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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / May 2006Parts - Dealership vs Autozone
Ok, I need a man's help here. My girlfriend and I are arguing about some issues with car parts, and I thought I could get a pretty good answer here. Ok, here is the deal, she has a Lumina, it needs spark plugs, wires, etc..for a tune up. I have always been one to buy the cheapest (but will work) for everything, including car parts. Well the dealership 'parts' are $80 more than autozone (not including labor) and she says that autozone told her that the plugs are the same but the wires are smaller and not 'custom' fit to her car. Is this true and which would you purchase? Are they just as good or what? Thanks!!! > Ok, I need a man's help here. My girlfriend and I are arguing about some > issues with car parts, and I thought I could get a pretty good answer here. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > car. Is this true and which would you purchase? Are they just as good or > what? Thanks!!! For "generic" parts - I go with the parts dealer(Autozone, Checker, etc). For "specific" parts - check with the dealer and compare prices. generic - things that are not particular to a make/model of vehicle(ie, plugs, filters, wires, hoses, brakes) specific - anything that is specific to a make/model. (ie oil cooler gasket for an 1988 VW GLI 16v, very specific. Ask me how I learned that.) Parts stores could get it but 3 day wait and $10. Dealer had it on hand $2.50. JW THANKS!!! Exactly what I told her... >> Ok, I need a man's help here. My girlfriend and I are arguing about some >> issues with car parts, and I thought I could get a pretty good answer here. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > >JW > Ok, I need a man's help here. My girlfriend and I are arguing about some > issues with car parts, and I thought I could get a pretty good answer here. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > car. Is this true and which would you purchase? Are they just as good or > what? Thanks!! I didn't really answer your question. Use the "generic" wires from the parts store. They might not be "fitted", but that won't really matter. They just might be a little longer than they need to be. It's a Lumina, not a 1953 Corvette. Who cares if it doesn't look quite right? JW >Ok, I need a man's help here. My girlfriend and I are arguing about some >issues with car parts, and I thought I could get a pretty good answer here. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >car. Is this true and which would you purchase? Are they just as good or >what? Thanks!!! Depends on the parts and the car. I don't know the Lumina. I'll say that I owned a Chrysler Laser which _had_ to take the OEM rotor and cap. Anything else would burn up in fairly short order. It was fine with cheap aftermarket parts for most things, but not that. --scott  Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." you normally pay more at a dealership for parts, some will give you 25% off retail if you ask for it, they expect it. spark plugs and spark plug wires are two items that should be replaced with oem parts, and can usually be bought at chain-store parts houses for less. for spark plug wires, buy a name brand that is s o certified and marked, *custom fit* for your car. and some spark plug cartons will have champion / mopar on them, if they are for a chrysler product, the same should hold true for gm cars, like a c / gm, or ford / autolite. If the plugs in the car are original, then the same number plug should be used as a replacement . get the number, go to a parts house and match it up, don't take no for an answer. The car's electrical system has been *tuned* to that particular plug. I wouldn't fall for all this hype surrounding auto plug sales. use the original type, you'll be glad you did. >mho >ve >D r i v e / E a t L e s s - $ a v e M o n e y fiveiron@webtv.net wrote in article <15324-446241F8-72@storefull-3311.bay.webtv.net>... >>> If the plugs in the car are original, then the same number plug should be used as a replacement . get the number, go to a parts house and match it up, don't take no for an answer. Wrong, again! Proper application for spark plugs should be looked up in the manufacturer's latest catalog every, single, time spark plugs are changed.. Needs change as a car ages, and as more and more miles are run in "real world" conditions - prompting OEM and aftermarket spark plug manufacturers to make an "adjustment" to original spark plug specs. Sometimes a hotter plug is indicated for an engine with some mileage that is beginning to burn a little oil. Here's a perfect example of why you shouldn't automatically replace plugs with the same-part-number. A number of years ago, the Ford six-cylinder engines were equipped with a projected nose spark plug as OEM - Champion numbers F-9Y and F-11Y...the "Y" designation indicating extended tip. These plugs often became oil fouled. It was discovered that oil would run down the valve guide, and drip from any exhaust valve that remained open while the engine was not running. When the car was started, the plug was oil-fouled and would mis-fire. If you replaced that plug with the same part-numbered plug, you would not fix the problem. The replacement part in the catalog was a commercial plug with a recessed tip - Champion numbers 860 and 870. The dripping oil would miss the plug tip, land on the piston, and be burned off when the engine started. ALWAYS!!!.....ALWAYS!!!......INSIST on the parts store looking up the current correct spark plug for your application. >>> The car's electrical system has been *tuned* to that particular plug. Actually, it is the plug that is "tuned" to the engine's needs. Today's automotive ignition systems are capable of producing middle-five-figure voltages - enough to fire just about ANY plug that is in the hole. It is far more important to adjust the plug's heat range to the engine's fuel mixture and cylinder temperatures. >>> I wouldn't fall for all this hype surrounding auto plug sales. use the original type, you'll be glad you did. And, with any luck, the people who read your "technical" advice are too smart to fall for such gross mis-information.......which is rapidly becoming your trademark. Don't just read the number on the plugs and assume that they are correct. Look it up, get the number and purchase. There's nothing wrong with parts from autozone. Some people say the alternators, and starters are sub-par, but I haven't really noticed a difference. >Ok, I need a man's help here. My girlfriend and I are arguing about some >issues with car parts, and I thought I could get a pretty good answer here. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >car. Is this true and which would you purchase? Are they just as good or >what? Thanks!!! A lot of what autozone sells is crap. Go to checker or napa if you want to get reasonable parts. >>Ok, I need a man's help here. My girlfriend and I are arguing about some >>issues with car parts, and I thought I could get a pretty good answer here. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Go to checker or napa if you want to get reasonable parts. NAPA I'll agree with, but Checker? I didn't know they had a particularly good reputation, there's not many of them here but I kind of thought they were more like one step above Pep Boys. I do like CarQuest however, although there's few of those as well around here. Best of all is my local independent store... AutoZone is useful in that they carry some stuff you just can't get anywhere else for older cars, like the Gabriel "Classic Gas" line of shock absorbers. Name brand type stuff like oil, coolant or spark plugs I will buy at the cheapass store just because the good stores want too much $$ for them. I realize that that is perpetuating the problem of too many shitty stores and not enough good ones, but on the flip side I'm not independently wealthy enough that I could afford to pay the good store's prices on everything. And sadly, Wal-Mart is the ONLY place that carries Rotella synthetic. that REALLY makes me cringe when I buy it... nate Signaturereplace "fly" with "com" to reply. http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel >>>Ok, I need a man's help here. My girlfriend and I are arguing about some >>>issues with car parts, and I thought I could get a pretty good answer here. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >> >> Go to checker or napa if you want to get reasonable parts. >NAPA I'll agree with, but Checker? I didn't know they had a >particularly good reputation, there's not many of them here but I kind Compared to autozone, even checker is stelar. Autozone is the walmart of autoparts. > >> A lot of what autozone sells is crap. > >> > >> Go to checker or napa if you want to get reasonable parts. > > >NAPA I'll agree with, but Checker? I didn't know they had a > >particularly good reputation, there's not many of them here but I kind > Compared to autozone, even checker is stelar. > > Autozone is the walmart of autoparts. I'm no expert, but I've found AutoZone, Checker, and Pep Boys to be about equal when it comes to new parts (good) and rebuilts (risky). CarQuest and BAP have been better and CarQuest usually cheaper as well. F W I W http://www.autohausaz.com/html/auto_parts_shopping.html >mho >ve >D r i v e / E a t L e s s - $ a v e M o n e y fiveiron@webtv.net wrote in article <7692-4462B8CF-120@storefull-3316.bay.webtv.net>... >>>> F W I W >>>> http://www.some.bs.automotive.supplier.com ROFLMAO!!!! Here's a guy who wrote.... " I wouldn't fall for all this hype surrounding auto plug sales. use the original type, you'll be glad you did." ....shilling for a hype-laden, online parts seller. Didya' see that, fiveiron???? That was what little credibility you once had flying past on its way down the road...... > Didya' see that, fiveiron???? UHHH not to stick up for him, but did you READ the sudjested URL. KB SignatureThunder Snake #9 "Protect" your rights or "lose" them. Kevin Bottorff <kevyNOSPAM@netins.net> wrote in article <Xns97C0A2F9B17CDkevynetinsnet@167.142.225.136>... > > Didya' see that, fiveiron???? > > UHHH not to stick up for him, but did you READ the sudjested URL. KB Yup! Right before I wrote my last post. That site has a couple of old wives' tales and a bunch of B.S. suggesting that most of their brands are, somehow, OEM suppliers for European cars...... What does being an OEM for F-1 components have to do with buying parts for your Yugo? Ha Ha silly me!!!!! It wouldn`t come up for me and I thought it was a made up name site, as in some bs site.com KB SignatureThunder Snake #9 "Protect" your rights or "lose" them. Kevin Bottorff <kevyNOSPAM@netins.net> wrote in article <Xns97C1A649777B9kevynetinsnet@167.142.225.136>... > Ha Ha silly me!!!!! It wouldn`t come up for me and I thought it was a > made up name site, as in some bs site.com KB I changed the name of the site in my reply - That one WAS a bogus site......but the link in the OP thread is legit.... > Thunder Snake #9 > "Protect" your rights or "lose" them. Your sig is interesting. I contend that the recent flap over gathering millions of telephone connections is but a mere step from corporate drug testing where a potential employee is forced to prove his/her innocence instead of the company following the "Presumption of innocence....." rights of an American citizen. Check innocent citizens for drug use? Okay! Check innocent citizens for whom they are calling? Okay! Where does it go next? > Kevin Bottorff <kevyNOSPAM@netins.net> wrote in article > <Xns97C1A649777B9kevynetinsnet@167.142.225.136>... [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Where does it go next? > at the rate we are going eventually, armed internal conflict. Or hopefully a return to "constitutional" law. KB SignatureThunder Snake #9 "Protect" your rights or "lose" them. >>> UHHH not to stick up for him, but did you READ the sudjested URL. KB Yup, again! Their article on plug replacement says............... --------------------------------------------- "BEWARE: New spark plugs can make a difference in your car's performance but only if replaced with the appropriate OE replacement plug." ---------------------------------------------- The website brags about offering OE parts, so, of course, it behooves them to hype OE parts. Feeble-minded people such as fiveiron read statements such as the one above, interpret it incorrectly to state that OEM part numbers are required, and use their incorrectly interpreted info to become self-endowed "experts" - incorrectly paraphrasing such B.S. as in the above statement to mean use OE part numbers only and forever - regardless of changes in manufacturers' recommendations. * <nospam@this.addy.com> wrote in article <01c67542$43a95520$ae90c3d8@race>... > >>> UHHH not to stick up for him, but did you READ the sudjested URL. KB > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > mean use OE part numbers only and forever - regardless of changes in > manufacturers' recommendations. Considering their dire warnings about using OE replacement spark plugs ONLY!....look up a Ford or Chevrolet application. Did they come, originally, with Bosch spark plugs? As I said before....... A Bull Schidt online parts peddler....... >I'm no expert, but I've found AutoZone, Checker, and Pep Boys to be >about equal when it comes to new parts (good) and rebuilts (risky). >CarQuest and BAP have been better and CarQuest usually cheaper as well. It depends entirely on the individual part. Which is the problem. --scott Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." > My girlfriend and I are arguing about some issues with car parts, > she has a Lumina, it needs spark plugs, wires, etc..for a tune up. > I have always been one to buy the cheapest (but will work) for [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > car. Is this true and which would you purchase? Are they just as good or > what? I've had good luck with aftermarket lifetime-warranted wire sets. None fit perfectly, but all were close enough, and it seems that many are made by the same companies that supply the auto manufacturers, such as Carol or Belden. And at least with wire sets you don't have to spend hours to remove the original part, making your car undrivable, and only then discovering that the replacement part doesn't fit. OTOH I'd be reluctant to buy rebuilt parts from AutoZone, Checker/Shuck's/Kragen, Pep Boys or any other discount chain because a lot of them haven't worked out from me. I'd stick with AC Delco Wires and plugs, more expensive but best quality and no comebacks. Advance/ Parts America carries AC Delco parts. Make sure you route the wires correctly. Number one reason I see customer installed wire sets fail is they don't get them back in the factory looms. Almost every Lumina I see needs the air intake cleaned and the idle air count set. Usually they benefit from a pressure cleaning of the injectors (requires specialized equipment and not to be confused with a can of additive in the gas tank). Once again GM Top Engine Cleaner (a dealer supplied item) works very well. If all this sounds 'greek' take it to a professional repair shop. Visit IATN net and use the 'shop finder' feature. Good luck and best regards |
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