experience with autozone starters/alternators?

Hellbent

Hellbent

NAXJA Forum User
Location
san diego, california
so, i need an alternator for my integra. autozone is $20 less than carquest, and can get it a little faster. i won't touch o'rly's?(kragen) electrics for any price. there's a napa nearby, but it's staffed by morons and dirtbags, so i refuse to shop there. i know carquest's stuff is pretty good(having worked there), but i know nothing of autozone's duralast line. it's a pain in the ass to get the alt out, so i don't want to have to exchange it every few months.
 
i just replaced the alternator in my bmw 525 with a autozone duralast unit. It was absolute crap for fitmant. I had to grind out the mounting points just to make them fit around the bracket on my car and the intake tube didn't match up. My car has a intake tube going to the alternator to help with cooling. The back of the alternator has a inlet for that tube, i had to custom make an intake tube because the inlet in the back of the alt did not match up. Hopefully the alt will last but it was a bitch getting it to fit and it was enough to keep me from buying another duralast unit.

btw i to hate most the schmucks that work at napa, their all dicks and i rarely go their because of it.
 
I personally don't use autozone for things that are critical(things that will leave my butt stranded).

Like: fuel pumps, starters, alternators... oh heck, just about anything mechanical.

They have cheaper prices though.

Both my local Checker auto parts and Advance Auto parts will match the autozone prices if I ask them.
I just print off the online prices and take them in for a price match.
 
Mike1331 said:
btw i to hate most the schmucks that work at napa, their all dicks and i rarely go their because of it.
Click to expand...
NAPA as a whole prides itself on customer service, you should try giving them a call. If you would like I can try to dig up a contact number for the main rep for your area, I'm sure he would love to hear of any problems you are having with the employees at any particular store.
 
that'd be a good number to have, the guys at this napa are just unbelievable. the last time i was in there(about four months ago), i stood there at the counter waiting for almost 10 minutes while one of the employees recited to another this big, long story about his tweeker girlfriend stealing someone's jewelry. no joke. they both looked right at me several times, then only turned around to help me after the story was done.
as far as the autozone stories, that was kind of what i expected. oddly, they are by far the most friendly and helpful auto parts employees anywhere near here :doh:. i think i'll just pay the extra 20 and go with carquest, at least i know what their reman's are like.
 
PM me the information for the store you are having a problem with, and I will see if I can put you in touch with the district rep. One bad store makes us all look bad :doh:
 
I love my local Napa. One of the counter guys is a fellow XJer, getting coilovers through the floor out back, just got it caged. They're always good over there and occasionally the Jeeper gives me a break on cost.
 
My local AutoZone is actually pretty decent, one of the guys (either the manager or the associate manager, forget which) used to make fun of me for my constant buying of Jeep parts, then in the last two weeks his Honda blew an oil pump and I walked into the store to find him disassembling a 2 stroke engine on the counter... hasn't given me crap about it since then :D

Haven't been to NAPA recently, though we have one across town, it's not within walking distance when I realize I forgot some critical part halfway through a repair like the AutoZone is.
 
The nice think about csk is that the warranty is included and dont have to pay extra, like at vatozone.
 
I try not to use anything bearing the Duralast name. But I do like Autozone, especially because there's a 24-hour store just down the street.
 
I have never had a problem with autozone. I bought my latest battery there and I will admit.. I killed it. I drained it when the Jeep went into storage, then let it sit for 14 months, then tried to re-charge it, then drained it again, then could barely get charge into it... well I was otu of my 2 year warrenty but got a replacement for like $35 based on the pro-rated amount they had.

For other parts... I have never had an issue. I have got brakes, clutch master, clutch in general, and the list goes on. Pretty much anything I needed I have gone there. Lately I have been considering going to NAPA or Advance since both are on my current drive home from work and Autozone is in the opposite direction. NAPA will be for critical parts and advance for fluids or filters etc if they have better prices.

Then again; most stuff like alternators I just went to the JY. I ended up with a 118A Alt out of a dakota for next to nothing. I (comparatively) paid so little that I figured it was worth the chance that it didn't work.
 
ended up going with carquest. the guy even matched autozone's price. it charges, i'm happy. lifetime warranty too, though i hope to never have to use it.
 
Darky said:
I love my local Napa.
Click to expand...

I have two Napas within 10 minutes of my house and I love it. Both are staffed by knowledgeable people who are willing to look through books to find that random part I need, or cross reference some part numbers for me.



I try to avoid Vatozone or similar places unless other stores are closed or I just need some oil or windshield wipers since they tend to be the cheapest for products like that.
 
I HATE when I have to go to NAPA! I like their products, but HATE the people there. I usually get what I need, but those guys are a bunch of condescending dickheads. I need parts, not attitude from some counter bitch. They are slow and not any kind of friendly. The closest one to me is the warehouse that the rest of the stores in town get their parts from. The other one near me has never had a part I need, and always refers me to the warehouse store.

I couldn't believe how long it took to get a Krikit II. I even printed the NAPA page w/part # and pic.

The Auto Zone 3 blocks from home usually has what I need, as well as friendly and helpful people. They often don't know exactly what I'm talking about, but they listen when I do.
 
Well, when I toasted my alternator at WF09 I had to drive 35 miles to the only parts store that was open in the area, of course it was Auto zone. They had an alternator waiting on me and Big Hank swapped it in the parking lot in about 45 minutes. It fit good and went it fairly easily. To this day I haven't had a problem but the engine it is attached to is in my wrecked XJ so its a spare right now!
 
I changed a fuel pump on my 89 xj in a autozone parking lot somewhere in Colorado Springs. Got home (lived in TX panhandle) and then it died a week later. I went with a jeep fuel pump second time around. The only parts I would buy from them are (as mentioned) non critical, like some sweet skull license plate bolts or some buick style fender vents or maybe those silhouette stickers of the naked lady. If they had a name brand part like goodwrench or K&N I wouldn't mind buying that either.
 
I bought a distributor from Autozone once and it crapped out and left me stranded on the side of the HWY 2 weeks later.A friend bought a carburator about the same time, from the same Autozone, and it was junk right out of the box.For smaller, common stuff I'll still get it at Autozone, Checker or Advance but for things like alternators, starters, etc. its Napa all the way.
 
I don't use Autozone for major parts myself any longer(Since the brake master cylinder on my CJ, long story.) However, if I was forced to, I would only get new manufacture, not re-man. If the choice was re-man with a lifetime warranty, or go to another store, I'd shop around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top