Don't know a part #? Take a pic of it.

PartPic - take a pic find a part

I wonder if it will be better than your run of the mill AutoZone minimum wage associate?

Speaking as a run of the mill AutoZone associate, probably.

im a run of the mill oreilleys associate. this could be incredibly useful when it finally comes out.

except when identical parts have different internal properties.

Dusterbd13 wrote: except when identical parts have different internal properties.

Like low impedance or high impedance fuel injectors. The only clue is where the notch is in the connector.

Anyone able to actually sign up for the Beta? I keep getting stuck with a repeat of "refresh your screen".

More often than not, I will now take a picture of what I am looking for when I head to the parts store.

At this point, unless the part is really simple, I've gotten in the habit of looking it up ahead of time and figuring out what the heck it is so I can just give the guy at the counter a part number. Especially handy when I know what part I need, but have no idea what vehicle it's supposed to come from

A wheel bearing for a 1985 Chevrolet Caprice is identical to a 1978 Monte Carlo bearing except for the i.d. Doubtful a picture will help with that. Lots of parts on many cars are very similar except for the dimensions that a picture can't help with. Seals, ball joints, and tie rods are just a few examples of this.

I don't see it being that fool proof for car parts. Too many parts, too many variables. They might be able to build a database for more current cars, but those are the ones that presumably need it the least. Are they going to have info for a 1980 AMC Eagle wagon part?

Maybe it gets to the point where you can spot what screw you need, but how do you factor in scale reference even? And who spends all of those hours taking these pictures to have on file? If you REALLY half ass it you could do hundreds in a day, but you still have to ID the part, format the pic, and upload it later. I could see standardized screws, plumbing fixtures, etc. being viable, but not car parts.