I definitely don’t buy anything from O’Reilly because their closest store is 97 miles away.
A check of the map on their website reveals that they have no stores in NY, NJ, DE, MD, and VT.
Only a couple new OReilly’s in my area. They are OK. The counter guys are a little better than the others. I online shop the stores to see who has what I need and at what price. More and more neither AutoZone, Advance nor OReilly’s stock what I need right now so I order from the cheapest source and ship to store or my home based on shipping costs.
We don’t have Advanced around here but now I noticed if I want to buy anything from them online, I could ship to Carquest which is nice.
I used to use O’Reilly more when we were in OC, they used to have good rebates on oil and filter. Now we are in LA and we have only one store. Used them a few times for parts, but had issues with them; one Dodge radiator would not fit, found out late Sunday night, had to cut bracket and do bunch of other stuff to make it work.
AZ has opened a few shops, they are clean but don’t expect help from the counter guys other than trying to sell add ons including Kit kat bars!
I have one NAPA closer to work and have used them. Helpful staff. I also use rockauto and amazon. Most of the basic oils/wax/etc is from WM since their hours fits my schedule better.
Well if you are in Duluth, you’d better buy the best brakes, lest you end up in the lake.
You are so right. And this year it would be a cold swim - it didn’t ice over!
Thirty years ago there used to be about 10 independent parts stores around here. Mostly staffed by middle aged or older guys who (most of the time) could wander back down the aisles and pull the correct needed part without even looking it up in the massive pile of books on the counter.
All gone now and replaced by the equivalent of McDonalds.
And of course all of the good independent burger joints are about all gone now and replaced by the chains churning out garbage. R.I.P. Navajo Drive-In 
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O - O - O - O’REILLY’S
I usually sing, “OW - OW- OW - OUT-OF-BUSINESS” (LOL!)
Given that O’Reilly’s (ORLY) is a darling of the NYSE, (roughly doubling in market capitalization in the last three years), I don’t think they’re going anywhere, anytime soon, LOL. The only store that’s been struggling of late was Pep Boys; everybody else has been raking in money: AZO, AAP, ORLY have been the sort of stocks where you say (“dang, wish I bought some of that 5 years ago!”)
And Pep Boys got bought by somebody…Carl Ichan, as it turns out, so all’s well that ends well for them…
definitely don’t buy anything from O’Reilly because their closest store is 97 miles away.
A check of the map on their website reveals that they have no stores in NY, NJ, DE, MD, and VT
Probably headed your way, VDCdriver. We just our first one in 'da Burgh recently. I’ve seen 'em before in Oklahoma; I think they were a “heartland USA” company that has expanded.
Was pleasantly surprised: needed a intake manifold gasket (in the middle, not by the engine: my F150’s manifold bolts together) and both AZ and AAP only sold the “gasket combo” for $30…but I didn’t need the engine gasket! OReilly, OTOH, sold me the gasket I wanted for $8. It wasn’t at their store, but they were able to get it there on a truck within 3 hours.
I thought that was pretty good, given that they had just begun establishing a presence here. The store interior was almost indistinguishable from Advance, and a noticeable step above AZ, which has always seemed like the “Dollar Store” of the Auto Parts world to me, both in parts quality and store layout (on the chintzy side.)
O’Reilly’s in NH bought out the auto-parts portion of VIP. VIP stores were like Pep-Boys, they sold parts and did repairs. VIP is still around, but just does repairs. The stores are VIP on one side and O’Reilly’s on the other. I think there are a couple free standing O’Reilly’s also. . Maybe if they build one closer I’ll stop in.
Perhaps, but they are apparently thinly-represented even in eastern PA.
I am ~40 miles from the PA border, and when I did a search for their nearest store, they gave me one in West Haven, Connecticut–which is 97 miles away. I just find it strange that, even though they apparently have a presence in PA, they don’t have any PA stores that are closer to me than that one in CT, which is…not exactly close.
I started going to O’Reillys years ago when one of their employees spent 15 minutes finding an obscure part I needed, after the NAPA store said it didn’t exist. Lately though, their service has waned, and I’ll only go in when the ‘one’ guy I know is working. I got a little peaved when I was picking up a few things, and the store manager looked at the engine degreaser I had on the counter and said “I’d never use that!” Then why do you sell it? Then, on my last visit there, I had ordered a brake master cylinder which came with bleeding tubes/nozzles (according to their website), but they weren’t included. They had no answer except to sell me a kit for an additional $8, which now put them $5 more than RockAuto. I doubt that I will return to them.
Auto Zone wrote the book on milking customers for incidentals. Their batteries have red & green corrossion rings and a rack at the check out has fast food condiment packs filled with all manner of chemicals that the counter help seems intent on hawking. The piddling junk sells for $1 each.
Yeah, I have to wonder if they get commission on ‘point of purchase’ sales, or get written up if they don’t, but it sadly is automatic. I was in Autozone getting some incidentals, and the guy says in his robot voice “We have Lucas fuel treatment on sale”. I said “I know, I have 2 here ready to buy”.
Score one for DIY car owners and professional mechanics.
All that competition between so many parts stores leads to greater choices, better availability, lower prices, and quicker service, when one needs it!
America, what a country! 
CSA
There’s a Corner on Rt 28 in Salem NH that has Advance, ADAP and Pep-Boys. All 3 are within 100yds of each other.
…sort of like so many intersections in NJ that have a CVS and a Walgreens and (sometimes) also a Rite-Aid. Once Walgreens’ purchase of Rite-Aid goes through, perhaps the excess Rite Aid stores can become O’Reilly Auto Parts stores.
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Having a bunch of them clustered together actually helps them all because that’s the area you’re going to head to when you need parts. That’s why gas stations will be clustered together to.
I agree with competition helping performance, but I fear that too much will make it hard for them to stay in business and quality will suffer.
Not to promote nor slam O’Reilly autoparts, but go to their website and type ‘121g’ into their search engine and see what pops up.
pretty cool, 
My last experience with auto parts stores was in December. The right front turning signal bulb burned out on my Sienna. The bulb is a very common 3457. There is a big AutoZone that recently opened near my house. They did not have a replacement available. I drove to an Advance auto parts store where I have made purchases and they didn’t have the bulb. I was going to go to NAPA, but decided to try WalMart which is near my house. WalMart had the 3457 bulb and it was an American made Sylvania exactly like the original bulb in the car. Now I know WalMart doesn’t carry water pumps etc. but I have always been able to buy the right battery, light bulbs, wiper blades, and so on there.
Wal-Mart is my go-to place for Bosch Icon wiper blades, and for motor oil.
In addition to having what I want in the automotive section, their prices are good.
Now, if they only had some clothing that I would wear, and more food that I would eat…