# Auto Parts Store Gives Man the Wrong Part, hits another customer with carburetor **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021 "2017-02-17T02:40:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/1 "2017-02-17T02:40:57Z")
Don’t do this if they give you the wrong part … lol … **Customer hit with carburetor cover during disturbance** _A Palo Alto man was arrested Sunday in connection with a disturbance at a Mountain View auto parts store in which a customer was clubbed with a carburetor cover, authorities said. …_ > **[Mountain View police: Customer hit with carburetor cover during disturbance](https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/13/mountain-view-police-customer-hit-with-carburetor-cover-during-disturbance/)** > > A Palo Alto man was arrested Sunday in connection with a disturbance at a Mountain View auto parts store in which a customer was clubbed with a carburetor cover, authorities said. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/2 "2017-02-17T02:59:42Z")
And I’ll bet he doesn’t think he did anything wrong. I wonder of he has a prior record? ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/3 "2017-02-17T03:00:20Z")
I read the article and scrolled down, afterwards Some of the hateful comments are much more disturbing, versus the actual things this idiot did ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/4 "2017-02-17T03:01:41Z")
A return to the Wild West @GeorgeSanJose. It’s a decline in civilization from coast to coast. At least no one was packing. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/5 "2017-02-17T03:42:28Z")
“This dumbass has multiple charges pending in 3 states. I’m hoping he gets put away he is a menace, a abusive alcoholic and a meth dealer” I dunno, guys, I might have used different language, but if what the writer said is true, I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments. The political comments were just plain dumb IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/6 "2017-02-17T04:15:02Z")
If the guy has charges pending in 3 states I have to believe there’s a lot more that has gone on that no one knows about or which has not been pinned on him yet. I know a few people in Palo Alto and also vaguely knew some Oakleys here in OK a long time ago. I wonder if he’s a meth head Okie transplant. There’s quite a few of them in CA; both meth and non-meth. Most of the Okies I knew out there lived down south in Garden Grove, Santa Ana, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/7 "2017-02-17T04:33:22Z")
I agree the political comments were dumb, and also very charged Also, the language used was very disturbing, as I said, and I won’t repeat it here. You can click on the link and see for yourself ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/8 "2017-02-17T04:59:14Z")
I can’t believe no one has asked, what is a carburetor cover? Air Cleaner? But if that is it,why not just call it an air cleaner? ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 7:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/9 "2017-02-17T07:01:39Z")
Must be something in water out there. Getting stranger and stranger. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/10 "2017-02-17T13:38:32Z")
That dude has anger issues. I recommend switching to decaf. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/11 "2017-02-17T13:59:05Z")
> [@oldtimer-11](#): > > I can’t believe no one has asked, what is a carburetor cover? Air Cleaner? But if that is it,why not just call it an air cleaner? Probably because the person who wrote that story has no clue regarding cars. This is a trend that I have seen more and more lately with writers. I recently read a biography of the Hollywood director, George Cukor, and the author told his readers that, while Cukor didn’t own a car, he used to love riding in a friend’s “luxury car–a Hillman Minx”. 😖 The book that I am currently reading (_Fordlandia_, the story of Henry Ford’s failed Brazilian rubber plantation), refers to the Non-Skid “thread” of Harvey Firestone’s tires. “Thread”? I wouldn’t accept that type of error in a high school report, and yet this book was a finalist for the _National Book Award_ several years ago. And, even if the author of the Cukor book isn’t old enough to remember the tiny, cheap Hillman Minx, just a bit of research would have given him some automotive reality. I think that, because cars are a part of almost everyone’s life, writers may assume that they know more than they actually do. Or, to put it another way, they don’t know what they don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/12 "2017-02-17T14:02:45Z")
I really hope that wasn’t @RandomTroll trying to get a carburetor for his Toyota Pickup! 😄 ---
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/13 "2017-02-17T14:23:06Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > I really hope that wasn’t @RandomTroll trying to get a carburetor for his Toyota Pickup! Deadline’s the end of the month - I’m getting antsy. Took the meth so I could work all night. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/14 "2017-02-17T16:04:47Z")
> [@oldtimer-11](#): > > I can’t believe no one has asked, what is a carburetor cover? Air Cleaner? But if that is it,why not just call it an air cleaner? 'Cause the article was written by a journalism major rather than a mechanic. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![BillRussell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/billrussell/32/3179_2.png) [@BillRussell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/BillRussell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/15 "2017-02-17T16:53:16Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > person who wrote that story has no clue regarding cars My opinion, there are no longer editors who check writers output for accuracy and grammar. In other words, there are no longer any checks on a writer’s output. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/16 "2017-02-17T17:08:47Z")
_ **I managed auto dealer Parts Departments for several years and I saw my share of tough customers.** _ Had a guy call me on the phone and he was irate because he said I sold him the **wrong starter** for his air-cooled Volkswagen Type 1. He had driven a distance to make his purchase. I apologized and asked the man to bring his old one with him when he returned. He was still a little hot under the collar when he arrived and slammed his **generator** down on the parts counter, complaining it wasn’t that _#$@%_ easy to get it off! I took a couple steps back from the counter before I informed him that I sold him the _correct starter_ and what he removed and brought in was the _generator_. He forgot to appologize or thank me as he spun around and left. Although they take a lot of heat, it’s not always the parts guy’s fault when wrong parts are sold. You might be surprised to find out that some backyard mechanics don’t know what they’re doing. Since the guy in the newspaper didn’t realize it was the “wrong part” until after he paid for it then I’d bet he didn’t have his old part and that he bought the part and left with it. Furthermore, he could have asked for the wrong part, given the wrong make, model, and/or model-year to the parts department. I’ve seen it happen plenty of times. I’d be willing to bet the guy in the article has problems with things other than just car parts. _ **CSA** _ ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/17 "2017-02-17T20:06:47Z")
You only have to watch a few of the shows on TV at night to realize Hollywood is filled with whack jobs that know nothing about cars or life. The problem is you have to know what drugs they are on before you can adjust the dose. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/18 "2017-02-17T21:01:40Z")
It looks like the details in the story were taken from the Mountain View Police blog. Few people would be interested in knowing the correct identity of the object thrown to want to interview the witnesses. > **[Police arrest Palo Alto man connected to disturbance at local business](https://mountainviewpoliceblog.com/2017/02/13/police-arrest-palo-alto-man-connected-to-disturbance-at-local-business/)** > > MVPD officers were spotted yesterday in Palo Alto after they were able to track down a man who had caused a disturbance in a local store earlier in the afternoon. Around 2:50 pm, we responded to O&… _Around 2:50 pm, we responded to O’Reilly Auto Parts in the 2600 block of California Street. When we arrived, we were told by employees and witnesses that Palo Alto resident David Oakley had come into the store, upset that he had been given the wrong car part. He was extremely angry, witnesses said, and soon began yelling at employees and even hitting an uninvolved customer with a carburetor cover. Oakley then attempted to punch an employee before leaving the store. As he was driving out of the parking lot, Oakley hit a car._ ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/19 "2017-02-17T21:43:08Z")
AHA! I see what the problem is. This occurred on Monday, the 13th day of February. Clearly, Friday the 13th came on a Monday this month, and chaos reigned that day… ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021/20 "2017-02-17T23:25:33Z")
As a side note, Mountain View is the city where Google is headquartered, and hosts a lot of Google experimental self driving cars on the public roads. I avoid it like the plague, those self driving cars freak me out. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/auto-parts-store-gives-man-the-wrong-part-hits-another-customer-with-carburetor/100021.md?page=2)