My Nissan dealer is like that. I almost burst a blood vessel first time it happened. Bastards don't even stock an oil filter or oil drain copper washers for an 86 hard body Z-24. I now order most stuff off internet from Gastonia Nissan and get wholeslae price. They ask for the VIN at order and won't accept a return if you did not give it to them when you ordered.
The Toyota is not (yet).
They ask for the VIN because it makes their life easier, and there is a better than average chance they will be able to provide the correct part. And, as many posters have already said, most people don't know what they are driving. Why would he waste his time, since you are probably an idiot too.
You guys have to learn to play the game when you are working on weird E36 M3. Build yourself a book with VINs from wrecks that you know you might need to trick someone with.
Exactly, If people can tell me exactly what car they have and what they need I can get it without the VIN. The problem is when someone orders a part then comes back complaining you sold them the wrong part when they gave you the wrong information for the car.
SOoooo.....
Let me see if I've got this right:
Most people are STUPID, some of those people work behind parts counters, but most are customers (who are so stupid they don't even know what kind of car they drove there in).
VIN #s will not only help most people get the parts they need, but will help document the service history for those of us who prefer to buy used.
I miss the local part store that was familiar enough with the junk I was building, that they just let me in the storeroom/part manuals to find what I wanted this time.
I zipped into autozone for a brake light bulb for the wife's CRV, and guy behind the parts counter asked if I brought the old one in. Well, no. I asked if he could look it up but he said it came with several different versions and I'd need to know which version I had. Went across the street to Advanced where the guy went right to it, and guess what, it fit.
Didn't have to have the vin though. Good thing since I didn't have the car with me!
The local BMW guys LOVE when I come in with the ACTUAL part number. I RealOEM.com
Tom Suddard wrote: Last time I was at the BMW dealership ordering a thermostat for my E30, the cranky parts guy asked for my VIN. I told him I didn't have a clue what my VIN was, but the thermostat was for an 87 E30 with an M20 that was built after the 9/87 changes. He got way nicer and thanked me for making his job easier.And I actually got the right thermostat, unlike those bastards at Autozone...
njansenv wrote: The local BMW guys LOVE when I come in with the ACTUAL part number. I RealOEM.comTom Suddard wrote: Last time I was at the BMW dealership ordering a thermostat for my E30, the cranky parts guy asked for my VIN. I told him I didn't have a clue what my VIN was, but the thermostat was for an 87 E30 with an M20 that was built after the 9/87 changes. He got way nicer and thanked me for making his job easier.
You have no idea how great it is when a customer has a part number. The down side is when they get the part number wrong and blame the parts guy for it.
EvanB wrote: It is easy enough to look up parts using year make and model but when you get a customer who says "I think it is a 2003 or 2004 Saturn" it is much easier to have them go to the car and look at the VIN.
tHIS.... when the two years are a model change and NOTHING interchanges....
I went to the Ford dealer to get an oil filter for my 2011 Fiesta. New guy on the counter started to look it up, old guy who heard me, picked it off the shelf and handed it to the new guy. NG didn't ask for a VIN at least.
I've actually had two instances where I wish I had the VIN handy. One time was when I bought some new sway bar end links for my N/A FC from an online Mazda dealership parts department (My Mazdaspeed Motorsports membership was pending at the time). They sent me the sway bar end links for a Mazda5! Similar situation happened when I bought inner and outer tie rods for it- one of the outer tie rods was for a manual steering rack, not a power steering rack like I asked.
I've had no problems with the local AutoZone- there are a couple of counter workers who are actually competent for a change. I make sure I get parts numbers from the online store before ordering, just to make doubly sure they are getting the right part for me in the first place. With the other local chains (PepBoys, Advance), parts numbers beforehand are a must. I'd order parts at the local shop like GRM tells me to if I had an American car. The parts guys there look down on import owners.
My local NAPA guys know me and my oddball car projects. The owner just reaches under the counter and pulls out the old order book when I walk in. He says that most of the stuff I'm looking for is easier to locate the old fashioned way then trying to work his way through the computer system. He was actually visibly happy when I asked for an alternator for my F150.
There's an import-only parts store on the north side of the city here.
I can walk in and say "I need such and such belt and gasket for my 1990 MX6."
Dude won't even go to a computer, book, nothing. He goes in the back, and gets my parts. He doesn't ask for trim level, turbo or non, manual or auto, or what color underpants i'm wearing. He knows the belts and gaskets are the same through all model years of 1g MX6s, and he knows where the parts are in the back.
I love that place! (Usually cheaper than rockauto, too!)
There was a much bigger jump from the "old way" (books and first-hand knowledge) to the computer-lookup by year/make/model than from year/make/model to VIN. VIN's effectively just a more specific version of year/make/model (though less likely to reside top o' your head) isn't it?
But I don't think I should have to carry around a book of borrowed VINs just because I had an '87 325i with a '95 engine management system and '97 engine... I understand that I can make the system work that way, I just think it's unnecessarily convoluted that some places won't just fall back on year/model if VIN isn't available.
Most of the vehicles I've owned, even if they weren't total Frankensteins, were old enough that they usually had some system(s) which were no longer in a configuration the VIN would tell you anything useful about.
Just yesterday I went to 3 parts stores for a radiator hose for the ZAV only to end up at the one closest to home (I have discounts at the other two). The problem was my junk yard radiator had a larger lower inlet than what was in the truck (which also wasn't the stock radiator). After ten minutes the guy came back with a dusty universal hose that fits PERFECTLY!
Guess who will get all my business from now on?
I work part time for an after market accessory retailer and installer. No VIN needed. However, whoever created the online catalog (Keystone) needs to be shot. Seriously, do they ever ask the end users how things could be better for looking up parts or is it all left to the programmers?
I think there is an engine variant for most cars with a 'X' in some position in the VIN which indicates some oddball engine that has a different plug end, this is based on a convo with a guy at Rockauto over some incorrect wires he sent me. I'll bet you this was the issue - just tell them it isn't the 'X' VIN.
Our parts lookup with SSF parts and WorldPac are pretty intuitive, but then again, I usually have the part number before I go price hunting.
JThw8 wrote: During the build last year it was always fun to go to the local flaps and have them ask for year make and model. Ok then, 1958 Wartburg 311....yeah, I thought so. After about the 3rd trip they got to recognize me and just said "go in back and hunt for whatever it is today"
The one time I had stopped to pick up something for the build, I was asked the same thing. Year 1958, Make Wartburg, then he asked for model. Once I got over my shock, I answered 311 and sure enough the computer had a listing for it. Of course everything after that was out of stock.
Okay, a PS. I stopped by to see our local mechanic today, and he said that all of the dealerships now require a VIN when ordering parts.
Bobzilla wrote: I remember my time at AutoZone when old farts would come in.... " I need a starter for a SBC. They're all the same." Bring them up a newer Vortec style gear reduction starter for $300. They quickly give you the year and application.
I did the same thing when I managed an Autozone. Amazing but these mental geniuses did this almost every time they came in and never seemed to learn that I was going to plug in "brand new Corvette" when they asked for something with no details. Morons.
vwcorvette wrote: I work part time for an after market accessory retailer and installer. No VIN needed. However, whoever created the online catalog (Keystone) needs to be shot. Seriously, do they ever ask the end users how things could be better for looking up parts or is it all left to the programmers?
I've never used their accessory catalog, but the aftermarket replacement parts catalog is pretty decent.
jimbob_racing wrote:Bobzilla wrote: I remember my time at AutoZone when old farts would come in.... " I need a starter for a SBC. They're all the same." Bring them up a newer Vortec style gear reduction starter for $300. They quickly give you the year and application.I did the same thing when I managed an Autozone. Amazing but these mental geniuses did this almost every time they came in and never seemed to learn that I was going to plug in "brand new Corvette" when they asked for something with no details. Morons.
I get a lot less of that than I used to, but I guess there are a lot less carbureted SBCs on the road. I used to get this at least once a week:
Customer - "I need a small block 350"
Me - "What are you putting it in?"
Customer - "Doesn't matter, anything will work"
Me - "OK, I've got three LT1s, one with aluminum heads from a Camaro and two of the iron head versions from Caprices"
Customer - "That won't work, that's way too new!"
Me - "Than what year and model do you need?
That being said, mandatory VIN is stupid. They can sometimes be helpful, even occasionally required, but to require them to look ANYTHING up is stupid.
One of the guys that I work with, who dabbles as a conspiracy theorist, is convinced that the only reason they ask you that is so they can keep track of what you've done to your car, like anyone gives a E36 M3 that you changed your plug wires.
I quit reading, but guys just for the record, the VIN to your vehicle should be sitting right in your back pocket (or wherever you keep your wallett/insurance card verification).
Yup, that super pesky, incredibly difficult VIN # is right on your person at all times. At least legally its supposed to be.
But this is why I order all BMW parts from blunttech, who has built E30s/E24s/2002s etc. Yes, I have to plan my maintenance, but my E30s have always been 2nd cars.
z31maniac wrote: Yup, that super pesky, incredibly difficult VIN # is right on your person at all times. At least legally its supposed to be.
Unless you're working on someone else's car or a frankenmobile, which about 99% of the things I work on. I almost never go to the parts store for my DD because I plan ahead and order online. And it's only legally supposed to be IN THE CAR, so a lot of people keep it there, and if you need parts for it, chances are you're not driving it to the parts store.
njansenv wrote: The local BMW guys LOVE when I come in with the ACTUAL part number. I RealOEM.com
I use it so often for my car I've memorized the VIN.
Like others have said you need to know how to play the game...the guy behind the counter at the local auto parts store may or may not be knowledgeable about cars, but the computer systems they have these days require him to ask all those questions in order to look up the number. Nowadays, most part stores have online parts catalogs - do yourself and the counter guy a favor, and look up the part numbers before you leave the house.
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