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Beware: Advance Auto Parts/ATK Spartan

84K views 46 replies 34 participants last post by  superj 
#1 ·
I just want to relay my recent experiences with Advance Auto Parts warranty department:

About a year ago I purchased an ATK/Spartan 4.0 overhauled engine for my Jeep from Advance Auto Parts. About 6 months after installing that engine the #6 connecting rod broke destroying the engine and the transmission.

The local Advance store said there was nothing they could do and gave me the number for Advance Engine and Transmission Warranty Dept. When I called them they said there was nothing they could do and gave me the number for ATK/Spartan warranty dept. See a pattern here yet?

It turns out that ATK has only one, yes one, person authorized to take care of all engines sold by Advance Auto Parts. One person to help with install issues, engine malfunctions, warranty claims, everything! Can you imagine how long it took me to talk to that one person? Their customer service person took my message and promised that Ritchie would call me back very soon, ha. I waited seven hours and finally called them back very irritated and they somehow were able to drag Ritchie away from whatever he was doing. Believe it or not, it only took about 30 seconds to diagnose my problem! I think the part about the entire corner of the engine missing clued him in.

Finally they shipped the replacement engine right out and I had it within a week. They also told me that they would evaluate the returned engine and authorize my warranty claim within three days. Yahoo, I was happy, but not for long. They failed to mention how long it would take to get the engine back to them from Advance...

When installing this engine I found out that the transmission had also been destroyed. Then I found out that it is nearly impossible to find a Jeep 32RH and what is out there runs about $800 used but that is another story. When I called ATK about the transmission I had to leave another message for Ritchie and he called me back while I was at work and could not take the call, he said that he would try again but that was a lie because he ever did. A couple of days later I called again and they would not let me talk to Ritchie again and he called me back while I was at work again and promised to try again, again and he never called again, again. When I finally did get to talk to him, he said there is nothing they can do and gave me the number for Advance Warranty, Ha!

This engine that I bought from Advance Auto Parts came with a warranty that entitles me to a labor reimbursement of $300 after the engine is received by ATK and they determine that the purchaser is worthy of the reimbursement so I returned the broken engine to the local Advance store on 12-04-10.

On 12-15-10 I called ATK and they told me that they had not yet received the engine so guess who I called next? Well, when I called Advance Warranty back up Lori told me that it would take 6-8 weeks for ATK to get the engine!! What? Anyway, she promised to track the engine and call me back the next day. That was a lie because she has still not called me back as of this writing.

I waited until 1-14-11 to call Advance Warranty back and no one would answer the phone and their message said to leave a message and they would call me back so I did. That call has still not been returned. Is the pattern becoming clear?

By now I'm becoming pretty irritated so on 1-19-11 I call Advance Warranty back up one more time. I actually get to talk to a person this time so I very politely explain to Chad what has happened so far and he cheerfully agrees to check on the engine and call me back the very next day. I tell him (very nicely) that I really hope that he will actually call me back because Lori has already made that promise to no avail and he assures me that he will. Guess what? He still hasn't called two day later.

So, just a few minutes ago I call Advance Warranty back up and no one will answer the phone. I call right back and still no one will answer the phone so I leave another message.

Then I call ATK/Spartan once again and confirm that they have still not received the engine. I then try to tell the customer service person what is going on and ask for help but she is talking so much about the engine return process, which I have come to know only too well, that she can not hear anything that I am saying. When I finally get her attention she tells me that there is absolutely nothing that they will do to help me.

I tell her about the problems with Advance and ask if she could just call them up and see if she could get any answers and she flatly refuses! I then proceed to tell her that when I get of the phone I am going to post this experience on one of the world’s largest "self-installer" websites and that the review will not reflect well on her company even though I am fairly well satisfied with ATK's service so far. She says that is fine and there is still nothing she will do for me. I then ask if she is absolutely certain that her supervisor would tell me that same thing and she assures me that they would.

So here I am seven weeks later and no one can tell me anything. I must confess that I am rather pissed off! I don't even know if the engine has been lost, what am I to do now? I should have just kept the darn broken engine and parted it out on the Jeep Forum!! :mad::confused::thumbdown:
 
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#30 ·
If not for situations like yours then they would never find out what problems they are having with customer service. It may have been a headache for you but it may save a fellow jeeper a lot of time later. I plan on putting in one of these motors next month and hope it all goes well. Thanks for not backing down and holding them to their word.
 
#31 ·
Unfortunately, I feel your pain. I to USED to shop at absolute automotive peril aka advanced auto parts. After replacing a clutch master 3 times, then pulling the tranny and doing a whole clutch cause the slave blew. The master was leaking AGAIN. So I replaced it again. A week later the slave blew out. All this was within a month. I called the store and spoke with a very good employee of theirs I had gotten to know and told him it was all coming back, including the latest master cylinder because it was only a matter of time. He agreed and said it would be no problem. A couple days later I get it all back apart and go to the store with all parts and recites in hand. The "manager" gave me one hell of a hard time telling me I put it in wrong or something. After a few choice words and informing him a employee had already ok'ed it he put his tail between his legs and returned my money and made the comment that he and his employee would have a talk about company policy. Unfortunately for him I called corporate and informed them of the ordeal and of how great their other employee is. All in all the manager got fired and the employee got a raise... to manager. I'm glad everything worked out for the kid but it turned me off from ever returning. Ide rather drive 20 mins to another store than go to advanced which is a stones throw from my house.
 
#33 ·
I was going to get an ATK until I started poking around on Jeepspeed's forum. ATK is their main sponsor. I posted on there about ATK engines quality and recieved 3 pm's from JeepSpeed racers/owners telling me to stay the **** away from ATK. They cant publicly say anything against them on the site as they are a huge sponsor, but had had horrible experiences with them. One being a 1700 class guy bought the supposed ATK performance JS specific engine and blew the top end up within a month. Opened it up and they had reused half the stock components (instead of replacing) where it had been advertised that the top end was redone using all new performance components.

Im now considering getting one shipped from Portland Engine rebuilders. If you read Bricktop's build thread, he got a stroker built by them and its done awesome. I called them and spoke with someone(his name escapes me now) for about half an hour about the ins and outs of the rebuild. I have talked to several local shops, but his knowledge and and attitude has convinced me to freight one across the country when I replace mine. Even with coast to coast freight, a 4.0 from them is still cheaper (and a ton better) than an ATK plus freight.

**** Advance. They always give me crap in there because Im young. Dont try and sell me some 400$ performance distributor when all I ask for is a new cap and rotor.

And if the Jeepspeed guys are getting screwed by ATK, Im sure they treat their regular customers just as bad.
 
#37 ·
Don't ever buy a radiator at Advanced Auto Parts. I work there part time as a parts delivery guy, and we have nothing but problems with our radiators.
I'd disagree (I work for a subsidiary of AA - API). I bought a radiator from 1-800-Radiator for my Durango. Spacing was bad on the mounts to the tune that my fan wore a perfect circle in the middle of the rad until it leaked. So we bought out one from Advance - no problems since.

I think radiators in general can be troublesome. Think about it, it's all 1-800 does, and theirs was wrong.
 
#38 ·
I work part-time at NAPA as a parts delivery guy and bought a radiator from 1-800-Radiator and have not had any problems with it. Just shows that you can get bad radiators from anyone.
 
#41 ·
Remember to put in a good word for Robert. I was really surprised to hear people talking about Advanced negatively. Here they are one of the better parts stores. I guess you are only as good as the employees that you are working with. Those pictures are unbeleivable. The fact that it was still running says a lot about the design on the 2.5 and 4.0L engines!
 
#42 ·
You must always be careful of purchasing online. You can never tell when you will be ripped off or it could be just a difficulty at sending the item or the money. Whatever car parts there are, in your case it is an engine, we should always be mindful.
The engine was bought locally. I dont know where your seeing that it was bought online.
 
#43 ·
The way I see it, looks like a bot [or a person paid to post links] that posted a link to a benz parts site which I'd say qualifies as a fail.
I google'd the bot username and came up with a bunch of other posts from other car sites today.
"That's some good price dropping. Interesting. Just wondering if they have more car parts available and like an online catalog where I can see the list of prices and the items' status as well."
 
#45 ·
Since this old post has been resurrected, and now I DO work for advance, I've had some first hand experience. For the past 6 months or so I've been the CPP at 2 stores. Here's what I've seen.

1. Yes, I'd say in general stay away from the Spartan engines. I've seen an engine purchased w/o a hole for the dipstick, the replacement had a cracked head, and the 3rd was finally correct.
2. If used is an option - tell the salesperson to check ADVANCE SALVAGE. It's right on the sales screen. Takes some time to verify availability, but if done THE CORRECT WAY, so does any engine purchase.
3. If the store has commercial delivery (or if you have retail guys up front who actually WANT to sell and engine) have them call RMP (I forget the number). Typically theirs are cheaper than Advance listed engines. Also the warranty is 3yr, 100k miles vs. the 3yr, 75k miles for AAP engines.

Now, since we're on the topic of warranty keep this in mind. As of a couple months ago, AAP no longer provides ANY labor warranty claims for DIY customers. Engine still covered, and you should be made to sign a sheet with the warranty details (just saying you have read them and understand).

Again - if used is OK, Salvage is your best bet. Yesterday I priced up a Civic 1.6L Vtec engine. Sales screen $3k, salvage $1300 w/ 74k miles. And RMP had no availability anywhere in the country. Now if I can just get the guy to buy the friggin thing....
 
#46 ·
Haha, just noticed this thread was started in 2011!

I have to say I've always had good luck with Advance, to the point that its the first place I go when I need stuff. Of course, I've never made any large purchases (engines, transmissions, etc), but the counter people have always been helpful. Now, a buddy of mine has had an interesting time getting a rear axle for his 4x4 Chevrolet compact truck. He bought the truck off CraigsList, and the rearend went out within a week of owning it. He bought a used replacement axle through Advance, and it started roaring itself within a week. Advance warrantied it, and sent another used replacement. Being the smart guy he is, they pulled the pumpkin cover when it was drop shipped and found just about enough metal chunks/shavings to build another gear set! Needless to say, he is awaiting another rearend!!
 
#47 ·
advanced and autozone are low on the list of places i go for parts. pick n pull is high. orielly's is the first place for normal wear and tear items because its close and the guys are jeep guys. unfortunately, they never have starters or alternators for my jeep since its an 87 with automatic, air conditioning, and the reverse rotation waterpump. it took a bunch of tries to get that one right with mine being a stroker and having a 98 block
 
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