Wealthy investors seem to be seeing auto parts as a potential profit center. Middle class families are stretched financially these days, but still need repair their cars. They can only do it themselves if they have access to the repair parts. Icahn Industries for example owns Pep Boys. I believe Icahn Industries is one of hedge fund manager Carl Icahn’s many businesses.
From Wikipedia
" Icahn developed a reputation as a “corporate raider” after profiting from the hostile takeover and asset stripping of the American airline TWA. According to Forbes magazine, Icahn had a net worth of $16.6 billion in 2017, making him the 26th-wealthiest person on the Forbes 400, and the 5th-wealthiest hedge fund manager."
The last old school parts house here got bought out about 20 years ago by Car Quest. After a couple of years it got raided by CQ corporate when a dozen cars showed up, taped the windows up with brown wrapping paper, and fired everyone in the place.
Apparently the new CQ store manager was looting the bank to keep him and his buddies in parts and supplies for their dirt track race cars.
The place is now a church and the former old school parts store owner works for NAPA. The place had been around about 50 years before CQ came in.
Our only options here are NAPA, AutoZone, and two O’Reilly stores but it appears that one of the O’Reilly stores may be on the way out also.
"Old school parts houses" are gone or barely hanging for many reasons. I could write a book on the subject, but the main reason is that fewer parts now need to be replaced on cars, and many of the parts that go bad can only be purchased from the dealer. Tunes ups, brakes, and clutches paid the rent for parts stores. Cars no longer need tunes ups and few cars have standard transmissions. Also, it appears that many of you are utterly clueless. How can a parts store make money when ball busters come in looking for nickel and dime parts (like drain plug washers).
I might agree that some of the drive by one time posters are clueless but I hope you do not include the many regulars here that are far from being clueless.
I remember when we took our 58 chevy to the dealer for a pre-vacation tune-up. I think it was $6.95 or something special that included points, plug adjustment, carb. adjustment, and timing. When he pulled the plugs out, he just adjusted them and put them back in again. So I don’t know, they didn’t make much on plugs then at the dealer either. I agree though stuff just doesn’t wear out like it used to and try to find someone that knows anything about car repair among friends, good luck. Once you put normal mileage on a car and trade in 4-6 years, there’s not much else to do except oil changes and taking it to the dealer for warranty work.
I recall I used to buy a tune-up kit for my truck at K-mart in Colorado. Any of those type of stores had the same thing. A plastic wrapped package contained new points, condenser, and ignition rotor. $3.95 or something like that. Ford engines at the time were pretty similar, and that kit probably fit most Ford engines. I bought headlights at department stores like that too. Not that long ago either. When the headlight failed on my Corolla for the first time – that would have been mid-90’s time frame – I bought the replacement bulb at Target. Target no longer sells headlight bulbs in this area. For my VW Rabbit there was a small parts shop that sold European auto parts. I think that’s what it’s name was. That’s long gone. For my other vehicles here in San Jose I’ve mostly used a small independent chain parts store, which still exists thankfully. I buy stuff like lubes and car waxes and cleaners there I could buy for less $$$ at other stores, but I prefer to keep my money flowing to that business b/c they’ve always been very helpful when I find myself up against a difficult to solve car repair problem.
Actually, although cars are more reliable they’ve probably got more parts now with all the various sensors. I agree, they require less maintenance now. But if that was the reason for the old parts houses disappearing, there wouldn’t be an Autozone, Oreillys, and Advanced Auto on every corner of every small town employing more people in a single store than any old parts house ever employed.
As for the drain plug gasket, what else are you going to do when you need a drain plug gasket. Buy the whole oil pan? If anything, the chain stores lost my business because they didn’t know enough to find a part that I needed. Obviously it wasn’t a huge loss of a sale. But next time it might be a more expensive part.
Not recommending this… lol … but I used the rubber sole of a pair of flipflops to make a drain plug gasket for my truck. Been working fine for years, not a single drop of leak ever from there. There’s other things leaking, but not the oil drain plug.
With all due respect, what the heck are you talking about . . . ?!
Cars still have spark plugs. They, along with the boots should be replaced at set intervals, same as older cars
Ignition tune-ups are alive and well
Many of the vehicles in our fleet are due for an ignition tune-up every 60K . . . and that’s the manufacturer’s schedule. I’m not making it up
That was maybe on the short end of the scale
Even if you go to the middle, many cars are due for an ignition tune-up every 100K, as per the manufacturer. And that’s quickly reached, owing to the miles many people drive every year
The average miles a car is driven in a year is approximately 13,000. If a tune up needs to be done at 60,000 miles (as you seem to think) then the average car is tuned up once every four or so years. A tune up these days consists of spark plugs, air and fuel filter, and checking fluids. Spark plugs have a very low mark up. Air and fuel filters higher. A parts store cannot survive selling a handful of tune up parts at four year intervals. In the past cars were tuned up pretty much yearly. The parts used in older non injected distributor vehicles included: plugs, cap, rotor, wires, points, condenser, fuel and air filters, valve cover gasket(s), pcv filter, valve cover gaskets (no valve adj. anymore), and whatever else the mechanic could find to replace. You and, it appears, most of the others whining about not being able to buy a $.25 oil drain plug gasket apparently have never owned a business and do not understand the economics of running one.
How do any parts stores survive at all? Exactly what does Autozone sell? Since cars never need valve cover gaskets or pcv valves anymore.
I don’t understand your reasoning, and frankly I don’t think you know as much as you think you do. The auto supply chain stores sell the exact same items that the old style parts houses did. So your claim that newer cars needing less parts has driven family owned auto parts stores out of business makes no sense.
I said twice that the parts store didn’t make any real money off of selling me a drain bolt washer. But so what? I can buy a single bolt at Lowe’s or a single can of soda at the convenience store. Strangely, they’re not going out of business. I can buy one quart of oil at Oreillys and walk out. They’re still in business last time I checked.
Ain’t nobody whining here but you. Probably because your small business went belly up under your expert guidance .
I’m not whining. My parts business (which wasn’t small) did quite well for me and did not go belly up. Speaking about the parts business with individuals who have no experience in the business - or of owning and operating any business - is exasperating and tiring. You ask what does Autozone sell? They sell merchandise for DIYs - chemicals, oils, filters, etc. The only hard parts they stock are A movers and a few Bs. They do not discount. You pay list price +. Inventories may differ in different areas (for various reasons) but basically they are retail operations with retail inventories. As I previous stated, non-chain auto parts store rely on wholesale. They need steady reliable customers. The “Old Stores” did not have enough volume to turn a profit. Plus, those old style stores are/were part of an antiquated hierarchical distribution and pricing system that limits their profit margins. Those “Old Stores” had/have to compete with businesses like mine when it came to import parts. I imported and bought directly from manufacturers. I could sell parts to shops at a price lower than the “Old Stores” paid for them Today there are large wholesale operations, without retail locations, who sell shops the majority of their after market parts. The “Old Stores” get called usually for odds and ends only. I could go on, but why? It’s like talking to a stone(s).
Who is providing parts for repair shops now that the mom and pop stores are out of business? Dealers? Chain stores? Amazon? I’m sure chain stores do. There is one near me that’s has a couple of delivery cars parked next to the building when no on a delivery run. I imagine that dealers might also for the parts you can only get there. While there is an Amazon distribution center about 20 miles away, I doubt they supply repair shops.
So in your expert opinion (judging from your last post) the main difference between the chain stores and the older style auto parts stores, in summary, would be:
-chain stores stock less inventory of hard parts (no reason a family owned business couldn’t stock similar inventory to a chain store)
-chain stores are able to acquire their inventory at a lower price point, generating more profit (I agree)
-chain stores don’t rely on wholesale customers (auto shops I assume you’re speaking of here) and don’t discount (although they do provide parts to shops and they do discount when they provide parts to them).
You failed to mention the lack of “tune up parts” sales this time. Because obviously I couldn’t walk in to a chain store and buy a set of coils or a valve cover gasket.
The main reasons the old parts houses went out of business in my opinion:
-They weren’t open on the weekends or after 5 pm
-They didn’t advertise as much.
-The killer here, and it’s in agreement with a point you made - the chain stores can get their inventory so much cheaper. The same scenario as Lowe’s killing the local hardware stores and Wal Mart killing, well, all the other small businesses.
The internet may kill the chain stores one day as well. I get most hard parts online. Better quality, same price or less. Rock Auto and Amazon come to mind. I get fluids at Wal Mart. Same stuff, cheaper price.
Things have changed, especially with the internet. Business models change or don’t survive, I understand. I wasn’t whining. I was reminiscing about the old parts stores, and was reminded why I don’t like Autozone.
I don’t appreciate your tone, and if the discussion is so tiring with the “stones”, feel free to take your superior intellect elsewhere. For some reason you seem to have come into this discussion looking for a fight.
Geez you guys. I’m getting a little tired of being told I can’t comment on anything technical because I don’t design software, comment about the parts business because I never sold parts, comment on repair shops because I’m not a mechanic, and so on and so on. Talk about smokestack thinking.
At any rate, back to normal comments. I also remember Kmart used to sell AC filters, plugs, wires, etc. Maybe Motorcraft too but I never owned a Ford. So yeah I’d buy my OEM stuff there. And I’d get hired to count spark plugs during inventory time-now that’s boring.
Like I thought I said, I buy my Honda filters on line and get the crush washers at the same time so I always have them on hand. Last oil change I wanted to replace the washer on my Pontiac so went to the dealer. I had to buy the plug and washer as a combination for about $8.50. Still no big deal once every 3-4 years and now I have a spare.
Seems like cars have a lot more parts than they used to. Tune ups aren’t done as frequently but you’ve got a lot more emissions parts, sensors…Plus there are a lot more cars on the road compared to 50 years ago. I know I’ve bought a lot of parts in the last few years trying to keep my two older trucks running. Most of my parts are bought at a local chain store, I have bought a good amount off rockauto as well.
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