I am so sick of NAPA...

[Mark42]

For years I shopped at NAPA for my regular service parts. Lately they don't have the part, or have to order it, and even worse, when a part I ordered comes in, they sell it to someone else. The local NAPA is going down hill fast. Same people running the store, but the attitude has changed.

Now I shop at Advance Auto Parts. Its twice as far from my house, but its well worth the drive. Plus, anything I order online I can pick up when passing through and save the shipping/handling charges. Also Advance was ready and willing to test an alternator for me, when NAPA was not even sure if their machine worked, worked with my Delco alternator, or if they even had all the correct adapters to connect it.

I'm done with NAPA.

What say you?

[Knipps]

1 store is not the whole company

[BonzoHansen]

What he said. The NAPA I use is great.


However, NAPA can be pricy, so I tend to only buy stuff there that I want to make sure I get a quality part. Alternators, etc.

Common stuff like oil, bulbs, etc., I'll get form the local Advance. Also I use rockauto.com a lot.

[sweetbmxrider]

napa is the only place i go to. quality and service is top notch round here.

[Fast92RS]

I use the Napa in south plainfield becuase they have the warehouse attached to the store. They always have the part Im looking for.

[LTb1ow]

Richmond Service Center yo.

[Mark42]

Thanks for your comments. Could be that the local store is messed up.

There is another store not too far. Might try using them in the future.

[WildBillyT]

The Flemington NAPA was staffed by a bunch of grade A douchebags for a number of years (and it was known around the area for that). Then it seems like they cleaned house and got a bunch of newer, more helpful employees in and it's awesome now.

[MonmouthCtyAntz]

The Napa in Browns Mills came through for me today...alot more then what I could say for Advanced.

[gotmudnj]

i got two napas by me one on 35 in south amboy and one on 34 in old bridge. i refuse to go to one on 35. people are rude and dont really know much about cars. i asked for an inverted torc socket and they said i had to buy whole set. i went to the 34 one and he goes here gt watevr ones you want not the whole set. stuff like that makes me keep coming back. its called bruces auto(napa). i needed an igntion for a 87 monte and he had one in stock which most places have to order. so i would say try a different one. thats my opinion.

[Featherburner]

The NAPA I use is great.Which one is that?

[BonzoHansen]

Which one is that?

west trenton.

[91chevywt]

Its more about the individual stores. If they don't keep certain parts in stock its on them. The napa in Elmer i'm on a first name basis with the counterman (only guy that works there), he's a good guy. They don't keep much in stock but whatever I need they get for me with no hastle.

The napa in wrightstown on the other hand, theres a few guys that just want to sit there and play solitare all day. Bother them with parts and they usually don't have it. The parts that are in stock are hard to find since noone stocks them correctly.

[irocz2173]

Napa in chatham sucks. full of d-bags. Same employees as the old madison store. They need to get rid of the old grumpy bastards that work there.

[Tru2Chevy]

What he said. The NAPA I use is great.

Yea, I agree. West Trenton Napa is very good. I also know the manager there fairly well - I'm good friends with his brother in law.

- Justin

[maroman88]

the one i use is pretty dam good! yes its a lil pricey but the parts are either there, or next day theyll have it

[NastyEllEssWon]

west trenton napa ftw

[BigRocsFirebird]

My school just dropped Napa. We used to buy all our parts from there but my teacher switched to Tags now. We have over 15 orders a day just from my shop.

[NJ Torque]

I use the Napa in south plainfield becuase they have the warehouse attached to the store. They always have the part Im looking for.


Yup.

They always seem to go out of thier way for me.

[deadtrend1]

I have a good recor with NAPA cause my work gets most of our non-dealer parts from them. I usually get stuff at cost, they will even wave the core cause they know ill bring it back.

[BigAls87Z28]

I dont get the whole "better" quality bs.
I can tell you exactly who we buy from, and that I will put my parts up against the best that NAPA has.

[NastyEllEssWon]

I dont get the whole "better" quality bs.
I can tell you exactly who we buy from, and that I will put my parts up against the best that NAPA has.





al is in the zone......

[BigAls87Z28]

Sure am, and sure as hell we sell a **** line of product, a good line of product, and a great line of product.

[sweetbmxrider]

its hard for me to associate quality parts with fuzzy dice, neons, and chrome triple wiper blades in the same store. thats just my experience, along with the overall lack of knowledge and care towards the customer. just my take ya know.

[Blackbirdws6]

I use the Napa in south plainfield becuase they have the warehouse attached to the store. They always have the part Im looking for.

+1 This is the one I use and it's nice to have a place close by to have all the parts.

[r0nin89]

Its all on the staff man. Different areas have different stores that are better. Some places NAPA rocks, some places Advanced rocks, some places its O'Reillys, etc etc.

[wretched73]

The Flemington NAPA was staffed by a bunch of grade A douchebags for a number of years (and it was known around the area for that). Then it seems like they cleaned house and got a bunch of newer, more helpful employees in and it's awesome now.

x2 got a buddy who works there so i always get hooked up, plus i can trust that he knows what he's doing

[Squirrel]

WT is the only napa ive dealt with too... stuff is more expensive from there, but you get a show from the characters that work there, despite having to wait a half hour for them to get/look up what you want

[Savage_Messiah]

Up in my area, pepboys is huge but never has my part, strauss is horrid, napa never has the parts, then order them, then cant find them, but contrary to most people (al's not a person) autozone hasn't let me down yet

[Blacdout96]

The problem with NAPA is, unless your store is connected wiht a warehouse, we have a hard time stocking certain things, reason being, NAPA charges the stores for parts, and if they sit, we lose on the money, which sounds like ********, but Advance and AutoZones are a corporate type stores, we are corporate AND franchises ( i.e J.C Miller around my area) Were better then the other stores becaue we have a better cahnce at gettign the part you need compared to the other stores, the only prob is we may not have it in stock.

It also has to do with what type of car you got. Kasey, if it's your 80's Mercedez, were not going to stock parts for a 20+ car, how many more are on the road, or at least how much of a demand is there for the parts in my area, same with Fbody's, its a common sports car, but some of the parts ( like $150 Opti) were not going to stock if it doesnt move often in the stores. Advance an others could care less if it sits on the shelf.

[BonzoHansen]

It also has to do with what type of car you got. Kasey, if it's your 80's Mercedez, were not going to stock parts for a 20+ car, how many more are on the road, or at least how much of a demand is there for the parts in my area, same with Fbody's, its a common sports car, but some of the parts ( like $150 Opti) were not going to stock if it doesnt move often in the stores. What he said. I don't expect to get engine parts for my OHC V6 Olds off the shelf - Olds only motors. No one had an alternator for it the other day. NAPA got me one the next day. Which I ended up not needing and they did not charge me anything for ordering it, they just sent it back. But I can get brakes & suspension parts anywhere since they are common GM mid-size parts.


I used to hate seeing odd ball cars come into the bays when I was in service. Cars like mekurs and sterlings. No one had those damn parts. Not even pads. lol

[JL8Jeff]

I was in NAPA and Autozone yesterday getting brake parts for the 88 4Runner. NAPA doesn't stock as much as the bigger chain stores so you need to be prepared to order things. I think the quality is better on a lot of the parts but the prices are higher too. But all the stores come down to the people that work at them.

[BlackBADaSS02]

I don't care to go to the Napa by me. They have terrible hours and take forever to look up parts. Napa has also given me the wrong parts. I needed F350 dually shocks, and they gave me F150 shocks. Didn't realize they gave the wrong part until going over a bump and it pulled the shock eyelets straight. I usually go to AutoZone. Never had any problems with them.

[trashman01]

for me its, Napa, Levines, Advance, CarQuest. i use to deal with napa everyday when i was a tech, never had a problem, most parts were cheaper then anywhere else, and they were better. altho i havent had a napa brake pad set last 60 thousand like a set of advance pads did

[Blacdout96]

The problem when people buy stuff here is NAPA like to slap their sticker over everything, so people think that NAPA made it, but our shocks are Monroe, our NAPA oil is Valvoline (Ashland Co.) Brakes are Raybestos, etc, which is why our parts are more expensive. Our batteries are ranked #4 Consumer reports, and our oil/ail/fuel, etc filters are Wix.

Our hours are ****** because we cater to auto shop hours, which usually are 9-5 or 8-5, which I believe sucks in many ways because there are those afterhour times that people need something, but they were at work and couldn't come down. Advance auto, Autozone,etc cater to walk in customers which is why they stay up later, and prices are cheaper, but as I always say, you get what you pay for. I don't know what Autozones oil is, but Advance Auto's is Havoline. It has a ton of detergent in it because it's mixed with recycled oil. Back in the day I would get a little nausiated from the smell their oil would emit from the detergent.

I like NAPA, but even sometimes I say god that price is a little high, but like I said, we cater to shop pricing, not walk in customers, thus why tools sound stupidly expensive.

[WildBillyT]

The problem when people buy stuff here is NAPA like to slap their sticker over everything, so people think that NAPA made it, but our shocks are Monroe, our NAPA oil is Valvoline (Ashland Co.) Brakes are Raybestos, etc, which is why our parts are more expensive. Our batteries are ranked #4 Consumer reports, and our oil/ail/fuel, etc filters are Wix.

Our hours are ****** because we cater to auto shop hours, which usually are 9-5 or 8-5, which I believe sucks in many ways because there are those afterhour times that people need something, but they were at work and couldn't come down. Advance auto, Autozone,etc cater to walk in customers which is why they stay up later, and prices are cheaper, but as I always say, you get what you pay for. I don't know what Autozones oil is, but Advance Auto's is Havoline. It has a ton of detergent in it because it's mixed with recycled oil. Back in the day I would get a little nausiated from the smell their oil would emit from the detergent.

I like NAPA, but even sometimes I say god that price is a little high, but like I said, we cater to shop pricing, not walk in customers, thus why tools sound stupidly expensive.

I wish my NAPA was open on Sunday. That's not just a "some of the time" deal, either. I'd be there a lot on Sundays.

[Blacdout96]

Yup, we lose alot of profit from not being open Sunday. we used to be, but corporate came down and knifed that in the back to "save" money, but it's done everything BUT saved money. How many people are off Sunday's to be able to work on their car? Alot.

[WildBillyT]

Yup, we lose alot of profit from not being open Sunday. we used to be, but corporate came down and knifed that in the back to "save" money, but it's done everything BUT saved money. How many people are off Sunday's to be able to work on their car? Alot.

Flemington has never been open on Sundays from what I remember.

[Rich2279]

I really do like NAPA's parts, but I do not like the employees working at the local stores (Williamstown & Runnemede/Magnolia). They are ignorant & rude. Hammonton NAPA is good as well as Stratford (the one with the machine shop). They are a good distance away, though.

[wretched73]

Flemington has never been open on Sundays from what I remember.

Everyone i know hounds them to be open on sundays, say something about them being open sunday, peer pressure them into it :rofl:

[Blacdout96]

Everyone i know hounds them to be open on sundays, say something about them being open sunday, peer pressure them into it :rofl:

We try!!, but corporate keeps saying we'll look into it, or maybe in the summer time.

[Featherburner]

WT is the only napa ive dealt with too... stuff is more expensive from there, but you get a show from the characters that work there, despite having to wait a half hour for them to get/look up what you wantThen they hand you the parts and you hand them right back to them and say, now get me the right parts.:rofl:

[BonzoHansen]

Yup, we lose alot of profit from not being open Sunday. we used to be, but corporate came down and knifed that in the back to "save" money, but it's done everything BUT saved money. How many people are off Sunday's to be able to work on their car? Alot.

My guess is most NAPAs get a very high %% of their business from shops, not retail customers. Shops are not open on Sunday. Whatever the reason, I am sure they did not decide to be closed for S&Gs.

[Mark42]

The local NAPA was not even sure if they could test my alternator when I called and asked. I took it to Advance, and they tested it right then and there. They also sold me a new alternator for the same price as the rebuilt that NAPA had to get from the ware house.

The NAPA staff are pleasant enough, but really don't seem to know much about auto parts or the products they sell.

The Advance store seems to always have a choice of 2 or 3 different grade parts for you to choose from. Rarely get that choice from NAPA.

The guy working at Advance told me how to remove the tensioner on the Mountianeer, even know the exact size bolts. So I am pleasantly surprised at the knowledge, service and selection at Advance. I'll give the NAPA in Hackettstown a try, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Blacdout96]

The Advance store seems to always have a choice of 2 or 3 different grade parts for you to choose from. Rarely get that choice from NAPA.



We do have several choices on just about everything from batteries, to calipers, master cylinders, steering/suspension, just ask to look at the computer if they say that's all they got cause they are BSing you. Brakes has the most variety, with about 3-7 choices.

[sweetbmxrider]

whats the warranty on the alternator vs the napa one?

[TheBandit]

whats the warranty on the alternator vs the napa one?

Napa alternators have a lifetime warranty. We carry the Napa alternators and Excel. Excels are remans and have a 1 year warranty.

[sweetbmxrider]

yes i know, see with napa alot of the times you are paying for the warranty. wasn't sure how the other place handled warranties.

[Savage_Messiah]

The problem with NAPA is, unless your store is connected wiht a warehouse, we have a hard time stocking certain things, reason being, NAPA charges the stores for parts, and if they sit, we lose on the money, which sounds like ********, but Advance and AutoZones are a corporate type stores, we are corporate AND franchises ( i.e J.C Miller around my area) Were better then the other stores becaue we have a better cahnce at gettign the part you need compared to the other stores, the only prob is we may not have it in stock.

It also has to do with what type of car you got. Kasey, if it's your 80's Mercedez, were not going to stock parts for a 20+ car, how many more are on the road, or at least how much of a demand is there for the parts in my area, same with Fbody's, its a common sports car, but some of the parts ( like $150 Opti) were not going to stock if it doesnt move often in the stores. Advance an others could care less if it sits on the shelf.

wipers for my dad's 08 malibu

[Mark42]

yes i know, see with napa alot of the times you are paying for the warranty. wasn't sure how the other place handled warranties.

The Advance alternator (Remy new, not rebuilt) has a lifetime warranty.

[BigAls87Z28]

Autozone's rotating electrical are made by Remy or MPD or something.
Remy makes all the domestic starters/alternators, MPD makes the import models.
Remy also makes our brand new Gold versions, and they are brand new all the way.
If your GM car or truck has a Remy alternator from the factory, that is the same exact alternator we sell in house
All Duralast stuff has a Lifetime Warranty. No questions asked.

The Duralast brand is brought to you by...
Moorse makes our brake pads and shoes
Cardone/Fenco remans the calipers and masters. We also have new ones.
Wells makes our engine management stuff
Federal Mogul makes all our front end steering and suspension stuff
Johnson Conrols makes our batteries

[Blacdout96]

Napa alternators have a lifetime warranty. We carry the Napa alternators and Excel. Excels are remans and have a 1 year warranty.

Yup, same for the exhaust. We carry Walker. I had a shop buy a muffler from us last year, and you have two choices, either the OEM muffler, which can be pricey, and most of the time unless its an odd muffler, they have a cheapy option, which has a parking lot warrenty. The shop bought the cheapy option, and just a little bit ago there was a problem with that muffler, thought we were goign to repace it, and told him he's beat. the OEM mufler was like $60, and the cheaoy was $40. So the shop had to eat their cheap option, and rightfully so, do it once, do it right.

Also had a Polish guy last month bring in a fuel pump tha was two weeks past his receipt, thought we would repalce it, nope, he got the cheapy pump. He's hollering in my work he needs it today, I said I do have it in stock, but you'd have to buy it. He said it's our fault the pump is bad since he just got back from Poland after being there for 4 months, and the truck work fined right before he left. I told him well obviously itits not our fault since it ran before you left, and then it sat there for 4 months, to which at any point and time in those 4 months of sitting something happened, otherwise youd of been in here before you left whe nit went bad, and rules are rules, it's written right on the receipt. He stomped out saying he's going to get his lawyer. I said that's fine, just have your lawyer call the NAPA headquarters first. Never heard from the guy again.

People really expect to get something for nothing. You understand you took the cheapy route, and you got what you paid for.

[Blacdout96]

wipers for my dad's 08 malibu

Oh 08? that's those stupid expensive Neoform blades all the car company's are going with. I got a whole bunch of those in stock. A guy flipped out on me cause his total cost for two wiper blades for is Toyota Avalon was $60, not my fault you bought that car.

[Mark42]

Oh 08? that's those stupid expensive Neoform blades all the car company's are going with. I got a whole bunch of those in stock. A guy flipped out on me cause his total cost for two wiper blades for is Toyota Avalon was $60, not my fault you bought that car.

Yep, my son spent a pile on those blades rather than the $3 refill for the standard metal housings. They work great for a while. Then first snow or ice, and they show their flaw.... The "infinite" pressure points are not infinite. A little bump lifts the ENTIRE blade off the glass, not just 1/4 or 1/3 like the old style. When weather gets tough, they suck.

[Blacdout96]

Well Johnny Dumb, and Jane Idiot don't think about their wiper blades until the rubber strip comes off, and only wonder why they last a year. when winter hits, and your blades freeze to the windshield, or there's ice on the windshield, the ice is like razor blades to them and tear them up, and when they are frozen to the windshield your stretching them, weakening them. When it snows I put my wiper blades up, and clean my windshield. I get a couple years out of the blades, just clean the road grime, oil and dirt off of them once in a while and your set.

[BigAls87Z28]

Uh...Ive had no problems with either retrofitting the new style blade to an old car, or any new cars.
I have noticed that GM used 3-4 different types of wiper blades...

[91chevywt]

I also like using napaonline.com. You can find your part numbers with prices and go right to the store and say "heres the part number I want." Eliminates the whole part lookup process. I know autozone does that but I like the napaonline system better. I believe now you can look up individual stores to see if they have it in stock as well

[TheBandit]

I also like using napaonline.com. You can find your part numbers with prices and go right to the store and say "heres the part number I want." Eliminates the whole part lookup process. I know autozone does that but I like the napaonline system better. I believe now you can look up individual stores to see if they have it in stock as well

You can see if they have it in stock i believe. I think our store is the only one that you can't but that is only because we use a different cataloging system then the other stores. The new design of the website seems like it is pretty useful and pretty straight foward.

[NastyEllEssWon]

yup als right...ive had no problem putting on cheap 7 dollar wiper blades on the new form fitting styles. most of them have the standard hook and clip style, while the others come with the two screw or pins...both of which adapters come in the package for.



i dont know why so many people have a problem with wiper blades. they just pop on and off

[Blacdout96]

Uh...Ive had no problems with either retrofitting the new style blade to an old car, or any new cars.
I have noticed that GM used 3-4 different types of wiper blades...

No no, not those things that Bosch or whoever brought out, the Toyota's, GM's and others have a NEW blade assembly that hooks on that is just for those type of arms. You probably don't carry them yet Al, and I wouldn't be suprised, alot of people come to us for them since almost noone else except the stealerships carry them.
Here's a quick link to what we carry in terms of Neoform.

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?A=WIP60244315_0205557974&An=599001+102008+50012+2012038#

Here's what the assembly looks like, look at the clip at the top.

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/MultiImagePopup.aspx?A=WIP60244315_0205557974&An=599001+102008+50012+2012038

THere are two types as well. the one in the picture has a tab on the top you have to push down, and they pull straight out. the other design has two tabs on the sides you pinch and pull down and it comes right out.

[BigAls87Z28]

Nah, we have one that is made by RainX I belive? It has different fittings for the new wiper arms.
It still doesnt fit my car...ahaha but it does fit other GM and other newwer vehicles

[Blacdout96]

Yeah, it's a real ****** design, and one more reason that buying an old car is better then getting something new. Did they really have to reinvent the wheel on this one? Dash-1 series blades forever!! lol

[NJ Torque]

Oh, just wanna say, CARQUEST SUCKS.


Thats all.

[BigAls87Z28]

Hey Chris, I was gunna ask you. Does Good Year Gemini dealers have some sort of contract with CarQuest for most of its supplies?

[BonzoHansen]

Oh, just wanna say, CARQUEST SUCKS.


Thats all.

The CQ we used to deal with in Freehold (now closed) was a great supplier for us.

[NJ Torque]

Hey Chris, I was gunna ask you. Does Good Year Gemini dealers have some sort of contract with CarQuest for most of its supplies?


Al, Yes, they do. They had switched over probably a year and half ago now from Parts Plus.

[79T/A]

This thread brought me a chuckle as I've dealt with a few of the Napas listed here. I LOVED the one in South Plainfield. When I lived in Somerset, I did all of my wrenching in my uncle's garage, and I can't remember how many times I made trips (Sometimes MULTIPLE trips) to that shop ON A SUNDAY for parts. They were awesome to deal with. Don't know if they're still open on Sundays.

I had to go to the Flemington store once many years ago when my starter went. The guy working there didn't know his arse from his elbow.

Now that I'm in the great white north that is Sussex County, I use the Napa in Sussex Boro. While they don't always have the part I need on hand, they can usually get it for me by three o'clock in the afternoon that day.

I've used the Advance in Franklin Borough a few times. Decent, friendly folks who didn't let me down. The one in Hampton: Not only friendly, but offered me tools to replace my serpentine belt and idler pulley in the parking lot. Good stuff.

[BigAls87Z28]

Al, Yes, they do. They had switched over probably a year and half ago now from Parts Plus.

Ahhh...yeah Ive been trying to cut into the GY by me, and with our program and everything, they have been spending a lot more now then they ever had. Hell, no other person in my position before me ever made a trip up to the store!

[NJ Torque]

Ahhh...yeah Ive been trying to cut into the GY by me, and with our program and everything, they have been spending a lot more now then they ever had. Hell, no other person in my position before me ever made a trip up to the store!


Yeah, you wouldnt believe the AZ around here, like they don't want our buisness. Hell, I'm at one of the top billing stores in our district now.

Actually Al, got a question for you on a trans that my buddy bought...

[LTb1ow]

Yea, the local autozone buy me suuuckkkss, its run by some bonehead.

[BigAls87Z28]

Ahahahahaha....which store? dont tell me perth amboy. If it is, I already know.

That is ****in crazy! We have been pushing hard core with electronic ordering for Goodyears Gemini. Tier 4 pricing automaticly, and you get a 3-4% rebate at teh end of the month. As soon as I told the store manager last year about the rebate, she has spent nearly 1k a week with me.
Let me know what store, I will contact the CSM to tell them about you guys. Im lucky because I have doubled my sales so I get what I want, but there are a lot of underpowerd comercial programs out there...its upsetting to say the least.
Him me up on AIM some time, ew can take this out of here.

BigAls87Z28

[LTb1ow]

Nah the store down by the neptune circle, buncha fools.

[BigAls87Z28]

Nah the store down by the neptune circle, buncha fools.

Actually, the Perth Amboy store comment was directed to Chris.

And suck it, juice head.