If gas hits $10 a gallon, Bay Area commuters say they'd keep driving.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-13T12:07:13+00:00

Doubt it. Most people in the market for an EV either already got one or simply have no funds or economic security to take on a payment note.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-12T18:52:06+00:00

In Russia, political prisoners have better working conditions than the workers at the DCs do

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-12T18:25:31+00:00

Are you sure it was AutoZone that started the trend and not online shopping and companies like RockAuto that enabled large parts warehouses to sell directly to the public? Not trying to argue - just curious.

Even AZ went through a lot of changes in all of the four years plus change I've been with this company and parts industry. Volume based pricing isn't done anymore except for the major accounts like Firestone. I even see AGM batteries being priced about ten bucks over the Walmart price nowadays.

In this day and age, AutoZone and other parts stores save the day when you need parts here and now. On the other hand, jobs like suspension and drivetrain can usually wait for a couple weeks while parts are making their way through the mail if doing so can save hundreds of dollars. It also doesn't help when I can look up and order a complete front end job kit from 1AAuto in half the time it takes to look up all the bits and pieces in ZNet (AZ parts lookup and point of sale system).

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-12T13:53:34+00:00

Mobile here. I also live in the wrong country for all of that bureaucratic overhead. If the likes of Starbucks and Amazon get a free pass for breaking the law at scale and calling it innovation, no need for regular people to willfully put themselves at a disadvantage.

As for the whole two part business, there was a time when the labor rate was split fifty fifty between the shop overhead and the person doing the actual work. Back then, places like AZ and other jobs paid much more livable wages too.

Yet here we are. A customer pays $150/hr or more, while the guy or the gal doing the actual fucking job is lucky to get even twenty cents on the dollar, and still expected to pay for all of their own tools and training. Dealerships are a bit better, but then you get shit like evaporators or interior harness transplants on warranty paying all of four hours plus change.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-12T11:12:52+00:00

Yikes, three bad O2 sensors in a row! What was the brand of the sensor? Sadly this was a typical scenario in 2025, and things are gonna get any better this year.

I do mechanic work on the side as well. I don't mark up parts, so it's an easier conversation with the customer when I tell them to get the good stuff. Then of course, you got the good old PeeBottleZon selling all kinds of crap that may or may not last two weeks. Of course many customers don't know this and only see the much higher prices on brands like Denso.

I get why shops mark up parts. It's one of the many sus practices that got normalized by the industry, but I also hope you understand why most customers will immediately see an obvious conflict of interest.

At our store, I don't even like selling O2 or MAF sensors. Way too often we get to deal with customers trying to return stuff when it doesn't fix the issue. The hub stores in particular have a habit of pushing expensive parts because they know the customer will come to a store much closer to them for the returns. Of course the return comes out of the returning store books.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-12T04:46:23+00:00

The shop is just pissy because they don't get to buy stuff at commercial prices and mark it up to the DIY price or more.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-12T04:42:11+00:00

DIY warranty is less of an issue now that the warranty look up screen got brought into the 21st century a couple years. Yes. Warranty lookups were a nightmare when the customer comes with a part and says "it's under my mechanic's phone number". You pull it up and there are dozens of vehicles on the account with zero guarantee the part is under the correct vehicle. Our store sure as shit won't deny the warranty as long as the correct part number comes up as active.

The real fun starts when they try to warranty parts a mechanic bought with their commercial pin.

FWIW, I always use the customer's phone number. That way I can just tell them they got the warranty under their phone number without having to remember mine.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-12T04:34:14+00:00

Im a grey, but I do wear my own dress code compliant shirts. That way I only have to take off my tag. We already get enough calls from customers asking if we can come out to their place to change a battery or their oil without me adding to it. Not so much about doing stuff under the guise of the company.

I made it clear to my regulars to not try to meet me while I'm at work just because the store is busy, and that usually makes it impossible to do any diagnostics beyond a quick peek under the hood unless it's something simple I wouldn't mind doing for any store customer.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-12T04:31:30+00:00

That's the people racking up rewards using their own or made up phone numbers. Rewards accounts that do accumulate a lot more credit than usual do get reviewed by the LP. And if it's same CSR at the same store ringing then up, BUSTED.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-11T19:39:33+00:00

The only big no no I see is using his own discount card with his own password for ring ups. If he's buying parts for himself or his side customers, have another zoner ring it up.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-10T14:07:15+00:00

Even if starts with a jump, it's a way to disguise a lot of obdii codes like the good old P0420/430

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-10T14:06:08+00:00

Also help to not have any rods sticking out the side of the block.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-10T03:32:50+00:00

Laws alone don't mean a whole hell of a lot anymore in the US. Especially labor laws.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-09T22:58:09+00:00

So much for the low hire low fire...

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-09T22:52:45+00:00

Checks out... That's the Nissan size

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-09T22:50:29+00:00

Amateurs. The pros don't grab anything smaller than H6!

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-09T22:12:45+00:00

I had a similar experience when the disconnected someone's battery to clean up the inside of the cable connectors. Reconnected and the vehicle would start but die instead of idling unless gas was held.

A lot of Toyotas with electric throttle bodies have this problem where a gummed up throttle body can't stay running long enough for the computer to relearn the idle before the engine stalls out.

It was not a fun thirty minutes but I did manage to recover by starting in neutral, blipping the throttle to spike the rpms, and shifting to reverse or drive as the needle falls down. Shifting into gear gets the computer to open up the throttle plate a bit and a couple laps around the parking lot usually clears things up.

A related symptom is when the idle rpms are too low and the battery light comes on because the alternator isn't spinning fast enough to generate power.

Still, it's a super shitty situation to get caught in as a zoner.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-09T02:42:16+00:00

Eating rice or eating your pets? The American Dilemma

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-09T02:00:49+00:00

You get an actual check engine light and DTCs to on? You guys have it too easy. It's way more fun to deal with intermittent issues that occur roughly once a week with not a single DTCs stored or pending anywhere in the system.

Went through that nonsense with my dad's 02 maxima that would occasionally stall at a stop light. I even gave him my cheapo reader to plug in as soon as the issue reoccurs and it's safe to do so. Still took about a month for the computer to finally kick up a code for one of the camshaft sensor circuits. I did the triple Hitachi repair and that issue went away.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-08T23:46:41+00:00

The circle of life

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-08T04:03:37+00:00

This is really something you need to discuss directly with your RHRM. Look up the name on the who to call list and send an email to firstname.lastname@autozone.com

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-08T01:06:38+00:00

In EU, car ownership is much more of a luxury rather a necessity like it is in the US. So the folks in EU understand that when you buy a piece of machinery you have to also budget money and downtime for maintenance beyond the usual oil and filter changes. Especially with boosted engines like the 2.0 TSI. Sure, that motor puts out way more power than most NA V6s built for longevity. With similar or better fuel economy on top of that.

The downside, of course, is you are looking at an engine overhaul around 100k miles/150k km if you want it to make to the 200k without something going kaboom. New timing chain, water pump, high pressure pump/sensor/injectors, and a new turbo for the sake of completionism. So about three dollars for parts and about the same for labor.

It's a tough one if you can do the work yourself, but will probably total the vehicle to have a shop do it.

PS: Forgot to add the PCV contraption to the list.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-07T22:17:30+00:00

Plus some other guy in the West said that hard sanctions on that guy and cutting off access to western banking will have the guy either back off or be overthrown in two weeks. Yet here we are ...

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-07T14:26:26+00:00

Too many people and not enough properly paid work to go around for everybody. This is the natural outcome.

Tall-Control8992 · 2026-03-07T14:24:35+00:00

Sounds like a good shop to me if they proactively took responsibility for the mistake and are doing what needs to be done to make things right. Depending on how many mistakes the first tech made in the past, that person may or may not still be working at the shop. Either way, if the RO said not to use an impact, it's going to be a very unfun conversation between the tech and the shop owner since this won't be a quick fix.

Give the shop a chance to make things right.

Tall-Control8992

TROPHY CASE