I just bought 16 gallons of oil. 16! I don’t even know where I’m going to store all that, but I couldn’t resist, because it was just so cheap. But some folks have been getting even better deals by visiting one of Advance Auto Parts’ many closing stores in person. Check out these absurd deals.
I’m not entirely sure how I came upon this deal, but when I did, I immediately pulled the trigger. 16 times.
$8.75 for a gallon — four quarts — of 15W40 Fram diesel motor oil; that’s a damn fine deal for what seems to be some good stuff. Do many of my cars take 10W-30 or 5W-30? Sure, but I live in warm California and my cars are old; they’ll handle it just fine.
But as good a deal as these 16 gallons of oil were, it’s nothing compared to what others have been scoring from local Advance Auto Parts stores.
I actually dropped by a closing Advance Auto Parts store yesterday, but decided not to enter because the store was only letting in two people at a time, so the line was long. I didn’t think much of it, but then today at the post office I overheard a gentleman telling me folks were getting alternators and starters and other parts for ridiculous prices. A quick Reddit search blew my mind:
Redditor “booljames” said a few weeks ago on the Ford Explorer Reddit page that he/she got a radiator for $24! And a water pump for $11. That’s absurd! Radiators are usually well over $100, and water pumps are usually $50! Redditor “jixerjames” says he/she got similar deals at a closing Advance Auto Parts in Wisconsin, writing:
I’m not the only one! Appleton Wisconsin. I scored front Strut ASSEMBLIES from Monroe, top of the line, for $19 ea. The old Ford Explorer riding on air again! I went ahead and got rears as well, though I paid $40 each for those. All new struts and sway bar end links came to like $130. Felt nice up
Check out the deal that Redditor “hoooch” wrote about a few days ago in his/her post “Advance Auto 95% off parts” on the Lexus GX Reddit page:
I may have seen another post about this already, but it’s worth re-upping. Advance auto is closing some of their locations. At the stores closing, parts are 95% off. I got front rotors for $6 each, filters for $3, etc. Oil is half off, wiper blades half off, etc. If you need an exhaust manifold or some other expensive part, go check to see if they have them. If you go to their website and check the store finder, it looks like the closing stores will no longer appear, so if you know of a store and it isn’t listed there, it’s worth swinging by.
Rotors for six bucks?! Amazing. Half-off oil? Nice! And check out this haul on the GT86 page:
PunksPrettyMuchDead says he/she scored three sets of brake pads/rotors and two sets of rear pads/rotors for just $300! Absurd!
But wait, there’s more. On the Ford Expedition Reddit page there exists a post about an Advance Auto Parts deal so great, many wrenchers would likely have fainted at the sight of the receipt. Steady yourself before you read this, because it is absurd:
Hubs and brake pads and struts and CV axles and headlights and so much more — nearly $1,500 worth of merchandise for just $300! My mind is blown! My cheap 16 gallons of oil doesn’t hold a candle to that kind of savings!
Anyway, if you’ve got a (sadly) closing Advance Auto Parts near you and you see a line out the door, be patient and don’t just walk away like I did, for there may be smokin’ hot deals on the other side of those doors. And one doesn’t just walk away from smokin’ hot deals.
Top graphic: Advance Auto Parts
Didn’t this started like a month ago? Maybe it wasn’t at 90% off at first, but whatever you can find now are just the leftovers.
Last time I bought an oil change combo from Advance auto they were supposed to ship me one 5 quart jug and they sent a case instead. Shipping error in my favor.
Is it really worth it though? A jug of 5 qts (1.25 gallons) of Walmart SuperTech seems to go for $18.75 all day long at my local WalMart, it can’t be any worse than the incorrect weight and formula of FRAM. And I don’t have to store or worse, potentially MOVE, 16 jugs of stuff on top of all of the other stuff already in the garage while tying up $150 or so in cash for the next half decade. I’ll bet some of these people are putting their “deals” onto their 19% credit cards… 🙂
And good luck to the guy that bought the alternator when he finds out in two years that it was yet another crappy auto parts store rebuild that didn’t work out of the box with nowhere to return/exchange it to.
Unless I know I’m going to for sure need it within a year, at most two (oil filter? Wipers?), I’m not hoarding car parts for cars I may well not even own anymore next year. Sunk money.
Well, technically it’s not the wrong weight oil. Many of these 10w-30 cars list 40-weight as OK if above 20F or whatever.
I also own a lot of cars, but yeah, in many ways this is saving like $50 and I have to store lots of oil. But whatever! I’m a sucker for a deal!
Careful. Don’t get caught with all that oil.
Ummm… DT, are you shopping for car parts while you are on your Honeymoon?(☉̃ₒ☉)
That is the honeymoon
When I read the first two lines, I scrolled back up to check who the author was and yup, it was David all right 🙂
When does all this end? Or, what is the approximate date this ends?
If the closing stores are already at the 90-95% off stage, it’ll end any minute now. Generally that steep a discount is “we need everything gone in the next few days” territory.
I went to one looking for a battery. An employee kept going back and forth in front of me to find a battery for a customer. People, these are not full service stores! It’s bad enough these employees are losing their jobs. If it’s not behind the counter, it’s your job to figure out what battery is compatible. Don’t expect to find it and don’t even think about asking if there’s one “in the back”.
You should know exactly what you’re looking for, as well as the part numbers BEFORE you go there!
You’re assuming most of the people who go to those stores are car people who will know that information beforehand. More often than not, people visiting those stores know absolutely nothing about their vehicles.
I already assume most people are idiots.
That sounds like a you problem then. I wouldn’t call someone an idiot simply because they don’t know anything about their vehicle.
To young kids working at my AutoZone.
I came in wanting to order a starter. Told them year/make/model (MGB)
They both stopped and googled the car to see what it was. Then said Kewl Dude, nice little car. One drives a JDM Subaru, so they like cars. I didn’t know the specific part number for the starter. I just knew I need one.
Sounds like Rock Auto. I’m not sure they even have a phone.
man if I was in that area I would def go try and clean up, especially for some brakes/rotors, drive belts, air filters…
The closest Advanced Auto just opened in a new plaza ~6mos ago, directly across the street from NAPA. So, I may have to wait awhile before the AA closing sale.
I still go to the NAPA.
TBH Napa usually has better prices and components on brakes in my experience.
I get trade pricing at my local Napa through work so they get 95% of my business.
The other 5 is whatever store I’m in when I remember the mower needs oil or that I have a burned out tail light.
Purchases 16 gallons of oil on his honeymoon.
Hmmm.
I think ENHRM knows who she married.
Will be stored in the pantry next to the olive oil, below the oil filters.
Thinks that having all that not-immediately-necessary potentially flammable fluid that’ll have to be stored somewhere is a good way to start married life, now of all times.
IMO most retail stores simply need to be distribution centers for stuff ordered online. “Stuff needed right away” (grocery stores, etc.) have their own stores, but I’ve noticed that all types of stores simply sell what most people want and ignore the special requests of the minority, cuz profits and inventory turnover are keys to success.
Why do I go to an auto parts store these days?
Car batteries (install myself), windshield wipers (install them myself unless the store insists on installing them for free), various car lights, … for a while I was trying to clean my gas, but turns out it needed a fuel filter.
You are correct, I go there when I need it TODAY. If I’m planning ahead on a job I probably ordered online.
This is almost what happens at AA anyway. I always buy online and pick up because of online sales and other perks.
There’s one by me. There’s a Napa and an AutoZone within a 1/2 mile of it too. I guess I’ll go by and see if it’s closing
Autozone is usually across the street. I have good NAPA and O’Reillys local too.
They tend to cluster together for the same reason fast food joints do – Hotelling theory (not temporary housing, but an economist named Hotelling) from econ, you theoretically maximize the chance of the greatest number of consumers by being as close as possible to your competitors.
Thanks to Matt Sexton here, I’ve been starting to seek out Napas myself and have been enjoying better/more informed service than the others.
Incidentally, this might also explains why hotels are usually clustered together
I saw the $8-$12 jugs of Mobil 1 last week, but many of them were at store pickup locations that were not going out of business (unless every single Advance in my area is going out of business…).
Still, 95% off is really strange. Most stores hire liquidators who mark everything up by 50%, then put a “ALL SALES FINAL” sticker on it for 50% off, so the final discount is mediocre. See Toys R Us, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc.
From what I can gather they’re closing all West Coast locations serves by the four distribution centers they’re closing. Since Toys ‘r’ Us and Bed, Bath and Beyond were full liquidations, that’s probably why outside firms were involved in their store shutdowns. Unfortunately I can’t find a list of closing stores. but I don’t think any of them are anywhere near me, even though (or perhaps because, as one reason given for closures was a lack of density and supply chain resources in the West) there are quite a number of Advance stores locally.
They never achieved critical mass in Washington for sure. The build out of stores was very slow. I thought the Carquest purchase was intended to help reach that mass but instead, at least in WA, they seemed to drive off those franchisees that could have given their DCs the needed volume and velocity.
All stores in CA, OR, WA, HI and AK are closing including cutting off the Carquest franchise locations as they close the DCs serving those states. They are closing locations on an individual basis in other areas.
I try to live by the adage- “It’s embarrassing to pay full price”. I’ll see if I might need some parts in the future. Strike while the iron is hot.
Repeat after me. Don’t be a hoarder. Don’t be a hoarder. Don’t be a hoarder.
Just because it is a good deal doesn’t mean it is good for me. Storing and keeping things has a cost too. Only stash things you won’t be able to get in the future.
“Does this item bring you joy?”
“Shut up, Marie! It brings my car joy!”
looks at car
“Thank you for your service.”
Wow, a working Honeymoon….I bet Elise(NHRN) just loves it 🙂
Eh, you gotta do something in between the fun parts.
On my honeymoon there were no “between fun parts”
Pretty short honeymoon then? 🙂
LOL
I had a shotgun insurance wedding, then wasn’t covered!!!
Two questions:
Yes
(I’m sneaking blogs).
I really wish there was some way to check which stores are going out of business. The closest store to me seems to be remaining open which is great for me, but the others that are inconvenient enough to get to I have no clue on, but I’m generally unwilling to make the trek in the hopes of killer deals. These sorts of deals really are spectacular though.
Yeah, if the two stores nearish me are closing, I can’t tell. Neither are close enough to justify an exploratory visit without a secondary purpose, though I may try to convince myself it is worth because I need to buy some coolant for a cooling system flush on my TJ. Then again, O’Reilly’s is literally at the entrance of my neighborhood, and I pass a second O’Reilly’s, an AutoZone, and a NAPA before I get to the closest Advance Auto, so my willingness for self-deception will certainly be tested.
Drive by and look for vultures circling around.
I spent some time with Google and couldn’t turn up a list of stores that are closing. Which seems odd compared to what most businesses do. Does the WARN act require listing locations or just number of jobs being eliminated?
If you’re on the west coast of the US, the stores are going out of business. You only need a list if you’re fairly west but not sure if west enough to be included.