Your thoughts on Duralast by AutoZone?

No.11

10 Year Member
Oct 13, 2009
614
9
38
Los Angeles
I recently bought both a battery and a starter from Duralast. Both were Duralast gold. I also have a pair of jack stands and a 2 ton hydraulic jack from them.

What is your opinion on the Duralast brand? Is it worth the money saved or should I stop being cheap and just get a better part from somewhere like AmericanMuscle or LRS?

I need a new water pump.
 
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You get what you pay for. Their brake pads suck ass, I worked for GM service for a while and they admitted that about 1/10 sets of pads are defective.

I'm sure others will have their own opinions
 
duralast batteries have always done me well. i have a duralast 3g alt right now and its been good so far. havent had too much of an issue with the brakes either, but i also dont do any real hard braking unless some dumbass cuts me off.
 
The thing you need to look at and take advantage of from parts stores is their warranties. I have worked at advance auto parts for 4 years, still work there now, and I know how these parts stores work. Dont be afraid to buy stuff at part stores but ALWAYS make copies of your receipts and get the part the has the LONGEST warranty. Parts like water pumps, radiator's, starters should all have lifetime warranty. It is a pain in the ass to change these things, but buying them from a part store should last you for years and when you do need to replace them you will have a copy of your receipt that isn't faded and it will be free. Working at these parts stores I pretty much have a lifetime warranty on everything I get from there, but if you talk to someone who has worked there for a while and actually knows what they are talking about you will be surprised at the amount of parts you can get from one of these stores. Just knowing parts and numbers I buy 90% of my parts through my store 20% off and with a lifetime warranty. If you guys are taking about brake pads, NEVER buy the store brand pads, I have heard HORROR stories about cheap pads, but advance auto parts carries Wagner pads which are pretty much top of the line. IMO its just not smart to buy parts that you know you are going to have to change a couple of years online because you are going to pay more and wait longer to get them replaced.
 
It depends on what you buy.

Brake pads suck, I had them on my Explorer and they dusted like no other.

I bought a new starter solenoid for the Mustang from them and barely lasted a month.

Idk it just depends on what you are getting I guess.
 
I don't mind buying battery from auto part chain. But with limit on time,tools and working space. I rather let other do the works for me. Trying to find a speed shop in the area now that will put in the parts I bring in.
 
I bought duralast rotors for my 05 F150 and they were the biggest pieces of crap I have ever seen. The exciter ring was not pressed on correctly, so it caused my abs system to malfunction. I took them back to the store and got an exchange and guess what? This set was bad too. I finally told them to take their made in CHINA crap and shove it where the sun don't shine.

I finally came to my senses and went to napa to get rotors. Yes, I paid more money but the quality was better and it had MADE IN THE U.S.A. on the front of the box.
 
I have Bosch premium batteries in my wifes tahoe my suburban and my stang swear by em.............my Bosch in my stang i bought 5/07 well it took a crap on me 2 days ago so i brought it to Pep boys yesterday with my reciept put it on the counter told the manager fix it or replace it he went over and pulled a new one off shelf fixed my reciept so i have 3 more years for free replacement and 96 months prorated warranty without even testing my battery. I was gonna get a optima red top battery when the last one died really just for looks but how could i when i get a dam good battery for free with that warranty:shrug: they get my vote they go for around 90 bucks:nice:
 
i actually used to work at autozone, for a couple years. Duralast batteries are made by Johnson Controls, which i personally think are the best batteries. Johnson Controls makes Interstate Batteries, DieHard, Motorcraft, and a few others as well. They own Optima batteries too. as far as hard parts go (waterpumps, starters, etc., like MOB said, just get the ones that come with a lifetime warranty. Usually will last a while and when the do go, you can get another one. the electronics are reboxed Wells products, reason being why half the time they come in Duralast boxes and the other half Wells boxes. those are going to be hit or miss (usually hit though), and the ratio of them being bad is only high because they make so many of them. i personally have had no problems with autozone's brakes but they are really dusty. if that bothers you, spring for a more expensive set somewhere.
 
Alright so I'll get the water pump from Auto Zone then. Yeah the lifetime warranty is what really got me interested. So, what about tools? Quality made?

if you get the duralast brand tools, they're okay, but i'd still spring for at least some craftsman tools myself.

duralast jacks SUCK. we had them coming back completely bent from collapsing under the weight of the car multiple times. i was surprised no one ever got hurt. then again, iirc, i think the people who brought them back were trying to use the smaller one on trucks...
 
If you want to get brake pads from an auto store, look into the Duralast Gold CMAX brake pads. They are ceramic, come with any pad clips or hardware and the lube for guide pins and what not. They also have a multi layer shim on the back of them with the outer layer being nitrile rubber, so they are quiet. I put a set on my 04 GT when I put my drilled and slotted rotors on and they have been great. Very little dust.

Just don't buy cheap **** and you'll be okay.
 
I have Bosch premium batteries in my wifes tahoe my suburban and my stang swear by em.............my Bosch in my stang i bought 5/07 well it took a crap on me 2 days ago so i brought it to Pep boys yesterday with my reciept put it on the counter told the manager fix it or replace it he went over and pulled a new one off shelf fixed my reciept so i have 3 more years for free replacement and 96 months prorated warranty without even testing my battery. I was gonna get a optima red top battery when the last one died really just for looks but how could i when i get a dam good battery for free with that warranty:shrug: they get my vote they go for around 90 bucks:nice:

autozone did the same for me with my duralast battery. :D
 
I had a Autozone Battery in my Mustang for more than 11 Years, I pulled it out this past Spring and gave it to my Neighbor and it still works.

Now that is absolutely amazing I must say for any battery. I change out about 4-5 batteries a day at my work and most come back after 2-4 years, even stock batteries I see a lot of late 2000 cars with factory batteries coming in. Even most Optimas last around 7-8 years.
 
I am a Diehard gold person myself personally. I've had great luck with them. Never needed to jump start any of my cars and i would regularly go 2 weeks or so without starting my stang and it would fire right up.