"mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
07/18/2017 at 12:50 • Filed to: None
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"mkbruin, Atlas VP" (mkbruin)
07/18/2017 at 12:50 • Filed to: None | 2
| 30 |
The last four times I have stopped into my local Napa and asked for parts for a 1981 Firebird, the desk jockey asked me who makes that.
Fuckin-A napa, you used to know your shit.
For Sweden
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 12:52 |
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I bet neither Chase Elliott or Alexander Rossi have ever driven or ridden in a Pontiac.
HammerheadFistpunch
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 12:53 |
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its called napa know how, not know what. so there’s that I guess.
TheHondaBro
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 12:53 |
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Honda, right?
bwp240
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 12:57 |
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Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:01 |
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The number of times I have had to explain that a Sonoma is a truck (barely) is baffling.
sony1492
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:07 |
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Once called about some tundra cv’s, they proceed to ask if it’s 2wd or 4x4.....
jminer
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:08 |
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Same thing has happened to me with my International Scout. “What is a Scout?” at multiple parts stores.
To be fair is hasn’t been made since before they (or I) were born, but still!
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:09 |
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Did they really though or was it that you didn’t know as much back then? I feel like when I was younger, I’d ask the people at parts stores questions assuming that they weren’t just normal retail workers, but now I go in and just facepalm since I have a better idea about what I’m doing.
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SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> For Sweden
07/18/2017 at 13:10 |
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I bet they can die happy without that ever changing.
Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:12 |
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“Hi, can you tell me which aisle your washer fluid is in?”
“Sure thing! What’s the year, make and model of your vehicle?”
/facepalm
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:17 |
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My local NAPA used to have as its primary manager/parts guy someone who was an actual wizard. These days, not so much.
Then again, I’m the asshole who comes in babbling about Type A suffix A transmission fluid and the differences between FX and FMX trans filters.
Ash78, voting early and often
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:18 |
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Of the ~5 times I’ve been in a NAPA (out of 250+ trips to retail auto parts stores), I always found they had...nothing. I was pretty convinced they were like a front for the mob or something. However, I heard that their “pro desk” is among the best in the business. Their retail desk leaves a lot to be desired. Honorable Mention: CarQuest
TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:20 |
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I stopped shopping at Pep-Boys because the desk jockey sold me air hoses instead of injector fuel hoses. Let me tell you how much fun it is driving on I95 when all of a sudden you smell diesel and feel your car start to misfire because the fucking hose got eaten away and came off. I had to zip tie the hoses back onto the injectors so I could make my way home.
Stapleface
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:20 |
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Napa. No? How?
Chariotoflove
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:28 |
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They asked you who makes a 1981 Firebird?
Didn’t think it’d been that long since Pontiac closed shop.
Discerning
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:33 |
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You can’t necessarily expect them to be familiar with all makes and models. You might think that is the case, but many of them are mechanics and parts specialists first and not necessarily even car enthusiasts.
I knew a parts person from NAPA who was exceptionally knowledgeable about repairs but 100% ignorant about German and Japanese makes and models. They could tell you everything you need for a job and give decent recommendations on the best methods and products, but they would have no clue who makes a GS300 (for example).
My X-type is too a real Jaguar
> For Sweden
07/18/2017 at 13:37 |
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Bill has a bandit trans am I’m sure Chase has driven it.
Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 13:41 |
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They sold me brake rotors for a 2006 mazda 6, not a mazda 3. Several hours of my time wasted trying to figure out why my rear wheels didn’t turn....
functionoverfashion
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 14:08 |
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Ah, my local Napa has NapaDan. NapaDan has been there forever, and answers the phone, “Napa, Dan speaking” only without the pause. So now he’s just NapaDan. And you better believe he knows who makes a Firebird. He knows the part number for the oil filter, cap & rotor right off the top of his head, and where it is in the parts room.
One guy like that can make all the difference. I went into a local Sanel Auto Parts recently, and they didn’t help with what I was looking for, despite being told to go there by TWO separate people who know their stuff. In telling one of them, they responded, “OH you went to THAT one? Nope, gotta go to THIS one.” Same deal.
With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 14:12 |
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I’ve started avoiding contact with one guy who works at several of my local O’Reilly stores. Every time I go in and need any part for my Miata, he asks,
“It is a MONSTER MIata? You know what that is right? They take a big V8 and put it in a Miata.”
Every. Time. Even if I’m asking for OEM equivalent spark plug wires, or something that would be totally different if I actually had a V8 swap, or “MONSTER Miata,” as he puts it.
lone_liberal
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 14:15 |
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My local NAPA is much better about finding parts for non-stock equipment. I went to an Autozone and asked for a rear seal for a TH400 (since my car didn’t come with it from the factory) and the guy just stared at me. The guys at the local NAPA don’t get confused with such shenanigans.
ateamfan42
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 14:23 |
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... for a 1981 Firebird, the desk jockey asked me who makes that
To his defense, NO ONE makes that. The company that used to make that has been gone for years.
Still you’d think an auto parts guy would have at least heard of Pontiac.
Steve in Manhattan
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 14:35 |
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Dead even longer - Oldsmobile. Throw that at them ...
DipodomysDeserti
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 14:42 |
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NAPAs are all franchised. You have to find a good one. There’s one near me where the kid didn’t know how to interpret SAE belt sizes. There’s also one near me where all the old guys there can find me parts just based on the engine and gave me advice on oil filters for an old 350.
d15b
> Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever
07/18/2017 at 17:59 |
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Ah, this is good Oppo.
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d15b
> functionoverfashion
07/18/2017 at 18:02 |
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NapaDan is that old timer who is a grizzled auto vet. Not his first rodeo, so to speak!
wafflesnfalafel
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/18/2017 at 20:14 |
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damn... my local NAPA folks seem to know their stuff, (and I love their NAPA brand full synth oil...)
pip bip - choose Corrour
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/19/2017 at 07:59 |
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shop elsewhere perhaps?
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functionoverfashion
> Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever
07/19/2017 at 08:51 |
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I used to call Napa all the time for parts for boats. That’s fun. “Yeah I’ve got a 1985, um. Ford 351.”/ What transmission does it have? / “Umm. No I just need a cap and rotor.” / Does it have power steering? / “Not on the ignition system....” Yeah. There were some guys that knew us though, and we learned just to ask for the right people.
gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
> mkbruin, Atlas VP
07/19/2017 at 23:26 |
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My local advance used to have 2 super fat guys and a young woman who knew their shit, and a recently graduated high school kid to stock shelves. then they opened up another store and stuck 2 dumbasses and a 40 year old woman with blue hair. My previous spot for a moment of sanity when stressed and wrenching is gone.