NAPA disappointment

[Tucson38]

A little disappointed with the quality of NAPA parts. Replaced the clutch master and slave, couldn't get it to bleed, no pedal. Pushed about 1-1/2 quarts of fluid through before I had the truck towed for repair. Here's what they found:

The shaft start out straight but it failed completely. When I returned it the counter guy told me that without the original box he wouldn't be able to resell it.
Perhaps that's a good thing.

[MountainGoat1966]

WHY would they want to resell a defective product??
Time for you to make a call to NAPA headquarters, talk to somebody higher up.
Let them know you are not a happy customer.

[MalibuSSwagon]

I avoid my local Napa unless I'm desperate. Because every time I leave empty handed and disappointed. If you don't have a part number, the counter guy says "I don't have anything like it and I can't order it" without looking at the computer in front of him or the reams of parts books literally right next to him. I guess he doesn't care because they sell tons of truck parts to the nearby heavy truck shops.

[MountainGoat1966]

I guess I should be thankful to have a good NAPA store where I shop.
The counter guys really know their stuff, and won't hesitate to make the extra effort required to insure every customer leaves satisfied.
Your NAPA store sounds like the local autozone here, where a requirement to get hired is you must not know anything about cars, you gotta be slow in the customer service department, ignore as many customers for as long as you can, and work on your own car in the parking lot on company time while there are customers standing inside waiting for service.

[flashed]

My newly installed water pump from NAPA failed after a few hundred miles ,they are going to give me a new one but it still tics me off .I bought one local to me instead of driving 20 miles up the road to NAPA but I will get the replacement one from them next time Im up there .

[wilkin250r]

My local NAPA is decent, but the quality of the parts seems to have fallen off over the years.

I bought a clutch slave from Kragen/O-Reilly, and it failed after about 12 months. I bought a replacement at NAPA, thinking the increased price would buy me a better product. I was right, but the 50% increase in costs only bought about a 10% increase in lifespan, it failed at 13 months.

Now, I only go there when I don't know exactly what I need (which is rare), the increased price I'm paying is for answers to my questions.

[Jake Wade]

I don't do NAPA. Quality is not what it once was and prices are outrageous, here anyways.

[MountainGoat1966]

Their quality on many parts has definitely gone downhill over the years.
As with any of the parts stores these days, quality is always a roll of the dice.
At least the NAPA stores here both have an Autozone and O'Reilly within a block, and they will price match.
So, I shop online for quality and price, then walk into the selected store with part numbers.
NAPA is cool about not requiring a deposit from me when they need to order a part from the Phoenix warehouse, they know me and know I live 60 miles away and don't make many trips to the city.
Service like that does give them a brownie point from me.

[kcsa75]

Originally Posted by MountainGoat1966

I guess I should be thankful to have a good NAPA store where I shop.
The counter guys really know their stuff, and won't hesitate to make the extra effort required to insure every customer leaves satisfied.
Your NAPA store sounds like the local autozone here, where a requirement to get hired is you must not know anything about cars, you gotta be slow in the customer service department, ignore as many customers for as long as you can, and work on your own car in the parking lot on company time while there are customers standing inside waiting for service.

Autozone came to my neighborhood a couple years ago. I went there for the first time to check in out and found just what MountainGoat1966 described. I went back once or twice just in case I had an isolated case, but little changes.

I get most of my parts from Advance Auto. They have a very good website. You can order online, pick up in the store in 20-30 minutes and if you use a discount code (Google Advance Auto discount code) you can save a boatload of bucks. There is a store near my office and two others near the house, so they're also convenient.

My experience at NAPA is just as the others have described. It was a better experience than Autozone, but no better than Advance Auto or O'Reilly. I'm not convinced the parts are any better quality and they're a lot more money.

[thefraze_1020]

It seems like NAPA's are pretty hit-and-miss here. The big ones tend to suck (customer service-wise). The smaller ones are much friendlier and more knowledgeable, to the point where I'm willing to wait for them to get the parts as opposed to going to the idiots at the bigger stores.

Luckily, fairly close to me, we have a really great parts store in Anacortes, WA. It's a Parts Plus, but locally owned, and those guys know what they're doing. Plus they have a machine shop in-house.

[Just call me Sean]

I like AutoZone. I get everything there. I don't pay for parts until they are in my hand, never had a problem with them ordering something without paying. I do have the app and look up all my parts before I go there because yes most barely even know what a car is.

[Bishops Trucks]

My local napa is a good place. They are all older guys that know vehicles. Like others said, I would call the headquarters and let them know about that store.

[Rubble]

We have 2 NAPA stores within 40 miles in 2 different towns,both stores are locally owned as well.I have had excellent luck with both for parts quality& availability.Very rarely I even have to order anything,usually in stock which is pretty good considering majority of my fleet is 25-30 years old.Both owners & most of their employees are truck people as well,they also support our small community as well which is worth a lot in my eyes.

[franken]

That blows

I always look stuff up before I go to the store, and my NAPA is pretty good. They give me bolts for nothing and laugh at me...

They also typically offer 3 grades of parts and tell me where they're from if I ask.

That rod had to have bottomed in the bore and the force had nowhere to go. Got any pics of the old and new parts side by side, hopefully with the rods removed? I'll bet there are differences.

NAPA should take that back w/o a wimper.

[78 Big10 454]

My local NAPA is the best. Has a machine shop on-site. Never gotten a bad part from them yet. Special orders arrive the next business day. Three of the employees have 73-87 vintage squares or burbs, so talkin' trucks is inevitable. Plus I get a 25% fire dept. discount!

[KQQL IT]

Napa here is decent. Napa in Tipton is great. And open Sunday.

[Oldtruckfanatic]

My wife has worked for the local napa warehouse here for 16 or 17 years. I will say that of the 4 stores here where they all know me I still have a hard time dealing with the customer service at a couple of them. Theyre franchised and the 4 here in town are all owned by the same guy but vastly different management at each place. Also if your guy didnt offer to defect that out and give you a replacement and just send that one back in the replacements box he screwed up. Also depending on what brand it was I have had them get me a box to send a faulty part back and get a refund. Theres almost always a solution to that kind of problem but if the counter guy is lazy you dont get any help. Napa corporate usually has some kind of customer satisfaction warranty that overrides whatever a particular part may or may not have had. If your guy wanted to put that back on the shelf he has bigger problems than his customer service practices.

[Irish1941]

My recent NAPA experience turned out good. Parts guys were awesome but part itself was beyond bad. They actually delivered it to my door personally.
If has Cardone on the box, avoid it at all costs.
4 ps boxes from Cardone in 4 yrs, all under warranty.
They tried to give me another rebuilt Cardone steering box and was a mess right from the carton. Paint over old grease, brown fluid inside along with chucks of metal. Gave me a 6th one from BBB Industries and it was perfect.

You didn't say if the slave cyl was new or reman.
And tell that counter guy to go pound sand. You don't need the box. The receipt alone validates their warranty. I went thru NAPA head office and my problem was solved in 48hrs.

[Dieselburb86]

Irish is right I work for a Napa auto parts store! As long as you have the receipt the warranty is still good! We only need the box for cores on remans and if the part is still new and not installed! I know of the experience of counter guys saying they don't have the part, or not even trying! Its called laziness! It doesn't take much effort to go the extra mile and do some searching whether its through the books or even using Google as a reference to get a part number to cross.

[tucsonjwt]

I have spent too much time buying parts in all of the aftermarket parts stores, as well as the local dealers, and online OEM vendors. My conclusion is that you need to do your homework online (a lot of homework) before you buy a part. I don't expect the parts stores or the dealer to know much or want to know much about our 30-40 year old trucks. Returns and refunds have never been much of a problem wherever I shopped, but the online vendors do charge return shipping which is to be expected.

It pays to shop the sales, so I have a shed with a lot of $1/quart Penzoil, QS, etc., free spark plugs, free oil filters, etc. The aftermarket stores are good for free or real cheap stuff - can't complain about that.

Some aftermarket parts are fine. I have a 12 year old steering box from Autozone that has been trouble free and only cost about $20 with my old core.

Generally speaking, I prefer to buy Delco or OEM GM from online vendors. The prices are about the same and sometimes cheaper than aftermarket.

[MountainGoat1966]

I bought a FS500 fuel tank selector switch at NAPA, went to test it out with the new solenoid I bought online from another source, and the switch fell part in my hand after moving the rocker style knob twice.
Gonna return it for a refund and go to Chevy and hope they have a GOOD one.

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by Tucson38

A little disappointed with the quality of NAPA parts. Replaced the clutch master and slave, couldn't get it to bleed, no pedal. Pushed about 1-1/2 quarts of fluid through before I had the truck towed for repair. Here's what they found:

The shaft start out straight but it failed completely. When I returned it the counter guy told me that without the original box he wouldn't be able to resell it.
Perhaps that's a good thing.

It will start right with the counter guy/gal no matter where you buy parts from when you get a defective part. I worked for a Napa many years ago and the store policy was always find a way to make the customer happy. This defective part should get sent back to the manufacture through Napa for a credit. If you have the receipt, you don't have to take that part back to the same Napa you bought it from.

Looking at the photo, I have to ask if the clutch master is for a F^%d Ranger? Did the shop get the repair done and are you driving it now? There are reasons for my questions based off of your answer.

Take care,
Tom

[truckdude239]

i have kind of given up on my local napa i have a comerical account where they deliever to my work normal delievery time is like 3 days if i place an online order and dont cALL to follow it up they keep asking me what can they do so i would buy more and my answer was deleiver my parts in less then an hour....

[flashed]

I tried to set up an account at our local NAPA so they would deliver to my work ,they said no ,that it was too far out (6 miles) even though they deliver to a local garage right across the road .My work uses O'Reileys so I set up a commercial account there and they deliver in an hour or less plus give me a generous discount .

[Woogeroo]

If you still have the receipt or a charge on a card I can't see how they won't give you a replacement part or a refund.

I would definitely be contacting NAPA headquarters(be direct and polite).

NAPAonline.com

Contact link @ NAPA Online

There is a contact form, a listed email address you can use and this :


Phone

For customer service, including product information and order status, contact us at:
1-800-LET-NAPA (1-800-538-6272)
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Eastern Time
Monday – Friday

... and if that doesn't work... go old school :


Napa Auto Parts Corporate Office Headquarters

National Automotive Parts Association, Inc. (NAPA)

2999 Circle 75 Pkwy SE,
Atlanta, GA 30339 USA

Corporate Phone Number: 1-770-956-2200
Fax Number: 1-770-956-2212 ‎
Customer Service Number: 1-800-538-6272
Napa Online: 1-877-805-6272


-W