So some things it seems like the experts are ok with buying at a discount auto parts store like autozone or checker (what we have here in gilbert, az). anyone got a list or wanna start one of things you'd buy and things you'd stay away from?

for my current situation, i'm going to be flushing my coolant and replacing the t-stat this week. is a t-stat cool from autozone? 195* failsafe alright?

 

I buy parts at both az and checker once you buy the first one on LLT parts the replacements are free. I don't mind replacing parts myself so I keep using there parts. AS far as the thermostat buy the better or the best one they sell

 

I think that anything electrical, or that could cause problems for your engine should be avoided.

Honestly all of the Auto Zone, Duralast parts should be avoided.

Only thing I buy from there is oil filters and stuff like that.

only thing that keeps me coming back is the members card, I get 20 dollars back every few purchases which is nice

I had about 2 months of problems with that exact t-stat, they should advertise it instead of failsure, because that thing was defective out of the box

 

yes they sell brand name thermostats... were i got mine from

 

they offer military discount ....so i can by the good **** they have at the duralast price

 

get a heater control valve only from napa. Depending on the year anything else could explode as your driving one day.

Randomly go with a 180 T stat.

 

X 1000 right there.

 

the only thing i really get from autozone is bearings, they carry timkens at good prices.

anything electrical and napa gets my money
i have had waterpumps and pulleys that grind straight out of the box from autozone
anything that takes a while to replace I'm sure to get a good part and pay the extra money, don't wan't to do it twice because the cheap autozone part failed

 

Beware of GP sorcen from advance auto...I bought 2!! tempature senders that would cause the guage to peg as soon as the key was turned. Bought another brand and had 0 problems...

 

i haven't had a single problem with the autozone in my home town. i bought one of those failsafe thermostats and when i got back home i went to put it in and found someone had already installed it on something. i saw the gray gasket material on it. i took it back and told them for the price i payed i wanted one thatwas new and hadnt been installed. they immediatly took that one and exchaned then pulled the newe one out and had me check it before i left then appoligized for the mistake and took it off their shelf. never had a problem since.

(by the way i'm in there at least three times a day for something.)

 

Do not buy a harmonic balancer from them... No joke. Me and my girlfriend replaced hers back in August/September and they gave us the one for a 4cyl. It worked for a few months and then broke again. They finally gave us the right one, but didn't tell us about any of the installer kits or even the woodruff key. We finally went to Checker's (after about 3 different harmonic balancers from Autozone and a week of lost wages and spent money on buses and parts) and the people there were A LOT more helpful and actually knew what they were talking about and got us the right harmonic balancer, for about the same price, with the woodruff key and even loaned us the installer.

 

I used to be a manager for AZ (few years back) & they were working on getting the failure rate of warrantible parts down to 28%! A goal of 1 out of 4 parts?! Keep in mind even name brand doesn't mean best quality, most manufactures have a couple of different quality lines. Go to a NAPA, etc., get a good repor with the counter guy & get him to negotiate prices. Thats what I do, but I spend quite a bit with one shop. AZ is good for wax/oil/filters etc., but thats about it....

 

dont trust their system for recomendations on fluids and compatable parts. do your research before you go in there and know what to buy. I had done my research and asked anyways and there computer told me some stuff that couldnt be farther from the truth. just make sure you know what you want before you go in

 

i worked at autozone for some time... people are going to get on here and tell you not to buy something from one of them because of a problem they once had... everyones going to have a problem with some sort part from every manufacturer at some point and time... i always use autozones stuff... not because of the parts but because of the customer service... i get $20 for every $100 i spend basically... and if one of there starters goes out on me while im in cali or something its just acouple clicks away from my lifetime warranty... anyone else they want the store number you got it from and they want to talk to them to make sure it has a warranty and all this other crap... autozones warranty system is AT LEAST nation wide... i read someone say not to use duralast product... your an idiot... duralast is probably one of the top leading aftermarket parts distibutor in the country... if they had nothing but junk then they wouldnt be where they are... no to mention that almost every one of there products they back up with a liftime warranty... ive always bout the cheapet product with a lifetime warranty... heck i just took back my used and abused brake pads off my truck and swapped them for new ones for free because there lifetime warranty... but we all know pads dont last a lifetime... so as long as i own my truck... ive got free brake pads...

anything electrical is not going to carry a warranty hardly... and thats anywhere you go... net or whatever... this is due to the fact that alot of electrical parts go bad because of other parts going bad first... blower resistors go bad why? because the blower motor burned up first... if some idiot went and installed a new resistor without the blower and then never used it for a month... then burnt it up when he did... thats not the parts companies fault... thats the idiot who installed a good part into a bad system...

to answer your question exactly buy everything from them that you can... ive gotten 3 different hole long blocks from parts store because there half the price of jasper and carry only a year shy of there warranty... i dunno bout you but a year of warranty isnt worth $2k for me... i could just buy another motor if it "just so happens to go" for that money... there local so you dont have to mess with the hassle of some of these companies on the internet... just stay away from there lowest grade stuff... aka valucraft... junk... middle grade or higher youll be fine...

To those of you who buy only dealer items because u think its better...you an idiot too... cause if you think about it... its the dealer item that went out on you in the first place... save your money...

 

/\ i feel the same way