Advance Auto Parts

I left the store after waiting in line forever. No greeting nobody really wants to help.

Don at the E. Riverside location was so nice and super helpful! I brought my car in for a scan after the check engine light came in. It took less than 5 minutes and Don told me why the light came on. He helped me find the part needed in his computer and gave me some helpful tips to save some additional money. I would definitely go back to see Don at Advance Auto Parts, but fingers crossed I don’t have to!

I only stop here when it’s on the way. Each time it’s taken longer to check out then to find what I need. Had two people working the registers on a Saturday morning. Not very smart, ok prices and products.

I called around getting prices for a headlight bulb and this place wasn’t the cheapest, but the manager Joe was super nice on the phone and said they would help me put the bulb in.
Awesome.
My wife and I go in and both guys are busy helping other customers. After a couple minutes, the customers leave and Alejandro (wife says this was his name, I didn’t notice) asks how he can help us. And boy, did he seem excited about the two of us! That’s sarcasm, btw.
So, the wife tells him that we need a new headlight bulb for my «insert year make and model here». He says okay and starts putting it in the computer. Only he didn’t hear anything we said. So then he says «you need the whole assembly?» and my wife says yes for some reason. I corrected her and the guy laughed nervously and said «Good thing you have YOUR FRIEND with you!».
I’m going to take a minute to explain this because those of you who are straight won’t know what I’m talking about. There’s this thing that people, especially religious people, do when they know you’re gay. They deny the existence of your relationship by referring to you as «friends». And you can always tell when it’s being done on purpose as opposed to the person just not realizing you’re a couple. They say «friend» very forcefully.
Anyways, we didn’t correct him but we didn’t laugh at all. So he shows us the headlights and shows us options at different price levels. I mentioned that I couldn’t remember which type I used when I replaced the other bulb and he told me that I should just replace both of them because the other light will be going out soon.
I replaced the other headlight bulb earlier this year so I told him that and said that I didn’t need to replace it. He insisted that I should replace it just so they would be the same. He told me that was recommended. I responded that I couldn’t replace both of them right now so I was only buying one.
Then he takes us to the register and tells me to make sure I don’t touch the bulb when I put it in my car. I said «Actually, Joe said you guys would help me put the bulb in.»
His response was that sometimes they can but some cars require that you remove the bumper and they can’t do that. He basically had already decided that he wouldn’t be able to put the bulb in before we even went outside.
Before he would try replacing the bulb, he made us turn the car on to show him that the bulb didn’t work. I’m not sure what the point of that was. I guess he thought we were just dumb girls who couldn’t tell which headlight was out??? I don’t know.
We open up the hood and he pokes at the headlight and tells me the brake fluid bottle is in the way and that my car requires the bumper to be removed.
I told him that I’ve watched many people replace the bulbs in my headlights and none of them ever had to take the bumper off. He got very defensive and said that it could be «forced» without taking the bumper off but that at Advanced Auto they’re liable (as if mechanics aren’t if they break your shit?) so they can’t do that.
By this point, I was totally bitchy to him. I don’t even care, he had a shitty attitude and didn’t want to help us from the minute he saw us.
After we left, we went to an inspection station where they inspected my car, did an emissions test, and replaced the headlight bulb all in under 10 minutes. Alejandro made a point of saying that they can’t do anything for customers that takes longer than 10 minutes. They did not remove the bumper.
Oh, and the inspection station didn’t even charge me for putting the bulb in.

I don’t write many reviews (positive or negative). I’m just too lazy and by the time I get home I’ve completely forgotten about the experience I needed to write a review for. However, my experience with Advance Auto Parts last night deserved some public recognition.
Riverside Drive is notorious for terrible customer service up and down the corridor, so I’m used to it. What I’m not used to is 5 star customer service and that is exactly what I received last night.
My car battery has slowly been losing its strength over time, and after an unfortunate event of leaving my dome light on… it just wouldn’t hold a charge anymore. I jumped the car and drove straight to Advance Auto Parts. Simply because it was the closest.
Antonio showed me the kind of respect you get in a 4 star restaurant. He quickly pointed me to the battery that I needed, and gave me the option for an economy or standard battery. No BS. Just told me straight up what they had.
There was no mention of them closing soon. He quickly went back to get the battery. Held an attitude of «Of course I’m changing your battery for you. Are you kidding me?» We discovered the economy battery was a little shorter than the original, so he had to take it back out. No sweat.
Now he goes back to get the right bracket of the battery ($ 3). Runs back out and locks the door (this is when I realized they were closed!). In a matter of minutes my car was up and running, and I enjoyed the drive home.
Antonio is the man. Hands down. His team showed the same level of respect towards me and others. Awesome service.
Not going to AutoZone anymore.

I bought a set of ceramic brake pads with «limited lifetime warranty» for my 07 accord 1 year ago from Advance auto. I recently contacted them bc I pads need to be replaced. To my surprise and disappointment, they said the warranty was only for manufacturer’s defect.
This is a bunch of BS! Never again will I shop at Advance!!! I really felt deceived by this practice thinking that the pads twill be replaced.
All my business will go to Autozone from here on as their pads and many other parts are warrantied for life. I should never have experimented with Advanced.

I went in for headlight bulbs and asked nicely if the salesperson could help me put one in my car. His name was Jose and he was awesome.
There were factors that made replacing the headlight nearly impossible, but damn did Jose try his hardest for an hour.
Turns out I have some special after market crap that some dude put in there before I bought it, but the service was just great. He could have given up and didn’t. He was also funny and just a pleasant person to hang out with in the beating sun.
Yay Jose!