this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2026
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This isn't just google; it's a new grift using the internet overall. I look something up online at the grocery store website, they put a lot of focus on you should order online and pick it up. I go to the store and it's cheaper than the online price for the same store. We're all getting played.
Groceries I haven't checked out because I just go out and buy food when I need food, delivery costs more money than moving my ass for a kilometer, but for other things, in-person stores are still more expensive than online-only. If I want oil, filters, etc for cars, it's twice as much in physical stores compared to online.
I think it really depends on what you're getting. For groceries, I generally only buy the half off stuff. Parts are interesting because unless you know exactly what to get, you might end up running in circles. Both vehicles I have are 1998 engines, yet one is a 2000 and one is 2003. It was fun to figure out what serpentine belt I needed.
Another example, manufacturer sells a part for a steam table to regulate the temperature. It was $120 for one part. Alright so I buy one for a customer. Then I did some research. Bought 8 from the UK for the price of one shipped to the US.
I've been sold the wrong serpentine belt once or twice from an in-person store, never from an online catalogue though.
I cross-reference the OEM parts catalogue and if necessary, images of the part being replaced to the factory repair manual. 99% of the time, parts by VIN are accurate in the OE catalogue, but occasionally someone has retrofitted some newer or older part in a pinch, in which case the parts store guy is just about useless anyway. E.g my car doesn't have the sump drain plug it should, meaning someone has changed the oil pan for a slightly older one. My engine was in production from 2003 through 2008 in that exact configuration and mine's a 2007, so a few things had already been revised in that time (the engine got a bigger update in 2008, at which point it got a new engine code)
I had to get the model number off of the old belt to get the correct belt. That's how I learned I have a 1998 engine in a 2003 frame.