By Steven Symes 
Last week when the news that Advanced Auto Parts is closing about 500 stores, many media outlets rushed to the conclusion it’s a sign fewer people are fixing their own cars. For example, the New York Post mentioned something about Chinese cars (which aren’t available in the US) somehow being responsible for Advanced Auto Parts’ struggles.
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We probably shouldn’t expect regular journalists who probably couldn’t find their oil filter if their life depended on it to understand what’s going on. But as gearheads, we ourselves and many others we know have shifted our parts buying behavior over recent years.
You might already know where we’re going with this because you’ve done the same thing. Going to somewhere like Advanced Auto Parts or AutoZone or any of the others can be a frustrating experience. Employees often know little about vehicles, and when you finally get them to look up the correct part, which can be a grueling process, so many times the part has to be shipped to the store, if isn’t on backorder.
That then means your repair is on hold for days, weeks, maybe longer. It’s not a great customer experience.
On the flip side, there’s a veritable cornucopia of automotive parts available online. Sure, some aren’t all that great, but through trial and error we’ve found places which have quality parts at competitive prices. And they’re often shipped direct to your home in a few days, sometimes even the next day.
Which option would you exercise? For a lot of people who actually repair and maintain their own vehicles, which we think is still more than these journalists would expect, the online parts shopping experience is far superior.
Just like with other retailers, there’s been a shift towards online sales and it’s not hard to see why. Of course, the old dogs like Advanced are going to feed journalists with these stories of how people just aren’t fixing their own cars anymore because China is selling so many vehicles not in the US, which doesn’t even make sense, but we know the truth firsthand.
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