What has everyone's general experiance with "Rebuilt" Napa parts vs. "New" Autozone parts?

I am going to replace my alternator today and I am leaning toward the Napa part, because I haven't had the best luck with Autozone parts, and have had pretty good luck with Napa, but I wanted to get your experiences as well.

Thanks

Ryan

 

I've always had good luck with NAPPA, that said, I recently bought one of the NEW alternators from Autozone.

 

i'm hearing good things about autozone's duralast "gold" alternators......i bought one as a spare.

 

Never had any problems with Autozone.

 

I have a NAPA two blocks from my house, so I'm a little biased. That being said, I have noticed that more items from NAPA are made here in the USA than I have ever found at Autozone. A good example is brake rotors. I bought 4 of the premium Duralast brake rotors from autozone and each was made in a different country, and one box was mis-marked!!!! I let Autozone keep 'em, went to NAPA and bought 4 USA made rotors for about the same money. 'Nuff said.

 

go to napa!

 

I like NAPA. They offer 10% discounts for AAA members, too.

 

Really... i didn't know that.

As to the original poster, I have had good and bad experiences with each. I would pick based on the competance of the staff, which for me would favor the local Autozone.

 

If it costs more, it's gotta be better. Many will argue, but the fact is that usually they use the same rebuilders in a particular area.

 

I know with NAPA you can sometimes get AC/Delco parts. I purchased an EGR solenoid from them and it was an O.E.M. Delco/Remy item, not a re-badged, re-man part.

 

I can get more GM and Jeep parts at NAPA. Generic things at Autozone.

 

It can depend on alot of factors...I went to autozone to find an electric fan blower motor for the heating/air and then went across the street to Napa to see what they had compare prices..Napa had the exact same piece,brand and make that autozone had,but was 15 dollars more.Do shop and see what they have.Sometimes they sell the same exact stuff,other times,napa is usually superior with their parts.

 

I've been backed to both on the same day to exchange "new" parts that were broken out of the box. Can't say I've had that with a Dealer, but the price sometimes makes the Discounters worthwhile.

 

I don't have the patience to deal with the Autozone stores around here. The problem I have with Autozone are the employees, I do not want to buy parts for my cars from someone who has no idea what they are selling. They are absolutely clueless. I had the Corvette out a couple of years ago on a Sunday and it popped the upper radiator hose. The small hose that goes from the radiator to the Tee fitting. The Corvette did this right in front of Autozone. I go in and ask for a hose and what a suprise, they didn't have one. I asked to see their radiator hoses and the guy looks at me as serious as can be and says what for ?? I told him I would find something that would be close enough. I go back and start looking through the hoses and find one about three feet too long but the one end is perfect. I bring it up to the counter to buy it and the guy looks at me again and says that's not going to work. He punches the number in the computer and tells me it's for a Chrysler. I'm thinking no **** genious I was going to cut the end off of it and use just the end. All I wanted to do was avoid paying for a tow truck over a $15.00 hose. Anyways I got the hose on
and got the car home but good grief. The store manager suggested I leave the car in the parking lot until Monday when they could call and see if they can get the correct hose. What a bunch of idiots.

 

went to NAPA and bought 4 USA made rotors for about the same money. 'Nuff said.[/QUOTE]
rotors made in the U.S.A.--yippee!!!!...all the ones i've gotten from napa (last set a week ago-NOT vette) were foreign made (canada)...usa made has to be better, cause you can sue a usa mfr, lotsa luck tryin to sue up north if you're from the ''states''

napa quality is a little better , imho, than other discounters in most cases not all....napa stores set their own price schedules, not even close to each other 10 miles apart--shop around

 

A large part of your cars were probably built in Canada!

 

When it comes to car parts, I try not to buy anything from Autozone. I have had bad luck with their parts. Actually what I will do is I will call around and get part numbers, brand names and prices. Lots of times, you will see they carry the same part/brand but slightly cheaper price. You can also go to the discount store web sites and shop around. But I ways get the brand, part number and price and take it from there.

Napa always seems to be more expensive but probably has better parts. Advanced can have cheaper priced parts with same part number/brand as Napa and Autozone.

Orielly has a match price guarantee and one time I decided to take them up on that offer. And indeed, Orielly honored what they advertised by matching the Autozone price for my rad fan motor. Autozone price $23 / Oreilly price $64 both parts being equal in warranty. That was such a big time savings I felt guilty almost like I was robbing them blind. Especially when I told the guy, “uhh, my car takes 2 of those fan motors”. But hey, that’s business. Instead of paying $138.88, I paid $49.91.

Edited for Correction Listed Below:
Correction, O’reilly fan motor was $64.99 with a 1 year warranty while Autozone was $23.99 with a LifeTime Warranty (which means you’ll be returning that part for the rest of your life).

Here is the Link to a thread where I mentioned it at the end of the thread.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1137500

 

Gotta keep reminding us of that AAA Discount; I keep forgetting!!! Really.

Not to jack, but any thoughts on CarQuest, too?

 

Either or should be good! I have had great results from both!

Thanks,Matt

 

the one thing i like about autozone is the lifetime warranty. i bought an altenator from them for my nissan sentra and 4 years later i had to replace it. the second one was free. for my everyday cars i love autozone. there brake pads are also lifetime. you bring the old ones in, they give you a new set. no questions asked. just my opinion. pat