Advance Auto Parts SUCKS

zilla68

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I bought a new 3rd brake light for our old 03 tahoe we had bought new. I can't part with it. This was in august 2020. I have my receipt which says limited lifetime warranty.

So it goes out, according to my local PD who pulled me over a couple weeks ago to tell me it didn't work lol.

today I take it back to the store with my receipt, guy says I need to call my manager, so he calls him and I hear the conversation on his phone. Manager says 

no warranty its only 1 year, which I interject NO IT SAYS limited lifetime warranty on the receipt. The led lights have went out i guess. The manager says its not broken. so I say 

it doesn't work as intended its broken. He said no the warranty means it has to physically be broken. So at this point I lose my mind and yell out so you want me to phuckin

smash in on the floor, then you will warranty it? The old man who is attempting to handle the call with his manager says sorry man, its not broke. I request the GM's phone number. He gives it to me, who I call and he's the same guy the old man inside just talked to. OK!

So after I yell some obscenities I leave and drive 300ft to Oriellys. Walk in, do you have one of these, he goes and gets it. I say what's the warranty? Guy says lifetime. I ask what does that mean? he said if it stops working as long as you own it bring it in with your receipt I'll give you another one. I tell him the story about what just happened and he said yeah we get alot of people from over there. Now its principle! I buy the part from Orielly. 

I get online texting with Advance. I send a picture of my receipt and ask them if my part is covered under the lifetime warranty stated since it's not working. They say Yes it sure is. So I ask why then did the store refuse me, and the GM refuse me, I have my part, my receipt and they say no. Well it's actually up to the store to make the decision. I said well its not broken into pieces..........yet.......... I bought it in good faith that you would honor your posted warranty printed on my receipt. I would like to speak with someone in corp. yes sir we will escalate it on up to corp. I said I don't want the GM I spoke with I want his boss and expect a call within 24 hours.

I go on to CVS where I have a problem with 3 overcharges on the 3 items I buy but that's another story in itself. 

As I leave CVS the GM calls me, and says man now that I thought about it, I'll give you 20% off for your trouble. Really Scott, that's real nice of you but stick it up your a$$. I went across the street to your competitor and bought one, and I will take my call with Corp , and you can bet I won't stop until you dipshi4s honor your warranty. So now I wait. and see if anyone really calls me or if Scott the GM is the best i get, because by Monday morning I'll be calling for the President!

It was a rough day over a 60.00 part lol. 

 
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I'm glad you didn't stop for breakfast at 10:05am

Sucks but Customer Service is LACKING in American Retail these days. Parts stores of some of the worst, they don't even look up parts on microfiche anymore...LOL

 
Sucks. Fwiw people trash autozone but i had an effin towtruck driver eff up my radiator 200 miles from home. AutoZone warrantied it zero questions, fuel pump i installed in my jeep in 2017 quit last week. They gave me a new one. No receipts zero complaints

 
I bought a new 3rd brake light for our old 03 tahoe we had bought new. I can't part with it. This was in august 2020. I have my receipt which says limited lifetime warranty.

So it goes out, according to my local PD who pulled me over a couple weeks ago to tell me it didn't work lol.

today I take it back to the store with my receipt, guy says I need to call my manager, so he calls him and I hear the conversation on his phone. Manager says 

no warranty its only 1 year, which I interject NO IT SAYS limited lifetime warranty on the receipt. The led lights have went out i guess. The manager says its not broken. so I say 

it doesn't work as intended its broken. He said no the warranty means it has to physically be broken. So at this point I lose my mind and yell out so you want me to phuckin

smash in on the floor, then you will warranty it? The old man who is attempting to handle the call with his manager says sorry man, its not broke. I request the GM's phone number. He gives it to me, who I call and he's the same guy the old man inside just talked to. OK!

So after I yell some obscenities I leave and drive 300ft to Oriellys. Walk in, do you have one of these, he goes and gets it. I say what's the warranty? Guy says lifetime. I ask what does that mean? he said if it stops working as long as you own it bring it in with your receipt I'll give you another one. I tell him the story about what just happened and he said yeah we get alot of people from over there. Now its principle! I buy the part from Orielly. 

I get online texting with Advance. I send a picture of my receipt and ask them if my part is covered under the lifetime warranty stated since it's not working. They say Yes it sure is. So I ask why then did the store refuse me, and the GM refuse me, I have my part, my receipt and they say no. Well it's actually up to the store to make the decision. I said well its not broken into pieces..........yet.......... I bought it in good faith that you would honor your posted warranty printed on my receipt. I would like to speak with someone in corp. yes sir we will escalate it on up to corp. I said I don't want the GM I spoke with I want his boss and expect a call within 24 hours.

I go on to CVS where I have a problem with 3 overcharges on the 3 items I buy but that's another story in itself. 

As I leave CVS the GM calls me, and says man now that I thought about it, I'll give you 20% off for your trouble. Really Scott, that's real nice of you but stick it up your a$$. I went across the street to your competitor and bought one, and I will take my call with Corp , and you can bet I won't stop until you dipshi4s honor your warranty. So now I wait. and see if anyone really calls me or if Scott the GM is the best i get, because by Monday morning I'll be calling for the President!

It was a rough day over a 60.00 part lol. 
Figures the guy’s name is Scott. 

 
Back in the day, I dealt with some excellent family-owned, independent parts stores. Now, it's all these corporate shitholes selling Chinesium garbage. Total aggravation every time I walk into one.

 


I'm glad you didn't stop for breakfast at 10:05am

Sucks but Customer Service is LACKING in American Retail these days. Parts stores of some of the worst, they don't even look up parts on microfiche anymore...LOL
this is no lie lol.

I got to the point I've had enough. in 6 out of 8 online orders I placed at this specific site, i show up and they don't have it, so I have to drive across town to get what they show in stock. I complained up the line and it got nowhere. The district manager told me well they have some new help so they are learning and when they get time they will have to scan the store. Having been in retail for 30 years now, I know how important this should be to them, but they didn't care. 

Then they say sorry your item isn't physically broken so its still good, I mean what does that even mean and how could you even construe that is implied by the warranty lol.

 
Sucks. Fwiw people trash autozone but i had an effin towtruck driver eff up my radiator 200 miles from home. AutoZone warrantied it zero questions, fuel pump i installed in my jeep in 2017 quit last week. They gave me a new one. No receipts zero complaints
I have hated auto zone for years, because of crappy parts. I went thru 3 ac compressors years ago on a car before we found one that was good, so I never went back.

But talking with my buddy last night, he has had the same response you did. He said never ONCE have they questioned me, I take it back they give me a new one.

Guess I'll need to revisit them, as much as I like rock auto, sometimes I just cant wait a couple days, but looks like I just may have to lol.

 


I'm glad you didn't stop for breakfast at 10:05am

Sucks but Customer Service is LACKING in American Retail these days. Parts stores of some of the worst, they don't even look up parts on microfiche anymore...LOL
CVS, I am not proud and felt bad afterwards, but made the lady cry. I buy 3 packages of sinus medicine, the only 3 packages of anything in a 3 ft section. It rings up 8.49, tag says 7.99 and of course I have to self checkout. so i buy it and go find someone, the only lady in the place working.

I ask her where these items go and she scans it and takes me exactly to the spot I got them from. I show her my receipt at 8.49 and the shelf shows 7.99.

I proceed to tell her of my issue about 9 weeks ago on the same item and was refused the difference in a refund. She breaks down on me saying i'm just one person, i have no help, blah blah blah.

I reassure her I'm not mad at her, I'm mad at the situation that has had over 9 weeks to fix itself and its still not fixed, I just want it fixed.

Again, 30 years in retail I know how weights and measures works, having been thru hundreds of state scanning audits, and alot weren't pretty lol. She says I'll refund the difference, we get up there and she says I'll just refund all your money for your trouble. I said that's not what I want nor why i'm complaining. I want whats due me, and I want the price tag fixed! that's it. You have one item in probably 15 linear feet and that item doesn't ring up right? how many other items in that store are wrong? probably hundreds.

I have alot of friends that work at CVS and they are like slave labor, manager is required to do everything, with very little help on the floor. I hear it all the time from them, but they chose to stay so that's their issue lol.

 
I work in the auto parts business. I work for a manufacturer though. The auto zones, o'reilly's, etc. are bottom tier garbage parts.  You can get good replacement parts there sometimes that may last but they aren't up to OEM specifications and often fail quickly. Reman parts are even worse. The warranty is generally figured in to the cost. People will often buy the cheaper part with a warranty verses the OEM part that costs twice as much if not more. The cheap parts manufacturers make it up by lack of quality control. Labor is expensive and by cutting out some quality checkpoints, the manufacturer can save some money and is able to sell a cheaper part. 

  Last I heard, Napa was still selling high quality replacement parts. Advanced Auto also did though I don't know if they are even still in business (I just realized advanced was the company that did you dirty and caused this post. 🙄). Generally, if you see a company deliver to a local shop, the parts are of good quality. The shop has to honor their own warranty and won't waste labor installing a part twice if they can help it. 

 
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I have hated auto zone for years, because of crappy parts. I went thru 3 ac compressors years ago on a car before we found one that was good, so I never went back.

But talking with my buddy last night, he has had the same response you did. He said never ONCE have they questioned me, I take it back they give me a new one.

Guess I'll need to revisit them, as much as I like rock auto, sometimes I just cant wait a couple days, but looks like I just may have to lol.
I avoid electricAl items from autozone when possible (sensors, etc). But for my jeep, it makes sense. When researching power steering pumps the word on the forums is, even the 1200$ ones fail and dont have a warranty. 125$ pump from autozone, zero questions asked. I did the pump around 2017 still fine no leaks

 
I work in the auto parts business. I work for a manufacturer though. The auto zones, o'reilly's, etc. are bottom tier garbage parts.  You can get good replacement parts there sometimes that may last but they aren't up to OEM specifications and often fail quickly. Reman parts are even worse. The warranty is generally figured in to the cost. People will often buy the cheaper part with a warranty verses the OEM part that costs twice as much if not more. The cheap parts manufacturers make it up by lack of quality control. Labor is expensive and by cutting out some quality checkpoints, the manufacturer can save some money and is able to sell a cheaper part. 

  Last I heard, Napa was still selling high quality replacement parts. Advanced Auto also did though I don't know if they are even still in business. Generally, if you see a company deliver to a local shop, the parts are of good quality. The shop has to honor their own warranty and won't waste labor installing a part twice if they can help it. 
Very true, I buy oil, filters, grease, cleaners etc from auto zone, oreillys etc, if a part can leave me stranded its OEM or NAPA. 

 
My personal opinion; napa sucks. I’ve had more napa parts fail than any others, and get the warranty shuffle. Not to mention often they are obscenely  more $$ than oem. Like ford 6.0 fuel filter, $60 from ford 139$ napa. Rotella t4 12$ walmart 26/28$ napa. Majority of parts i’ve tried to get for my jeep are wrong. When they dont find the right one for my year they just supercede to the next year they have, afterall 4.0l is a 4.0l right? Wtf is a renix?

 
I have hated auto zone for years, because of crappy parts. I went thru 3 ac compressors years ago on a car before we found one that was good, so I never went back.

But talking with my buddy last night, he has had the same response you did. He said never ONCE have they questioned me, I take it back they give me a new one.

Guess I'll need to revisit them, as much as I like rock auto, sometimes I just cant wait a couple days, but looks like I just may have to lol.
I too like Rock Auto, but hopefully you don’t have to try to speak to someone! There is no one to speak too. The only number out there is a corp number and they tell you they do not help or take customer calls. You have to send a message online. 
 

I have a part with a core charge. They give you a date you must ship the core back by to get your core change money back. Due to several circumstances I was not going to be able to get it done in time. I’ve had no luck getting anyone at Rock Auto to help me or to be able to explain the situation to see if I still send it back after the date, will I get my core charge?  
 

Rock Auto has better parts and OEM brands, but in the end it seems like they too have little to no customer service to help you. 

 
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I too like Rock Auto, but hopefully you don’t have to try to speak to someone! There is no one to speak too. The only number out there is a corp number and they tell you they do not help or take customer calls. You have to send a message online. 
 

I have a part with a core charge. They give you a date you must ship the core back by to get your core change money back. Due to several circumstances I was not going to be able to get it done in time. I’ve had no luck getting anyone at Rock Auto to help me or to be able to explain the situation to see if I still send it back after the date, will I get my core charge?  
 

Rock Auto has better parts and OEM brands, but in the end it seems like they too have little to no customer service to help you. 
I have had the same experience with all the big box autoparts stores  - I get oil there and brake cleaner and stuff like that...

Since most everything I own is GM if I can wait In will buy from GMpartsdirect or one of the other Online discounters. A couple used to be on Amazon, but I recently got burned buying that way (fake part).

I like rockAuto because they list who the manufacturer of the part is  and I can usually get parts in 2-3 days - although you have to watch shipping cost with them

My local NAPA stocks nothing but junk.. I asked the owner why I can't get good parts from him anymore, He says he makes all his $$ from local shops and he still delivers to shops in the area, by they shop him on price with Autozone and O Reilly that all have wholesale accounts, the shops don't care about quality he says.

We are in a pretty state ....

I Just pulled my AC Delco  waterpump from my sand car - it had two trips on it - it was leaking from the rear cover, One of the bolts was less than hand tight. I guess the 12 year old Chinese kid on his 3rd straight shift was having a bad day, and I should have checked the TQ before installing it ... but as if we did not have enough issues in the his country ...

My friend from Japan runs a company that builds some really nice "Ricer Racer" parts. He tells me Japan has "export parts" they make for the USA and Europe in China, but most of the parts they sell in Japan are made locally. 

He showed me his Makita tools that are all made in Japan and said check out the Makitas in Home depot they are all made in China ...It gets you thinking ...

 
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Don't take your foot off if their neck until they pass out.... 

 
That's what happens when the frenchmen take over AMC😉
Ya i have one. And when the parts guy dont see parts for my year they just sell me stuff for the std 4.0l and dont tell me. Many things are the same, sensors and some other parts are not the same

 
I too like Rock Auto, but hopefully you don’t have to try to speak to someone! There is no one to speak too. The only number out there is a corp number and they tell you they do not help or take customer calls. You have to send a message online. 
 

I have a part with a core charge. They give you a date you must ship the core back by to get your core change money back. Due to several circumstances I was not going to be able to get it done in time. I’ve had no luck getting anyone at Rock Auto to help me or to be able to explain the situation to see if I still send it back after the date, will I get my core charge?  
 

Rock Auto has better parts and OEM brands, but in the end it seems like they too have little to no customer service to help you. 
its crazy, i looked up wiper blades and advance was 29.00 and I bought the same exact item, part number and all for 6-7.00 from rock auto. So i replaced every wiper blade on every vehicle we have, 14 wiper blades and had them in like 3 days.

 
Don't take your foot off if their neck until they pass out.... 
I was told a call within 24 hours. I have texted back their line and am in the que, because its been 25 hours now!

 
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