[form74]

Went to the Local AutoZone, their machine to bench check starters was broken for months

Drove a half mile went to the advance auto parts. There’s was also broken for a month.

Call the O’Reilly’s, gal said yes we can bench test , got there , the kid working didn’t know how to do it , called somebody as we were helping him. Couldn’t find the solenoid cable

Called Napa, they weren’t sure if it worked and the manager wasn’t there to confirm.

Try another advance auto parts they were able to test it, but I’m not sure if the guy knew what he was doing.

I’m pretty sure it’s dead because all the wiring in my car has power is it supposed to be because we checked it all today And tried to bench test ourselves with out any luck.

Got a new mini starter coming in in the morning.

[ID67goat]

You can test it yourself,…..all you need is a set of jumper cables and a battery…..

[Half-Inch Stud]

Yea, i think the folks here ought bench test at home.

Adv-Auto store bench testers look pretty overkill, like the battery charger blast-proof box looks overkill. Didn't figure they were only a show-n-tell

[mgarblik]

Unfortunately, Auto Zone, Advanced Auto Parts, Oriely's Auto parts, average employee doesn't last 3 months. If an employee makes it 6 months, they are likely a store manager. I buy allot of auto parts and do my very best to stay out of those 3 store chains. I have a single local NAPA store. 2 grouchy old guys and 1 in his 30's working toward being grouchy as well. The 3 have 75 years of parts store experience. Yes they can test starters and alternators, batteries, will install air filters and wiper blades for walk in customers. They know how to operate a memory saver when changing batteries, can program key fobs, check TPMS sensors for battery life. A real parts store! Not many left out there.

[ta6point6]

Yes those GM starters are easy enough to test at home. Youtube has plenty of info or you could buy a lone wolf 6000 as well.
https://youtu.be/1-PXBjovZDE?si=MbGgHrD_2xkuQo_P
I do not know why more people do not buy their parts online. Most places like Advance Auto give you a 10%-15% discount when you place an order online. Then you get the added advantage of making sure you order your own parts correctly and have no one else to blame but yourself. I always shop around for the best prices on parts whether it be ebay, rockauto or local parts places

[Radman]

I am waiting on the day when I am purchasing a bottle of wax, and the guy behind the counter asks "year, make, and model?"

[rolling money pits]

Originally Posted by Radman

I am waiting on the day when I am purchasing a bottle of wax, and the guy behind the counter asks "year, make, and model?"

lol

I have a March serp system, I too look forward to ordering a belt by size….then have parts guy ask for application.

With the internets I doubt that will ever happen.

[SRR]

The tester they replaced our old one with requires year make and model. I hate it. The clamp system is so cheaply made and doesn't hold the starter very good. These machines being broke for months doesn't shock me, it takes a long time to get replacements for any equipment. Not knowing how to use it is no excuse! The screen gives you step by step instructions. They cannot test if the starter/alternator is from a boat/tractor/forklift!

The majority of parts store employees are minimum wage and have little car knowledge. Your best bet is to look for the "old guy" lol

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by Radman

I am waiting on the day when I am purchasing a bottle of wax, and the guy behind the counter asks "year, make, and model?"

One of my best little encounters like that was at an Autozone years ago. I had broken the tiny brake bleeder screw in a Strange Engineering 4 piston caliper on our replica Beswick Grocery Getter station wagon. They flat refused to look anything up without year, make, model. I finally just gave in. "Sir, I need a rear bleeder screw for a 4-piston caliper on a 1963 Pontiac Tempest station wagon with a 541 Cu In Pontiac engine". It didn't go real well from there. I went to Oreily's and actually found the needed bleeder screws in a HELP blister pack without talking to anyone. Of course this had to be on a Sunday and I needed them right away.

[unruhjonny]

the ineptitude at parts stores these days IS astounding...

It sure doesn't help that most of these parts-stores-keyboard-jockeys think they know it all better than you to begin with...

[vertigto]

Probably due to the fact that working on cars as a youth/young adult is nearly non-existent these days, especially with the intricasies of newer vehicles. If not a parent/friend with\ experience, where would they get the necessary knowledge/training?

[LastoftheThinkers]

Originally Posted by vertigto

Probably due to the fact that working on cars as a youth/young adult is nearly non-existent these days, especially with the intricasies of newer vehicles. If not a parent/friend with\ experience, where would they get the necessary knowledge/training?

I fully agree with this. My cousin grew up in a garage, and he has worked all over the automotive industry. My. parents always took it to them for repairs so I never learned to even change a tire from my parents. I learned everything I know now (admittedly not much) by just figuring it out myself.

[Goatracer1]

It's your own fault. If you spent a few bucks more when you need parts and went to an independent auto parts store Those people knew how to help you. Most of those stores are out of business now because people wouldn't spend a few extra bucks. Along with them went years of accumulated knowledge. Years ago I needed front wheel grease seals for my 1955 Chieftain. The guy in the parts store didn't have a listing for them but looked at them and then said "1972 Corvette will fit" and they did. Another time I was at a rod run in rural Maine and needed a lower radiator hose for the same car. Parts man looked it up and had it in stock. Friends of the family have owned a local parts store for years. So far an Auto Zone, Advance Auto and now an O'Riley's have opened within a 100 yards of their store. I wonder how much longer their store will last?

[59safaricat]

Pay reflects wisdom and quality. These stores only want for fork out minimum wage and they get exactly what they pay for....a bunch of stoned/drunk dumbasses that don't care. Honestly, I don't blame them.

The auto repair industry had become a joke. Shops want to pay 1980's wages while raking in nearly $200 an hour in some places. I wouldn't recommend the automotive repair field to my worst enemy at this point.

[mgarblik]

For young people with good aptitude for electrical repair and electronics, there are great opportunities out there. They have to have a passion for cars and trucks. Not the kinds of vehicles we like, the newer stuff. A good, honest, hard working young person with an Associates Degree in Automotive Technology and 5 years experience after their schooling is in great demand. They can expect to earn a low 6 figure salary in the Dayton , OH area. But they have to work hard and smart and not expect to start at $50.00 an hour the day they graduate. But these are not the flunkies working at Autozone, Oreily's and the rest. Most of them were working fast food for minimum wage last week and Autozone offered them more hours and a 10 cent raise. Now instead of frying hamburgers, they are the auto parts expert.

[Trulyvintage]

Nothing is free.

Bench testing is offered
with the hope that you
will buy the part if it
tests bad and/or for
warranty replacement.

I have commercial accounts
at AutoZone and O’Reilly
and service across the lower
48 states is generally good.

If possible - I go to a hub
store after calling ahead
and getting transferred
to commercial sales.

If it is a store I have not
bought at before - I have
them check stock - pull
the part and open the box
to make it is new and not
a core return - then I have
them load my account in
their store computer
and have the part put
on will call so I can go
in and pick it up.

Parking is sometimes
a challenge with the
enclosed car trailer
but I scout out the
store before
I pull in.


Jim

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

It's your own fault. If you spent a few bucks more when you need parts and went to an independent auto parts store Those people knew how to help you. Most of those stores are out of business now because people wouldn't spend a few extra bucks. Along with them went years of accumulated knowledge. Years ago I needed front wheel grease seals for my 1955 Chieftain. The guy in the parts store didn't have a listing for them but looked at them and then said "1972 Corvette will fit" and they did. Another time I was at a rod run in rural Maine and needed a lower radiator hose for the same car. Parts man looked it up and had it in stock. Friends of the family have owned a local parts store for years. So far an Auto Zone, Advance Auto and now an O'Riley's have opened within a 100 yards of their store. I wonder how much longer their store will last?

This is such a good reply, that I actually had to quote it.

There used to be several independent stores around, but now, I believe the only one left in my city is nearly an hour's drive away;
Recently the closer NAPA moved to a better location - they have been in my area of the city for a spell, but were tucked away where I would forget about them...
Odds are if I am not ordering via rockauto, they will be getting my business (I was just there last week.)

[nas t eh]

I always use to shop independent parts stores, but NAPA bought two of them, the only indies left are for Euro/Asian cars, I go there for the BMW and Toyota parts I need. But NAPA and Parts Source are all the brick and mortar choices we have left up here.

Regarding the Grumpy Old men parts counter employees, they are great when you can find them. But up here we use a different term, we call them MOPs (Miserable Old Pricks)

[Skip Fix]

Years ago at Oreily I needed a new shifter cable for my 78 Trans Am 400 TH 350. "Book says they did not make that combination sir" Well over 100,000 of them! Look up a '77"yep they made them like that".

[KS circutguy]

Originally Posted by 59safaricat

Pay reflects wisdom and quality. These stores only want for fork out minimum wage and they get exactly what they pay for....a bunch of stoned/drunk dumbasses that don't care. Honestly, I don't blame them.

The auto repair industry had become a joke. Shops want to pay 1980's wages while raking in nearly $200 an hour in some places. I wouldn't recommend the automotive repair field to my worst enemy at this point.

Truth