I’m not sure exactly how to phrase the question, but let’s consider the likes of Autozone, Advance, O’Reilly, and maybe NAPA. Probably the most common I see around me. Is there one that is known to be the most corner-cutting, least reliable house brand parts, or something?
I’m curious because I usually have no brand loyalty and will just run into the nearest whichever store to rent a tool or get a part, etc. and am wondering how lucky I’ve gotten that nothing has been an outright lemon.
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I don’t buy house brands from ANY store if I can help it. Most of it is the same garbage. Or Willy and advance often carry aftermarket parts such as Moog, MDS, Felpro, and others. NAPA carries a lot of the same stuff but inside a NAPA box. I first try to find OEM online though.
A lot of domestic parts all come from the same warehouse. Same manufacturer that’s doing the die and cast across all brands.
AutoZone pays like crap to their employees and gouge their hours so the staffing is strung out as thinly as possible. I don’t shop at AutoZone for that reason. I would much prefer O’Reilly. They seem happier. Personal experience.
Honestly this is good to know too. I figured all of the house brands and tools are basically the same, so I might as well support the least shitty employer.
Advance does the same thing as far as hours. Our local has one guy in the store most days until 11-12 every day.
Napa has always treated me well with warranty issues.
This is a question where you ask 10 people and get 10 answers. Napa tends to have the best quality parts but their pricing reflects that. In 15 years though, I have never experienced a failure of any part I’ve ever bought from Autozone. The only time that might qualify is when I pulled spark plug wires off my Tahoe last month and 3 of 8 of the connectors on the spark plug ends broke off, but they’d been on for 5 years and I was pulling off with visegrips. But AZ replaced them with new under warranty for free, no questions.
They basically all sell the same junk at the end of the day.
I prefer NAPA for in store purchases. Rock Auto or the OEM if I can wait.
I like Napa because they are a franchise, which means I am doing business with someone who lives in my community, not some nameless, faceless corporate entity.