Dumbest thing you have been told at a parts store

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Funny stuff- but if you really want to be horrified , search for stupid things said in health food stores or (worse), Gun shops
 
Originally Posted By: tojo1968
Took it to Big 10 tires for an alignment and was told i needed new ball joints. Huh? That's funny? Because in the glove box is a work order and receipt for installation of new ball joints FROM THE SAME BIG 10 SHOP 6 months earlier!


I would have said, "So, it's going to be FREE this time, right??"
Just to see their reaction. lol
 
Years ago I walked into Super Cheap Auto to buy a fuel pump kit. Said I wanted a fuel pump kit for a 245 Hemi. What's a Hemi he asked. I said it's a Valiant motor. What's a Valiant? It's a Chrysler. He taps away at his computer and says there's no such thing. By this time I'm thinking of how many ways to fornicate him up I could do before walking out saying something about his mother and him sharing the same bed.
 
If you really want to confuse a Autozone parts guy. Ask them for a Acura 3.5 V6 oil drain plug.
They wont be able to find it. Then ask for a Honda 3.5 V oil drain plug.
Exact same part. lol
 
local parts store guy shrieks when I told him I want a 5W-40 synthetic for my 80s econobox. He insists its too thin for such an old car, and synths should only be used in luxury cars.
also same thing when I wanted to use MOBIL 1 SHC gear oil for my tranny. He laughed at me and said it was too thin to use in my tranny. I hate these people.
 
I'm a manager at Autozone, and my store manager (female who previously worked in clothing retale and knew absolutely nothing about cars) tried to sell a customer Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner to use it in his oil... Had to step in and clarify for her which Lucas goes in engine, fuel, and tranny. Another time a customer "was low on oil" and got a 5-quart jug of mobil super 5000, then dumped it all in at once on the parking lot. That was quite a smoke show, before the engine seized on the spot. He tried to blame it on a bad batch of oil, or us switching the oil in a bottle. And he had a deer in the headlights look when was asked if he ever checked Level on a dipstick...
 
Used to live more or less across the street from a Chief Auto Parts store that was attached to a 7-11 right on the border of Richardson and Dallas. My dad had given me a '76 Nova that had a persistent problem where the rear axle would break free of the suspension on the right side...I'd be in a left turn and the car would suddenly sway violently. My dad had the same thing happen a few times, he claimed it was due to a "heavy duty" suspension option in the car that was garbage.
The first time it happened to me, I took it to Chief because it was convenient. They put the car up on the lift while I went back to my apartment, they called me back over after a few hours and started to give me a long explanation about the shocks or whatever, can't remember the details. I told them the rear axle was floating on one side and they claimed that was impossible, I could not have driven the car in that way. I walked over to the car on the lift, grabbed the right rear tire, and slammed it back and forth in the wheel well. Man, they were shocked!!
About two months later, it broke again and I took it back to the same Chief. They told me that they were going to order the RIGHT PART this time...the first time, they just found something in their stocks that they thought was close enough and jammed it in there (some kind of bolt)!
 
Originally Posted By: alcyon
local parts store guy shrieks when I told him I want a 5W-40 synthetic for my 80s econobox.

That's another benefit to buying oil from the distributor. They have no interest in my application. I tell them which product I want, I pay for it, they give me my chit, and it's at the loading dock waiting for me.
 
Was looking for a fuel line fitting for my MG Midget. Guy at Autozone says I should go to the dealership to find it.
grin.gif
 
Once a guy at a auto parts store told me he had no idea steering racks that are not power assisted exist!, another guy also told me to use 5w30 in my Ford Capri when it actually requires 20w50
 
Originally Posted By: askani79705
"If you put synthetic oil in a engine you can't go back to the conventional stuff"


And then they point out the synth blend they have on sale...
 
Originally Posted By: cronk
I once was in Autozone, trying to buy a transmission filter and pan gasket kit. The car was a 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, the first year that model went to front wheel drive.
The guy behind the counter tried to give me a filter kit for a 200r4 which is a rear wheel drive transmission.
When I told him that was the wrong filter, he tried telling me someone must have changed the transmission, because "this is what they came with".
I can't even begin to follow that logic, your car is front wheel drive, but came with a rwd transmission and someone must have changed it and it in a fwd transmission.

Ended up having to look it up as a 91 or 92 to finally find the correct filter kit.


To be fair, the parts book probably did list the 200R4 as the correct filter, as they DID make both a FWD and RWD "Cutlass Supreme" in 1988.

"As the new front-wheel drive Cutlass Supreme model was being launched in 1988, the rear-drive G-special coupe remained in production for one final model year as the Cutlass Supreme Classic."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile...78.E2.80.931988

I can't defend the "someone must have changed it" comment though!
smile.gif
 
One of the scariest ones was actually a phone conversation between a counter clerk and someone on the phone.

The person calling was asking for brake pads. They gave the year, make and model, and the clerk asked for the engine size(something that often does make a difference in braking parts on some cars). The clerk did their best to drag the engine size out, and then resorted to asking V6 or V8-apparently the caller didn't know that either. Finally, the conversation concluded with the clerk explaining that brake pads came in a set of four, which was enough for one axle, and having to rephrase that to "that's one set of pads for each of the front wheels on your car" and further simplifying to "each wheel takes two pads." My thought by that point was that this was a person that did NOT need to be buying brake parts at a parts store.

Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Was looking for a fuel line fitting for my MG Midget. Guy at Autozone says I should go to the dealership to find it.
grin.gif



I have a '70 B, and one guy at the local Autozone says "we don't have any parts for your G-D Austin Healey here" every time I walk in the door. Fortunately, I know he means it jokingly. The parts stores around here have learned about Moss Motors and Basil Adams from me
smile.gif


On a different note, though, I've been pricing tires and almost every shop tries to sell me on a computerized four wheel alignment. There is NO rear wheel alignment that can be done on on an MG(live axle on leaf springs) and the only thing adjustable on the front is the toe-in. To be blunt, I can set the toe-in myself and probably do it as well as their computer can. I am getting ready to do a front suspension rebuild, and will set it as part of that process. It's not exactly rocket science to get the toe-in correct on one of these cars.
 
Kind of makes you think of the song that some of these workers must sing at work..
" The wheels on the bus go round and round. The wheels on the go round and round, all day long"

grin.gif
 
I was looking to purchase a new 2015 Ram. At the dealership, I could tell the salesman did not know much about his product. I asked about the type of oil the hemi required with them 4 cylinder shutdown, and he immediately said that the factory recommendation was a high quailty NON detergent 30 weight oil.....I bought the truck but never take it there for service.

Years ago I worked in a gas station where we pumped gas and cleaned windows....a lady came in with a low tire and I filled it to 32 psi. She yelled, "oh no, you go back and remove all of the old 20 psi air and replace it all with the 32 psi air". My boss said to accomidate her because she was a good customer. Well, with the tire deflated, it came off the rim....we had to remove the wheel and remount the tire and reinstall it on the car. She was so mad that we never saw her again.....ugh
 
This was at a dealership but I had bought a brand new 2007 Chevy Malibu with the 6 cylinder. The car would cut out usually after startup and even happened a couple times while driving. The "service tech" told me that it was normal because those engines run lean for MPGs. Guess he was right, cars don't waste gas when they are not running on the highway. Needless to say I had him put it in writing and used it to get my full refund towards a new car in their sales department.
 
Originally Posted By: daveherzog
I was looking to purchase a new 2015 Ram. At the dealership, I could tell the salesman did not know much about his product. I asked about the type of oil the hemi required with them 4 cylinder shutdown, and he immediately said that the factory recommendation was a high quailty NON detergent 30 weight oil.....I bought the truck but never take it there for service.

Years ago I worked in a gas station where we pumped gas and cleaned windows....a lady came in with a low tire and I filled it to 32 psi. She yelled, "oh no, you go back and remove all of the old 20 psi air and replace it all with the 32 psi air". My boss said to accomidate her because she was a good customer. Well, with the tire deflated, it came off the rim....we had to remove the wheel and remount the tire and reinstall it on the car. She was so mad that we never saw her again.....ugh
Did you first try to explain it to the lady? That sucks, when your boss, the business, and your boss try to make the customer happy, things go wrong and the business spend the extra time and material because of it, and your frustrated about it all.

Have you challenged the Ram salesman about his high quality NON detergent motor oil recommendation? I would have demanded more explanation to that one. Maybe he owns stocks in Dollar General.
 
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Originally Posted By: daveherzog
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Years ago I worked in a gas station where we pumped gas and cleaned windows....a lady came in with a low tire and I filled it to 32 psi. She yelled, "oh no, you go back and remove all of the old 20 psi air and replace it all with the 32 psi air". My boss said to accomidate her because she was a good customer. Well, with the tire deflated, it came off the rim....we had to remove the wheel and remount the tire and reinstall it on the car. She was so mad that we never saw her again.....ugh


Sounds like that lady was nuts, but your boss was just plain dumb!
 
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