The power steering pump on the Malibu started to leak. I usually go to Advance but they were sold out. I got one at Auto Zone and it made a knocking noise. Counterguy says they do that sometimes have another. This one squeals. I thought maybe it had air in it I couldn't get out so I bad it flushed and bleed, still no better. The third does the same. The store says not to worry, they have a lifetime warrenty so I can keep getting new ones untill they work. The only problem is I don't want to keep playing musical pumps.
I guess Evan and Wally's stories cancel each other out
I got a question about an experience that really turned me off from Napa. I ordered a brake booster for one of my projects and online the total came to 118.xx including the core charge. I had to scheduled for reserve pick up at their store. No mention of shipping or anything like that on the invoice. I go to the store and the total get rung up to 133.xx because of an extra $15 for freight shipping or something. Now, I only brought like $120 with me since thats all I needed, since there was another 10% that was going to be knocked off. Because of the shipping charge though I didn't have enough money on me.
Is that okay for them to do? The order online had no mention of shipping charge and when I went to the store to pick it up was the first time I heard of any sort of shipping. The part is still at the store since I havent had enough money with me yet.
In reply to fritzsch:
Straight from NAPA's site:
What if an item is not in stock?
If your store doesn’t have an item in stock you’ll see a notification that says “At Warehouse,” on both the product page and in your shopping cart. These items can be ordered from our warehouse and may be subject to shipping charges and payment in advance. Please call your store to verify the details.
So, I would say it is up to the store to charge you for ordering online if they don't have it. Now if the store already had it... They should eat it.
EvanR wrote: Confession time: I am personally responsible for killing AutoZone, and here's why: From about 1997-2005, I was a Volvo 240 guy, buying/fixing/flipping/parting/driving dozens of Volvo 240s annually. I bought ONE set of $9.99 brake pads from AZ. Every time another car needed pads, I would pull the beat pads and take them into AZ for a "free" lifetime replacement set. They never looked to see if the worn-out pads I brought in were AZ parts. Finally, after about the 4th set in two months, the manager asked me how I could be going through pads that quickly. I looked him squarely in the eye and said, "I'm hard on brakes and your pads are crap." Now that I have confessed my sins, I feel better.
I've seen some of the local honda fanbois do the same thing. One of them bought a pair of struts a few years ago and his buddy wants to put new struts together with his cheap ebay coil overs. All of a sudden one kid is going through struts on a car he hasn't owned in 2 years or so.
In reply to Ranger50:
I would think that the item should be subject to the shipping charges online, not once I get to the store...Ill call my store and verify with them though...
I've worked for 2 different Advance stores and 2 different Autozones. It all depends on who's at the counter. I was one of the few people who still knew how to use the paper catalogs. One of my favorite things was to have a customer need some obscure bearing or seal. Jaws would hit the floor when I'd pull out the Timken paper catalogs.
As a Sales Manager (glorified shift supervisor) it was always a joy to have someone who actually wanted to learn something. More often than not though all you'd get was some goon. What can you expect when you only pay $7.50 an hour.
fritzsch wrote: I got a question about an experience that really turned me off from Napa. I ordered a brake booster for one of my projects and online the total came to 118.xx including the core charge. I had to scheduled for reserve pick up at their store. No mention of shipping or anything like that on the invoice. I go to the store and the total get rung up to 133.xx because of an extra $15 for freight shipping or something. Now, I only brought like $120 with me since thats all I needed, since there was another 10% that was going to be knocked off. Because of the shipping charge though I didn't have enough money on me. Is that okay for them to do? The order online had no mention of shipping charge and when I went to the store to pick it up was the first time I heard of any sort of shipping. The part is still at the store since I havent had enough money with me yet.
the website is not very clear. it's hard to use, and people routinely come in looking for an additional 10% off the price of their part, not realizing that the number they saw online already reflected a 10% reduction.
at our store, when someone orders something online we call them and confirm shipping charges (if any) before chasing parts down.
i send our I.T. department insulting feedback on a weekly basis, if that makes you feel any better.
belteshazzar wrote: i send our I.T. department insulting feedback on a weekly basis, if that makes you feel any better.
You should open a Help Desk Ticket.
done
I've had the most luck with CarQuest where I live (Raleigh, NC).
My biggest complaint when I don't shop at the distribution center is that their computer inventory is hit or miss, so even if you call ahead and they say they have the part, it is best to ask them to go and touch it on the shelf before you drive down.
Question: If you put a lot of bits from Timkin on your car, is your car rolling on TimBits?
I discovered after a run of bad alternators from Autozone about 7/8 years ago - that their alternators were not built to factory amp ratings. The particular car I had - the autozone alternator was built for a max 15 amps less than factory. if you turned on the a/c, stereo, lights, and rear defrost - it could not handle it.
another good thing about working in a dealership, parts orders me stuff at their cost and I don't have to go get it, carquest/advance/other dealership usually drives it over. it is awesome. lol
Hey so... guess who had their shiny 9 month old alternator crap out on them today, almost rendering their car undriveable on the way home from work because of a starving fuel pump?
berkeleying over this berkeleying cheapass piece of E36 M3 parts bullE36 M3.
4 alternators, 3 starters, and 4 radiators in 4 years of owning the car.
But it's lifetime warranty, so you can just keep getting new ones!!!!!
<------------ Learned his lesson, the hard way, with Wal Mart batteries that had the same warranty as ones that were worth a damn.
In reply to dinger:
Usually the sprawlmart Johnson Controls built batteries are pretty good. Perhaps this was a problem with a prior supplier. I've got a costco JC battery in my car right now, accidentally took a 3 hour nap at a truck stop with the lights all on, still cranked up fast, it's several years old.
Advance purges their records if you are not a regular customer.
I'll say it again- try to find a local rebuilder. I found one in downtown Honolulu when I lived out there- they rebuild on site for the same price as parts store. And you're supporting a craftsman with a soul, who probably gives a crap about his job.
stan_d wrote: Advance purges their records if you are not a regular customer.
I ordered it online, i still have the original email confirmation with link to product in which the description says lifetime warranty.
Honestly at this point, i just want them to give me my money back, including the money for my original core, and i'll spend the time to figure out what other alternator i can modify to fit this thing.
Seems with relatively minor modification i can get an 01-02 Millenia 110a alternator on this thing, and it's a NipponDenso unit instead of these piece of E36 M3 Mitsubishi ones i'm working with.
Not that that means anything if i have to buy a reman.
I've got a couple leads on rebuild places, but the problem now is that i want Advance to pay for it, and if i have to give them back my alternator, i don't have a 90-spec alternator anymore.
stan_d wrote: Advance purges their records if you are not a regular customer.
Please, for the love of whatever passes for "God" this week, I hope that this is true. I guess I don't really care about the spam (I can ignore/delete it), I just want to get as far away as I can from CCS (Cheap Chinese...uh...Stuff).
And yeah, I'm trying to avoid most "chain stores" for the same damn reason. But it sure seems like there's nothing but those places anywhere around here.
Just to follow up on this, i tested the alternator best i could with a Fluke, and i can't find anything wrong with the charging system in general.
In addition, the car has not acted up since that night, either.
Either the alternator is failing sporadically (entirely possible, and i'm not entire sure that these things are as strong as factory in the first place), or i'm about to be treated to chasing yet another wiring issue caused by one of the moronic previous owners.
Giving very serious thought to ditching this car and starting over with a cleaner/more stock example.
In reply to Swank Force One: Since it most likely has an internal solid state V/R, testing externally with a meter won't tell you much. If you care to disabled it, check the condition of the brushes, slip rings & V/R. On some alternators you might even be able to check the rectifier diodes too. Worn brushes, and burnt open diodes can both create a scenario in which it might work when cool, or under light load, but crap out after some run time.
I really love alterators with serviceable V/Rs & brushes.
This one is serviceable, and parts seem to be cheap, but i'm not entirely sure i'm interested in doing that sort of thing, when i'm still just dealing with a crappy Mitsubishi alternator to begin with.
I did find out how to get a 110a NipponDenso unit from a Millenia on it, so i'm probably just going to do that when i pull the motor soon.
I recently had the pleasure of replacing the lifetime warranted radiator that I got from Autozone. Initially, I had bought one from from Advance because I couldn't find the receipt for the old one. Then I got the brilliant idea that I may have left the receipt in the glove box. Eureka, I did. Carried receipt in and pretty much got the run around. Of course the purchase wasn't in the computer because its almost 15 years old. The clerk said "it doesn't even look like our receipt". Then... the part number doesn't match up. Of course not, its not a POS chinese radiator. Short story is the manager came up and finally gave me the free replacement. The quality between the old one and new one isn't even close. This one won't go 15 years.
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