National Automotive Parts Association / NAPA Auto Parts review: Defective Parts, Horrendous Customer Service ( 3 comments)

When my alternator went bad last year, we went to Napa to get a replacement. We purchased it, took it home, put it in the car... only to discover they gave us a defective alternator that didn't work. We were able to drive the car just long enough to get to Napa and have them test it and verify that it was defective and couldn't run the car. They traded it out for a different one... And we went through this entire processes ANOTHER time before the third alternator they gave us finally worked.

Less than a year later, that third alternator they gave us goes bad. We drove the car to Napa today, and had them test it, and they verified that it was defective and needed replacing. Since I have a three year warranty, they told us they would replace it since they had the parts in stock if we brought them the core. So my boyfriend takes the car home, pulls the alternator out, and gets a ride to Napa to exchange the alternator. Here's where the real fun starts.

Jason, the employee at Napa who had tested the car and told them they had the part, says they don't actually have the part... after we've already taken the alternator out and brought it in. He tells us that we either have to wait until Tuesday to get a replacement, or drive out to Lynden ourselves.

Since my boyfriend was the one who took the part in, I gave them a call to see what could be done. I explained that it wasn't this one time that I'd had a bad alternator - that this would be the THIRD bad alternator that Napa has given us. He told me, and I quote, "Well, I guess you just have bad luck." and hung up on me, refusing to help out in any way.

I will never go to Napa again after this three year warranty is up. I would rather drive somewhere else that's farther away where customers are actually valued. I seriously urge anyone reading this to go somewhere else, unless you want to be given defective parts that aren't tested before you put them in your car, and unless you want the rudest and most unhelpful employee who hangs up on customers to help you. If I didn't have someone who was able to replace the alternator free of charge, I would be out HUNDREDS of dollars due to Napa's defective parts.

Walmart has better customer service than this awful store.