Cheapism.com surveyed four national auto parts retailers — Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone, Napa Auto Parts, and O'Reilly Auto Parts — to see which offers the best value for the money. We compared prices for a list of products a car owner is likely to need. These included items for basic maintenance (oil, antifreeze, batteries, wiper blades, and the like) as well as major repair components — (alternators, clutch sets, fuel pump modules, oxygen sensors, and more). Factors such as loyalty or rewards programs, as well as shipping, pickup, and return policies, were also taken into account.
What we discovered is that there's no clear all-around best choice. Based on price alone, O'Reilly Auto Parts looks like the top choice for the consumer looking to shop for everything on our list, with Advance Auto Parts bringing up the rear as the most expensive. But a closer look paints a much more complicated picture. We found lots of variations to compare up and down the line — and some of those variations are pretty significant, especially when it comes to replacement parts. Bottom line: You have to buy from more than one automotive retailer if you want the best price on every item, every time. But, if you're in the market for vehicle maintenance parts — such as windshield wiper blades or a new battery — rather than replacement parts, Napa Auto Parts nips the competition most of the time.
Prices from retail locations in upstate New York; expect some variation in other markets, and between franchise locations.
As our hypothetical vehicle, we selected a 2015 Honda Civic EX sedan, one of the most common cars on the road (prices may vary for another make or model). Our shopping list contained 20 stock items an owner may need to maintain such a vehicle driven under average circumstances. When available we included less expensive house brands such as Carquest, sold by Advance Auto Parts, and Duralast, the AutoZone equivalent, and tried to compare equivalent brands across stores. We didn't compare high-end performance parts, something most motorists don't need, and cheap, no-name products.
In most cases, prices were within a few dollars of each other across retailers. Two automotive repair items on our shopping list had the biggest impact on the total cost: a fuel pump and a replacement clutch. If you need a fuel pump module, the slam-dunk choice is O'Reilly Auto Parts, at just $183. An Import Direct-branded fuel pump module for our 2015 Civic was priced nearly $80 less than the closest competitor and a whopping $256 less than AutoZone, which topped the charts at $439 for the "same" part. Just keep in mind that all vehicle fuel pumps may not be created equal. We priced out the cheapest pumps that meet California automotive emission standards (which are stricter than federal). And while AutoZone can't compete on best price, it's possible that its model might trump others on top performance. For a replacement clutch set, on the other hand, AutoZone was the cheapest of the group. Its Duralast kit was $34 less expensive than the next-cheapest option, a PowerTorque clutch set sold at O'Reilly.
But for general-maintenance items (wiper blades, oil, antifreeze, batteries, etc.), prices across stores fell much more in line, with Napa Auto Parts eking out only a small price advantage, thanks to a store-brand car battery (500 CCA) that was more than $20 cheaper than batteries offered by competitors (without the battery, there was a spread of only about $4.50 between Napa, still the top all-around lowest, and Advance Auto Parts, the highest for maintenance products). We noticed some seemingly arbitrary differences in price when the same exact product was in stock in all or most of the stores. This was true for headlight bulbs, motor oil, cylinder heads, spark plugs, a code reader, and oxygen sensors.
Price isn't the only important factor in choosing an auto parts store. Convenience plays a big role. All the stores we surveyed let consumers buy online and have items in stock shipped to their home or business (with some exceptions for noncontiguous states and territories or APO/FPO addresses). Napa Auto Parts charges a flat $7.95 for UPS ground service. The other three retailers we surveyed offer free shipping on online orders above a certain amount. AutoZone even ships online orders overnight (although not all items and ZIP codes qualify for next-day shipping). With the others, free delivery is limited to standard ground shipping. Advance Auto Parts has the lowest minimum, at $25. AutoZone and O'Reilly Auto Parts require a $35 minimum.
All the chains have policies that offer free shipping for items ordered online for pickup at a bricks-and-mortar store, so shop location may wind up being the deciding factor in choosing a retailer. With over 6,000 locations in the United States alone, Napa Auto Parts is most likely to have a shop near you. Second is AutoZone, with about 5,630 stores nationwide.
Keep in mind that many retailers do not ship antifreeze or batteries, because they contain hazardous materials. These items must be picked up at a local store.
Mistakes happen, and retailers' return policies range from fairly liberal to pretty restrictive. Napa Auto Parts is the most accommodating shop, allowing online buyers to return unopened or defective products within 30 days without incurring additional shipping charges. Parts purchased online can also be returned to participating Napa Auto Parts locations.
Other retailers also accept online returns at their stores, but consumers are on the hook for return-shipping costs unless there's a problem with the product or a mistake on the retailer's end. For return policies, O'Reilly Auto Parts has the most generous window: There is no time limit for returning new, unopened items. AutoZone imposes a 90-day time limit on returns, and Advance Auto Parts sets a deadline of 45 days. Also, while all retailers reserve the right to reject or charge restocking fees for returns of special orders or custom items, Advance Auto Parts publishes a fairly long list of items that can't be returned at all. From our shopping list, that includes fuel pumps and oxygen (O2) sensors.
Some stock items that are recyclable or can be rebuilt carry what's known as a "core charge," a deposit to ensure that a consumer returns the old part when it's time for a replacement. Two items on our list, alternators and batteries, along with brake shoes and water pumps, are among the items that carry this charge. Core prices can vary widely and sometimes be quite substantial. For example, AutoZone levies a core charge of $62 on a Duralast remanufactured alternator. At the other end of the spectrum, Advance Auto Parts' Carquest alternator has a core price of just $18. Whether the amount is large or small, you'll definitely want to recoup that sum — and, of course, do your part to help the environment.
In most cases, a consumer has to return the used core to a retail store to avoid paying a shipping charge. Napa is the exception, allowing online customers who purchase a replacement to ship the old part free of charge, as long as they use box the replacement component came in and mail it back within 30 days of receiving the new one.
All the retailers offer customer-loyalty programs, although they aren't all equally rewarding.
Each retailers' rewards program policies vary. Advance Auto Parts Speed Perks, AutoZone Rewards, and Napa Rewards apply to both in-store and online purchases. O'Reilly's O'Rewards applies only to in-store sales. Each retailer also provides bonuses to rewards program members, like exclusive discount coupons and invitations to special shop events, for example. Check their websites for details on reward redemption and exclusions, as well as additional perks.
If you're looking for the most generous price-matching policy, Advance Auto Parts is probably your best bet. The company's guarantee claims Advance "will match the price of any identical or comparable product available the same day at any competitor's store or website." O'Reilly Auto Parts, on the other hand, does not offer price matching with online retailers but says it does for in-store sales. Napa Auto Parts and AutoZone do not have explicit price-matching policies on their websites' support pages, and consumer feedback indicates that experiences in stores can vary.
Each of these retailers offers some type of discount, usually around 10%, for members of the military. Other groups that enjoy discount programs include Uber drivers at Advance Auto Parts, for example, and AAA members get a discount at Napa Auto Parts.
Cheapism read through reviews at Consumer Affairs to get an idea of how vehicle owners feel about each of the retailers’ customer service, stock, prices, online services, and more. Taking the averages as a whole, AutoZone comes out on top with the highest percentage of four- and five-star reviews while O’Reilly had the lowest percentage of above-average reviews. Anecdotally, in NAPA’s case, it seems even happy customers aren’t 100% pleased.
AutoZone: Out of 403 reviews submitted in the last year, two-thirds gave the auto parts retailer four or five stars, for an aggregate average of almost 4 stars. The majority of the 5-star reviews focus on the helpfulness of AutoZone’s employees, describing them as kind, patient, and taking the time needed to address any issues. With 1-star reviews, complaints tend to center on unreliable shipping methods, with online customers receiving parts for their cars much later than expected.
Advance Auto Parts: Advance scores somewhat lower than AutoZone, with an average of just over 3.5 stars. Of the 241 reviews submitted over the last 12 months, however, about 60% award the automotive parts shop 4 or 5 stars. As with AutoZone, the majority of the top reviews from car owners praise employees’ willingness to help. The gripes addressed in negative reviews vary widely: some ding Advance for poorly stocked and poorly run stores, while others point to issues with the website—from basic functionality to receiving incorrect parts. More than a few reviews complain of warranties that were not honored.
NAPA Auto Parts: Inexplicably, the largest of the four retailers currently has only 26 Consumer Affairs reviews in total. But just under two-thirds of the posted reviews award the retailer 4 or 5 stars, for an average of about 3.5 stars overall. Top reviews give thumbs up to NAPA’s low prices; critical feedback cites poor customer service and rude employees. Several consumers who’d used the shop’s automotive repair services claim jobs were botched. Interestingly, even many of the top reviews are tempered with caveats along the lines of, “I like this store but ….”
O’Reilly Auto Parts: About 57% of the 158 reviews that O’Reilly has received on Consumer Affairs in the last year give the retailer 4 or 5 stars. Again, top reviews credit knowledgeable employees willing to put extra time and effort into consultations regarding parts or repairs. Poor reviews run the gamut here, too: from an inability to return items for various reasons, not reimbursing labor after store employees sold or ordered incorrect parts, to general employee miscommunication.
It can pay to compare prices at other stores, especially for non-vehicle-specific parts and gear. For example, an Actron CP9125C universal code reader (which allows do-it-yourself mechanics to access a car's diagnostic system) costs nearly $70 at Advance Auto Parts or Napa Auto Parts but can be purchased on Amazon for less than $40. Other stores to check:
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