I have both less than five miles from my home.

Of course, there are also Autozone and O'Reily's nearby, but I'm looking at doing the front brakes on an F350 crew cab long bed. That's a big truck and I don't want to worry when towing a trailer and facing a 7% downhill grade at freeway speeds.

So what do you guys think, is NAPA better than Carquest, or should I just flip a coin?

Neither.

I always went to my local NAPA.  One of the parts guys there was on top of his game.  Really new his shit and was very helpful.  Sadly that store closed this summer.

If you don't need the parts immediately, I second Rockauto.
Otherwise, I generally go to NAPA, I rarely have issues with their parts.
Carquest doesn't have many stores in Utah, so I don't have anything against them, just no experience.

Well, I checked out rockauto and found exactly what I need. Then I followed up by calling my local Napa and Carquest to check prices and availability, Napa has it all and Carquest guarantees it by 3pm. Even with local tax, I'm saving money by skipping on the shipping fees from rockauto. Front hub/rotor combos on a one ton truck are pretty damn heavy.

I want to do the brakes on Friday for a trip this weekend, so I wouldn't get the parts in time from rockauto anyway.

Looks like I"ll be hitting up Napa as they have Raybestos parts instead of no-name crap, and it's in stock.

I have neither NAPA or Carquest in my area but we have just about every other national parts stores (Pep Boy, O'Reillys, Advance Auto, Autozone) and 2 semi local (Symth's Parts Plus and KOI Auto).

Rockauto is my first choice. If I have to buy local, then it depends on what it is that I need and who has what in stock for what price? I use to love Bosch Batteries (not so much any more) and Pep Boys was the only place that carried them. I like Wix filters (actual Wix brand, not rebranded) and Parts Plus is the only one who carries them. The only place I avoid like the plague is Autozone. Nothing I have even bought from azone has ever lasted. I remember one time years back having to go through 3 of their starters before getting one that actually worked. Fuck Azone

Never
Any
Parts
Available

Our local NAPA, two different versions/owners sucked ass.  The counter guys at the first version were lazy fucks that just wanted to sit on their ass and drink coffee all day.

The second  time around it was bought buy a guy that had a VW specific shop.........  He stocked any VW Audi part you can imagine, but his domestic inventory was sad.

They are both out of business now.  Carquest has been awesome for us, the guys know their shit, and anything they don't have will usually be there the next day.  And they also let me dig through the stock to find "just make it work" types of things.

NAPA is living on their old reputation of carrying quality parts.  I was looking for bearing hubs for an old Olds Silhouette van I had once. $75 each at AutoZone. $150 each at NAPA.  Same exact brand, part number.  I asked the counter jockey why his was 2X as much as AutoZone. "Cause ours are better!"  No dumbass, the same.
CarQuest prices are also 3 to 4 times higher.  But I've paid the price once since they had it then and there.
Advance shit won't last 6 weeks until it needs to be "warrantied".  I no longer buy parts from Advanced unless it is a name brand other than theirs.  I had a rash of shit going bad and finally said fuck them!  Bad machining on water pump surfaces that wouldn't hold a gasket for a week, alternators lasting only a week or bad straight out of the box, A/C lines with schrader valves that don't work after charging the system, brake boosters lasting only 5 or 6 weeks, I'm done.  
O'Reilly's so far has been good to me.  I've only had one Alternator go bad.

I like NAPA for general parts.  They don't carry as much retail stock in their showroom as an O'Reilly, Advance, Pep Boys, etc.. might.  But the NAPA near my house has had the parts in stock when I needed them.

Look up parts on RockAuto, buy parts from Amazon.

Of the two you mentioned, probably NAPA. I hate reboxed parts though.

 

RockAuto for when I have time to wait.






AdvanceAuto and AutoZone never. Like literally never. Like never ever. Ever.


 

1) Rock Auto - they have different grades and are priced cheaper than any local auto parts store.
2) NAPA - seem to have good quality parts when you need something asap.
3) Oreillys - 5 minutes from my house so it is convenient to use, stay away from their new alternators or starters unless you want practice replacing them yearly.



8) CARQUEST - I rarely hear English spoken at this store near me. Use them for auto paint since they carry Akzo Nobel

CARQUEST, forget the rest!  

Rock auto if I can wait if not NAPA

This x10.

NAPA is just as guilty as the rest of them when it comes to shitty Chinese parts. I bought rotors for my Suburban from the local NAPA a few years ago and to go thru several boxes of rotors before I could find a pair that weren't made in China. They were all the same part number, identical packaging, just different stamps on the outside of the boxes stating country of origin.

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I've never been inside a Carquest, and prefer NAPA.  The counter guys always seem to be a little more car savvy, but it drives me absolutely nuts that I have to ask the price of everything...nothing I'm interested in ever has a price marked.  Is that just a local thing, or is it like this all over?

 
That's what I usually do, too.  I used to order more stuff from Rockauto, but their shipping prices are getting insane.  Plus you can't beat Amazon Prime shipping.

Neither.

For GM factory AC Delco parts at aftermarket level discounted prices, I look up the GM part number and input it into Amazon and boom, you get factory parts at right below GM employee level pricing.  Plus no tax and free shipping.

used to be, still is in a lot of places and I absolutely hate it!  It's been a couple decades now, but I took over running a NAPA store that was that way and the first thing I did was start printing labels with prices and you know what? a LOT of stuff that hadn't been moving started to go.
Nobody wants to just ask a bunch of questions about prices and the counter guys usually are busy with other things.....it's not just autoparts either; I went into a Gander Mountain that had a large table with boxes of Bullets and a sign with some percentage off, but not a single one had a price....I don't know about you, but I don't want to take a bunch of boxes up there only to find out they were 20% off an already highly inflated retail price that wouldn't be a bargain at half.....told 'em about it too! their answer: Well we can tell you a the register how much it is; yea, I know, but that's not the point.  

Rockauto takes/took me a bit of time to figure out how they work....kinda like Amazon, but after a few times you get the hang of it.
Damn near everything is made in China or Asia: sometimes you get good stuff, other times they just get you.
Unitized Wheel Bearings: On some things they're a great idea, others they're engineered to fail, aggravating mother fuckers...My Impala has had so many of them (and yes I read the instructions and use a certified & calibrated Torque wrench) I can change one start to finish in about 15 minutes.  
Generally I stick with NAPA unless I really need something after five or on weekends after they've closed.

Depending on who is at the counter, dipshits could be at anyone.  Most of my parts currently coming from Amazon. Have done one day shipping, most other places special order in 2-3 days.

I will say the Napa in my area is sloooooooow on ordered parts. Call on Friday, say they can have it by Tuesday. Call Oreillys on Friday, get the part Saturday before noon. Flex plate for a 727 sb mopar. Nothing special but Napa lost some business. And that wasn't the only lost sale from me because of the long part wait. If they don't have it in stock, I go elsewhere.