GM/Dealership vs. Normal Parts Stores??

[Donne Trav]

How many of you buy strictly GM/Dealership parts vs. parts at Auto Zone, Advance Auto, Pep Boys, etc. Does it matter? Also, where are you purchasing your tools?

BTW, Thankyou ALL for the many replies on the CHANGING of the Spark
Plugs. VERY HELPFUL. Haven't attempted it yet. Thanks All.

 

[rascal_rascal_99]

I don't normally buy from a dealership unless it's a dealer only part. I also don't have a specific parts store that I'll deal with more than the others, I usually call around and see who has the brand names that I trust for the best price...or who has it in stock/can get it quickest depending on how fast I want it.

 

[G Winter]

I buy quite a few items from the GM dealer. The parts man at our local dealer gives pretty good carry out prices. I buy filters , plug wires and a lot of odds and ends parts there. Most of the time he is within a couple % of anyone else.Most of what I buy there I can't get cheaper online when you factor in shipping. Some parts are just to high priced from GM such as clutch slave cylinders. That type of thing I pick up at the distributer that has the best price on name brand items. Store brand items tend to spook me.

Glenn

 

[warren s]

I ordered a bunch of stuff from GMPartsdirect over the last few years. Even with shipping and handling it still comes out less then the dealer.

The local parts store is good for non-specific parts. (Oil, car, care products and such)

 

[gmjunkie]

My local Chevrolet dealer gives me a real good discount on Body and Mechanical parts so I get most of my major parts there!! I also have a Parts Plus store here in town!!

 

[B17Crew]

Chevy parts department.

Dealership I buy my parts from gives me a discount on just about every part I buy from them. Once you establish a relationship with the staff, they do what they can to help you out. Reminds me, I gotta take them a round of Starbucks next time I make a stop there!

Other reason for GM/Dealership is I’m doing everything I can to keep my ’96 OEM equipped as I want to have it NCRS judged when eligible.

B17Crew

 

[Toms007]

In the small town where we live I don't have a lot of choice. Nearest GM place is 30 miles away (and a bunch of crooks), I have a local parts place here in town that bends over backwards to try and help me, so I buy quite a bit of my stuff from them. But if I need genuine GM I will call Superior Chevy in KC, they have been very helpful and if I tell them that I am a forum member they give me a discount.

 

[Red Vette]

Depends on the part; if it is a fuel pump, I would never buy an after market as it would not be built to the same specs and tolerances of the GM part. Same with a fuel filter. Likewise, as Charlie has said, if it is a GM part itself, like a TPS, I buy a GM. If it is something that is common and really no difference between GM and parts store, will buy the cheaper, like spark plugs. It really does depend on the part and the use it will get. After markets may work, but are not always dependable.
Barrett

 

[ZumZum]

My local dealer is horrible. I will never buy any thing from them. They're about 3 times higher than other places and they always tell me they don't have it in stock. If it's a Vette specific part, I'm lucky enough to live with driving distance of Mid-America. For non specific parts I'll go to whoever has a quality part at decent price.

 

[muddywaters]

Our local Chevy dealers are pretty good, after 34 years of Vettes, they get to know you. I'm told that Co.'s like Ecklers, etc., buy up all the old stock.

 

[ZumZum]

I use one local Autozone quite a bit. There's 2 girls usually working the counter and they try harder and are just as knowledgable as any male employees at other stores. Another time when I was looking for wiper blades. They didn't have the ones I needed. They actually took the time to call a competitor down the street to locate the wipers for me. That's service you don't find very often these days and impressed me enough to give them repeat business.

 

[rascal_rascal_99]

People are what makes the stores better or worse to me for the biggest part of it.

My local chevy dealer is insanely high priced on everything or I'd do more business there.

I completely understand someone wanting to keep a car completely original and staying with original GM parts if that's how a person wants to go and has thoughts of having a car shown/inspected and such. This isn't a concern for me, so I'm just shopping for quality parts I trust at the most reasonable pricing.

My local Auto Zone...I'll buy parts from them because they are often very competitively priced, but I'm extremely careful about watching what they're getting me. I recently replaced the serpentine belt on my car, knew it was a double sided belt, AZ salesman pulled up the part number, went back and pulled me one out of inventory...single sided. I was like...this is the wrong belt, mines double sided. He kinda looked confused, went back to his computer, checked again, pulled a book out, checked in it...then quite confidently told me, nope, that's not the wrong belt, it's the right part number, so it may look different but it's correct. ;squint: I asked him to look up a double sided one, and he went again into his computer then told me, they didn't make one...and that the belt he gave me should be the right length so it should work fine. Umm...yea right, it'll work for about 50 miles down the road before the grooved pulleys on the back side of it shred it maybe! I left there, went to OReilly's and they first pulled up it being a single sided belt also (which if anyone can explain why, I'm curious to hear it?) but when I told them it was double sided, he called some kind of support line and they told him exactly what part number would be correct and that they could have it for me the next morning.
My last trip to Bowling Green KY a couple of weeks ago, I ended up with a slightly broken temperature sensor so it was screwing my car all up, had a chat with Junkie about what was going on and why one temp gauge was fine and the other was jumping from 30-210 and back and forth...had no clue there were two temp sensors!:eyerole Anyways, found my way to Napa Auto Parts in Bowling Green, told the guy what I needed, they had one in stock no problem, so then I asked him to sell me a wrench to fit it...he told me I didn't have to buy one, they had a tool chest with plenty of tools in it in back that I could borrow whatever I needed to change it with. Now THAT was some nice customer service!

 

[JAKE]

I don't normally buy from a dealership unless it's a dealer only part. I also don't have a specific parts store that I'll deal with more than the others, I usually call around and see who has the brand names that I trust for the best price...or who has it in stock/can get it quickest depending on how fast I want it.

What he said.

Jake

 

[CharlesBrown]

From time to time I've bought from a "Corvettes Only" store. It's local and wholy owned by the two James brothers....FRANK & JESSE!