Parts America??? CHECKERS?

[Nikos95]

You know generally I'm used to calling places and saying heh I need this part for this car, whats the price and do you have it.... Simple right?!?!?!?

Well today I call Checkers and ask them if they had any lower control arm bushing sets in stock and how much they were, the guy on the phone said "Huh?", I repeated myself. He then replied back at me "There is no such thing", My comment back was really, wonder what that rubber thing was in my control arm then, ohh ya maybe my eraser stock from school?!?!?!?! So I call another Checkers, same thing uhh I don't have anything like that, well can you order them?!?!?!? Uhh I don't see any control arms here.. I NEED THE BUSHINGS YOU TWIT! Hung the phone up...

20 minutes later, I got home jumped online in less than 3 minutes I had the set of Bushings found on thier site and ordered. Funny part is they even had the ones I WANTED STOCKED IN THE STORE I CALLED!

Do parts guys get paid to know anything these days, or just to stand there and go yes you should change your oil sir?

Used to be I could call a parts store saying I'm having a goofy problem and I got a 50 yr mechanic on the phone with me telling me what I have to do, and what I need, then tell me he will knock 15% off my price.

[3.4 slow to go]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

Start calling other parts stores. We used to have one of those old schoolers for AZ, he got transferred to another store in the area, but he was more knowledgable than abouthalf this board combined. Yes, myself included.

[vanbibber]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

the last time i went to autozone amazed me...

i was getting some tireshine and some other cleaning products for the car and was in the process of paying for them.. i over hear some chick talking to the parts guy next to me. she tells him she has a 95 monte carlo blah blah blah. as im leaving i hear him say, "thats a nice car. does it have a 350 in it?" all i could do was laugh my ***off as i left. from that point forward.. ive never gone back to an autozone.

[MrCoffee]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

problem is they rely on the computer. Which I cant completly blame on them since they do have more parts for more different cars these days. However as a whole, the service industry is getting more and more lazy.

[3.4 slow to go]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

they're more looking for "freindly" peeps, than car knowledgable peeps.

[vanbibber]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

id like to believe that nate. but the ones by my house... have idiots who are also a**holes. so not only can they not help me, but they also give me attitude.

[shenanigans]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

My girlfriend actually got hired at autozone, but she turned it down for another job.


My girlfriend doesnt know where it is or even how to replace her air filter.



They are just cashiers, not licensed mechanics. I'll be honest, I am pretty knowledgeable but if I worked the counter and some dude started asking me about CV joints and front axles on a FWD car I woudl be pretty useless..


Besides you notice most autopart stores sell more crap that makes your car shiney or flash then stuff that makes it go.



My only requirement from a cashier is that they can speak english and use a computer.

[Nikos95]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

My only requirement from a cashier is that they can speak english and use a computer.

Thats scary but true these days.. I am lucky they spoke English, and didnt have such a strong accent I couldnt understand them...

I dont know I just keep having worse and worse issues.. My biggest problem now is where I live, in the central of large corporations, and thats it, I would literally have to drive 75+ miles to talk to someone that actually has a clue...

Most the time I talk to this one girl who works at a Autozone about 20 miles away, she has a 94 Firebird with a 3.4, and does all her work herself, so that makes life easier... But I needed the parts like today and they didn't have them.

I do understand however the FWD stuff lol... Umm ya, sure w/e...

My extension of knowledge of those things are um new vavle body in my little brothers Grand AM, um and new axle shafts in my old Honda... Umm thats about where the cake ends..

I guess though almost everywhere you go its getting worse, my girlfriend brought her '95 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4L inline 6 FUEL INJECTED, into a Goodyear SHOP! Because it wasn't running right, I told her to have them put a new cap, ignition coil, plugs, and wires in it, and I would deal with the rest when I got home, being I was gone for a few weeks... The damn certified LEAD MECHANIC of that shop told her and I QUOTE "YOUR JEEP DOESN'T HAVE AN IGNITION COIL" WHAT THE F^CK??? Um isn't there a test you have to take to get a ASE cert anymore? Don't you have to like have a brain in your head with any sort of mechanical sense? It gets better her radiator was pouring coolant out of it, literally pour a gallon in, in ten minutes sitting still it was empty... Okay I don't have the time to do this job, bring it in tell them to replace the radiator, and find out what may have caused it, radiator was only a year old... Well after 48 hours they couldn't find a leak.... Because I put bars leak in it and it stopped? um are they stupid? Took me 2 minutes with a flash light to realize the fan clutch was grinding into the radiator, hm hint maybe yes?

Ugh just more goes to show you want something done right do it yourself....

Anyways I'll cut my rant here, bad day, and just fed up with half a$$ work.

[shenanigans]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

LOL around here Autozone is being nickednamed "Vatozone"

[BLLDOGG]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

I recommened everyone i know not to listen to part store clerks. Any teenage kid or illegal alien can get that job. also, independ shop dont do it for me either. there is usually a reason why a mechanic works at an independent shop instead of a better shop like a dealership. Also, the shops that say ASE certified mechanics only means squat. it doesnt mean every tech in there including the one working on your car is certified nor does it mean they have to have a legit certification. you can get an ASE certification for Preventive Maintenance Inspection which IMO, is as good as lube tech. Atleast at my shop, you can not work on a specific area unless you are ASE certified in that field and you have to keep up with GM trainings. Other shops do not follow this but a good shop will.

[SpeedingFirebird]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

There is a small chain of parts stores around me called, no joke, autopartstores. One of the stores has a really smart dude there. He and I have talked shop a lot, and we once worked with a customer for 30 mins trying to figure out his problem (I was there buying parts but tried to help).

Listening to you guys made me realize how cool it was to have this guy around. They just opened an Autozone across the street from his store, so I hope he doesn't go under.

[lookout4theyeti]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

the worst thing is being younger (19). When i go into any carparts store, murrays in particular, they treat me like i have no idea what im doing. Then, i go and ask for a part, and they claim they dont have it, or theres no such thing, i go home and find it online in a few minutes. It just sucks being treated like you dont know what your talking about just because your young, when you probably know more than the person whos supposed to be helping you knows... Owell, thanks for message boards, thats how i get my information

[StrtRacer98]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

Yeah i applied at autozone, and they turned me down because they need people who speak "asian" uh, dude, asian isnt a language...
so aparantly you need to stand there and speak english and asian.
stupid autozone on OBT, and CENTRAL FLA PRKWY.

I need a dang job!

[3.4 slow to go]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

Yeah i applied at autozone, and they turned me down because they need people who speak "asian" uh, dude, asian isnt a language...
so aparantly you need to stand there and speak english and asian.
stupid autozone on OBT, and CENTRAL FLA PRKWY.

I need a dang job!

sooo they discriminated against you huh? :poke: :poke:

[Nikos95]

Re: Parts America??? CHECKERS?

Ya I'm about done with these parts stores man, ordering all mystuff myself from now on unless its a friggen headlight! Because I'm fed up with morons trying to find the right product. I don't even need their help, I went into a store once with THEIR PART NUMBER! And the person didn't know how to type it in.... All I needed was a IAT SENSOR!!!!

Ugh back to doing everything myself or someone I have known and know I can trust to work on stuff I don't have the time for or don't have the patience of tools. No more half rate work..

Sorry about Autozone there man, thats lame speak *Asian* huh...

Wonder if that means be able to weld the muffler on my friends Prelude onto my Camaro???? ROFL Cold day in #$#@...

*waits for the day they tell me I'm out of blinker fluid*