Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[Dante]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[EV Dan]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

[Firm]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

Or PartSource 

[OliverD]

Napa is down the street from my office and the closest Canadian Tire is an absolute s***hole. Seriously an embarrassment. Firm, can you send someone down here to whip them into shape? 

[blur911]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

Or PartSource 

I often go to PartSource, but there website is just so bad.   Usually can't find anything  on it, just go there and ask if they have it.   Last week I needed an alternator belt for the Subaru, it's not listed in belts and hoses for that car, but they have it.   $40 bucks too, you'd think it was Loblaws

[Dante]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

Gotcha.... But does anyone actually buy car parts from Canadian Tires these days? Maybe tires, batteries, oil, filters, wipers and such....sure, but actual parts?

[JohnnyMac]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

Gotcha.... But does anyone actually buy car parts from Canadian Tires these days? Maybe tires, batteries, oil, filters, wipers and such....sure, but actual parts?

The few times I've ever bought parts from places outside of the dealer, I typically call all the local parts places and that includes Canadian Tire.  That being said, CT rarely has what I want in stock and is mostly more expensive to boot.

[Firm]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

Gotcha.... But does anyone actually buy car parts from Canadian Tires these days? Maybe tires, batteries, oil, filters, wipers and such....sure, but actual parts?

Depends on the area, here in the GTA where there are tons of dedicated parts houses, it's largely the stuff you cited, plus brakes and a few struts, a lot of which is installed at CT as well.  In some smaller towns though, CT is the only B&M place to get parts, so the mix of stuff going through those stores is very different.

PartSource is my go-to when I need stuff locally, most of them stock pretty deep and you're in/out a lot quicker than CT.

[Firm]

Napa is down the street from my office and the closest Canadian Tire is an absolute s***hole. Seriously an embarrassment. Firm, can you send someone down here to whip them into shape? 

The joys of a franchise dealer model    In my experience the vast majority of them take a ton of pride in their store, but there's always exceptions, which sucks.

[OliverD]

Napa is down the street from my office and the closest Canadian Tire is an absolute s***hole. Seriously an embarrassment. Firm, can you send someone down here to whip them into shape? 

The joys of a franchise dealer model    In my experience the vast majority of them take a ton of pride in their store, but there's always exceptions, which sucks.

Yeah, the store on the other side of town is infinitely better so I'll usually go there even if it is a bit out of the way.

[Dante]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

Gotcha.... But does anyone actually buy car parts from Canadian Tires these days? Maybe tires, batteries, oil, filters, wipers and such....sure, but actual parts?

Depends on the area, here in the GTA where there are tons of dedicated parts houses, it's largely the stuff you cited, plus brakes and a few struts, a lot of which is installed at CT as well.  In some smaller towns though, CT is the only B&M place to get parts, so the mix of stuff going through those stores is very different.

PartSource is my go-to when I need stuff locally, most of them stock pretty deep and you're in/out a lot quicker than CT.

Yeah, it makes sense. I did/do use nearby PartSource and even CT for general use items (e.g. bulbs) or sometimes items I know there is no better alternative anyway (e.g. reman calipers for Mitsu when I needed it right away).

I guess we are spoiled here (GTA) for choices. For FGC cars I have EuroDNA 15 min from my place and can pick up parts within the hour from the online order - if in stock and within business hours, so not much different from the B&M places.
 

[blur911]

Yeah, it makes sense. I did/do use nearby PartSource and even CT for general use items (e.g. bulbs) or sometimes items I know there is no better alternative anyway (e.g. reman calipers for Mitsu when I needed it right away).

Can't remember what bulb it was that I bought, but it cost about 3 times as much at CT vs NAPA

[rrocket]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

Gotcha.... But does anyone actually buy car parts from Canadian Tires these days? Maybe tires, batteries, oil, filters, wipers and such....sure, but actual parts?

If it's an emergency and in stock? Sure.

If it can wait a couple days or so...some online place.

Canadian Tire didn't even stock the wipers for my Prius!

[EV Dan]

Been running on five cylinders for the last couple days and couldn't get an appointment at my mechanic until Monday so on the way home from work I grabbed a coil pack and spark plug from Napa. Headed to my buddy's house down the road to use his garage after dinner and it turns out the coil pack was just loose. Car is back to running smoothly.

Good deal  Except for shopping at Napa

For spark plugs and coils it's OK - NGK plugs and Bosch coils (I assume) are pretty much available everywhere....

[Ahem] Firm is probably saying a Canadian Tire store should have been on top of your list 

Gotcha.... But does anyone actually buy car parts from Canadian Tires these days? Maybe tires, batteries, oil, filters, wipers and such....sure, but actual parts?

If it's an emergency and in stock? Sure.

If it can wait a couple days or so...some online place.

Canadian Tire didn't even stock the wipers for my Prius!

They prolly did, just had no idea what a Prius Prime was 

[2JDM]

Took it for a drive. The hydraulic steering on the BMW is phenomenal - a nice heavy weight and excellent feel. The suspension tuning is a perfect balance of firmness and comfort.
 
I'm thinking of selling her in the spring. It will be sad day. 

[Dante]

Took it for a drive. The hydraulic steering on the BMW is phenomenal - a nice heavy weight and excellent feel. The suspension tuning is a perfect balance of firmness and comfort.
 
I'm thinking of selling her in the spring. It will be sad day. 

Why sell it if you like it? You won't be able to buy anything like that newer and for reasonable $$$.

[valuator]

Took it for a drive. The hydraulic steering on the BMW is phenomenal - a nice heavy weight and excellent feel. The suspension tuning is a perfect balance of firmness and comfort.
 
I'm thinking of selling her in the spring. It will be sad day. 

Why sell it if you like it? You won't be able to buy anything like that newer and for reasonable $$$.

Agreed. Speaking from experience, I sold my 2008 back in 2011 and regretted it ever since.  Hence my re-purchase of a 2012 a while back.

[bridgecity]

Rolled passed 240k km’s on the Tundra this week. I think the most impressive part is that all suspension and steering components are original. I haven’t been easy on this thing (used to tow an RV regularly down SK broken pavement highways) and the steering and suspension still feels solid. No clunks/rattles whatsoever.

[ArticSteve]

They were solid vehicles.  New versions are a whole different kettle of fish.

[Agiledood]

well, it's not something I did to my car, but my wonderful child did.