kewlbox

Went into autozone tonight to look for some belts for my box. I tell the guy 05 scion xb, and he gets this stupid look on his face. So i said scion with an "s". he looks it up and says must be "something brand new". He gets the belt info to show up and it only lists the alt/air/water pump belt, so i tell him i need the other one. He looks at me with that same stupid look and what else could you need a nother belt for and i told him power stearing. Then he just says they don't list one.
So i end up walking out with nothing. Tried advanced and they list both, but are special order. I'm going to have to try napa or the dealer tomorrow.

PakanaHerruus

thats your problem.. you are going to autopart stores where the guys working the counters dont know 2 ____s about anything automotive.. i Highly recommend going to Napa.. (Im in this line of work, for a privately owned speed shop, and i recommend all my customers to napa)

my experience at autozone.. i asked for an alternator for my old F-150, they pulled a water pump, and actually argued with me saying.."no this is an alternator" ..after dealing with crap like that.. i will take my business else where

TerribleTed

It is terrible what the average auto parts store has become. Here we are sold the cheapest parts on the planet (and often the crappiest) by people that do not know the difference between an alternator and a water pump. The guys who made the quality parts are mostly gone now ( their parts cost a little bit more) as are the parts stores that pay for the expertise of knowledgeable parts people (their parts cost a bit more too...and if they still sell parts from that quality manufacturer their parts are likely to be 2 bits more). Napa's around here are better than the rest for their knowledge, but, even in the Napa's the stupidity is starting to creap in as they try to contain cost, while they try to provide the service you want, the knowledge you want, the quality part that you want, at a price competitive with a place that trys to sell you a Chinese made radiator hose for a 1965 VW Beetle!!! (For those who are do not know old cars, the VW Beetle is air cooled and therefore has no radiator mor radiator hoses. I actually called a Pep Boys and asked for this part (before the New Beetle was around...there was certainly not an old vs new confusion). The kid on the other end assured me that he that atho they didn't stock it that he could get it for me in 2 days). Hmmm I wonder what would have appeared!!)

WhoKilledTheJAMs

Shortly after I got my box (this past February), I was on a quest for a rear wiper, and the guy at Autozone kept insisting that my car was a Saturn Ion.

There's approximately one knowledgeable woman that works at my local Autozone, and that's it. The Napa down the street is staffed by unhelpful douchebags, so I won't even go in there. There's an independent parts store in town, but they seemed only faintly aware of what a Subaru is when I just wanted oil and a filter, in a town full of Subarus (snow-belt college-based village).

I should convince my girlfriend, who wants nothing to do with cars other than driving and asking me to fix things to the point where she didn't want to know how to open the hood of her car right after she bought it, to work at Autozone. She wouldn't be any worse than the people there now.

kewlbox

I usually go to napa, but this was at 6:30 at night and napa closes at 6:00.

bB2NER

I get that all the time when I'm at autozone. I usually answer their customers questions when one gets asked and the counter person can't help them. I actually tried getting a job there but never heard from them. Guess they didn't want someone that actually knows cars working there. It might make the others look bad!
What I usually do before I go there is either look the part # up on their site so I don't have to deal with the blank stares when I ask for parts. Plus I know I'm gonna get the right part most the time.

NorCal76

I guess I have been pretty lucky and haven't had to deal with this kind of stupidity. There is a Checker (CSK Auto) right down the road from my house. One of the girls who works there drives an '05 xB and is going to school at UTI (Universal Technical Institute, not Urinary Tract Infection). Hopefully when I need a part she will be there or have passed some her knowledge onto the doughnuts that work there.

Murbyrne

get in the zone....AUTO ZONE!

Metro273

I'm glad I work for a dealership cause I can get a discount on parts at Toyota...
I can't stand dealing with aftermarket parts stores!

bB2NER

Yeah, bla bla bla rub it in.

Murbyrne

my dad does too! I love cheap parts

FlakoFigZ

Just fortha record... I WORK AT AUOZONE!!!!!! .......... BUUUUUT... Im not that stupid, lol. Actually at the one I work at, evryone is pretty reliable with info! ... .Here's my advice... at my autozone, we all have customized cars.. I drive xB, theres 2 mustangs, a z21, and a beamer. Look for autozones with cars that are all custom, and the guys there will probably know a bit more than the peeps at other stores. Hopefully.

stew32

NAPA is usually better, but they also make mistakes and seem to have less convenient locations. Some time ago, I had to drive a friend to NAPA multiple times (30+ miles round trip) to buy, bring home, then back to NAPA to return incorrect parts. Then back several days later to get the correct parts which NAPA had to order. There were at least two Trak Auto (local chain, that since went bankrupt) within 10 miles. Now I usually go to Advance Auto Parts since I pass one on my commute. Never had to get parts there yet. They usually better sale prices on oil and stuff than Pepboys since a Pepboys "sale" frequently involves a mail in rebate.

VIP_CAMO

lol look for custom cars what a joke thats what i avoid when my buddys shop at those places..___ cheap mods with crappy muffler can's on civics and mustangs act like they know something about cars let alone the honda civic they drive ..go to the dealer....

Big_Bird

Oh man, when I go to those places and ask for parts for my box, they look at me like this, "what the *** are you talking about brown boy."

I also applied there, because I know sh*t about cars, and never heard back.

firesquare

i got both my belts done at Toyota for less then 130. plus the one and only time you'll ever do belts on a FWD car with a transverse motor, you'll never want to do one again.

im not ready to do a clutch.

bB2NER

^^Yeah, but once you do the belts and figure out the easy way to do them the next time will be a piecs of cake.
I did xB belt once on a friends box. Mine won't need them for many years cause I only have 30 K on mine in 4 years.

Metro273

That's a bargain price! We, at Nissan, charge customers $185...

SouLTakeR

I swear... People who work at automotive stores need to go through some sort of course or SOMETHING to at least somewhat edjucate them in what they are selling. Same goes for Carf salesmen....

jct

i shop at napa, car quest, pep boys, advance auto, o reilly's, auto zone, but then again all of those i just get car clean supplys and i just shop napa and car quest and the dealer for replacement parts for my yearly maintenance...