Interstate Batteries Launches Exclusive Partnership with Advance Auto Parts

My problem with Advance is as follows:

CarQuest was a great supplier with good parts, good pricing, knowledgeable staff and a clear indication that we, the professional repair industry, came before the errant walk in customer off the street. Advance partially took that away since their acquisition of CQ. I still deal with CQ but it is not the same and I feel that I am in bed with the enemy. Advance wants and needs all of us but still caters to the general public. Their pricing appears good when looking at profit margin until you take the time to compare and find out that they inflate both the cost and list prices above and beyond dealer pricing in many cases. My area is flooded with Advance radio spots touting free code checking, free electrical system testing, free battery installs and free wiper blade installation. Advance is no longer my supplier but instead they have knowingingly taken on the role of becoming my competition. When my competition offers free services and sells parts to walk in customers at or near my cost it becomes a major concern. Do yourself a favor and spend time reviewing and comparing cost and list pricing. To all of you guys that are Interstate dealers (include me in that list) - the radio spots offering free install of Interstate batteries at or near our cost is right around the corner. 

I have switched to Factory Motor Parts. They sell the same exide product that interstate is switching to. They give me 5 years free replacement and she menu priced me at $90.00 across the board. I love that I can offer my customers the 5 year free replacement. 

I switched away from Interstate a few years ago when they affiliated with Costco.  It really was no longer a "Premium Product" and I noticed our warranty rate increasing.  Interstate also switched us to a different servicing warehouse and their "service" was horrible.  Just based on what I was seeing, I thought Interstate might have cheapened their product and so I moved on.  Now stocking NAPA (Autocare Center) and Delco (also a PSC) batteries.  Warranted one of each company's battery in the last three years; probably eight Interstates in old customer's cars.  Getting 25% mark-up and .3 - .5 labor depending on how much stuff is in the way.  Plus a .5 Electrical System Test.  Sold a lot of these the last two or three weeks.  Three cars in the shop on slow chargers over the weekend!

On 12/18/2017 at 8:53 AM, JimO said:

My problem with Advance is as follows:

CarQuest was a great supplier with good parts, good pricing, knowledgeable staff and a clear indication that we, the professional repair industry, came before the errant walk in customer off the street. Advance partially took that away since their acquisition of CQ. I still deal with CQ but it is not the same and I feel that I am in bed with the enemy. Advance wants and needs all of us but still caters to the general public. Their pricing appears good when looking at profit margin until you take the time to compare and find out that they inflate both the cost and list prices above and beyond dealer pricing in many cases. My area is flooded with Advance radio spots touting free code checking, free electrical system testing, free battery installs and free wiper blade installation. Advance is no longer my supplier but instead they have knowingingly taken on the role of becoming my competition. When my competition offers free services and sells parts to walk in customers at or near my cost it becomes a major concern. Do yourself a favor and spend time reviewing and comparing cost and list pricing. To all of you guys that are Interstate dealers (include me in that list) - the radio spots offering free install of Interstate batteries at or near our cost is right around the corner. 

Spot on

On 1/7/2018 at 11:44 AM, stvstbsvc said:

I switched away from Interstate a few years ago when they affiliated with Costco.  It really was no longer a "Premium Product" and I noticed our warranty rate increasing.  Interstate also switched us to a different servicing warehouse and their "service" was horrible.  Just based on what I was seeing, I thought Interstate might have cheapened their product and so I moved on.  Now stocking NAPA (Autocare Center) and Delco (also a PSC) batteries.  Warranted one of each company's battery in the last three years; probably eight Interstates in old customer's cars.  Getting 25% mark-up and .3 - .5 labor depending on how much stuff is in the way.  Plus a .5 Electrical System Test.  Sold a lot of these the last two or three weeks.  Three cars in the shop on slow chargers over the weekend!

I felt Interstate quality tanked in the last 4 years of so as well. The warranty decreased on them, pro rate periods are shorter than they used to be. Failures went though the roof the last year I was selling them.

I have switched from interstate to Napa batteries upon reading the topic of this post. No corporation has devalued automotive technicians more than Advance. Now that the true Christians that run Interstate battery have made a deal with auto repairs Satan, they can rot in hell.

Interstate has removed their batteries and delivered a final screwing. We are being charged for 11 batteries when our sales in that period were 5. According to them this is possible because some of them had not been restocked. I have no way to prove it. My fault. Watch your counts.