently came back to my local store. it definitely is unfortunate the lack of knowledge from many associates, i definitely wish there was more knowledgeable people working at autozone.
although the issue with that is it doesn’t matter.
the system absolutely sucks then its my fault if i give someone a part with the wrong clip for their random ass 40 year old audi that no ones ever heard of 😭👎🏻
people think im dumb but its really just the system that sucks because they dont know what they are doing and idk what they specifically need for their random car. i wish people just knew exactly what they where looking for.
also duralast batteries are great. ive had them in all my cars forever. superstart and other batteries are hella garbage 😂 yeah duralast is expensive but i suppose they all are.
but yes interstate towing batteries are great 👍🏻
( also talking about being a real car enthusiast, then not buying oem is CRAZY 😂) especially with oil filters.
The system is pretty bad. It lumps some parts together where it shouldn't and using the VIN sometimes doesn't even narrow anything down most of the time. Sometimes it lists completely bogus garbage for no reason, when's the last time you saw a v6 in a suburban? Never, yet the catalog will list the 4.3 in many years.
I buy my filters at the dealership they are 7.99/piece I was just as shocked as the people reading this, lmao.
@@toeleg thats good, oem is best
@@toeleg the system plus people not being able to tell you what they have ends up in a poor customer service experience. People with cars they "just bought" can't tell you what they just paid God knows how much for.
I would assume Advanced Auto Parts has the same problem, am I correct in my assessment or no?
Pretty much
@@CollectorCarFeed Thanks, I'm going to start saving money now and drop Advance Auto Parts from my shopping locations now, and keep up on giving good advice for car guys (or normies like me).
Napa too usually, and Canadian Tire if you're in Canada
@@robpottie662at least napa has good brands, liqui moly and mann. I work at autozone and I'll be getting my oil change stuff from fcp euro or napa.
I fact checked the price gouging immediately while listening. 100% correct. My CV joints I just bought were +50% more at autozone than the Rockauto you mentioned. Thanks a lot
Personally every part Ive purchased through rock auto has failed. Even parts that are under a supposed good brand. Sure rock auto warranties but I’d prefer to not repeat a week latter.
Don’t get me started in the quality of their blinker fluid 😡 it’s too thin, my blinkers look less amber
VOTE TRUMP 2024// NOT AUTOZONE//
The little packets of gel, well... She says it slides in better with lubricant. You mean ChinaZone, not AutoZone.
I think autozone was owned by Kmart Corp. We all see what they did when they owned Sears. I don't see how they wont run Autozone into the ground too.
My only Auto Zone experience was trying to get vacuum lines for my old Camry. I gave the employee the part number and he spent ten minutes drooling on his computer and ten more minutes rummaging around in the back. After he came back he said that I should just go into the back look for it myself. I got a battery from them as well, but their military discount is pretty great and they took my old battery so I got it for like $90 off.
Dude, as a car guy my self I didn’t even think of this. (Can I call my self a car guy still?😅) thank you for this information. I never really put the thought into it, I totally fell for them being the first ones I think of.
5:54 that’s the power of marketing.