NOS vs. NEW vs. PRICE

[John Burke]

In setting up the carbs on the Desoto 6 in the hot rod, I found the engine to be running to rich...further investigation showed the front 3 plugs to heavily sooted while the back 3 looked pretty clean. This led me to believe the front carb was not working right..by the way the carbs are Ford 94's from the 50's....further investigation showed the power valve in the front carb to be leaking....These carbs were both rebuilt using NOS kits of unknown vintage...A dedicated search,as old parts are hard to find, found a NEW kit at NAPA in Lincoln..another one was in the warehouse in Omaha...Since I am very much closer to Wahoo, I opted to stop there and order the other one from the local NAPA...No problem...It'll be here in the morning..The difference being in the price....Lincoln..$32.00, Wahoo..$27.00..must be the overhead????...John Burke

[Normspeed]

John, I've found NAPA to be kind of unpredictable that way on vintage stuff. My local NAPA sometimes turns up good deals but sometimes their prices are way out of line. Have you tried NAPAonline.com? I've had great results with them, especially if you have the NAPA part number.

[Young Ed]

John I've found that napa charges shipping if you order it from someplace further away then their regular warehouse.

[Norm's Coupe]

I've found NAPA to be high on just about everything they sell, for new or old cars. Several years ago I was getting ready to sell my wife's old 90 Sundance. Just before I put it up for sale the radiator got a hole in it. Called NAPA and the price for a new radiator from them was close to $160. Went a few blocks down the street and got the same radiator (OEM) for only $98. I believe NAPA showed the same radiator on their web site for about $157. That was about 2003 when this took place. I've had other similar experiences with NAPA and so has my son. I can also get parts from NAPA through my friend who owns a shop and use his discount. However, in most cases I can buy the same part cheaper at Bumper to Bumper down the street without a shop discount, cheaper than my friend can get the parts from NAPA with his discount.

[Don Coatney]

John I've found that napa charges shipping if you order it from someplace further away then their regular warehouse.

Sounds like a good reason to shop from home and have it delivered to your home. Paying for freight anyway.

[Merle Coggins]

Napa has several different price structures depending on who you are. Certain shops/people can get different pricing depending on their purchase volume. When I was getting some of my brake parts I talked to the Napa salesman that stops in here every week. He checked the numbers for me and quoted me their cheapest "cash" price. He explained that it was even better than our shop's price since we don't buy that much brake parts from them. We do get good prices on some of their stuff though, usually better than their online price.

I guess it just depends on who you are and how well they know you.

Merle

[Young Ed]

Right Don. I don't usually order the stuff if its going to cost me shipping. The only thing I paid shipping on was a length of defroster tubing and it was like $2.

Our local napa is very good about finding hard to find parts and we do get a good discount there. They are always my first stop for parts.

[Norm's Coupe]

Napa has several different price structures depending on who you are. Certain shops/people can get different pricing depending on their purchase volume. When I was getting some of my brake parts I talked to the Napa salesman that stops in here every week. He checked the numbers for me and quoted me their cheapest "cash" price. He explained that it was even better than our shop's price since we don't buy that much brake parts from them. We do get good prices on some of their stuff though, usually better than their online price.

I guess it just depends on who you are and how well they know you.

Merle

Merle,

Not so sure about NAPA and their good and bad discounts. A high school friend of my brother in laws was an on the road sales manager at NAPA. They are still friends since the 60's and the guy only lives a few blocks from my brother in law. Even when he worked there the discounts weren't any better than what we can get though the other friends shop. The guy who worked at NAPA wasn't just a casual friend, but a close friend of my brother in laws. The four of us, guy who owns the shop, the ex sales manager from NAPA, my brother in law and I get together and do car related things still today. NAPA is just over priced in my book, even when we used the ex sales managers employee discount.

[Young Ed]

We should find some parts bought by both of us and compare. Would have to be flathead parts since I know I haven't bought any lumina van parts lately.

[Norm's Coupe]

Ed,

Haven't bought any parts at all for my Lumina van from NAPA. I did buy a new electric window motor a few years ago and a circuit control board for the windshield wipers. Bought both of those from Bumper to Bumper though. In both cases the same parts were almost double the cost from NAPA. You could look up the window motor if you want on NAPA's web site. Think they wanted about $120 to $140 for it and I paid $58 from Bumper to Bumper. It's a 95 Lumina APV if you want to do a search on NAPA's site.

[Merle Coggins]

Maybe it just depends on what the part is too.

One that comes to mind is my master cylinder. Bernbaum and Roberts list them for $115 + shipping (manufacturer unknown). Napa Online shows it for $150. With our normal discount I got one for $130, and it was delivered to my desk the next day. No shipping or delivery charge. Plus Napa will stand behind it if something were to be wrong. We've never had a problem with our local Napa stores in that regard.

Merle

[Young Ed]

I was thinking of finding something that we both bought for a flathead to compare. My discounted price isn't reflected on the web so it would have to be something I actually bought. At some point you must have bought a water pump right? I'm not doubting your comparison shopping I'm more curious if the discount is as good as I think it is.

[martybose]

If you need Holley 94 parts, you might look at http://www.vintagespeed.com; he has lots of parts for those carbs.

Marty

[John Burke]

I've found NAPA to be high on just about everything they sell' date=' for new or old cars. Several years ago I was getting ready to sell my wife's old 90 Sundance. Just before I put it up for sale the radiator got a hole in it. Called NAPA and the price for a new radiator from them was close to $160. Went a few blocks down the street and got the same radiator (OEM) for only $98. I believe NAPA showed the same radiator on their web site for about $157. That was about 2003 when this took place. I've had other similar experiences with NAPA and so has my son. I can also get parts from NAPA through my friend who owns a shop and use his discount. However, in most cases I can buy the same part cheaper at Bumper to Bumper down the street without a shop discount, cheaper than my friend can get the parts from NAPA with his discount.[/quote']

I used NAPA because 30+ minutes of struggle with Car Quzest produced no pictures or numbers or anything that remotely suggested they had such a part...The guy at NAPA looked at my part and recited the part number from memory...in and out in 5 minutes. I had already called 5 other shops in the area and only got the run around..samo, samo..."are books don't go back that far"...the sevice I got was priceless to me...jb

[Norm's Coupe]

Ed,

The only water pump I've ever bought for any car was for my P15. That was about 1998 when rebuilding my engine for the coupe. I think I paid about $42 or $45 for the pump from JC Whitney at the time. Have the receipt somewhere. At the time I checked NAPA and it was about $55 or $60 from them. So even with the shipping it was cheaper through JC Whitney.

When rebuilding the engine, I was able to get several parts cheaper from other sources. However, I did get a couple of small items through my friends shop from NAPA because the price difference wasn't that much and it was quicker than ordering. I also have a new brake light switch I bought from NAPA but never used because I later switched to electric. That was about the same price as everyone else.

[Norm's Coupe]

I used NAPA because 30+ minutes of struggle with Car Quzest produced no pictures or numbers or anything that remotely suggested they had such a part...The guy at NAPA looked at my part and recited the part number from memory...in and out in 5 minutes. I had already called 5 other shops in the area and only got the run around..samo, samo..."are books don't go back that far"...the sevice I got was priceless to me...jb

John, that does make it worth a few bucks extra. Like you said most stores don't have the old books any longer. That's what's nice about the Bumper to Bumper down the street from me. The store is owned by two brothers and I don't think they ever threw anything out. They have a lot of the old books to look up parts in. They usually don't have the parts in stock but they will order it for you. Most parts they order, it's at the store the next day. Others take about 3 days to get.

[Young Ed]

Just checked. When I built my truck in 2000 my napa WP was 40.70. And that includes a 3.33 core charge that I never turned in. Wonder if its too late........

And the pump for my coupe bought in 04 was 41.07 plus the 3.33.

[grey beard]

NAPA stands for North America Parts Association. When you buy a part from this oreganization you are going through a three-step venture as opposed to the typical two-step we experiences with most other retail automotive parts outlets.

There are over 6000 NAPA stores nationally. What this organization does for us is to find outside sources of parts to fill our various needs. You and I could do the same thing if we had all the time in the world. They also have a few vendors that make parts under their own NAPA name. Typically they have at least FIVE different price columns for their parts lines. You pay based on who you are, how well the guy at the counter likes you and what he had for breakfast that morning - sorta' like serendipity in the extreme.

When I worked for AAA several years ago, I was involved in putting together a nationwide deal between AAA and NAPA. Seeing this company behind the scene is quite revealing - you wouldn't believe how many people get a pay check out of the stuff they sell. Any time I can find what I need elsewhere, I do so.

Having said all that, they are still a major resource for us old vehicle guys due to their great national coverage - we all have a local NAPA store, and their pretty impressive old vehicle parts coverage. They have more Pilothouse brake parts than the guys who are supposed to specialize in the stuff. How can anyone overlook a resource this huge? Just bring yer wallet . . . . . . JMHO:)

[Don Coatney]

Just checked. When I built my truck in 2000 my napa WP was 40.70. And that includes a 3.33 core charge that I never turned in. Wonder if its too late........

And the pump for my coupe bought in 04 was 41.07 plus the 3.33.

Ed;

Here is the Car Quest water pump price I paid in 2002. Hard to believe my pump is 5 years old already. No core charge as this was a new pump. They only charge a core price on a rebuilt pump. Was your NAPA pump new or rebuilt?

[Don Coatney]

NAPA stands for North America Parts Association.

Dave;

All this time I thought NAPA was the wine country north of SanFrancisco;)

Guess I should quit wining:D

That was bad, I will sir out the next two postings:rolleyes:

[Plymouthy Adams]

I never pass up the opportunity to shop at Advance as they are everywhere and warranty is never a problem.....

Rebuilt...14.00 core..40.00 list

http://www.partsamerica.com/productdetail.aspx?MfrCode=A1C&MfrPartNumber=58459&PartType=54&PTSet=A

New no core..70.00

http://www.partsamerica.com/productdetail.aspx?MfrCode=A1C&MfrPartNumber=5531114&PartType=54&PTSet=A

Excellent product, usually overnight deliverly...no added cost to get to you.

[Merle Coggins]

Advance Auto Parts aren't everywhere around here. The only one that I know of is closer to Norm than to me, and it isn't that close to Norm either. There are several Checker Auto Parts around, and a few Auto Zone's, both of which I've got parts from for my truck. Checker is part of the Parts America parts system and have the same exact online parts catalog as Advance. However, there is one woman manager at the Checker near my work that has been very helpful. She's not afraid to dig out the books and look things up for me. Most everyone else will only look in the computer and if nothing is listed, which is quite common for my '50 truck, than as far as their concerned it doesn't exist.

I've shopped around for most parts. Sometimes I get a better through Napa, sometimes at the other stores, sometimes from the online sources.

I had a co-worker once that said that NAPA stands for Never Any Parts Avaialble. He never had good luck with Napa. I can't say that I share his luck. They've been good to me.

Merle

[Plymouthy Adams]

Merle...we have two NAPA's one near the house, the one near where I work..they are as different as night and day..I cannot go into the one near the house...hard to get service, never any friendly service and it is a chore for them to have to look something up..the other store, they go out of their way to help..however both have higher prices on the average..and admittingly, sometimes NAPA is the better source..

Seeing as how your Checker is part of Parts America..you can get these as you said, same as Advance...so in all respect guess you are still pretty good...and by the way..accordingly to the NAPA near the house..Plymouth never ever had a 218 engine..all came with a 230....what's that tell you? Pulled an Elvis...left the building.

[Merle Coggins]

I guess it doesn't matter that the name is on the store. It all boils down to who's working behind the counter.

One thing that was puzzling to me... Checker Auto Parts is part of CSK Auto Inc, which includes Checker Auto Parts, Schucks Auto Supply, and Kragen Auto Parts. And they also recently purchased Murry Auto Parts. They are sponsors of Del Worsham Racing (NHRA Funny Car). Advance Auto appears to be a completely different company, sponsoring Cruz Pedregon (NHRA Funny Car). But if you go to their online parts catalogs, they are identical except for the heading with the company name. On Advance's site it boldly shows Parts America. On the CSK site you have to look, but you'll see it is powered by Parts America. The manager at one of the local Checker stores confirmed that they are all part of the Parts America group.

I remember several years ago there were Parts America stores around. Most of them closed up or switched to Advance. I also remember the local Checker store before it became a Checker. I don't remember what their name was back then, but I remember not liking it as much after it switched to Checker. Now I've gotten used to it.

So, It all comes down to where you get the best service and parts availability in your area. Everyone seems to have different experiences at different franchise name stores.

Merle

[Norm's Coupe]

Good point Merle.

As mentioned, I'm not a big fan of NAPA overall. However, my mechanic friend is and only buys there if he can get the parts there. When we were rebuilding my engine, I bought most of the parts elsewhere. Was going to buy a gasket set elsewhere at the time too. However, my mechanic friend insisted on getting it from NAPA, so I said ok. He then ordered it and had it delivered to his shop. We had my engine at his shop at the time working on it at night. Got ready to put the head on and he pulled out the head gasket he got with the kit from NAPA. Was the wrong head gasket. Had that extra hole in the front. He then called NAPA to exchange it. They said that was the correct one and was the only one, but I insisted it wasn't. Ended up getting a refund on that gasket, then ordered the right one from Gasket City.

The people at the NAPA main store here made that instance even after the mechanic said it wasn't the right one.