Is it just me, or is the quality of auto parts slipping in the last 5 or so years? Put the summer tires on my Fiat 500 and saw that my 'new' (4 month old) struts were leaking. In the last couple years I've had many such experiences. Flaps guy says; 'just bring it back and we'll give you another one' A; another one of what? The same shitty part you just sold me 4 months ago? B; how am I being compensated for the 4 hours of knuckle-busting labor installing a pos part? I used to love the feeling of repairing something knowing that I bought myself another ten years service. Now, I'm super leary. Fuel pump in my Tacoma lasted a month. Had to again unbolt the box and get my 3 strong neighbors and replace it again. Flaps guy; 'Oh yeah, just bring it back and we'll give you another one. I'm gonna have to start researching the brands of everything I buy now. I'm trying to be a good 'bricks and mortar' shopper, but it's getting harder. The last thing keeping me from buying online is personal customer service and that is taking a beating. Thanks for listening ;-)

Dave, Kamloops, B.C. '65Crown V8, 2009 Tacoma

I agree with you completely.

Unfortunately pride in workmanship and quality control appear to no longer exist i many products these days which leaves the consumer to fend for themselves.

Do these companies concern themselves with alienating their customers....apparently not.

In the end, it appears all these companies care about is making the quick buck regardless of anything else. JMO

1962 95 F.C. Van
1964 Greenbrier Deluxe
1965 Monza Coupe
1965 Monza Convertible
Westminster, Maryland

MID ENG enthusiast &
prior Kelmark owner.

We folks that hold onto our cars for more than 4-6 years are a dying breed.

The market for replacement parts gets smaller every year and small to medium manufacturers don't put much value in it.

In addition with ever-rising production, labor, workers comp, lawsuits and regulatory costs make manufacturing a quality part at an affordable price not possible.

Large manufacturers likely focus on building parts for auto manufacturers and late production vehicles only and avoid the small replacement parts market sales altogether.

I'd guess the majority of new car owners lease their vehicles, trade them in or sell them within 4-8 years of buying them.

We are a throw-away world now.

The other problem is that many cars today will run to 200,000+ miles without major problems with proper maintenance. That was not the case 15-20 or more years ago. Replacement parts are not as necessary(?) I personally have had several cars pass through my fleet with over 200K. One was over 300K. Besides brakes, tires and a few odd pieces, none of them needed major repair.

Enjoy the Corvair!

Paul Sergeant
CORSA Central Division Director / CORSA Treasurer
Lee's Summit, MO
CORSA since 1975
Member – HACOA, Corvair Minnesota, CORSA, Little Indians, POCI

---

Myself I try to stick with as much OEM parts than going to FLAPS for my daily drivers. I pay a few bucks more but the reliability for me has been much better

Roger Fedor
Whitehall, PA
1963 Spyder Coupe, currently undergoing re-restoration

Investors buy chain auto parts stores.

Lesser quality parts are sourced to show greater profit.

A few years later (just prior to lesser parts showing their weakness) Investors sell chain auto parts stores highlighting profit potential.

Next (second) investors buy same chain auto parts stores with great hope.

Customers complain, go elsewhere, file class action lawsuit when defective parts become apparent.

Second investors go bankrupt, customers are stuck with defective parts.

Initial investors (under an different investment name) buy bankrupt company at low price. Claim to have resurrected the company and sell it (a second time) for profit.

Everyone loses except the initial investors that win twice. How well the initial investors sleep at night, I don't know.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2023 07:37PM by wittsend.

Paulsgt Wrote:
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> The other problem is that many cars today will run to 200,000+ miles without major problems with proper maintenance. That was not the case 15-20 or more years ago. Replacement parts are not as necessary(?) I personally have had several cars pass through my fleet with over 200K. One was over 300K. Besides brakes, tires and a few odd pieces, none of them needed major repair.
>
> Enjoy the Corvair!

Totally agree.

And unfortunately, as a by-product, this results in people generally not having the maintenance mindset that makes good employees for auto parts stores. Except for a few that got drawn to the car hobby or are old enough to be used to routine car maintenance and repair like everyone understood “back in the day” - its now air fresheners and mag wheels vs. engine and suspension parts.

---

‘63 Monza Spyder convertible [www.corvairforum.com]
SF Bay Area, CA

Yeah, they even have candles that smell like burned rubber, just say'n

J.O.

65 Corsa Turbo Vert
79 Honda XL 500S
69 Honda CL 160 D
2010 BMW F 650 GS
2003 Bounder 36D
2023 KIA K5 GT/GT1 turbo-AKA ZIPPY II (wife,s car)
69 Newport Holiday Sailboat
Baja 150 dune buggy cart
Coleman HS 500 UTV
2016 KIA Sorento SXL Turbo

Bethlehem,Pa

blackspyder Wrote:
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> Myself I try to stick with as much OEM parts than going to FLAPS for my daily drivers. I pay a few bucks more but the reliability for me has been much better
Sounds like a good plan. Just have to bite the bullet on higher prices.

Buy from the dealer and have installed there for / on critical street driven newer cars.
That way you have protection and no problem getting it taken care of.
" you get what you pay for "
Being parsimonious has consequences
Unless your labor, time and efforts are free ??
JMO yours may vary

Bob C aka Dryenko
Dobson, NC 27017

Monza109 Wrote:
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>.............................................
> ....................................
> ...........................
> I'd guess the majority of new car owners lease their vehicles, trade them in or sell them within 4-8 years of buying them.
>
> We are a throw-away world now.


When I was selling cars, I found that most New Car Buyers, were convinced (Brainwashed!), that they NEED to purchase a new car simply because the WARRANTEE was about to expire!
The concept that they could simply pay out of pocket for repairs, and be dollars ahead, over increasing their monthly payment on a new car, was completely foreign to them.
Always blew my mind!

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
WA. state, 1 mile south of the Canadian border, I am not at the end of the world, but you can see it from here.

Quote
Bob
Buy from the dealer and have installed there for / on critical street driven newer cars.
That way you have protection and no problem getting it taken care of.

Nope, I buy from online sources and replace them myself. To save money? Nope, to get it done right! No need to pay a parts replacer to learn on my car.

Right now I have been trying to get an air bag replaced under warranty and you have to schedule with a 1-800 number that serves many locations for the dealer network, but when you get to the dealer the part is not in stock, so I wasted another day! Just give the the (&^*( air bag and I can replace it myself! I did lots of them in the collision shop. It would be a lot quicker for me.

Frank DuVal

Fredericksburg, VA

A number of things are going on...

Customers are trained to look for the "cheapest" price. Quality is not a factor for a lot of people (my assumption).

For "makers" to provide the cheapest price; they have to have the "cheapest labor". (The "search" (and finding) for cheap labor has been going on for a long time.)

Years ago, my local hardware store had a hard time competing against a recently opened Home Depot. They became an "ACE Hardware" franchise. The quality of the bolts, fasteners, etc immediately dropped. And, I assume the manufacturers (US) went out of business or started making cheaper quality stuff (or moved to China?).

I have given up on my local dealers. Went to one for a recall on my Camaro, when I got home, opened the hood and found 4 tools they had left under the hood. At least I got some free tools.
Another local dealer hit the news when they "test drove" a customers Vette, then a stop and totaled it, it came out later the mechanic was high on meth.
So I avoid my local dealerships at all cost. Lucky I can fix and service most everything I own. I also have some pretty talented friends that can help if it gets out of my comfort zone.
I tend to buy parts from rockauto these days, either OEM or high end brands like Bosch

I 100% agree with your frustration. It especially sucks doing customer work, becuase I unfortunately have to stand behind garbage products. They all offer free replacement warranty, but my biggest problem with that is.... how good is that warranty when I lose a battery/fuel pump/brake or suspension component or anything else crucial 100+ miles out in the back country offroad in my jeep? Yes, they will happily give me another cheap crappy replacement, but what good is that when you need to get home first.... For that reason I try to shop around and get OEM where possible, and pack spares of everything I dont trust in the toolbox, which is quite a bit sadly

Cody Hurley
North Idaho (Post Falls)
66 Monza convertible 140/PG, loaded with factory options
66 Corsa turbo coupe, 3rd owner fully documented [corvaircenter.com]
66 Canadian monza coupe 110/pg project car (no picture yet)
65 Monza coupe daily driver 110/4
Also 2 Ford f350 IDI diesels, three Jeep FC 170s, 1966 Jeep CJ5A, two 1954 International R-150 pickups, 5 Rokon Trailbreakers, Chrysler Snorunner, and thousands of parts

Buying parts from the dealer usually doesn't work because they are almost always discontinued. My theory on that is a lot of parts don't sell much in the first few years because the vehicles are new so the OEM quits making them before the demand ramps up. Some super common things are available. I bought a GM pickup coil and module for my truck recently. I have no way of knowing if they are the same quality as original. They did cost 3x as much.

Joel
Northlake, TX
5 Ultravans, 141 Corvairs and counting...

The only FLAPS left worth going to are the rare independents or truck parts houses. If you walk into a chain store with a bearing, for example, from an older piece of equipment there will be no one who has the slightest idea how to match it up to anything because they have no way to look it up (or the desire to even try). Go to an independent and they will measure it and cross reference it and be able to get you a quality replacement. This is just one example, but it is why chain store FLAPS are my last choice. I went to a chain FLAPS for engine paint, saw the Latte air fresheners and walked out. The girl/boy behind the counter asked if I needed help, but it was too late.

Craig T
Central NY
1961 Tramp (truck with a ramp)

Yeah, quality of parts has gone downhill, and car dealers only looking to jack you on repairs. I took my wifes Equinox in for a recall about 3 months before her lease was up. Service manager says recall is done, but they need to turn my rotors and replace brake pads because they are almost down to nothing, for $500. I declined and had my friend who runs a shop look at them. Rotors looked fine and pads had 50% left.

1965 Monza Convertible

I had to take my hubs and rotor to the one machinist I trust who works for O'Reilly. He used to work in the O'Reilly 20 miles from me. Now he is 35 miles. The other O'reilly has messed up macine jobs of friends I know, so the word has got around not to use that store anymore due to all the lack of experience with the new Latte employees working there.

Al
Georgia

Another issue, probably one of the causes of the overall problem, is that they are opening more and more of these stores, all 3 major brands, and there are not the knowledgeable workers available.

A new store, (#3) for Advance opened here and the store I normally go to has a bunch of what I call Highschoolers behind the counter...

Only positive I will give them is my Tahoe needed a battery and they had the computer back up machine so the stuff on the 'puter wasn't lost when the battery was changed...

Ed McClintock
Cleveland TN
Choo Choo Corvairs
'61 Lakewood,,63 Vert, '83 Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler- [www.cj-8.com]