I had to buy a upper control arm on a short fuse and didn’t have time to order it from Rock Auto. I phoned up a nearby NAPA ( this is in Canada) and found their top quality arm was branded as NAPA Chassis Line. I heard through the grapevine they are supplied by Moog but not sure. Do you have the NAPA Chassis Line in the USA and if so how would you rate them? Here is the installed arm. It has a blue upper ball joint boot.
NAPA Chassis Line Parts
- Thread starter Snagglefoot
- Start date
Everything Napa has gone to pot. Same chinese junk every other store has just costs 30% more.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
I have had good luck with them. Just put a whole Napa Chassis suspension on my friends truck so far so good he only uses Napa stuff. That was 1 month ago it hasn’t given problems yet. I believe they are Moog.
I stay away from NAPA for parts. Oil and fluids sometimes but not much else. Always found it a bit shady that they don't sell name brand parts and instead put their own NAPA brand on everything. NAPA doesn't actually make anything. What are they hiding?
Napa sells name brand parts too. Precision U-joints,Champion,NGK etc sparkplugs,Reese towing stuff etc.
Guess I never bothered to look as I can find them cheaper elsewhere.
And every other chain auto parts store DOESN'T have their own brands?
I've had great luck with NAPA branded brakes (rotors, disks) and a buddy put on two sets of their struts (really Monroe) that have gone the distance, as in 60-80K and then one car was traded-in and the other junked (for other reasons), struts still good in both cases.
As with everything else... one part on the shelf might be crap, and the one next to it gold, for similar but slightly different applications. Just applying brand as good/bad is not useful. For these kinds of decisions, a vehicle-specific forum is best, unless someone here happens to have used that exact part.
My local independent mechanic uses NAPA parts primarily, even on domestic vehicles... he has to eat the labor personally on every warranty repair... he has given up on most other brands, though he has an encyclopedic knowledge of what is currently good and bad, particularly on GM vehicles (his usual). Literally every time I stop by his shop there is a NAPA delivery on the counter, time before last it was brake calipers. Last time I let the NAPA guy in the door as his hands were full. He wouldn't keep using them if all their parts were junk.
I'm sure there's some clunkers in there, and maybe they're going downhill... but writing the entire brand off, no, I'm not ready to do that.
DO NOT USE NAPA SUSPENSION PARTS! JUNK - A 1 month old NAPA tie rod broke on my truck while backing out of my driveway.
I'd say shops use NAPA because of the convenience, not because the parts are any better, and they don't have to shop around for the lowest price when the customer is paying for it. When working on your own cars, you can usually wait a few days and buy online much cheaper for name brand parts. Also, don't some manufacturers comp part of the labor back to a shop if their part turns out to be defective?
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
In my area it’s a mix of what the shops use. Most use Duralast from Auto Zone or Carquest from Advance Auto. Those two stores we have the most of we only have one Napa and 4 O’Reilly and I’d never buy anything from O’Reilly again because they are always rude so as long as the part wasn’t from there I’d be ok with any of the other brands. And the other brands are usually quality too.
When I was looking for lower control arms for my Sienna a few months ago, I found that the Napa Chassis was just a rebadged Mevotech part. I'm not saying that all of the Napa Chassis parts are Mevotech, but at least some of them are. Napa Chassis stuff used to be very high quality and was my go-to brand for suspension parts. I don't use them much any more as they seem to have cheapened out.
They are Mevotech Supreme. Prior to that Napa Chassis was Spicer/Raybestos and was awesome. Every time I use Napa Chassis anymore I am reminded why I quit selling Napa Chassis.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2020
- Messages
- 14
flathead
The NAPA I purchase a lot of parts from, they only stock high quality parts, the refuse to recommend cheap parts. If a customer wants the
made in china parts they will order it for them and say good luck. I like to purchase the best they offer and very few if any problems.
I would recommend the Zumbrota NAPA they also have vast knowledge to help. Sorry to hear of problems with them I think it is the
owner trying to keep low cost parts.
I'm not trying to change you're mind and I don't want to upset you just saying they can get high quality, owners choice.
Here is the difference between the USA part (Raybestos/CarQuest) and the Made in China (NAPA) part. I noticed a few things here from the photos.
1. Obvious that the NAPA part was machined AFTER painting. What's the use of painting for corrosion protection when you machine afterwards?
2. NAPA part was machined to taper the part. The "grooves" are still in the part, not smoothed down so all the grooves act as stress concentrations.
3. Notice the difference in overall quality between the two parts!
BTW - the difference in the cost of the part? $12.
1. Obvious that the NAPA part was machined AFTER painting. What's the use of painting for corrosion protection when you machine afterwards?
2. NAPA part was machined to taper the part. The "grooves" are still in the part, not smoothed down so all the grooves act as stress concentrations.
3. Notice the difference in overall quality between the two parts!
BTW - the difference in the cost of the part? $12.
Attachments
The box was still back at the shop so I photographed it. Enjoy.
CatCam2 is that broken tie rod NAPA Proformer Chassis or NAPA Chassis?
NAPA Chassis Parts. Thank God it broke backing out the driveway and not when I was doing 70MPH on the Highway!
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Wow my Advanced Auto doesn’t carry that Raybestos Carquest they pass of their Driveworks junk and just plain Carquest brand stuff which appears to suck for suspension they also have Moog but the box is just plain Moog.
I'm sorry CatCam2, but that just doesn't add up.
NAPA Proformer Chassis is their low-end part line. For a 2010 Silverado (just grabbing an example) an inner tie rod is $19.99.
NAPA Chassis is their higher-end part line. For the same truck, an inner tie rod is $79.99.
Carquest/Raybest inner tie rod is a low-priced item around $30. This puts it close to your $12 difference from the cheap Proformer part, not the better Chassis part.
It seems that you used the cheaper NAPA Proformer part, and it broke on you. While you have every right to be angry about that, and I don't blame you for never using NAPA again...
It really muddies the water when you blame one parts line for the other's faults. Someone stuck with limited local options for a late night repair may pass up on the better part because of your misidentification, and a vehicle stay down for another day.
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