Advance Auto thinks my car is really old

So old in fact, they just assume I have piled up 305K

While only semi post-worthy, it gave me a chuckle. I guess 25 years is enough time to rack up that and then some. If I ever sell it I guess I can claim low-mileage. Hey, it's apparently 130K under-driven!

Anybody else run into this or any other snicker-worthy assumptions about your old crapcans?

waiting to hear from them.. the Suby has 230 K ( hit that mark on the way to work this morning )

Went into the local Checker for a price quote on Russell braided corner lines for a 510, with part number in hand. The jerk behind the counter started laughing hysterically and said "Why in the hell would you want those? For a Porsche or Jaguar I could understand it, but it's a berkeleying Datsun !"

I laughed just as hysterically when he quoted me a price that indicated that CSK must have been PURCHASING them at MSRP, went home and ordered them at a discount from MSRP from a guy working out of a spare bedroom.

OTOH, the counter guy at a different Checker made my day when he told me that they couldn't get a rebuild kit for a Weber DGV for the same Datsun because "That's a racing carburetor, and we don't support those !"

The local VatoZone really made my day when I asked them to look up the part number for an oil filter for my bone stock '91 G20 on the computer. As I walked back to grab it, I heard the one kid behind the counter tell the other "WOW, an SR20- He's got the Bluebird SSS racing engine!!" I swear they were not being smartasses, and still have no idea where they got their information from, or for that matter, what they were talking about...

Sounds like JDM fanboys...

Honda Owner Link thinks my Civic has 190,000 miles on it. I haven't even owned it since 2004...

When I was putting Casper (my Jensen Healey) back together I went to the local Advance with a box full of OE hoses and a heater valve. I've been down this road before, you take the original hoses, lay them against others that look similar and pick the ones that can be cut to fit.

So I walk in, the kid behind the counter asks how he can help me and I ask to be allowed in the stockroom to match hoses. He says he has to look them up in the computer. Sigh. Okay, you asked for it. 'It'a 1974 Jensen Healey JH5 with a Lotus 907 engine and a custom 3 core radiator.' He looks oddly at me for a moment, then steps back and gestures me toward the hoses. Why, thankyaverramuch.

Then there was the time I walked into O'Reilley's with a bent coat hanger wire, the guy looked at me funny and asked me what I wanted. I said 'an upper radiator hose for a 1974 Jensen Healey powered by a 13B Mazda rotary with an aluminum double pass radiator and a custom made thermostat housing'. Same 'sweep of the arm' gesture.

In reply to Curmudgeon:

... priceless

I hear the 305,000 mile service is a really important one. I wouldn't miss it. It might affect your warranty.

Curmudgeon wrote: When I was putting Casper (my Jensen Healey) back together I went to the local Advance with a box full of OE hoses and a heater valve. I've been down this road before, you take the original hoses, lay them against others that look similar and pick the ones that can be cut to fit. So I walk in, the kid behind the counter asks how he can help me and I ask to be allowed in the stockroom to match hoses. He says he has to look them up in the computer. Sigh. Okay, you asked for it. 'It'a 1974 Jensen Healey JH5 with a Lotus 907 engine and a custom 3 core radiator.' He looks oddly at me for a moment, then steps back and gestures me toward the hoses. Why, thankyaverramuch. Then there was the time I walked into O'Reilley's with a bent coat hanger wire, the guy looked at me funny and asked me what I wanted. I said 'an upper radiator hose for a 1974 Jensen Healey powered by a 13B Mazda rotary with an aluminum double pass radiator and a custom made thermostat housing'. Same 'sweep of the arm' gesture.

all this talk about your jh5 renewed my curiosity in lotus engines, found a 910 turbo long block from an esprit on ebay for 1500!

In reply to Curmudgeon:

I did the coat hanger thing when I swapped to the aluminum radiator to the Abomination. The guy at NAPA looked at me kind of funny until I said, "Radiator hose for a rotary powered Spitfire." He just pointed up the stairs and said, "Try to not mix them up too bad."

They're used to the stupid crap I do.

And this is why I only shop at the local car quest if at all possible.

Agreed. I also have an easier time at NAPA and Carquest compared to the furry steering wheel cover stores. Different business model though. I guess it goes with the territory.

Toyman - are rotaries a semi-common swap for Spitfires? I only knew of the GRM project car they had a while back. Sweet ride either way. I was always curious about that combo.

Zomby woof wrote: I hear the 305,000 mile service is a really important one. I wouldn't miss it. It might affect your warranty.

lolz

Advance Auto - seriously, where did the extra 5K come from? 300K wasn't enough?

Back in my full time days at VatoZone (still do some part time) we'd have those "try me" guys. I had one guy come in looking for exhaust gaskets for something none of us would know, car in question was a Noble M400 with a twin turbo 6 IIRC? Needless to say all the kids there had no clue, within 5 minutes I found him exactly what he needed.

Just recently I had two Irish guys come in looking for pads for an old Z-car & they had been from one place to another with no success. As I grab the box they still say there were not correct, so I grab the trusty old paper catalog & we start looking in there. At this point they finally say it's for a UK spec Capri (or something along those lines). I found a comparable US model of that generation & they got the correct part.

However, I have worked with some serious mouth breathers. Quotes like "spark plug gap is average for all cars" & "lug nuts tighten themselves as you drive" have been heard.

Congratulations on your classic! Time to order another magazine!

Not sure about advance.. but I still get mail from Hyundai for both my old 1988 Excel (traded in on a 1999 Tiburon) and my Tiburon... and it has been 6 years since I have owned a hyundai

Zomby woof wrote: I hear the 305,000 mile service is a really important one. I wouldn't miss it. It might affect your warranty.

Between lacking sleep and being hopped up on caffeine this is way funnier to me than it should be lol.

MA$$hole wrote: However, I have worked with some serious mouth breathers. Quotes like "spark plug gap is average for all cars" & "lug nuts tighten themselves as you drive" have been heard.

Oooof. That last one is hopefully a self-critiquing mistake.

MA$$hole wrote: "lug nuts tighten themselves as you drive"

I guess that explains what happened the lugs the last time I had tyres put on. It took a 6 foot breaker bar to loosen them last time I was onder the car

Most parts store look up Mercedes when I say Merkur, they think I'm fumbling with the model "Merk err". If I start off saying it correctly "Mare-cor" all I ever get is a blank look...

Every once in a while I get smiles and "I haven't seen one of those in 20 years".

I too have done the heater hose thing:

Me: "Can I go in the back and match up heater hoses?"

Them: "I can look that up for you"

Me: "I need the two upper hoses from a non-stock tee'd externally thermostat'd primary line off a 1800 that matches a 1600 radiator and motor for my 72 Fiat Spider".

Them: blank look... "Go ahead".

In reply to mad_machine:

Sadly no I wasn't there but this came from the Store Manager's mouth and considering the lack of brain cells this man had he was dead serious.

The guys at the local NAPA know exactly who I am and who I work for. When I ask for something like "a gas tank filler hose for a 1972 MGB GT that's had the tank moved 3" to the left", they say "cool, let's go see what we can find". I've spent a lot of time flipping through those big paper books.