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Anything that is cosmetic (either interior or exterior), I buy from the car manufacturer directly.
Wear items I buy at local professional parts shop. The service is great and I like keeping local business alive. Sometimes I go through online parts stores (mainly autodoc). The main thing is, I do not buy something from a brand I don’t trust to be somewhat reputable in the relevant field: SFK and NSK for bearings, Hutchinson for rubber parts, Brembo, TRW or Ferodo for brakes…
The price comes in second for these as I value my time and don’t want to do the job twice.
For non-wear items that break down (looking at you BMW cooling system), it can go either way. If the part breaking down was OEM and had a way shorter life span than it should have had, I try my luck with the after market.
JFNF
FCPEuro, Autozone. Then, whoever has the parts.
really depends. For most long-term consumables (wipers, spark plugs, filters, etc.) I’ll do Rockauto if I can help it. I have an Autozone down the street from me, an O’Reilly’s not that much further, so if I need it today, I’ll check there. For more niche stuff on my newer cars, I’ll get OEM from one of the dealers that will sell it online. For my Saab, well, eBay is the best I have from lots that have plenty of other Saabs sitting and waiting to be recycled. There are a few places in Europe that will still make new OEM-style parts also.
FCP Euro for my personal vehicles; RockAuto for the family/friend’s cars. I like RockAuto but I really miss when I can’t order from FCP. They make it very easy to buy OE or original parts. Also their lifetime warranty is nice; I’ve been getting oil filters, air filters, and wiper blades for the cost of shipping for several years now.
It used to be (late 80’s, early 90’s) I could go to one of several independent/family run places. Where I grew up, I would go to Andy’s Auto. They showed me how to use the brake lathe, bearing press, etc. I remember they had a Studebaker carburetor up on the top of one shelf, ben sitting there for 20 years probably. Most of the places would let you pay for a part, then call the parts house and you could drop by and pick it up on the way home. Then in the late 90’s, they started dropping out, one by one. I visited my home town last summer and was helping my dad work on his truck, and there was still one (and only one) left. We went in there, and there was the guy running it, and his helper was Mike (Andy’s son) who had closed up shop and retired. I didn’t recognize him at first. We talked a bit, he said that this was the last independent shop in whole area.
I buy from pretty much everywhere, sometimes from multiple places for the same job, often on a whim. Certain things are better from the parts store than from Rock Auto, but OEM parts from RA are fine, as they are from Amazon.
RockAuto for almost everything. You should see my magnet collection.
I just bought all new wipers for my fleet and they forgot the magnet! I was kind of annoyed.
For my old Mercedes, Pelican Parts and FCP Euro are great. Both have free shipping with a min purchase and a lifetime warranty on their parts. I have yet to use it but it translates into “windshield wipers for life.”
For the Subaru and Toyota I actually often get dealer parts. They need so little service that it’s not worth cheaping out on stuff.
Consumables and small items from the usual suspects: O’Reilly, Napa, etc. I always research first. The counter jockeys in those places are not reliable advisors.
Agreed. I worked for Kragen back in college. We counter guys learned about cars and parts as quickly as we could, and the customers taught us a lot, as well.
When I went in to an Auto Zone and asked for a part for my Mazda, the parts girl asked me,
“What’s a Miata?”.
Never parts stores if I can help it. Worked at a parts store for 5 years. It’s all garbage. Rockauto is pretty good, it at least gives you the widest array of options, even if the shipping stuff is a total PITA. OEM if I can, high quality aftermarket if I can’t.
If I must go to a parts store, I’ll go to a locally owned place, or NAPA (If its locally owned).
Rock Auto sells the same “garbage” the stores do, where do you think they get it from?
Sure, but they don’t JUST offer garbage. I can get OEM parts or other reputable name brands vs just trusting that whatever is in the O’reilly box is going to be okay.
Pays to do your research I guess. As a NAPA store I sell NAPA-branded stuff, most of it brakes, electrical and undercar, but I can tell you exactly where it comes from. Seems like the trend lately is to have the vendor brand front and center on a lot of things.
Having owned a auto repair business,Napa parts used to come to us with a sticker over the original label noting the Napa part number.Peel off the Napa sticker and voila there was a label with a parts plus number , a auto value number, a oreilly number etc.allon the same box.
They have switched now as you know to a branded box but I’m sure the same place in China or wherever labor is cheapest is making the part.
I still do some business with our flaps ( friendly local auto parts store )(Napa)
and the guys and gals there are great.
NAPA Batteries = Deka
NAPA Chassis = Mevotech or Federal-Mogul (Proformer brand)
NAPA Filters = Wix, soon to be Premium Guard, Baldwin & Donaldson
NAPA Ignition & Engine Management = Standard Motor Products
NAPA Rotating Electrical & Calipers = BBB Industries
NAPA Brake Rotors & Hardware = Brake Parts International
NAPA Exhaust = Walker
NAPA Fuel Pumps = Carter
NAPA Shocks = Monroe
NAPA Belts & Hose & Water Pumps = Gates
In addition, NAPA sells many vendor branded parts: CR/SKF, Delphi, Denso, NGK, Bosch, Dorman, KYB among others.
NAPA’s branded brake pads come from their own brake pad company, Rayloc, which has plants in Kentucky, Maryland and Utah. However we also sell Akebono and Brembo pads too.
As you probably know, China is the source point on many components on a good amount of everything all of us buy, but saying it’s all crap and comes from wherever they can get it cheapest rubs me quite a bit the wrong way.
Advance Auto Parts for small stuff because they’re close to my house. If I’m ordering, I’ll check Rock Auto first. Recently I had to replace a window regulator in my truck and Rock Auto didn’t have any, so I went to 1A Auto and ordered from them. I figured they have a ton of installation videos on youtube, they seem to know what’s up. What I got was a broken used part that someone had returned sold to me as new. They made it right, but that was not a fun first ordering experience with the company.
Oh, and if it’s for the Volvo or Saab, I’m going to either IPD or FCP Euro, I know they’ll have the right parts.
Rock auto is really the best thing out there, though if I need something quick, Napa seems to be the best option these days. Protip, Napa Brand filters are also WIX Made. and they will break a bulk pack that they might otherwise sell to a dealer and sell them to you for a pittance of what others sell now. Add in the lack of Wix at most other places now and it is a no brainer. Also I end up using Rock Auto to identify parts more than anything. because they seem to be the most correct, I tend to want to buy from them even if amazon is sometimes a bit simpler and cheaper if shipping is free.
NAPA is severing ties with Wix in mid-October. Ever since Mann-Hummel bought Wix, and because of the pandemic, Wix has had massive issues with supply chain and order fulfillment. NAPA has been with Wix for what, 80 years? So it wasn’t a knee-jerk thing, backorders and short fill were so bad that NAPA split half the country to Premium Guard to try to help out, and it only got marginally better. Anecdotally, there’s some evidence that the Wix product is not as good as it used to be. I’ve been a Wix guy all my life, so I’m torn. I don’t know how losing a customer as large as NAPA won’t be very difficult for Wix in the long run.
NAPA Gold (light-duty) filters will be Premium Guard product nationwide, heavy duty will be split between Donaldson and Baldwin.
Rock Auto or maybe online dealership that has a good price, if I can wait a few days to get it shipped.
NAPA if I need it like today or tomorrow.
If it cannot wait and NAPA needs a couple days, then Advanced or the dealership.
As to which parts, I do a little research to find out who makes that particular part best. Usually I stay with the name brands and those linked to the manufacturer. If I go with a house brand, it is NAPA. Special parts or those that involve a lot of labor, I try to stick with manufacture branded.
In my experience Duralast didn’t last. O’Reilly’s is not terrible if I’m not keeping it long. Advanced is kinda my minimal. Amazon is a big “nope”.
Here’s a tip for ya. If you have a part number, pretty much any of the big part stores can get you what you need. I worked at a Napa for 5 years. The days of NAPA having better parts than the competitor are long gone. It’s all Dorman and Standard Automotive garbage wrapped up in an Echlin or Balkamp box. Where NAPA’s tend to do better than the competition is that in smaller towns they are locally owned, and have employees who actually know what the hell you are talking about.
Thanks for the advice. I realize NAPA has fallen some from their quality heights. That’s why I research who makes the NAPA branded parts. At least for the parts that I’ve needed, the NAPA branded are still made by reputable manufacturers. Heck, I even research who makes the parts for the brand behind the NAPA brand.
If I had to pick one parts store to supply ‘whatever’, I’d go with NAPA. I’m lucky though that I live in an area with several different part store chains and OE parts sources, so I can pick and choose where I want to get the best part for the job.
For my Jeep,Chevy and Olds I go to one of the two local parts stores that specializes in American cars,(still 40 minutes away). For the other stuff i go to the closest one if they have what i need. I usually don’t buy online.