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Advance Auto Parts Warranty - Ranting Post


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Related to parts for my 87 Brat........

  1. Went to Advance this afternoon and they ordered me a new 2-row radiator to replace my leaking one. I have lived with this for several months now. However, I have a few days off from work and want to stop having to top off my radiator every two to three days etc. plus not dump anymore into the environment. However, the leak is from the bottom right (passenger side) corner, where the metal is crimped. No issues, they ordered a new one - I paid for it and will pick it up. Then when I return my damaged one, they will refund my money. However, they said that the replacement radiator is warranted for 3 months only and no more replacements are permitted.
  2. I also have one worn drive shaft that I had replaced under warranty in 2005. In fact both were replaced in 2005. The original driveshafts were purchased from Advance in 1996. I have my original (luckily non-thermal) receipt also. The manager was adamant that no further replacements would be made free of charge since one replacement was already done. I showed her the original (1996) paperwork that says no such thing. It states that for as long as I am the original owner, they will replace the part if defective. They do have exclusions for commercial usage and the warranty is limited to 90 days on the replaced item.

However, she would not listen. I asked her to provide me a written policy on their limited lifetime warranty. She gave me two sheets of paper, but they are general warranty statements, and no specific information on their "Limited Lifetime Warranty" is mentioned. I called another store to discuss this. The manager did tell me that they will replace a part once under this policy and warrant the replacement for an additional 90 days. Then I said that the policy had changed perhaps over the years and my original statement states nothing to this effect. He agreed that the policy had changed in the last few years, but if I had my original receipt, they would honor the Lifetime Warranty. He ordered a driveshaft for me also.

 

Another thing I learned at the original store where I ordered the replacement radiator, is that after three years (I thought 5) they purge their system of receipts. Am not sure this is true, but just want to stress the value of keeping your lifetime receipts. It has come handy on more than one occassion for me.

 

On their web site, there is not too much information I can find regarding their "Limited Lifetime Warranty". Anyone here who can shed more light on this?

 

Thanks,

 

aba

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I went through 3 "ford starter solenoids" from them with lifetime warranty

once the 3rd was bad after less than a month of use, I aksed for money back

finally found a good one in a jy, free! lasted over 2 years :banana:

was using it as a short term continuous duty glow plug relay

 

lifetime warranty just means longer than the other options :lol:

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Lifetime warrenty usually means "we know the part will last at leats a year, andafter that 98% of people get a new car, sell the car, or loose the sales slip"

 

Usuallt the lifetime warenty covers the original purchase only, not the replacement part.

 

 

nipper

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I'd kind of expect this stuff from a place that has an aisle devoted to air fresheners, and steering wheel covers. Nipper was right in what he said about their gamble that you will lose the receipt, or sell the car, etc. That's the only reason that "lifetime warranties" are viable for companies like this. If you keep your paperwork tight, and they can't site any literature proving you wrong; you should be ok. It's just a matter of how many people you are willing to yell at for a $150 radiator. That's the other thing they count on, that you will eventually become frustrated, and then they are out 1 customer. That's nothing to a "big name" like them. Those stores aren't designed for years of repeat business anyways.

 

I suggest finding a higher quality parts house to deal with. Like a place with countermen that have been there more than 6 months, and actually know the policies.

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also realize, these kinds of places deal with shady people every single day. i find that being kind, honest and shooting straight works wonders. i've seen numerous people with short fuses and demanding stuff and i can't believe there aren't people trying to pull shady moves.

 

i agree they shouldn't just lump everyone into the "trying to pull one over" category, but be aware it's a tough business too.

 

it's generally a good idea to choose wisely where you get your parts from and what you're buying. i buy from AAP all the time and am very happy with their service, but there are some parts i wouldn't pay a nickel for from there either.

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It depends on the store you go to. I recently bought 2 cv shafts at Advance. I had to pre-pay plus core charges. When the parts came in they were the wrong size. Took me a half hour of explaining and showing them the old axle shaft compared to the new one before they refunded my money.

Then they forgot to refund me the core charge, so I had to go back a second time. They all along insisted that these were the shafts for my 86GL, even when I showed them my old ones that wete an 2 inches longer.

 

Ended up going to auto-zone, they had the correct part in stock.

 

Just remember "the customer is always right" if you are persistent.

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