I bought a Rack and Pinion from them several weeks ago, installed, and within a few days fluid was coming out the box, boots, hydraulic lines, etc. Had to keep putting fluid in several times a day to keep the pump from seizing up. Found a rebuilt Honda R&P from CFL Honda (actually cheaper with core than Autozone). The problem was I had turned my core into Autozone - original defective, 13 yo R&P. So I contacted Autozones Regional Manager, via the internet (Autozone complaint form) and explained what happened, and that I really expected more from a rebuilt considering it was a bitch to replace and now I had to do it again.

Regional Manager came back and said that they would refund me the cost of the original R&P, refund me the $150.00 core price that Honda wanted (I didn't have a core anymore), and the $32.00 in Honda PS fluid I had to buy again.

I actually made out a little, but after all the work of doing it twice I'm happy on the results, etc.

The store manager was actually very nice and told me that I should have come to him first and not the Regional Manager. I apologized to him if I had gotten him in trouble, and he said no, just that things would have been done sooner, instead of waiting for a reply from Autozone HQ. I thanked him - didn't really matter as I have been sicker than a dog for two weeks now...

I'm happy it worked out. I have been screwed by Checker/O'Reilly several times in the past and was expecting the worst from Autozone...

 

Good story. But I think contacting HQ actually expedited a resolution and also got you the bonuses.

 

I was thinking the same thing. The local guy seemed nice, but I just did not want to dick around - bad thoughts of previous encounters with O'Reilly/Checker came to mind.

I was very suprised that they gave me as much back as they did, and were willing to cover additional costs. I was almost in shock. In fact the store manager was like, anything else you want to be reimbursed for? In good conscience I couldn't tack anything else on, I told him we were good...

 

contacting district or regional managers always gets the job done..... trust me, i work at home depot lol

 

cool beans, how long does it take to change out a r&p?

 

The first time around? Like 12 freaking hours - most of the time was dicking with the high side hydraulic line, couldn't get it off the R&P, seized on. I ended up cutting it, then driving way out on the other side of town to pick up the ONLY one in town!!

The second time, it was much easier as I knew what I needed to do. Probably took about 5 hours from start to finish, cleaning up, putting tools away, etc.

 

Actually what I have learned from this experience is, that if a part fails on a Honda that is critical and requires a lot of time to replace, just buy OEM and not aftermarket. I am a firm believer now in that you get what you pay for.

 

sorry to say this but their is no such thing as oem it's just in a honda box somebody else makes the parts for them, the mom & pop auto parts have access to these parts that auto zone,pep boys & o'reilly's cant even get unless the counter person knows what they are doing,they will contact one them and get the part for you

 

I think I lost you. The one I bought from Honda, was a Genuine Honda part. HUGE difference between the Honda part and the crap part from Autozone. The Autozone part was completely shot with paint, including the box and boots. The Honda part looked exactly like the original part. Clips were used for the hydraulic lines on the Honda part, while the Autozone part used zip ties to hold down the lines. The quality was night and day...

 

Exactly. While it is true that honda doesn't really make much of anything other than internal engine parts themselves, they choose very good component manufacturers with many years experience, as an example Honda buys their shocks and springs from Showa most of the time ('92 - '95 P/S racks are also made by the same company) Showa has been in business since 1938, they aren't some fly by night outfit. If you look at who makes just about any OEM part for Honda they're pretty much all like that, Honda doesn't normally buy junk.

 

sorry, (just got home from work)didnt mean to confuse you a good example would be the oil filter ,if you get an oil filter from honda its not a honda filter its made by honeywell who makes the fram filter. in your situation the honda r&p's are being made by either cme or america showa like 94eg8 said.

 

This is rare........ but your the lucky one

 

just because an oil filter, or any other part for that matter, is made by the same company does not mean the same quality components go into making the part. i would never use a fram filter on any of my cars.

 

LOL WUT? This was a Civic right? there is 5 bolts, takes about 20 mins while too drunk to stand...

Any ways, you did get the store manager in trouble.
Autozone will ALWAYS hook you up mad style when you end up complaining to DM or RM, I'm suprised they didn't give you a $50 gift card too.
I've seen people get double their money back to fix bad situations.

 

then you should be avoiding honda OEM filters because we already know that fram is crap..

 

I wish someone could make up a master list showing all the original manufacturers of the various "OEM" Honda parts. They could start with the major components and common replacement parts.

 

The problem with that is honda didn't always keep the same manufacturer for each year or model. For example generally Honda's water pumps are made by Yamada, but some of the newer V6s use Aisin pumps (who typically manufacture parts for Toyota.

 

I think we could get a good list going of parts producers for OEM parts. We could list the multiple makers if needed.

Having just quit working at Autozone after five years I can tell you that yes, that store manager got "talked to". Maybe once the details were out that you didn't go there first and just bypassed the store altogether, maybe then it wasn't so bad. But it probably took a second to figure out and the politics in Autozone are always retarded.

Had you gone to the store and the store manager taken care of it the same way he would have gotten reamed as well though. District managers do NOT like to give money away. **** rolls downhill in a major way in that company.

Oh, and please don't get upset when/if the employees ask you if you want those little packets of dielectric grease or brake lube or some brake clean or rotors with your pads, etc. A lot of that is called WITTDTJR (what it takes to do the job right). I know they ask a million questions, but if they don't sell a certain amount of that stuff their hours will get cut and if they don't ask they could get fired.

If you go back into one of these stores you can find the managers easily because they were gray shirts while associates (they're all part time) wear red. If they're recently ASE certified they likely will have a lapel pin. They'll also have a pin with a number on it if they've been there over a year. Not everyone wears the "dress code" though (this is what Autozone calls it so they're not required to pay for the uniform).

 

HAHAHAHAHA, yea 12 hours, not drunk!! Most of the time was spent trying to get the high side off without stripping the line nut or busting it off, plus lots of smoke breaks and shooting the **** with my old man...

 

i dont use oem honda filters, when i feel the need to waste money, i go to the nearest titty bar.

 

Yeah, you got satisfaction from calling in the DM - the store manager would not have done jack left to his own devices. glad you got your core money back!