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Yet another parts store rant..

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ssal396

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I know there are a few car guys left in the parts stores, but I can never seem to get one... I just got back from the local Car Quest to get a cap and rotor for my car.. I tell the guy I need a cap and rotor for a GM HEI distributer, he says "what year and make is that for".. I told him it was in a 69 Chevelle, but that's not what it came out of and I went on to explained to him that they're almost all the same..I told him to look up anything from the mid 80's with a 350 and he would have it......


He then looked into his computer for about 10 mins and says "I don't see a Chevelle in the late 80's".......

Long story short, he finally comes up with it thanks to my help, and tells me "that will be $47.50" That's when I did one of these :eek: So, I tell him to keep the cap and I took the rotor for $11.00.... What a scam, I know things have gone up, but not that much..If I would have thought about it I would have picked one up from Summit, would have been under 30.00 for both.....

<rant off>
 
#6 ·
Deans got a point .......... anymore when they ask what car you own ....... LIE !! tell them only the information they need to get you the correct part ;(
 
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#8 ·
I was rewiring my solenoid last week and wanted to keep a purple wire. I called Advance and asked if they had a roll of 16 gauge purple wire. The guy asked me what its going on.:sad:
 
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#11 ·
Hell he was probably a laid off Ford executive :D
l:)
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
Dean said:
Your fault because you knew better, you should have not mentioned "Chevelle" and just ask for any vehicle that you knew was the same.
Click to expand...

I agree that he should not have mentioned the Chevelle, but it's surely not Scotts fault that the guy behind the counter dosen't know his head from his ass.
If the guy dosen't understand basic parts knowledge, then he should find another line of work.
I went into a of a parts store once and had a similar experience .... I asked the guy for a cap and rotor for my '79 F-250 4x4 with a 351M.. The comes back with a ignition cap and a brake rotor................ :( ... I told him that was wrong because my rotor has 15 holes in it not 8, and made him search for the correct one and said I'd be back in an hour and he better have it.
Within that next hour, I went to a real parts store and got the correct parts, installed them, and was half way to the beach! :D
I wonder if he is still looking for that 15 hole rortor? :confused:
 
#13 ·
Parts counter guys are cashiers and customer service. Keep that in mind when you enter, alter your request as such and you'll be ok.

Have to remember that kragen, pep boys, car quest, etc dont get retired GM engineers, pro builders, or even the trade school grads because those guys go to work as mechanics, designers, engineers and not as cashiers for a buck over minimum wage at a parts store chain.

When I walk into McDonalds I am not expecting 5 star restaraunt service and know damn well im lucky if the people behind the register are fluent in english. When I walk into Home Depot I know im lucky to even see an employee let alone one that actually knows anything about building. When I walk into a parts store I know damn well that this kid was probably working at home depot and mcdonalds before this and not working on a pro mod team building cars, wasnt tuning nitro cars.....he was shaking paint cans or serving up burgers where the hardest thing to do was remember to hold the pickles.

Fellas, your just simply asking too much from these places and expecting the kind of performance or parts knowledge from these people is about as retarded as some of the people you encounter there. You can try to get blood from a turnip but I gotta tell ya, I aint never seen that happen and I have tried plenty of times.
 
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#14 ·
We want cheap parts but the person who helps us to be an expert. Most counter positions are kids hired off the street making what $6-7 hr? You think if they are bright enough to learn something they're going to stay there forever making those wages? Or you think they're going to move on to bigger better things and the parts store has to rehire someone else and the learning curve starts all over again? If they did pay their employees good wages and bumped it up when they gained more and more experience. How much you think that cap and rotor will cost when the counter person has been there 15 years making $25/hr?
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
First off, I went to Car Quest because I actually thought I might get somebody who knew a thing or 2 about cars, it's not like an Auto-Zone or something similar....

Secondly, COME ON GUYS, it's a FRIGGEN cap and rotor for a GM HEI, this shouldn't be forign to a parts guy after the first week..........

then you say "cheap parts", I wouldn't call FIFTY BUCKS cheap for a cap and rotor, would you?????
 
#16 ·
Scott,

In defense of the parts guy ......

GM has not put an HEI ignition (the large cap style) on a vehicle since about 1988, thats 20 years.

There are so many different parts now days that I even have started getting VIN's from my customers when working on cylinder heads etc.

I know to most of us, getting a cap and rotor for an HEI sounds like a simple deal, but those guys might only get one request a year .... that would be like walking into my shop and asking me for a set of bearings for a 3.8 Buick V-6. GM made many millions of those motors but I sure dont have a clue what the part number is. I need to know what it came in to look it up.

I will give you another example, I am trying to get rings bearings and gaskets for a customer for a 454 Chevy truck engine. There are 8 different head sets available depending on the year and truck model :( There are 3 possible sets of rings :( Without the proper application, I cannot get the right parts. But ...... "its just a 454 Chevy, you should have them on the shelf"

There is 8 different head sets listed for a 350 Chevy also !

See what I mean ??
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
BillK said:
Scott,

In defense of the parts guy ......

GM has not put an HEI ignition (the large cap style) on a vehicle since about 1988, thats 20 years.

There are so many different parts now days that I even have started getting VIN's from my customers when working on cylinder heads etc.

I know to most of us, getting a cap and rotor for an HEI sounds like a simple deal, but those guys might only get one request a year .... that would be like walking into my shop and asking me for a set of bearings for a 3.8 Buick V-6. GM made many millions of those motors but I sure dont have a clue what the part number is. I need to know what it came in to look it up.

I will give you another example, I am trying to get rings bearings and gaskets for a customer for a 454 Chevy truck engine. There are 8 different head sets available depending on the year and truck model :( There are 3 possible sets of rings :( Without the proper application, I cannot get the right parts. But ...... "its just a 454 Chevy, you should have them on the shelf"

There is 8 different head sets listed for a 350 Chevy also !

See what I mean ??
Click to expand...
I suppose, but I'm still not happy about it :D:thumbsup:
 
#18 ·
I remember being able to ask for a waterneck gasket for a small-block
Chevy while I was walking through the door into the parts house and it would on the counter before I got there. Nowdays you'll get, "What's a waterneck?" or "You must mean thermostat housing." Well, I pretty much ask for parts the same way I always have. It's just becoming harder and harder to get them by these old Hot Rodder names.
 
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#19 ·
ssal396 said:
I know there are a few car guys left in the parts stores, but I can never seem to get one... I just got back from the local Car Quest to get a cap and rotor for my car.. I tell the guy I need a cap and rotor for a GM HEI distributer, he says "what year and make is that for".. I told him it was in a 69 Chevelle, but that's not what it came out of and I went on to explained to him that they're almost all the same..I told him to look up anything from the mid 80's with a 350 and he would have it......


He then looked into his computer for about 10 mins and says "I don't see a Chevelle in the late 80's".......

Long story short, he finally comes up with it thanks to my help, and tells me "that will be $47.50" That's when I did one of these :eek: So, I tell him to keep the cap and I took the rotor for $11.00.... What a scam, I know things have gone up, but not that much..If I would have thought about it I would have picked one up from Summit, would have been under 30.00 for both.....

<rant off>
Click to expand...
Advanced Auto sells the MSD cap and rotor with 2 bushings for only $26.00. A definate if you run an MSD box. Way better then stock.
 
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Gary S
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