super autobacs/shops in general...

[sw20>>s14]

so i head down to 'doh cal for the sole purpose of going to super autobacs. after all the stories i have heard, i was looking forward to going. "some say, you can build a car in autobacs!" im thinking wow, okay, ill go. get there and im like, cool, it looks pretty cool and big. got a cefiro drift car outside, cool. go in... :eek2: wtf is this? all i see is a bunch of air fresheners and baby seats. walk around more and look at some stuff. nice work rims, indivia exhausts, bride and recaro seats...whats the big deal? go to the suspension section and see the coilovers i want (tanabe pro ss). maybe theyre prices are cool. so i wait to be helped. cant help but notice that all the doods have a little "why am i here looking up prices for your 'probably not gonna buy it ass'?" so i wait and the guy greets me and i tell him if he can look up the coilovers. he types stuff into the calculator and says its gonna be about 11 something. i think, not bad. then i say out the door right? he goes (kind of snobby voice scoffing) "of course not, tax isnt included, of course theres tax. i thought the calculator part included tax...well anyways, how much OTD? 12 something. so i figure, extra hundred just to see it and take it home? rather buy it online...

basically, super autobacs was my last hope in shops. ive been to shops,but have never really bought anything big. so do you guys go to shops often and buy stuff. is it me, or does it seem a lot easier and cheaper ordering online? its not like i dont want to support the shops, but my situation doesnt really permit me to. so for the guys that dont know the shop owner's baby mama's, dogwalker's, grandma's, nurse's, babysitter's, boyfriend and can get a huge discount. do you even bother buying it there or online? just wondering

btw, i do know about the previous post about a week ago saying that the auto industry sux. and reading this, you might think that im the enemy, but read my post on that thread and youll understand that im not a tokin' ingrate lowballer...

[Andrew Bohan]

i get 99% of my stuff online. since most shops don't have what i want in stock, it usually it takes just as long for me to get it online as it would to have a shop order it. then i'd have to go get it too. and pay tax. if it's an expensive item, tax will usually be more than shipping. so yeah..

[NZO]

Could have asked most anyone and they would have told you autobacs sucks. Oh well at least now youre just as disappointed as the rest of us...

[TK]

frankly, i'm surprised autobacs is still in business with the prices they charge... on some items, they're charging more then msrp!!!

[kazuo]

Autobacs sucks.

Superior Nissan's parts dept > Autobacs

And that's just sad.

[HyperTek]

Super Auto Hype! haha yah that place kinda sucks.. tho I like upstairs looking at the books and option videos or model car section.. they got good model cars by the way...

I only go to shops if I know what I want, cuz I will have money and just go to pick up what I want... like SP Engineering, Superior Nissan in La Puente, etc... places that dont have any type of showroom, but are direct distributers..

[s13panda2004]

Oh man.. You drove all the way from the Bay area just so you can shop AutoBacs. What were you thinking? Autobacs is like the Pep Boys of Japan. Sure they have some nice stuff, but like the stealership, you better bring your own anal lube.

The best place to buy stuff is definately online. On forums such as this and on eBay. Sure ebay is a little risky, too many fake stuff floating around, but if you do your research and know you're stuff, there are some real good deals underneath all that crap. Also going to meets is a nice place to network with people who might be able to get you the hook-ups.

[Heartwork]

that place is trash....
i heard even in Japan its trash, over priced, and never have anything good either...they only display the nice stuff but never actually have the stuff in stock....


ont he other hand, theres going to be an UP GARAGE!!!!! in socal....this one actually sounds promising because they will actually carry USED stuff from JAPAN, not used shit from the USA cause no one has good shit used.....

[WanganRunner]

There's seriously going to be an Up Garage?

I was going to contact Up Garage in Japan and offer to buy a big chunk of their inventory, bring over a couple of containers, and ebay it, but I hadn't gotten my japanese-speaking friend to really open up a dialogue with them yet....

[sw20>>s14]

ont he other hand, theres going to be an UP GARAGE!!!!! in socal....this one actually sounds promising because they will actually carry USED stuff from JAPAN, not used shit from the USA cause no one has good shit used.....

ill drive down again for that...

[ZK]

Oh man.. You drove all the way from the Bay area just so you can shop AutoBacs. What were you thinking? Autobacs is like the Pep Boys of Japan. Sure they have some nice stuff, but like the stealership, you better bring your own anal lube.

The best place to buy stuff is definately online. On forums such as this and on eBay. Sure ebay is a little risky, too many fake stuff floating around, but if you do your research and know you're stuff, there are some real good deals underneath all that crap. Also going to meets is a nice place to network with people who might be able to get you the hook-ups.

I went down from the bay area a few years ago to see Autobacs when they opened.

Yeah, Autobacs is like Japanese Kragen/PepBoys/Autozone. I went to one in Osaka and in Taiwan and its the same stuff... except the Taiwan one was selling knock off everything. Like instead of Buddy Club P1 wheels, they had E1 wheels, AVA instread of AVS rims, Spoom instead of Spoon, Nizmo instead of Nismo etc. Here's the pics I had from the Taiwan Autobacs. http://oiishi.150m.com/taiwanautobacs/

Cool to pick up some accessory here and there but if you are looking for the best price on performance parts, its not the place to go.

[azn_romeox]

Wow, i thought i'd take a trip down to cali and stop by autobacs, probably will but not having high expectations now.


I still try to support the local guys, most of the big items actually i do buy locally. Reason why, it supports the guys i know, and if i have a problem, their the first to hear about it. I work where customer support is big so i like that i guess.

[azn_romeox]

There's seriously going to be an Up Garage?

I was going to contact Up Garage in Japan and offer to buy a big chunk of their inventory, bring over a couple of containers, and ebay it, but I hadn't gotten my japanese-speaking friend to really open up a dialogue with them yet....

A friends shop here purchases misc parts as well as clips from japan. Parts from UP GARAGE. And clips from different venders. All I can say as its a good business if you know what sells, and thats pretty much anything. And up garage is definatelly not going to discount for purchasing in bulk. There prices are so cheap compared to the us market it outweighs the difference. So expect to pay $10-15k for a 25ft container. Its an expensive business

[XxJaPxOxNeEs23xX]

i thought super autobacs in japan were nice. the people working there were real nice nd stuff

[sw20>>s14]

I went down from the bay area a few years ago to see Autobacs when they opened.

Yeah, Autobacs is like Japanese Kragen/PepBoys/Autozone. I went to one in Osaka and in Taiwan and its the same stuff... except the Taiwan one was selling knock off everything. Like instead of Buddy Club P1 wheels, they had E1 wheels, AVA instread of AVS rims, Spoom instead of Spoon, Nizmo instead of Nismo etc. Here's the pics I had from the Taiwan Autobacs. http://oiishi.150m.com/taiwanautobacs/

Cool to pick up some accessory here and there but if you are looking for the best price on performance parts, its not the place to go.

dood, the ones in taiwan look so hoopty judging from your pics...its weird because before i went i looked up autobacs on line. it turns out that theres one in us, one in china, a few in japan, and like 8 or 9 in taiwan. looks like everybody and their moms are outsourcing now... :fawk2: kinda lost respect for the autobacs nsx...awww...how can i stay mad at that cutie, i take it back