What has happened to NAPA

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007

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Used to be when you went to NAPA you might pay extra but got a quality AMERICAN MADE product. Now or should I say in the past few years everything from filters to regular parts, it seems they are all made in the same places off shore as those being sold on the cheap by companies like AUTOZONE, ADVANCED AUTO etc. What is the point of paying extra for the same product?

NO HATERS PLEASE. Just seeing if I am the only one disappointed in what is happening when it comes to buying those PREMIUM products. Where do we go?
 
IMHO look at the quality of the product and the price, and ignore place of mfg. Every other USA company is wholly or partly owned by some foreign conglomerate, and the other half of USA companies manufacture their stuff all over the world. We live in a global economy and it is very difficult to say spending your money only on products from the USA has any meaning in terms of quality or helping workers here. Even many "made in USA" products utilize materials from all over the world. I have never been a NAPA fan. They always seemed overpriced for the level of quality, and they have a terrible website and the stores are worse. They force you to ask for help and that is a real lottery. Many times I have been given the wrong part or had to argue my way to get the correct item.
 
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I never had any reason to order from my in town store for the 8 years my shops been open, but at first I thought that was because Im mostly european, but everything is much more expensive from them, even american parts and on the wholesale level. I had an expedition in 2 weeks ago, needed a purge valve, motor craft listed for 103$ I believe, my cost roughly 80. Napas was 117 my cost and list 165. I dont know how they can sell like that.
 
I have always avoided buying parts from NAPA because they don't sell any name brand parts, just their own NAPA brand, often at prices higher than Moog, AC Delco, KYB, etc. Who knows where a NAPA brand parts comes from.
 
I remember, too, when NAPA was the good stuff.

You paid a little more, but were confident in what you got.
 
Napa has slowly been turning into " The other places". Their water pumps are the same as the other places,even have the same gaskets in a zip lock baggie taped to the inside of the lid.

Napa sends their starter and alternator cores to China to be rebuilt there then shipped back here. Most of the other places use Mexico or USA. Napa's rebuilt starters and alternators are guaranteed to fail! JUNK!

Napa is basically the same or worse part but 30% higher cost.
 
Can hardly blame NAPA for this. You do realize they don't make any parts, right ? They buy from existing suppliers and have them put the part in a NAPA box, nothing more. Then they rely on old-school folks who believe they still have better quality parts than Autozone, etc, etc. Plus, don't they still focus more on auto repair shop sales vs walk-in, retail buyers ? When you have your car repaired at a shop, you don't know where the part came from, what brand it is, and so on, nor do 95% of those customers care. Their concern is, "is my car fixed?".

Besides, many of the parts on the car from the factory were foreign-made to begin with.
 
I haven't bought a part at Napa in probably 10-15 years
Nothing special about NAPA anymore
There was a day when they were the best
But not anymore
 
As a wise man once said

If you want me to take a dump in a box, and mark it guaranteed I will... I've got spare time.
Tommy Callahan III

most aftermarket parts from big auto parts retailers are lucky to make it past their warranty. New OEM parts will outlast aftermarket refurbished junk
 
I think thisnisnjust autparts in general, you're not going to be getting a majority of amaerican amade parts from anyone, nor any deals. You willl get some junk though, and that's tricky too...a good named brand my not be a "good named brand", at any point in time. It's cyclical. It's hard to keep track of. One year Moog may seem like the "quality" brand, then the next it may be Beck Arnley...then they turn to garbage and then it's someone else. Worldpack supposedly is rebranded OE stuff, but then again maybe not always.

Napa seems to have fallen behind the times. Their prices, their delivery times. We use Carquest almost exclusively where I'm at...they deliver much quicker, they have no hassle returns, they'll warranty stuff all the time. Meanwhile we'll order something from Napa and it won't show up till the end of the day, or the next. It's unacceptable.
 
I realized this, when i bought a 4wd front acutator from napa. Lifetime guarantee. The part was marked dorman. Now some dorman stuff is okay, but i don't care for the electrical stuff marked dorman.
 
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I buy at NAPA, the counter person actually KNOWS something! You going to see AZ or AA whip out some dial calipers to figure out what tractor U-Joint I need? hahaha.

But yeah, they used to have several tiers of parts, no so much anymore. NAPA was nicer when they had the "books"

AND DO NOT FORGET, NAPA STILL HAS THE STOOLS TO SIT ON, so you can BS like the old times. all the other stores make you STAND.
 
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It's called the Internet. It's called Amazon.
IoT. Internet of Things.
It is just getting started; wait until you see 5G.
 
Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
I buy at NAPA, the counter person actually KNOWS something! You going to see AZ or AA whip out some dial calipers to figure out what tractor U-Joint I need? hahaha.

But yeah, they used to have several tiers of parts, no so much anymore. NAPA was nicer when they had the "books"

AND DO NOT FORGET, NAPA STILL HAS THE STOOLS TO SIT ON, so you can BS like the old times. all the other stores make you STAND.

No stools at our napa. Stand in line just like the other places. The counter clowns at napa are oriley rejects too.
 
My old NAPA dealer told me John Echlin used to stop at every NAPA store he passed by to get feedback from the owners. He also got a surprise visit from Echlin one day.
 
I still remember the Saturdays my dad would take me with him to the local NAPA. They had the big collection of parts books on the counters, chairs pulled up to the counter, most of the time with the local racers sitting in them waiting on their parts. My favorite part was getting the FREE racing decals from the counter men.
Those were the REAL NAPA days!
 
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