Why so little inventory?

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

Scott Heckler

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2003
Messages
1,379
Reaction score
0
Location
Levittown, PA
I was out this afternoon and decided to stop by Pep Boys to get a new set of spark plugs. They did not carry Motorcraft :( ( which I wanted) and they only had two of the Autolites in stock. Of course they had Bosch . . . Why would they let their stock go so low? I was not planning on installing them today but I thought I was saving myself a trip. I just find it hard to believe they let their stock go that low.
 
Well, Explorers are one of the most common SUVs on the road. It also depends on when they get their truck. I know at Advance, we keep only one starter for a Plymouth Voyager in stock, yet yesterday, we needed 3. It happens.
 
Companies like Bosch and Splitfire, give large incentives to parts stores to stock their product.



I had a buddy that worked in a parts store. He had many free sets of Splitfire Sparkplugs by just recomending them. I think after 10 sets sold, he got his own free set.



Whenever I get a situation where the parts store does not have something I am looking for, I ask the following questions...



Did you know the number 1 selling SUV of all time is the Ford Explorer?

Do you know there are MILLIONS of Explorers on the road right now?

You mean to tell me you do not carry a ______ for a Ford Explorer?

You do know the number one selling SUV...EVER....is a Ford Explorer...right?

I bet you have a starter for an AMC Pacer in stock. How many of those are still on the road?





Tom
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Did you know the number 1 selling SUV of all time is the Ford Explorer?

Do you know there are MILLIONS of Explorers on the road right now?

You mean to tell me you do not carry a ______ for a Ford Explorer?

You do know the number one selling SUV...EVER....is a Ford Explorer...right?

I bet you have a starter for an AMC Pacer in stock. How many of those are still on the road?
Click to expand...



Do they reply:



"Sorry, Sir. But, we're not interested in buying your explorer."



?



:p
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My friend is the manager of the Pep boys here,



I asked him that a while ago, His answer, " because the corporate only stocks the "A" Numbers, any thing that is b,c,d they order in or carry a Low number of,....



That is the case at most small mom and pop auto stores, The big places here all have wear houses in the back..



Todd Z
 
Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous when a place designated for auto repair doesn't have something for a vehicle that is so common. That's America.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
OK it was Sunday afternoon and all the weekenders bought their stock but I hate not getting something when it's not a unique part. It's plugs!
 
Another reason i shop On line now.... The places here don't stock much any more, and IT is allways, we can get it here in 3 hours from our wearhouse...



I just stay home, Order IT all on line and once it is all here I do what needs to be done..



If your on top of preventative maintenance, you never need to run to the store for something that day...



Todd Z
 
Yeah Todd I'm getting that way. Order on line and when it gets here I can plan from there when to install. I was just getting the parts together to do the screamin deamon, wires and plugs in the future. I was out grocery shopping and the pep boys was on the same road. It just pissed me off they did not haved it in stock.

Come to think of it the dealer was no better with the 4x4 module. Stopped by at lunch time and they got it delivered to them by 3:00. I guess it's the nature of the beast . . . .

 
I won't sell Bosch plugs to Ford owners, unless they specifically want them after I tell them that I recommend Autolite, even though the Autolites are usually cheaper.



Also, warehouses screw up. It's gotten so bad at our store that the managers will go through and manually count parts of the truck to make sure they get the right quantities of parts.
 
I am a parts store manage myself. Our system we run 6 route trucks a day plus I big frieght truck. Our warehouse is 45mins away. Plus we have 5 other stores within 20-25 mins of each other. So we have plenty opportunity to get it to the store or to my installer customers at a quick manner. And we also have the ability to adjust Max/mins as we see fit..Somethings to think about when dealing with a parts store...



LIVE GREEN!!
 
they always have little motorcycles and go karts, but no brake rotors, plugs, etc. I tried to get 3 qts of diff fluid there and I would have had to mix two brands to get three qts.



By late Sunday you can't get 5 qts of mobile 1 motor oil.



I've pretty much started driving the extra mile for auto zone. You have to wait in line twice,but I generally walk out with what I need.
 
A lot of vendors will have it the next day if they have to order it. Napa is really good about that.



I'm finding if I can't find it in the Seattle area I can find it in Portland and have it the next day via UPS ground since Portland is only 2.5 hours away.



A lot of times you just have to plan ahead. We are finding that out quickly with our race car. Especially, on Brake Fluid, Mobil 1 and brake pads. I can now order our r-compounds through a couple of my wholesale vendors.



 
I would say most people don't change their own spark plugs in the Explorers if they are all designed like the ST. I know I would not have the patience to drill through the fender well or whatever is required to change the one or two inaccessible spark plugs. Stuff like that irritates me too much, and I'd pay someone else to deal with it.
 
I know I would not have the patience to drill through the fender well or whatever is required to change the one or two inaccessible spark plugs.
Click to expand...



Have you actually looked under the hood of many V6's? On some GM vehicles, you have to remove the "dog Bone" and that loosen a motor mount to move the engine to get access to the plugs.



The problem with the Sport Trac/Explorer plugs is that people do not know how to access to right bank plugs. They are not so difficult to remove that it is impossible.



4 cylinder engines like your Mazda3 has are easy to change plugs on. It doesn't matter who makes it, they are all pretty simple.



I would be willing to bet that swapping out plugs on a Toyota Tacoma V6 or a Honda Ridgeline will not be a cake walk.





Tom
 

Latest posts

Top