I hate going to parts stores

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T.B.I Guy
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Went to orilleys to get plugs, wires, cap, and rotor for my c2500. No big deal right?....right?
I go in there and the guy standing behind the counter asks what I need, so I tell him "I have a 1995 chevy c2500 with the treefiddy. I need a dizzy cap, rotor, plug wires, and acdelco cr43ts plugs or the ngk equivalent."
The guy says cool I can do that. "Great." I think.
Guy comes from the back with everything and shows me some e3 spark plugs. "These plugs would be better for that old 350 engine, they will let you get better fuel milage and will increase horsepower and low end torque. I use them in my astro."
I say "no thanks I want normal plugs like the cr43ts that's what works for me."
Then he fires back and says "but those copper plugs won't last as long. You're wasting your money."
I walked off and said " at least I'm not wasting time pretending to be a damn spark plug salesman!"
I ordered off of rockauto and got acdelco everything for about what I would've paid at the store.
Anyone else have thoughts on this or array parts store story to tell?
 

454cid

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I don't think I've ever had them push any product.... not in recent years. Maybe when I was younger..... I did have a couple of idiots try telling me that Chrysler/Dodge used the 318 V8 in a FWD car (possibly my Charger) back in the early 80's. Nothing recent, Though.
 

someotherguy

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Almost got in a literal fistfight with a parts counter man AND his manager at a Ford dealer, buying (yet more) parts for my g/f-at-the-time's POS F250 7.3, because they swore I didn't need the test kit for adding the proper amount of cooling system additive to that worthless diesel. The instructions for the additive give very specific instructions on using the kit. "Just dump it in," the counter man says. "What's your problem, you think you know more than I do?" YUP... (the real issue: they didn't have it in stock)

....

Just about climbed over the counter to forcibly shut the mouth of a real jackass of a counter man at the NAPA warehouse for freaking out on me when I told him he brought me the wrong fuel pump, then he told me they didn't have the one I asked for, and that it was the wrong one anyway. "You think you just know everything!!!" (completely unprovoked bizarre freakout, yelling, spittle-flinging weirdo..)

Some of y'all may recall that story - it was the pump for a '96 C3500 7.4 (the eventual donor truck for my 3500HD project.) I asked for the pump by part #. He came out with a plastic trash can pump for a later model. After that scene, they gladly took care of me at the commercial counter from that day forward. Even got the shop discount. :) And yes, they did have the pump I asked for. Dunno why weirdo didn't just go get it.

Richard
 

RichLo

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Me: I need a wiper arm linkage for a chevy cruze

Parts store: Ok... Typing... Typing... Typing... looks like they are 18" on the passenger side and 24 on the drivers

Me: No a linkage, the ball joint popped out and the pass side doesnt work

Parts store Oh, Ok... Typing... Typing... Typing... goes to the back... here is a passenger side lower ball joint

Me: No, A windshield wiper arm linkage. It goes under the wiper arms and connects the motor to both wipers

Parts store: Oh, I'm Sorry! Typing... Typing... Typing... Ok, it looks like we dont have one in stock but I can get one tomorrow

Me: ok great, get it, I'll be back tomorrow

Tomorrow (and raining)

Me: Hey I have a wiper arm linkage ordered

Parts store: Uhm, I dont have a linkage here but I have a wiper motor
 

Ruff Idol

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Story #1 @ Autozone: I had wasted a ton of time doing a trans fluid + filter change because nobody seems to understand that the pre-1993 trucks have the 4L60, NOT the 4L60E. The 4L60 is basically a renamed 700R4 and has a completely different shape filter and pan gasket.

Story #2 @ Advanced: My alternator had caught on fire one weekend and went here to buy a reman replacement. It literally didn't work at all to the point the battery light was on. Also was more expensive than the Autozone one I wound up getting that worked perfectly!

Story #3 @ Autozone: This one's totally on me because I sent my girlfriend alone to a parts store. Needed spark plugs, and I had done them before (w/ my girl's help handing me tools and whatnot) so I already had plenty of my own dielectric grease. When she went to checkout, the cashier tried to include the grease with the purchase and she said, "I'm pretty sure he already has that," to which the person replied along the lines of, "No, there's no way, this stuff is pretty uncommon to have laying around" to which my girl second-guessed herself and was convinced I needed it. Got home and had to explain to me why we paid for extra grease we did not need, lol. Why can't anyone trust women? Don't people know they provide moral support/open beers by our side for every repair?

Story #4 @ Autozone: My grandpa and I were doing a brake line job and I was in college and piss broke at the time so he was going to save me money by just cutting out the bad section of line and using compression fittings instead of replacing the whole flared line across the rear axle. We found in the process that my 20+ yr old bleeding screws were not only a b**** to break free from the rust, but were hopelessly clogged. Sent me to the store; the guy had no clue what a union/compression fitting was so he let me browse around the back to find what I needed. When I asked him for a bleeding screw for my make/model, he literally gave me a short 3/8" adapter piece (like you would use on a master cylinder) - NOT suitable for a bleeder, but my 19 YO self didn't know any better. Man did I get chewed out by my grandpa when I got back, lol.

Someone needs to put knowledgeable people in these stores...
 
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OutlawDrifter

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I needed a wing nut and the gasket between the throttle body and air cleaner assembly on my LS swapped '49 GMC. It has a Delmo style adapter that allows me to use the DBW TB like a carb on my Holley EFI intake, which then has a Cadillac/Olds batwing air cleaner on top. So to make it simple, a 5-1/8" common carburetor gasket.

O'Reilly's dude asked, year/make/model...to which I replied, none of that will help you. Mass confusion was the next emotion from the assistant manager....

Took him 20 minutes to come up with neither on the computer. I had him grab the books from behind the counter had it all found in about 2min.


My small town parts store dude probably could have walked to the back and grabbed it all off the shelf...experience. Not the young guys fault necessarily, but the computer system is trash.
 

Erik the Awful

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I have an old brass-bladed ice scraper, and my wife stole it for her car. I went looking for a replacement at Autozone.
"Do y'all have any ice scrapers that don't have a plastic blade? I'd like one with a brass blade."
"They don't make those any more because of the plastic coatings they're putting on windshields nowadays."
Sure, plastic coatings on windshields, because plastic is so much more durable in sunlight.

Then there was the time at Autozone when I asked for the coolant tee for my '99 Suburban.
"That looks like a vacuum tee."
"It's a coolant tee."
"No, I'm sure that's a vacuum tee... oh, wait, it says it's a coolant tee... hmm... we can get it for you by tomorrow."
"Nevermind."
I walked into O'Reillys, and as soon as I asked for a '99 Suburban coolant tee, the manager pointed to a box full of them.
 

SS Performance

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I went into the pats store looking for a muffler. It was for the generator in the race trailer. Parts guy "what year make model?" me "doesn't apply do you have a Walker catalog?" Parts guy "sure." I give him the Walker part number saying "I need one of this part number." Parts guy "I can't look it up that way I need year make and model." I walk out.

Another time at a different parts store I say I need brake pads for a 2006 Corvette. Parts guy "what make is that?"

This list goes on for miles I won't bore you with a long list. Suffice it to say the only qualifications for working in a parts store these days are breathing and passing a piss test. The second qual is debatable.
 
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