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What do you guy’s think about Auto Zone in general and more specifically what do you think of their prices? I for one have always shopped at auto. and just recently bought my oil and filter to do an oil change. they were running a deal so I only spent about $25 dollars for a 5+ gallon jug of gtx high mileage and a Bosch filter and got a $7 dollar mail in rebate for the oil and a $2 one for the filter. So in this case after the rebate ill have spent $16 which is a pretty sweet deal. The oil normally runs between $23-$28 dollars at auto zone. And the filter for about $6 or $7. without the sale or rebate I would have spent $32. But today while at Wal-Mart I noticed the same oil for $18. I didn’t see any bosch filters but they had a Fram tough guard filter for $6 which is what I normally use. So if I would have bought it at Wal-Mart then I would have spent $24. In this case without any sales auto zone would have been 8 dollars more expensive than Wal-Mart. It’s the same way for windshield wipers. Wal-Mart tends to have windshield wipers 3-5 dollars cheaper than auto zone. So it seems that when it comes to maintenance parts for vehicles that auto zone over charges you. At least that’s how it is where I live. Ill purchase parts from them but from now on I’m going to check Wal-Mart’s prices on everything else. So what do you all think? Is auto zone a rip off when it comes to maintenance parts? Is it worth shopping at Wal-Mart to save an extra buck? And where do you guys normally shop for repair and maintenance parts?
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I occasionally shop at Autozone or Advance Autoparts. Yes they cost more the Walmart but they carry a lot that Walmart doesn’t and will scan you car for you if you have a CEL. But they are likely cheaper than your dealer and are more accessible than your dealer with extended hours and easier locations.
However, the layout of the cash registers in AA or AZ irritate me so I find myself buying online more and more. For my Honda, I can get anything I need online OEM parts far cheaper than the dealer, even after paying for shipping.
I normally pick up the small stuff at walmart, Like the wiper blades, Oil, Filters. I wouldnt really call them a rip off though, Going to just about any other auto store you would get about the same prices. Shopping around never hurt anyone!
i tend to go to autozone first for bigger parts..everytime i call around it seems they have everyone beat….another perk is if you spend more than $20 five times=$100 you will get $20 off your next purchase……to everyone living in CA they quit checking your CEL..the governor will only let repair shop’s do this which is not free…..
I went to Wal-Mart once. The place depressed me to tears. I’ll go out of my way to spend my money at Autozone just to ensure its existence in 5 years rather than give my business to Wal-Mart, which doesn’t specialize in auto parts. I need an auto parts store. I don’t need a Wal-Mart.
Figure out which brand you like and go with the lowest price. You would think that discount auto part stores would have nearly the same price unless they carry a different brand. Autozone, O’Reilly’s, Advance Autoparts, and in my area, KOI, probably have owners who share the same smoking room and compare notes.
“We offer a lifetime guarantee on the part, because ya know they will be back!”
“Front end part sales are up this year. We should encourage the DOT to do more shoddy road repairs for next year.”KOI had a Moog ball joint for $47 each, while autopartsnow.com sells the same Moog ball joint for $21 each. Or do they sell the same part? Autozone sells a a Sylvania lamp for $11 while autopartsnow.com sells the same lamp for $21 each.
Wal-Mart is too big. They just recently sided with my HMO for prescription drugs. God, what a mess. Maybe Wal-Mart will open a funeral parlor.
I checked the price of NGK iridium spark plugs for my 04 Acura RSX at Auto Zone the other day. They were $10 per. That’s the lowest price I have seen. They always have very good prices. Wal Mart has oil in 5 qt containers cheaper than others, but I’d rather shop somewhere else.
I buy filters and oil at Walmart, for other stuff I price it at Autozone or Oreilly. There’s really not a big presence of Advance Auto in my area. There are a few NAPA stores but they tend to be more expensive. There’s also PepBoys but their website isn’t very helpful for finding parts unless I want a battery or tires.
(Since I assume they’d rather have them do the repair)
AZ and Oreilly go back and forth as to who has the cheapest parts.
Autozone is the place i go mainly for my oil particularly when they have Mobil 1 filters and 5 qts of Mobil synthetic oil for $30 C8-)
I tend to buy my replacement parts from the dealer for my own vehicles. If im helping out a family member or friend on a budget, ill buy there needed parts from Autozone seeing as its so close to my house.
Everyone has made good points. i one for one will still shop at AZ for repair parts. but go to Wal-Mart for other things. But that
The only things I buy from Wal-Mart for strictly automotive purposes are oil and filters. I’ll buy things like wire, electrical tape, zip ties and the like from them too, but those aren’t necesarily used to repair cars. Otherwise, I’ll use AutoZone, since it’s closer to my apartment than Wal-Mart is, as well as having reasonable prices for stuff. I will go to other places if AZ doesn’t have the parts that I need, but those times are rare, and it’s usualy for oddball stuff anyway, like the idler pulley for my wife’s 3.0 powered Subaru Outback. It’s a comparatively rare engine, and the idler pulley doesn’t go bad often, so nobody stocks it. Even the local dealer told me that it would take 3 or 4 days to arrive before I could pick it up, so I just ordered it off the internet and paid extra for the one day shipping. Granted, I didn’t think that the idler was going to completely fail during her drive to work, but I didn’t want to risk it.
I have had some bad experiences with the Auto Zones in my area I tend to go to O’Reilley (one block from my house), or I buy parts online from Advance and pick them up at the store down the road. I like Advance online because they always have specials like 15% off of a 100$ purchase or my favorite 15% off on 100$ plus a rebate for 50$ off your next 100$. You can’t beat a deal like that!! But you have to purchase the parts online (but can do a store pick up). That said I do use the loan-a-tool program at Autozone beacuse they have the best selection of tools (the hub where I live even has a vaccum pump for a/c work which is great since they cost 200$ or more and I rarely use it.
AutoZone is good for your basic tune up parts and random things you need. When it comes to the main parts such as cv axles… Go somewhere else O’reillys is about the same but they can get you the right part. They gave me the wrong cv axles! I believe they gave me ones with abs and i specifically said i don’t have abs.
Having an ABS tone wheel on the axle won’t matter on a non-ABS car, the axle will still work the exact same. It’s hard to find them now without the tone wheel. I know that when I’m at work and I write a car up for a CV axle, and the service manager asks me if it’s ABS or non-ABS, I tell him that it doesn’t matter and to just order the ABS-equipped part.
Now, if you put an axle without the ABS tone wheel on a car that has ABS, then you’re going to set a code and the ABS light will come on.
one thing is for certain auto zone has excellent customer service. for example last Friday i bought a bottle Lucas power steering fluid from auto zone. the lid broke. i dont how but it was one of those lids that you have to push down and then twist to open, but no matter how hard I tried the bottle wouldn’t open so i went back to auto zone and reluctantly asked them for help and they couldn’t even open it. so they just went over and grabbed another bottle off the shelve and gave me a new without out charging me again since the first one was full.
Another example of great customer service was from a couple of months ago. i went into AZ to get a a Feul line removal tool because i couldn’t remove my feul filter off of the line. so i went in and explained them my problem so they took me over to the tools and showed me what they had but as i was looking at them i could tell they were not going to work. so when i told him rather than argue with as whether they would or wouldn’t all he said is let me see. so we went outside and he crawled under my car and looked at the piece. he agreed that the normal removal tool was not going to work so out in the parking lot i relived fuel pressure and we both sat out there for 15 – 20 minutes working on removing the fitting. he finally was able to do it with a pocket knife and without damaging the fitting. not very many are willing to go outside and spend 20 min removing a filter and getting covered in gasoline when they dont have to.
They do sometimes over charge on fluids like oil, but they have the best customer service i have seen. those are only two examples but i have always had good experiences when i go into there. the only bad experience i have had at AZ was when i ordered a valve cover gasket. when i went in they gave me the gasket and when i pointed out that was the wrong brand and that it was twice the size. they just went and looked in the back and realized they just grabbed the wrong one and corrected it right then and there. so even then they had good customer service.
So ive decided im willing to pay an extra couple of bucks to deal with auto zone rather than go to a place like Walmart . when i can afford it
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