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Uncle Tony's Rant about the State of Auto Parts

themechanic

Oklahoma is OK
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This trend is worrisome. Even if you have a car that's "finished" you will eventually need service parts.

 
I agree parts quality now are very poor. I have friends that own their repair shops and deal with this everyday. One will only use dealership replacement parts unless the customer will only pay for the lesser cost part.My other friend will call the parts store and ask "How many do you have in stock? 3 ? send me all of them and I'll return the ones that don't work.
I feel for these guys as customers don't understand. How do you explain to a customer that their S-10 fuel pump that was replaced last week is back on the tow truck with a failed fuel pump.
 
It's a no win situation...Just recently talked to a guy who had a automotive machine shop attached to a long established auto parts store. They had the real deal parts countermen...Now they are closed down. Just installed new front hub bearings on a 4x4.....Used Doorman's still they were made in China
 
Its not where they are made. Its the company having them made.
For instance, in the previous post Dorman was mentioned. The company in China is making the parts to Dorman's specs and Dorman is accepting them.
If you want to blame someone, blame Dorman.
 
It's a no win situation...Just recently talked to a guy who had a automotive machine shop attached to a long established auto parts store. They had the real deal parts countermen...Now they are closed down. Just installed new front hub bearings on a 4x4.....Used Doorman's still they were made in China

You seem to be implying that using Dorman's is selecting a quality brand... Hardly the case... I've avoided the brand for at least twenty years due to their falling quality..

The inferior parts trend started in the 70's when Kragens & Pep Boys always sold parts for less than the other parts stores, slowly other stores either adopted selling cheaper parts or eventually they went out of business... For many years my local parts supplier who only sells to shops not the general pubic continued to offer the best name brands and at the same time offered the lower cost option stuff.... Eventually they started seeing a higher failure rate with most the more expensive parts so they dropped the higher cost lines with higher failures...

I've been trying to source older stock for years... It's the best option.. Those stores that closed their doors in the 80's & 90's & the owner stored the parts in a warehouse are gold mines....
 
I've been using dorman for years, alot of parts are redesigned. I read this many places

Which actual dorman parts are junk? The 3.8 intakes are good, window regulators, blower motor resistors etc, ive had good luck
 
I do agree that it's more difficult to find quality replacement parts.
I don't agree with his method for servicing the front drum brakes on a vehicle.
Yes you can do remove the whole wheel and drum by removing the spindle nut.
With the whole wheel and tire still attached it's more difficult to check the end play on the bearing and to tell how tight the shoes are adjusted before pulling the drum. If you have a ridge on the inside of the drum and you fail to loosen the adjuster you are more prone to catching the shoes and then breaking the spring which is what he found. Not saying he broke it, probably was already broke from his description.
I see it as the lazy way and I like to check each part as I take it apart.
Similarly when I put it back together I usually set the adjuster so I can just get the drum back on and it takes a couple iterations. If I had to put the hole wheel and drum back on it would be much more tricky.
Putting a cap on a heater hose outlet is also a hack move.
 
I agree with a 50/50 % on the stuff that he posts. We all have our own way of doing things.Whatever works for you is ok by me.
I may not do it that way,but again if it works for you....
 
Don't get me started about the Auto Parts Business. I was an Independent small chain store owner for almost 30 years...Started in the business as a delivery boy in 1974 @ $1.75 per hour. The two older owners of 5 stores saw me as energetic and ambitious . Soon I was a counterman, with catalog racks, NOT Computers...Then a store manager at age 22. The two owners split up the stores a few years later, and the owner that retained the store I managed, offered me to buy into the business. Now I realize he was looking for an exit strategy of his own, since he was 30 yrs my sr. He taught me everything else I needed to know about running a business, while I bought 25% of the company from him, by foregoing my bonuses and commissions for 7 years. in 1990 I bought him out completely, since I was doing most of the work, and he was taking most of the money. Took equity out of my new home, gave that to him, and he held most of the note, himself. The Old guys always bought the commercial real estate, wherever they could, So I did the same, and opened 2 more stores. I had over 50 employees, including drivers, countermen, stock clerks, office persons...Back in the 90's my countermen were making as much as 50g's a year....Yeahhh. Find that now in a Parts Store. But theses guys were PRO's . they could tell you the rod bearing clearances on a 50 Hudson.....In the late 90's the major parts manufacturers dictated to the Distribution Warehouses to sell direct to the Installer..AKA service stations, fleets, small repair shops.e.t.c. Thereby cutting a link from the normal supply chain. Cutting out the Independent Jobber stores. I was on the board of our Auto Parts Assoc. and we tried to boycott those warehouses, but in the end, we had to cut,cut,cut prices to compete. Thus the advent of the lower/cheaper lines of product..Even then it was tough to compete. I saw us just changing dollars every month for not a lot of profit. So... Enter Carquest. They wanted into my market, so we "dated" for 6 months. They liked the way we ran business, and in Dec 2000 the bought me completely out. Paid me for all my inventory, fixtures and equipment, took all my employees and delivery vehicles. I went Home at age 44. But.... I did not sell them the commercial real estate. To this day I still own the Real estate and lease it to them. In fact I am working now on new 5yr leases for them, due next Jan. I will say that GREED of the manufacturers is what have done in this once great business. Years after I sold, old customers would cry to me, please open a real Auto Parts Store... I just Laugh. I tell them " you had to have the best price, and you got it. Now you got no service or expertise" I was very blessed to listen to the advice of my mentors about buying the real estate.....Ok....Rant Over......
 
You seem to be implying that using Dorman's is selecting a quality brand... Hardly the case... I've avoided the brand for at least twenty years due to their falling quality..


How to you get out of what I posted I was "implying" using Dorman's is a quality brand? I needed these parts ASAP. Local parts place didn't have them, discount did and on the shelf. Try not and do the discount store but at times can't be helped
 
From '84-'88 I worked the parts counter at a Checker Auto in Colorado. Most of the inventory was made overseas; some parts had lifetime warranties while most were two years. Some manufacturers' stuff came back a lot.

In mid-1986 it and the rest of the Schuck's/Kragen empire were purchased by a well known businessman.

The first thing to happen under its new ownership: everyone got a decent raise.

Over the next few months various programs were instituted including job sharing, offsite training (FelPro, Permatex and Monroe shocks classes etc.), more convenient hours of operation, new Point of Sale registers with bar code inventory tracking, and employee vacation time.

Dozens of new USA-based lifetime warranty suppliers were added, replacing or adding options to the cheap foreign lines. Our previous Special Order Department changed almost overnight from laughable (Dashmats woo boy) to extraordinary -- we could get almost anything for any car going back to the 30s, usually with more than one to choose from.

I only quit because I moved to California. Buying my POS project Barracuda in 1991 followed by years of restoration efforts coupled with the late model parts that cross my bench every day now both make me appreciate Uncle Tony's feelings. The entire industry has suffered at the hands of those who prefer profit and overproduction to longevity, peace of mind and safety.

Now I'm going to say something because it speaks directly to the topic at hand so don't freak out.

I'm hopeful that recent changes in policy and trade agreements focusing on US will restore some of the pride, workmanship and craftsmanship we used to see in everything we bought because it was Made With Pride In The USA. Manufacturers are returning and good ol' U.S. steel is making a huge comeback.

That businessman who bought Checker/Schuck's/Kragen and made all the incredible changes benefitting customers and employees was none other than Donald J. Trump.
 
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I do agree that it's more difficult to find quality replacement parts.
I don't agree with his method for servicing the front drum brakes on a vehicle.
Yes you can do remove the whole wheel and drum by removing the spindle nut.
With the whole wheel and tire still attached it's more difficult to check the end play on the bearing and to tell how tight the shoes are adjusted before pulling the drum. If you have a ridge on the inside of the drum and you fail to loosen the adjuster you are more prone to catching the shoes and then breaking the spring which is what he found. Not saying he broke it, probably was already broke from his description.
I see it as the lazy way and I like to check each part as I take it apart.
Similarly when I put it back together I usually set the adjuster so I can just get the drum back on and it takes a couple iterations. If I had to put the hole wheel and drum back on it would be much more tricky.
Putting a cap on a heater hose outlet is also a hack move.
I thought the cap was odd too..
 
And just some FYI, Parts were out sourced well back in the mid 70's. In 77 the new Dodge Trucks that were rolling off the transports had MADE IN JAPAN in big yellow letters on the leaf springs. Working in the rust belt on these new trucks the wagon wheels on such as the Macho Truck were actually rusting out within 1 year winter. Not just surface rust but the wheel lips that you placed the wheel weights. There is a saying "What was done in the past is now catching up to us".
 
Reference Post #11 from CudaChick1968: In the interest of accuracy, it was not our President, Donald Trump, who purchased the 3 auto parts chains; Checkers, Schucks and Kragans.
The following is an article that lays out the purchase, with several footnotes to do further research if you're interested; The info is in 1987:
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/csk-auto-corporation-history/

I PM'd her and asked her if she would please correct her post. She basically refused to look at the facts and apparently thinks that all Californians are Trump haters. Actually, I looked into it because it didn't sound like the type of business venture his company would be involved in.
 
Now I'm going to say something because it speaks directly to the topic at hand so don't freak out.

I'm hopeful that recent changes in policy and trade agreements focusing on US will restore some of the pride, workmanship and craftsmanship we used to see in everything we bought because it was Made With Pride In The USA. Manufacturers are returning and good ol' U.S. steel is making a huge comeback.

That businessman who bought Checker/Schuck's/Kragen and made all the incredible changes benefitting customers and employees was none other than Donald J. Trump.
Thanks for telling it like it is
whether it's Pres. Trump's investments or not
that doesn't even matter at this point & time, it's just a trigger...


you go girl :thumbsup:, we need more like it too...

Outsourcing/globalism was/is a bad thing for employment
our retail, brick & mortar local stores or even the -www-
We have a local Napa store Debco, I try to buy USA made when ever possible
a couple big box sites like Summit (I've had nothing but great service from them)
& Jegs, I don't buy much from, but I hear they are pretty good too

you have to put in some effort to see where it's made
but IMHFO. it's well worth it, quality doesn't come cheap

Buy Made & Assembled in the Great USA/America,
We need more to understand, that simple fact...

Buy American, Supports an American, it keeps an American fed/housed
:usflag:

not them cheap *** "price-point shoppers", Chinese or Foreign crap
all they care about is getting everything cheap or the bottom line

you can't have quality & cheap, it's one or the other :soapbox:

:thankyou: CudaChick
 
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From '84-'88 I worked the parts counter at a Checker Auto in Colorado. Most of the inventory was made overseas; some parts had lifetime warranties while most were two years. Some manufacturers' stuff came back a lot.

In mid-1986 it and the rest of the Schuck's/Kragen empire were purchased by a well known businessman.

The first thing to happen under its new ownership: everyone got a decent raise.

Over the next few months various programs were instituted including job sharing, offsite training (FelPro, Permatex and Monroe shocks classes etc.), more convenient hours of operation, new Point of Sale registers with bar code inventory tracking, and employee vacation time.

Dozens of new USA-based lifetime warranty suppliers were added, replacing or adding options to the cheap foreign lines. Our previous Special Order Department changed almost overnight from laughable (Dashmats woo boy) to extraordinary -- we could get almost anything for any car going back to the 30s, usually with more than one to choose from.

I only quit because I moved to California. Buying my POS project Barracuda in 1991 followed by years of restoration efforts coupled with the late model parts that cross my bench every day now both make me appreciate Uncle Tony's feelings. The entire industry has suffered at the hands of those who prefer profit and overproduction to longevity, peace of mind and safety.

Now I'm going to say something because it speaks directly to the topic at hand so don't freak out.

I'm hopeful that recent changes in policy and trade agreements focusing on US will restore some of the pride, workmanship and craftsmanship we used to see in everything we bought because it was Made With Pride In The USA. Manufacturers are returning and good ol' U.S. steel is making a huge comeback.

That businessman who bought Checker/Schuck's/Kragen and made all the incredible changes benefitting customers and employees was none other than Donald J. Trump.
It wasn't Donald Trump it was investors UNRELATED to Donald Trump who shared the same last name.....Im sorry to have to informed you of this
https://apnews.com/29e2180c442a56cc79cb0904e5e011ca
https://hauteliving.com/haute-100/eddie-trump-jules-trump/
 
Reference Post #11 from CudaChick1968: In the interest of accuracy, it was not our President, Donald Trump, who purchased the 3 auto parts chains; Checkers, Schucks and Kragans.
The following is an article that lays out the purchase, with several footnotes to do further research if you're interested; The info is in 1987:
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/csk-auto-corporation-history/

I PM'd her and asked her if she would please correct her post. She basically refused to look at the facts and apparently thinks that all Californians are Trump haters. Actually, I looked into it because it didn't sound like the type of business venture his company would be involved in.

I would have no problem "correcting" my post Dave IF it didn't conflict outright with the company literature published at the time AND my own memories.

For what it's worth (and despite your assumption), I lived in California from 1988 to 2003. I guess you missed that part of my post in your Quest For Truth.

I only added that story to the thread because what I remember about my first experience "dealing" with Mr. Trump (who I had never heard of) was so similar to what he is now doing with an emphasis on American manufacturing. Ultimately WE ARE THE PEOPLE who can most benefit from quality parts made here in our own country like they used to be. Political affiliation and finger-pointing add nothing to the discussion.

Anyone can add to the internet. You took it upon yourself to "correct" my memories today even after I explained my basis for them to you privately. It wasn't good enough.

Edit re the article links: All I can say is that there must have been a typo on the internal press release. Everybody working at the store believed it, including Management, the truck drivers who delivered weekly, and me. We were all grateful and inspired.

In '88 I was 23. I didn't follow politics, corporate takeovers or business news back then. Thanks for sharing the articles guys. I do prefer facts and appreciate you setting the record straight.

Those guys at CSK had the right approach. Too bad more didn't do it too.
 
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I've been using dorman for years, alot of parts are redesigned. I read this many places

Which actual dorman parts are junk? The 3.8 intakes are good, window regulators, blower motor resistors etc, ive had good luck
Dorman window regulators for my Ford's are much better quality than the motorcraft.
 
Leanna, a simple mea culpa would have been the end of the conversation. I didn't doubt what you remembered, only that research showed that it was incorrect. None of us has a perfect memory, but when confronted with the facts, which I did in a PM, not in a post, why argue? A basic premise; not political, not finger pointing.
 
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