Staying local is hard
 

I’m replacing the valve cover gaskets on my son’s Tacoma. The local Napa is pricey but I can walk out with the parts. Fel pro gasket kit $64 and no bolt grommets. Oh… $34 for 16 tiny rubber grommets. No way! They used to be included in the kit. Amazon has Fel pro grommets for under 10 bucks. Sneaky inflation I suppose. Rant over.

I just had the same experience with my truck. Oreillys used to be my go to parts store but it is just not practical. Similar thing with Lowes. I am not a wealthy man so i do what I have to do.

Agreed. I get frustrated sometimes . I needed a wiper transmission for a dodge pick up yesterday . $65 on amazon, can have it next day . 185 from the parts store, delivered to my door in 15 minutes after making the call .
I guess I pay for the convenience . As soon as you get a few pars that do not fit and you have to box them up and return them, online options suddenly don't seem as lucrative . My suppliers take stuff back no questions asked, and even drive to pick them up

Once they’re gone (locals) watch the Amazon claw back. Just like they’re doing with PrimeTV. You’ll be paying more or getting less. Guaranteed.

Yep, absolutely.

It's hard to ignore crazy price differences, but often that's at the expense of getting cheap junk from China or counterfeit stuff. If you order via Prime, the return policy is pretty simple. I usually only order via Prime. I rarely order auto parts via Amazon. I did get a gas cap for my car that appeared to be a Porsche part. The main reason that I did so was because it was the fastest way to get one without having to drive 60 miles one way. For almost everything, I'll go to a FLAPS.

I'm skeptical of a situation where dealer part $150, FLAPS part $75, online part $35. I just don't trust the quality or provenance of the $35 part, at least not if it's coming from Amazon.

Either there is tremendous markup in auto parts OR counterfeit parts are more prevalent than we thought . The price difference is just too great .

I’m still stewing that small rubber washers that used to be included in the gasket kit are now separate and cost $34. That works out to near $100 for a simple valve cover gasket kit. I’m just an old guy sounding old.

Bugsinrugs,
Slightly off topic but still sort of on topic... Just curious, is your son's Tacoma is the four or six cylinder version? Also, was there any work performed that previously required removing the valve cover OR did it just start leaking? I also have leaky covers on my 2006 four-cylinder Tacoma and the cover has never been removed so I am wondering if this is just something that happens over time. Mine need attention so your 'rant' may save me from shopping around for prices:)

Costs have gone up on almost everything. I know that I heard that during covid, shipping costs even for containers from China went through the roof, like 10-20x the usual cost. I also heard that after covid, the prices didn't go back to the old normal. I haven't heard anything recently, so I don't know what they are now. It seems that everything has gone up pretty much everywhere.

That increase either has to trickle down (which would cause people to lose their minds) or changes in the product have to occur. I think this is the same reason why you go to the store these days and "pints" of ice cream are now mostly 14oz in a container that looks like the one that used to hold 16oz. This is pretty normal, these days. But it's irritating that you can't buy one box to get everything that you need to do the job.

Amazon is great for some things, but not all. I like the Baldwin oil filters for my El Camino. I ordered two of them and they arrived in a paper bag and were bent to hell and back. I think they tossed them off the building a few times. I sent them back, and they sent two more and they arrived looking worse than the first ones. It they would ship them in a box, with some packing it would be OK. I tried to return the second set, and Amazon said just keep them and they refunded my money. So I had to throw out two beat to hell oil filters.

I had to go to the local NAPA store which is also the main warehouse for the area to get some decent oil filters.

It’s a six cylinder and the valve cover gaskets are original. 236,000 miles on it.

This is the same Amazon that ships my a pocket knife in a 6x12x18" box? :rolleyes:

That’s another thing… cardboard. There used to be a place near me that recycled cardboard. They took it away. Now, either take it 15 miles to a large recycling company and wait in line or take it to the dumps. Guess where all the cardboard goes. More ranting!

You don't use eBay much do you? There is already an alternative. Now Sears had the chance at being no. 2 to Amazon and didn't. Walmart can do the same as soon as they get their web and shipping together. Amazon is vulnerable and watch how fast they fall when others meet the challenge or better it. People love to hate and that is Amazon's biggest threat.

Amazon has one thing that keeps them ahead and that's distribution and delivery. Have you ever looked at Walmart's distribution?

Oh, and ******** ain't slow.

This is why the oil filters were sent in a paper bag... unfortunately Amazon hasn't figured out the packing thing yet.

It is all about what you want to spend.

Rock Auto offers several brands and price points for valve cover gaskets where you can buy the gasket w/wo grommets.

I am almost certain the Fel-Pro gasket set comes with grommets.

Most of the grommets are outsourced out of country unless the volumes are very high.

FLAPS are the convenience stores of auto related crap. Only for emergencies, must-haves. Our NAPA warehouse is okay, good counter persons, but the prices are high compared to on-line parts. Amazon and Walmart.

Oh, so that's not at the extreme end of ridiculous for Amazon's boxing practices. That's about midline and nearly reasonable. :D

Into my burn pile? Actually, we collect recycle, and then my wife takes it to our kids' place when she visits which is fairly frequently. They live in a city and have recycle collection. My understanding is that MOST recycle just ends up getting put in land fills.

My understanding is Amazon has been buying corrugate factories.
I thought this was to save money, but now that we talk about it maybe is so the competition can't buy economically.