O'Reilly Auto Parts ripoff Intentionally misleading customers about warranties and not honoring returns, I won't go there again. Dallas Texas

This is a true and terrible story about a whole string of O'Reilly Auto Parts Stores in the Dallas area. I buy a lot of parts and work on lots of cars, so when a new O'Rielly's opened very near me I made it my regular store for nearly two years. But I won't go there again.

This is what they do. If you buy a part that has a warranty, anything from tools to fan clutches, they recite this question: "Can I get your phone number for warranty information, in case you should lose your receipt". When you give it to them, they punch a few butons, finish the sale, and hand you a reciept.

Here is the catch: There is no phone number on your reciept, they cleared it from the computer or never enter it at all, and when you go back with a bad part or tool, they will have no record of the sale. YOU WILL NEED YOUR RECEIPT, despite what they tell you about their fancy computer systems!

On the other hand if you by some fuses, cleaners, or any other stuff that does not have a warranty, they will still ask for your number. Only now when you get a receipt, your name and phone number is printed right on it on the upper right corner.

I have studied this practice of theirs for at least two years, after my first incident when I had purchased a battery and a Starter with a lifetime warranty. Less than a year later the starter died. Initially I could not find my receipt, but wasn't concerned since I "was in the system". When I went in and gave them my phone number, there was no history of that purchase, only records for cheap supplies I'd bought over the previous year. They insisted I must not have bought it there, and suggested that I was confused and should try Autozone!

Frustrated, I went home and searched for and found my reciept. That is when I started to notice the lack of phone numbers on some of my receipts. All purchases that included warranty items in the sale were without my name and number, while all the others had my name and phone number. They then reluctantly replaced the starter. But it does not end there.

I once went in to get a fan clutch replaced under warranty. Knowing they liked to play games, I took the part and my receipt with me, but kept it in my pocket until I had them bring up a new part from the back. Then I gave them my receipt. The guy helping me froze in his tracks, turned to his manager and began speaking to him in Spanish, though they both spoke English quite well untill then. Luckily I hadn't forgotten my 4 years of spanish! The manager asked him why he had pulled the part, and said he should have told me that they did not have any and I would need to go to another store. The younger salesman replied, in spanish, that I had asked for the part and did not mention the warranty until the part was in my hand. The manager was upset, and it was with me as much as his employee. I was Shocked! So I stopped going to that location.

When I started dealing with locations at Josey Lane in Carrolton and on Samuell Boulevard in east Dallas, I found they were doing the exact same thing!

I am disgusted with them, and their products as well. I have considered filing a class action suit against them for attempting to screw the public with thier lies and misrepresentation of their policy. It is a wide spread problem in this area, and suspect regional managment is well aware and perhaps promoting this type of practice. So ALWAYS keep your receipts safe.

Screw these guys, Autozone isn't much better. Pay a visit to your local independent autoparts house. In Dallas try UPEX on Elm Street, there good guys who have found some hard to find parts for me and at a great price.

Chris
Dallas, Texas
U.S.A.