O'Reilly Auto Parts

Problem Two: While installing lower ball joints, I was confronted with a set of 4 bolts with metric threads and SAE heads. Original bolts had much smaller head size, while these new bolts were much larger but not metric. Opened second box for other side of vehicle and noted that the bolt head size was in fact a 17mm. All bolts stamped 10.9 (Hardness of the steel). Bolts in first box, although they have the correct thread size and count have 5/8" SAE heads.

Contacted auto parts store that sold her these parts, and was told "Well you just have to have patience when working on any vehicle". Really? I will never buy parts from this retailer, nor will I buy from O'Reilly's Auto Parts since a quick search indicates that Import Direct is owned by O'Reilly's and they primarily produce "Remanufactured" parts. This has been a bad experience all around.

The employee said I would have to deal with the manager, so I asked when he would be there. When I went back, he was not there, only the assistant manager. Apparently, the manager is the only person who can make any decisions, so I had to return another day and finally was able to talk to the manager. Now he tells me the only thing he can do is give me another one, which by now had been reordered, since the one on the shelf had been sold. I told him I had found another so I could get my vehicle on the road. He would not refund my money, so now I am stuck with an alternator I do not need and a 2nd core charge.

When I took the old one back to get my core charge refunded, I didn't have it in a box, as the new alternator, which I no longer needed, was still in the box. They said they have to send it back in the box, and asked if I could get it for them. I said no, the new one that I no longer need is still in the box so I can try to sell it to someone who needs one. I told them I am done with them. I talked with a couple other auto stores and was told I would have been refunded since they too only have 1 in stock. I have done my own auto repairs for 35 years and currently have 5 autos in my household. I will never make another purchase from this chain. The way it looks, I should have read the reviews before stepping foot in their door. The lesson learned is if you buy something, and this would go for any auto parts store, give it a 100% check over to make sure it is good BEFORE you take it out the door.

According to the paper she gave me at the store, the torque specs for head bolts are 18 Fefe pounds plus 90-90-90-45 degrees each turn. On my 3rd pass, one of the bolt snapped in the head and there is no way to remove it since the head was completely off and fell into the engine. I chased it with a magnet and brought if to the store with my receipt. The same lady this time told me I have to bring everything back in order to do something and after talking to her "manager" in the back, she change her version to tell me this time it's all my fault. How can it be since I didn't even finished tightening them to specifications when that happened? I consider they stole my $107 and ruined my job. My recommendation is for any reason, don't buy head bolts and/or engine parts (interior) from O'Reilly Auto Parts. You will regret it like me. They sell crappy used parts for new.

I informed the manager, as well, that I didn't even get to use it because I couldn't uninstall the original one so I never even took it out of the box except to verify it was even in the box. He insisted that it must have been used (obviously, never tested it, just by 'looking' at it). I informed him that this simply was not the case. Then he said my mechanic must have tried to, when I never even brought the part to my mechanic! I had to have the car towed there, and kept the part at my house on the table. Then he asked, "Well, did someone have dirty hands" while holding/touching it?! Tried to show me the difference in the parts how it should look cleaned versus how it does look. But the condition I tried to return it in is the condition I bought it in.

I'm HIGHLY disappointed. My girlfriend tries to use O'Reilly ONLY, even when they may cost a little more, and have made it her "first stop". She has had a couple of their locations work with her (let her borrow tools when she broke down) and help her as much as they are allowed to. I don't find the way they handled it, rejected my return request, or the whole ordeal worth ever going back to. Neither does she. Honestly, we'll stick to ANY OTHER company if that's how they handle the ordeal or if they could accept an unused (by me) part and just don't want to. I'll at least definitely stick to only the O'Reilly stores that have treated her 'right' if this is a special case. She's unconvinced in returning at the moment, however.

Good thing is I kept my credit receipt to file a dispute with the card company. Then when I went online, Noticed that my "Rewards has been Expired" as well. They make you do business with them to get the reward. But they wont tell you; If you do not use your rewards within 3 months they will expired. They have incompetent Employees or this is a Crooked Co. I don't know which. But I will not shop at O'Reilly Auto Parts store again.

The box my torque converter came in says Power Torque. Power Torque's website says they have a 3-year warranty. Scott ** at O'Reilly's says Pro King makes the torque converters for Power Torque. Sounds like a way to get out of standing behind your product to me. From what I understand Power Torque is owned by O'Reilly's. I am not asking for monetary payment, just the products to repair my car. They have a rebuild kit they could provide to me. I will not buy another thing from O'Reilly's Automotive.

Well they weren't, so I called a different store who told me that there was no option for expediting parts from a warehouse and only from Mfg. shipped orders can that be done. To call Area Manager Monday to find out what was going on there and that he would correct the issue. Monday 1-30-2017 now after talking to Mr Tracy ** was even more unhappy that this man had straight out lied to me, by telling me that UPS don't tell them when a delivery date. Trust me I order thousands of dollars worth of parts for Corvette from many sources, when UPS picks up and assigns a Tracking # it tells you what day it will be delivered. So whomever counter person called either didn't look it up or he didn't want to tell me Monday.

In any case Tracy told me it would be in Today and they would call as soon as it came in. I then called customer service # on web page to report issue who said he would check into it. Store called, I went to pick up. I am just down the road from store so didn't take long, I get there and plastic shipping container was on the floor in front of counter (straps cut off and nowhere in sight). Last shipment straps were still on container when I got there. As counter people were busy I lifted the lid to look... And what did I find inside A USED head. Not a rebuilt but someones core. Put the lid back on and waited. Manager comes over, opens it up, says "You got to be ** kidding me, this was an expedited order from last ** Wednesday. I will see who has 1," gets on computer says "I will have it shipped from California and have here tomorrow."

Really I was willing to pay extra last week to get 1 ASAP. Now you can do an overnight and what about his language, I should have been the 1 dropping F bomb, not him. No, "I am sorry" or anything like that just a "will have it tomorrow." Told him "never mind. Been waiting long enough going to Advance just about a tenth of a mile down the road." Wish now I would have started there, they said will have 1st thing in the morning. Hopefully they are going to have it when promised. Came home mad as heck, missed work again for this poor, poor service. Called customer service to let them know it went even farther south than it already was, Finally got the "I'm sorry this happened", that I should have got Fri., Sat. and this morning.

Just want everyone to know if you are dealing with their store on Waycross Rd. in Cincinnati and you have to have something shipped to them, Don't Hold Your Breath till it gets there. Watched same store manager refuse a return on a battery, Man said his Grandmother bought it for him and he wanted to return it, Manager told him "No cause you can't return items after installed". I can see that, unless it's for an exchange for bad battery, but the man insisted it had not been installed.

Manager had picked up this battery several times to inspect it, finally told man there was dirt on the bottom of it from being in his moped. That's when I chuckled, cause he had been putting this battery on the dirty counter several times to get it dirty. He didn't say "look here you can see on these lead terminals scratch marks" (where if installed there should have been some) but instead the dirt on bottom of battery. So man was very upset. He had basically been called a liar and a cheat. Just be careful when you deal with this company. The only good note was the person at other store I spoke with on Sat. and the 2nd person I spoke with today from Customer service from their online #. Who said he would send a coupon to hopefully make up for some of it. Will have to wait and see if that is true or not.

Enough background, and jabbering. Here's the story. I needed a part for a friend's car. An odd relay VW uses in some of its TDI. It's a Friday, and, assuming the local O'Reilly won't have the odd relay in stock, I get online to order the part. The parts place in Massachusetts I use has the part, and I can have it the following Tuesday, but I'd like to put it on during weekend, so I make a call to the local O'Reilly, and they don't have it in stock, but they can have it by 2:00 in the afternoon that same day. Great, it's ordered, and I go in at 4:00 in the afternoon.

I'm presented with a box for the part which, from the appearance of the box has traveled to someone's garage, been opened, then returned in less than perfect condition. I opened the box to make sure I'm holding the correct relay. One glance at the relay's blades confirmed that the part was not the correct relay. It wasn't even close. It had 5 connectors rather than 4. The box originally contained the correct relay, being labeled as such, but the relay now contained within was a stowaway.

This wasn't the stores fault. however, they couldn't get another relay that day. In fact, the fellow said that being a holiday weekend, at this point they couldn't have the part until the following Tuesday. Online the part is $9.95 plus shipping of $2.64 for a total of $12.59, and O'Rielly's price is $18.99 plus tax, so a little under $21.00. So, I leave to order the part. Now the story gets better. On the way home my son who is in college calls to let me know he can't come home for the weekend, so I agree to meet him halfway or so for dinner Sunday.

The following morning I call an O'Reilly in a larger town about an hour away, and none can get the part until Tuesday. But, the store employee states that the distribution center in the town has two and I can pick one up if I get there by 4:00pm. I call the distribution center to be safe. The answering system informs me that they are closed on the weekends. Now, I think the store guy meant that I could come in and buy the part then go to the distribution center to pick it up, meaning that while the administration folks are not available on the weekends, there are staff who make parts runs on the weekends for the stores, but that wasn't the explanation I received from the store representative.

The next morning I call a few O'Reilly along my intended route to have dinner with my son, and find one which says they can have the part by 3:00pm that day. Great. That afternoon, away I go. I ask my phone to take me to O'Reilly in the small town where the part should be. Only having one location in that town, I follow the GPS guidance, and go to the wrong store. Close, but the wrong store. After a bit of confusion, the nice counter associate discerns that the store fifteen minutes away has the part, and, after consulting her monitor, confirms that they have one in stock. Must be mine. Again, not O'Reilly's fault. But, irritating.

I arrive. I go in and am helped after a very short wait. The fellow helping me looks through the two boxes which have come from distribution. Several times. Then, once the other counter person is free, hands me off to him. I'm told that the part is not there. It should be. It's on the master sheet detailing the contents of the containers. It has been signed for by the person receiving the shipment from distribution, but, it's not there.

He calls the distribution center, and after a short conversation, hangs up. He tells me that the relay did not get put in the container, it's still on the shelf, and he was looking at it. I said that I was two and a half hours away, and I told him what had already happened over the last couple of days, and that I could have ordered the relay online for less. He interjected that they couldn't match online prices. I said that I wasn't asking him to do that, I just wanted the relay. I told him I'd be in town for a couple of hours and could come back by. He said he could get the part the next day. At that point I was dumbfounded. I was looking into a void. I replied by saying, "I live two and a half hours away." He said, "well that's all I can do." I asked if he was sure that that was his best. He said that I should call customer service.

At that point I had had enough. I knew that I was going to order the part from Massachusetts, and I needed to, at least try to make a point. I thought I, at least had earned that. I thought that what I was about to say was going to fall on deaf ears, and I needed to find out how good the training department at O'Reilly is with respect to customer service. So, I carefully said to the guy behind the counter, "I not going to call customer service, I want a relay. You have already told me you can solve the problem by tomorrow. You have my name and phone number," which he confirmed that he did. "All you have to do is call the store that is near me [and, I told him which store it is], and have them get the part from their distribution center; I know that that distribution center has two more of that relay, or at least the boxes for them, and to call me when the relay arrives and I'll go pick it up." His reply was that I needed to call customer service.

Now I was angry. I then said that, to be clear, I was not mad at him, just the whole ordeal, but, that I think I've done enough, and have them call me when the part arrives. At that point he smiled, and I knew the part wasn't going arrive, ever. It was the kind of smile that is both defiant and full of fear, and I realized I was too angry to just walk out. So, I said, "Again, to be clear, this is only directed at this situation, but I think you can understand it this way, this has been handled in a completely ** incompetent manner. Then I threw a smirk his way, so he could go home, call me names, and show me by not making a simple phone call. The part didn't arrive, but will be here in a couple of days from the online store.

O'Reilly is a good auto parts store. They generally have helpful staff, their prices are a bit higher than can be found in other local parts stores, but they are generally able to have the not so esoteric parts for the VW TDIs that I tinker with in a timely manner, for a little more money. Paying a bit more should come with a bit more customer service to add to the value of the exchange. In my opinion, and it's just that, this experience is just a comedy of errors. How many circumstances had to come together to give me an experience I'll be able to tell for years. I'll still use O'Reilly, with lowered expectations.

I don't blame the the guy in the first distribution center who didn't have the experience to look in a tattered box, when he had two others to choose from, to make sure the correct relay was indeed in the box. Hopefully, now that he has experienced that, he can apply that in the future making that a part of his "common sense." I don't blame the guy in my local store, he likely thought that the guys in the distribution center are trained to double check ratty boxes to make sure the correct part is contained within. I don't blame my phone for taking me to the wrong store, it's a small computer. I know I need to double check the information it spits out. That one's on me. I don't blame the first guy that helped me. He bailed when he realized he needed help. I don't blame the guy in the second distribution center, it's just a mistake.

I don't blame the second guy behind the counter who had to listen to me tell him, to his embarrassment how simple the solution was. He had been left in charge on a holiday weekend by a manager who just wanted to spend some time with his family. I blame myself. What I mean by that is that I'm not talking about a relay. I'm talking about my reaction to this befuddled guy, who just wants to do as good a job as he can. I shouldn't have gotten so frustrated that I became angry. Customers, like me, have to remember that it's the human interaction that's important.

I wanted to take the time to write this review, and convey my experience to illustrate two points. First, I dare say, not many people can say that they have had a less pleasurable experience with O'Reilly, and with that, everyone writing a review should take the time to try to accurately relate their experience, not just tell their biased viewpoint. Second, retailers should examine where the real problems in their system are, and work to solve the small contributing factors that can grow into a huge comedy of errors. Best regards, thanks for your time. Side note: I have not proofread the preceding review, so please forgive the spelling, syntax, and word usage.

I will NEVER go to O'Reilly again and will do everything I can to keep other people from making the mistake I did. I certainly will not buy stock and based on my experience a short sell might be in order.

Since Woodruff was some distance from Newberry, I called the store and spoke with the manager. Keep in mind, the folks in Newberry were not very helpful at all. However, the manager in Woodruff was forward-leaning and stated he would call the store in Newberry for further clarification since he wasn't aware of any recalls on this car cover. The manager in Newberry had stated he had pulled all the affected "recall" covers off the shelves and would be sending them back to the company. Well, it wasn't thirty minutes later that I get a call from the Newberry store stating they had a replacement cover. Once I returned to the Newberry store to pick it up, the attendant advised the cover replacement was the final action they would take since it was under recall.

Now my action will be to further search out the company's name which manufactured the defective cover in the first place and see if there is any other corrective actions I can pursue since this replacement cover obviously will only be effective for six months as well. I will never shop at any O'Reilly store again, lousy service for a known defective item.

Two days later, IT went down, just like the other did. I remembered a trick someone showed me, where you take the negative clamp off the battery and just barely touch the post with it. "HMMM, see a little spark there, something is pulling my battery down!" I thought. I disconnected the hot wire from the alternator and tried again. NO SPARK. The alternator is the culprit! I took it back and told them I wanted to upgrade to a new one. They swapped it for a new one with no hassle. I paid only $15.00 more for the new one. So far, no problems. Another example: I bought a motor mount for the same vehicle just 3 years ago to replace the original that had come apart after 20-plus years. This one has already worn out! A mount should last far longer than 3 years. So I went to NAPA this time, for a new left side motor mount, AGAIN! From now on, it's just oil, filters and bulbs when I do business with O'Reilly. As for parts, I'll go with A.Z. or NAPA.