Where do you buy your parts at?

[Cloud Strife]

I am just curious where everyone buys their parts at. I know there is Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts, and stuff like that.

What about online?

[srbianats]

I like rockauto.com. Just ordered both Dorman oil cooler lines, gaskets and heater core today. Did a google search for a discount code and saved 5 percent. Total cost was 146 USD.

[BlazerLT]

Ebay for me.

[s10blazerman4x4]

ebay rockauto usautoparts.com

[OverBoardProject]

Here in BC Canada there's a chain called Lordco that gives me a pretty good discount.

[Brian R.]

NAPA for mechanical parts, Advance Auto or Pepboys for oil, filter, miscellaneous supplies

[ZL1power69]

i buy from a local auto parts store (westminster auto parts/bumper to bumper). i get 35% off. i have also recently started buying off ebay.
if all else fails, i go to advanced auto (even though price wise they are high).

[BlazinMlew]

No real preference for me just the cheapest and best quailty for the prices I guess. I will shop around until I find something at the best price because I'm broke like that.

[blazee]

Where I shop depends on what parts I need, and how fast that I need them. The four main places are:

Rock Auto www.rockauto.com
RockAuto.com is a good place to order parts from. You can get high quality and hard to find parts fairly cheap. They sell some of the top brands including AC Delco and MOOG. The only problem is that it isn't local, so you have to wait to get the part and if something ever happens to it, you can't just make a quick run to town to swap it out.


Advance Auto www.partsamerica.com
Advance Auto is a good place to get steering and suspension parts (Tie rod ends, idler arms, ball joints, etc....) Get the TRW brand they are well made and if you ever have any problems, they have a lifetime warranty. I bought my hub assembly from them, it has about 50,000 miles on it now and no problems yet. I bought a water pump from them, too, it was brand new, not a reman, it's got about 30,000 on it. I also like their Bendix semi-metallic brake pads. They also seem to have better prices on tools than most other parts stores. You have to watch them though, Advance Auto usually has the least educated employees. Look at the screen while they are looking up your parts, make sure it is the right vehicle and compare the parts they give you. They have given me the wrong parts many times.

AutoZone www.autozone.com
They carry Fel-Pro gaskets which are the best.
I have used their Duralast Gold brake pads and rotors on my Blazer. They have a lifetime warranty. The first set lasted 6 months/ 25,000 miles. They had great stopping power until I changed them, BUT when they got to about 1/8" of pad left (the time you are suppose to change them) one of the pads came apart. The friction material separated from the backing plate (first time I've ever seen brakes do this) this caused lots of damage to the rotor. When I took the old pads and rotor to AutoZone they promptly gave me a new set of brakes and a brand new rotor. I don't know if this was a freak thing or a sign of poor quality. My second set lasted as long as the first, I didn't have any problems with them. I really liked the Duralast pads, but quit using them because they rarely had them in stock. I still use the Duralast rotors.

NAPA www.napaonline.com
Napa has the best oil filters. (NAPA GOLD) They seem to carry the best parts, but you can expect to pay more. They also have cheaper brand parts, that sometimes cost less then Advance and AutoZone parts. NAPA employees usually have the most knowledge and experience.
I have the most expensive pads and rotors they sell on my Impala SS. ($800 for the set) I am very satisfied with them. I can come to a complete stop from 140mph without warping the rotors and minimal brake fade. I went through brakes every few months before getting these. All others I tried would either turn to mush at speeds greater then 120mph or would immediately warp the rotors.
They are great about honoring warranties, usually there are no questions asked and no receipt needed. I used to have a '63 Willy's Jeep truck, when the starter went out, I called Napa and asked them if they had another one. I called off the part number to the guy and he asked how I got that number. I told him that I read it off an old wore out Napa sticker that was on the starter. The guy told me he had to order the starter, I asked him how much it would cost, and he told me it was free because the old one came from them. I knew the guy that had owned the truck before me for years and I had the truck for a long time before the starter went out, that old starter had to have been at least 7-8 years old and switched hands several times, but they still honored the warranty with no receipt or questions.

Another place is, http://www.GMpartsdirect.com.It is good for buying dealer only parts.

[mike2004tct]

Originally Posted by blazee

Where I shop depends on what parts I need, and how fast that I need them. The four main places are:

Same here. I have a Napa 3 blocks from where I live. This is my first choice for mechanical parts. (Walking distance- WhooHooo- just walked there yesterday for a WP for my daughters Sunfire)

Next is either Advance or Autozone (8 miles away). Depending if parts are $75.00 of more, I'll bypass Napa and head to these places if there's a big price difference.

Retail chains (Target,Menards,Fleet Farm- also 8 miles away) for oil and Filters if I'm in the area during a sale.

Ebay (Egay) for used parts (Just purchased a Factory CD player to replace my Cassette unit (Boy, do I miss my 8-track)
There is also a salvage yard 1 mile from me, but it's a high priced yard, I very rarely use them.

[OverBoardProject]

We're all guilty of soliciting on this thread

If anyone is trying to do a classic car buildup and having a hard time getting engine parts PM me and ask for Ken's Auto's phone number in Chilliwack BC Canada.
They're incredable, and have several OEM engine kits.

[Ultrashock]

My parts come from Advance auto.......Napa........ and Carquest

[Jon Teeter]

Auotzone and Advance have good prices but you get what you pay for.Sometimes a lifetime warrenty isn't worth it if your constantly exchanging faulty junk parts.

[BlazerLT]

So true.

[Markgc]

I learned my lesson with cheap starter motors from Advance Autos. The starter for my 86 Cavalier fell apart after a year and the one for my 89 Blazer didn't even work out of the box. When I asked the right questions they had different grades of starter motor. For a bit more money I exchanged the white box junk for a rebuilt starter motor which had been tested to Delco specs - the extra money was worth it and I haven't had an isssue with either vehicle. Personally I only want to do a job once so I want a decent part. You might think me crazy but when I changed the water pump on the 86 Cavalier, which was a pig of a job, I put in a genuine GM part. I figured if the original pump had lasted for 140,000 miles then I wanted the replacement to do the same.

When I changed the Blazer front wheel bearings I used NAPA parts.

The only problem NAPA part has been the NAPA Blazer drivers outside door handle. After the third one broke I cracked and splurged out on the genuine GM part which was a much heavier duty part and hasn't broken yet.

Word on the street avoid Four Seasons rebuilt AC compressors



Mark