Complaint Review: Auto Zone

Perhaps the employee who helped you concluded that the battery she gave you was the right one based on the information the computer gave her. AUTOzone is an AUTO PARTS store meaning that we primarily sell AUTO PARTS. We do have parts for other kinds of vehicles, however on a limited basis. If the battery that was sold to you was the only one shown in the system to be compatible with your motorbike, then it was logical and reasonable for her to conclude that that battery was indeed the battery you needed. Computer database information does tend to be wrong at times but that is not the fault of the employee(s). The damage sustained to your bike is ultimately your fault as you (the owner of your bike) had a responsibility upon the purchase, and installation of, the battery to make sure it was the correct battery and that it was correctly installed. You neglected your responsibility as YOU installed YOUR battery on YOUR bike. Autozone has a disclaimer that mentions that they are not liable for the improper installation of any part(s), so long as an Autozone employee does not install it. In the event of an improper installation by anyone other than an Autozone employee, a warranty of any kind will not honored, and they have the right to do that. You may believe that Autozone should be held liable for the damages to your bike, but they cannot due to the legal disclaimer that is in place. While certain Autozone employees may have great mechanical knowledge in terms vehicles, we are NOT mechanics by trade, occupation, or other means. Therefore, the only person who knows the customer's vehicle as well as the customer is, well, the customer. Go figure, right? So as the owner of your bike, it is your duty and responsibility to know your bike. As parts sales(wo)men (again, not mechanics), we are there to simply assist you in obtaining parts for your vehicle. I advise you to start seeing an ASE trained/certified motorbike technician/mechanic for any and all future repairs, even for something so simple as a battery change or, perhaps, even a lightbulb change. If you can't afford a mechanic, perhaps you should buy some good shoes and start walking everywhere. Just make sure you buy the right shoes for your feet and that you put the correct shoe on the correct foot. If you fail to do that, don't go blaming your shoe salesmen as you find yourself having to pay your chiropractor/doctor to fix your feet, leg, and back problems. Regards, A guy with a brain

I just posted a similar problem with Autozone and its famous computer system selling consumers wrong parts.  I was hoping to get in contact with you to discuss our individual claims. Thanks!

- Nick

Wait a second, what was the name of the place you went to for motorcycle parts? Oh yeah it was AUTOzone....not CYCLEzone.

I personally dislike it when people come into the place I work asking for bike/rv/trailer parts, especially purely random parts that have no car or truck application at all.
 Granted, we CAN look up some motorcycle parts, but its very few and far between, and the easiest way to find which battery fits is the numbers on the old battery. Several of the battery series have models with reversed terminals, and the part numbers will be almost identical, with the reversed terminal version having an "L" after the series number, such as gtx14-bs, and gtx14L-bs.

  Andrew hooking the battery up wrong was about the duh- uhmest thing I have ever heard of. Man up and take the hit. Hooking the ground strap to the post with all the red things on it should have been your first clue dude.

This is so typical of these "professional" types.

College educated...but CANNOT do a simple battery installation!

Then...the typical lawyer comes out.. and wants to sue someone else for his mistake!

I have genuine pity for someone who is too stupid to install a battery.
Really.

Any other conversation with someone like this is just a waste of time and server space.

Installing a battery is simple.

Yes they gave you the wrong battery and yes if that happened to me when I went back in I would expect a discount for my trouble. But I also would not have put the cables on wrong. They are color coded for a reason.

If you did sue I suspect you lost. Though Autozone may have just settled to make it go away. Either way it was not their fault. It was yours. This is why people have mechanics do the work because they are not responsible for the work.

I take it Andrew lost in court as he hasn't posted his outcome.

The Auto Zone limited warranty from the receipt each customer gets with a warrantied part, which a battery is.

THIS LIMITED WARRANTY REPRESENTS THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF AUTOZONE, FOR ANY PART OR PRODUCT. AUTOZONE MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCULDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MECHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. AUTOZONE SHALL NOT BE LILABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

Bottom line: It's the customers responsibility to insure proper compatibility and fitness of the parts they buy.

dude red is postive and black is negtive and you say your bike has it back wards,, NO ONE forced you to hook up the conections ,,i hate the putzs that service me when i have to get something from them but you are the one that fried you bike NO t the saleman that sould you that battery .and you still need a battery the $1,500 bill should have inculed a tune up and a paint job because you are at falt hear,belive it or not,

If you can't tell which wire is the positive and which is negative, and cannot line those up with the + and - on the battery, you have no business trying to install a battery. If you are doing it yourself, YOU are responsible for knowing how to do it. If you are confused, find out. If you do not understand, have a professional do it. Just as you would never ever suggest someone take on bankruptcy by themselves without an attorney because the "law is too complicated", if you don't have mechanical prowess, you should not be doing your own vehicle work (or you should take the time to learn about what you are doing before you delve in).

Bottom line, take responsibility for your actions, you damaged the bike, not AZ. If one of your clients decided to dump you and handle their own case (after learing all about bankruptcy from you) and ended up being denied in court, would you think it right if they came back and sued you because you gave them wrong information?

In my store motorcycle batteries are on the sales floor, and Autozoners do not have to get them for you (but of course unless the store is packed we typically do) and a majoity of the time motorcycles aren't even in the system and the numbers do not cross, which frequently leads to customers having to match up their own batteries.

Autozoners are also typically trained to ask "Does this part looks right to you?". This is merely a common sense question as it is a part for YOUR vehicle, and ultimately YOU (or your mechanic) need to know what your looking for (I apologize for Autozone not hiring mind readers) as most of the time we have only the computer to go by and it is common for mid/late year changes. An example of this occurred to me today where a customer with a Mercury Cougar came in asking for front brake pads, he had four wheel disc brakes, so I gave him the brake pads the computer told me. He came back said they were the wrong ones, looked them up again, the computer verified that I gave him the right ones but they were clearly different from his original pad, so I looked up the option for front pads w/ rear drum brakes, and as luck would have it they were an exact match. I asked if the rear brakes had been upgraded, but he said the window sticker he got when he purchased the car from the original owner and it said it was equipped with factory discs. This is one example from my two year part-time tenure with Autozone, and a friendly reminder that ultimately it is up to verify and make sure the part is right

Sir,

Yes I am a former employee of this company. But, first off when you noticed that the polls on the battery were opposite, this should have been a warning sign right there. You failed to heed it. Also auto parts retailers are not responseable for installation, when it is done by the customer! You made the mistake, not the sales person. Again we only hear your side of the story. I would like to hear the sales persons side to. I bet there have been some things left out.

As far as small claims court case goes, in most states you lose!

Partman James

As the title mentions, you should have known the battery terminals were reversed. All batteries CLEARLY have a positive and a negative side. You may have been sold the wrong battery, I will admit that this is a very likely possibility due to the fact that our computer system is designed to cater primarily to passenger vehicles (since we are not a bike shop, mind you). However you were clearly (based on your own report) negligent in performing a side by side comparison of your old battery and your new battery to confirm that they were in fact identical prior to installation.

It sounds like you may have been given a wrong battery, BUT you are the one working on your bike. And you should probably stop if installing a battery is too tough.

I'm in the automotive sector, but bikes are no different. It is people like you that keep trying to rip off companies (due to your stupidity) and in the end I end up paying the increase cost in the items that I buy. You should have been smart enough to match up the 2 batteries and noticed that something wasn't right. If not, you should have been smart enough to match (+) with (+) or RED with (+)?!? Not the case.

Hopefully you are now smart enough and have learned that you should not be working on your bike, someone else's, or anything that requires moving parts. Mechanics get paid fairly well for a reason. Yes sometimes it may seem like too much. But consider their training, time, and investment in tools and you are normally better off. In your case, ($1500 for a battery) seems like the local dealer might have been a bit cheaper.

The foundation of this complaint lies in the true or proximate cause. Was Autozone the factual cause of your damages or was it your improper installation of the battery that resulted in the damage to your property. It seems undisputible that Autozone did sell you the incorrect part, however, you as the installer have a duty to make sure you install that part correctly by matching up the cables and checking for proper polarity prior to installation.

In a sense and as a defense Autozone could argue that by doing it yourself you have "assumed the risk". Could Autozone defend it's self successfully, probably, but in the spirit of customer service is this the right thing to do? The solution lies somewhere in between and a gesture of 50% reimbursement would be appropriate.

I agree with most here, if you had realized the +/- we reversed and taken the battery back to AutoZone you would not be on this website complaining.

It was a simple mistake, which being in the parts buisness for MANY years, we all make.

The fault for the cost of the battery lies with AutoZone, but the cost of repairing the damage done lies with you.

Improper installation isn't a fault of the company.

I have seen people try and install something that isn't right OR they just plain install it wrong and when they bring it back it always has the same answer: Warranty does not cover improper installation.

When she sold you the wrong battery she was at fault, but when you didn't notice the negative symbol above where you tried to install that bright red positive wire, that was solely on you.

If AutoZone had installed the battery your claim would be valid, but since it was your human error then maybe you should just own up.

Just My Opinion :)

I work for this Company and a Auto Zne close to us always sales the wrong parts. I been in this Company for 4 years and I agree with the guy with the bike. If you work for AutoZone and dont know what you are selling then what are you doing behind the counter. Trust me a high rate of costumers come from other stores to exchange their parts at our store and this other stores never fail to sale a wrong part. A goes to a Auto Parts Store because they should know what they are selling. And Costumer looses gas money and time to be going back and forth all the time. I think that People should start Reporting everything that happens to them to The BETTER BUSINESS BUREU. They were treatning us that if we didnt sale brake lube to the costumer without their authorisation we would get written up. And that is serious and I got this recorded

Andrew, and everyone else viewing this: Autozone offers FREE installation of batteries. If you are at all unsure of your abilities and your vehicle is still functional, take it to the Autozone store and have an employee install your new battery. If they install it incorrectly, THEN they owe you for the cost of repairs, if any.

I am not, nor have I ever been an employee of Autozone, but I am an ASE certified automotive technician, and have seen many cars come into shops for repair because the owners installed batteries incorrectly.

I do most of my auto parts shopping at Autozone, and I fully believe that their responsibility ends when you walk out the door. ALWAYS make absolutely certain that your new part is correct before you leave.

I must also ask how it is that your motorcycle battery was in use so you couldn't take it in to compare to the new one, when you said you took the new battery home to install it? If someone else was using your motorcycle, so be it. Otherwise you could have removed the old battery and taken it with you.

I mean no disrespect to you, Andrew, I only hope to help you and others for future interactions with Autozone or any other parts store.

If I bought a Chevy water pump and made it "fit" into the space on a Ford and ruined the engine, would Autozone care?

I have more of a problem with the bike shop. I doubt there was real damage done to the bike, they are just going to replace everything they can, make a little money, and hope they fix the problem. I'd go so far as to say it's probrably a fuse or link and they already know it. I am currently dealing with a quad with the same problem, the owner is listening to the dealer, replacing part after part, and it still doesn't run. No-one diagnosed anything.

Andrew,

Keep in mind that Auto Zone is a very big company with very deep pockets. They will NOT admit fault here as it would set a precedent for othet lawsuits.

Most likely they will countersue you for court costs and legal fees as a minimum. You could end up with a judgement against you.

The ONLY liability Auto Zone has is to refund your money on the battery or make an exchange when you are given the wrong part. That's it. Nothing more.

But now, they are not even obligated to that as you have improperly installed the part and destroyed it! They have no liability for you improperly installing the battery.

This is a no brainer.

I can assure you that you will not get an apology out of Auto Zone.

Their product did not do damage to your bike. YOU did damage to your bike. You did damage to the battery you bought from Auto Zone due to improper installation.

How can you even think you have a case here?

How can Auto Zone be responsible for YOUR ACTIONS?

Mark,

AutoZone won't settle. The costs associated with small claims court are almost nil. I agree with you that there are many stupid lawsuits but I honestly feel like I was wronged here. To tell you the truth, I don't even care if I win or lose. I just want AutoZone to admit that they made a mistake and to tell me that they are sorry. I never got either of those responses from AutoZone when I was dealing with them directly so I was forced to file a lawsuit.

Talk about a junk lawsuit. I bet Autozone will settle because it is cheaper. You installed it wrong, take some responsibility. This is why it should be if you lose a junk lawsuit you pay the cost. More companies would not settle this crap.

Sorry Darrel,

The above response of mine was to Andrew..

I actually work in telecom and not even in the mechanic trade. I do buy auto parts and I do install batteries for my own personal vehicles. I know for a fact there are installation instructions for the battery in your bike owners manual. The instructions are even in BOLD print to only connect the + side of the battery to the positive wire and the - side of the battery to the negative side of a battery. The manufacturer purposely put this verbage in the Owners Manual so no one could come back and say they didn't know and hold the manufacturer liable.

I hear what you are saying.

"Autozone sold me the wrong battery".

I am not a lawyer so there may be something someone has placed into the law books that could make them liable. I personally don't believe that AutoZone should be liable for a consumer that does not follow manufactures instructions for proper installation of any part. If I was on a jury, I would not be convinced that they should pay for your mistakes. I feel the consumer bears the responsibility to insure the part they purchased is the correct part. I also feel the consumer takes a risk when they install parts or do repair work on their own vehicles. If Autozone installed it, that's a different issue.

I guess my next question is where does an auto parts store liability end? Again, if the wrong battery caused a fire and your house burnt down, would that be AutoZones fault? Would you expect them to pay for a new house as well?

Darrel,

The only thing you were right about was the battery was wrong for your bike. However, a side by side comparision would have revealed that difference PRIOR to install.

I am sure the entire wiring harness does not need to be replaced over this, Wires can be spliced and individually replaced.

As for the ASE mechanic saying it has happened to him..Shame on you. "identical" batteries come with "reversed" terminals intentionally. They also carry different part numbers! On most cars you cannot switch cables from one terminal to the other as they are restrained and/or harnessed, or just too short to reach.

Even car and truck batteries have this type of terminal configuration, and once again, these batteries carry different part numbers.

It all comes back to just paying attention to detail.

Go to Sears and look at the display of lawn tractor batteries. You can see the difference in part numbers in otherwise "identical" batteries.

I have had many motorcycles and have never had this problem. Why, you ask? I pay attention to detail, and always compare a new part side by side with the old part before installation.

No problem. Just COMMON SENSE!

Just read this in the local newspaper online. I included the URL at the bottom in case you want to go see it yourself.
--------
Arizona sues Wal-Mart, Auto Zone for pricing violations

06:15 PM Mountain Standard Time on Thursday, July 6, 2006

By The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona's Attorney General has filed consumer fraud lawsuits against AutoZone and Wal-Mart.

Attorney General Terry Goddard accuses the retailing giants of overcharging customers and failing to post prices.

Goddard says both retailers were repeatedly cited by the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures for discrepancies between what price tags said and what customers were actually charged.

A Wal-Mart spokesman says he hadn't read the lawsuit but acknowledged that the company has had problems with posting accurate prices. He said the company would work with the Attorney General's office to fix the problem.

Officials with Memphis-based AutoZone did not immediately return.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/KTVKLNews20060705_autozone_walmart_consumer-fraud.3160e006.html

I'm a ASE certified technician, if this bike is simalar to bike i have repaired before then the battery tray is keyed so the battery will fit in only one way and unlike automotive situations the positive and negative cables will go on either way.

So if autozone sold you the wrong battery and it fit the keyed tray without you having to force it, it can be a simple oversight that you hooked it up backwards and autozone should share in the repair bill. A similar situation happened in a shop I worked in when a new quick lube kid installed a battery that fit the bike but was in reverse polarity and we where able to recover 50% of the cost from the part store.

Darrel

From your response Darrel I would assume you work for AutoZone.
Seriously, I installed the battery the only way it could have been installed. Therefore, how can you say I installed it incorrectly?

Lets look at this issue as a series of mistakes/errors. Sure, I made a mistake trying to install the battery but why was I sold the battery in the first place? I'll tell you why, because AutoZone made the first mistake and it resulted in the damage caused to my motorcycle. Before this mess happened, I thought that the people at AutoZone knew what they were doing. Especially having a computer database at their fingertips. I'm not trying to pass the blame off to an undeserving party here. Arizona is a comparative fault state which means each party to an action can be liable for a percentage of the claim based upon their actions. Some states hold that if you were responsible for even 1% then you can be held liable for the entire loss.

I am confident that I have a better understanding of tort law than you do but who knows...the judge will make the final decision.

I just received proof that AutoZone was served with the lawsuit today in the mail. Again, will keep you posted.

It's true, they are not responsible for the damage caused by a consumers invalid installation procedures. The fact that your wiring was damaged is not their fault unless THEY installed it. You should never assume any part you buy from any store is the correct part. I bought a battery for my lawnmower a couple of years ago from a well known national auto parts store and just like you, the battery terminals were reversed from the original. I noticed this immediately but unlike you, I was able to just turn the battery 180 degrees and use the existing battery harness. However, had I not reveresed it, I would have no one to blame but myself. Also, if my garage burnt down due to the electrical short, that would be my fault also. Take responsibilty for your own actions and when in doubt, read the instructions. I'm positive that there were clear markings on the battery for polarity (+/-) and it's up to you to follow them or face the consequnces of your own actions. Stop blaming others for your own mistakes.

Steve,

As you've probably been able to determine, I'm not a mechanic. My day job is a bankruptcy attorney and while in law school I took a class on torts (Personal injury law) and from what I remember, AutoZone would have a duty to its customers. What that duty is depends on the law.

For example, if I were to walk into an AutoZone store and slip on some oil AutoZone would be at fault. Regardless, whether or not they even knew about the oil. I understand that my situation is different but it still comes down to the question of Duty.

The other issues that need to be proven in order for me to recover are breach (Of the duty), causation (Battery destroyed my electrical system) and damages (Itemized repair bill). Soit's going to depend on what AutoZone's duty to me as a customer was.

I've been trying to come up with a situation that is similar to mine that I know what the requisite duty is. The only thing I could think of is filling a prescription at a pharmacy. If they give you the wrong medication then their liability is assumed.

Drugs are clearly marked, like the battery but we as consumers put our faith into what we are given by trained professionals. Sure, knowing what I know now I'd always double-check what I was sold by AutoZone but I don't see how it can be determined that it was unreasonable for me to assume I was given the correct battery.

Itemized bill: wiring harness-$326.98; stator - $363.89; rectifier - $235.79, freight - $45.00; Labor $434.71 + sales tax - $107.75

One more point. The District Manager, Robert Gomez was extremely rude to me and flat out lied to me several times. I would suggest to anyone that they do not shop at AutoZone.

It's true, they are not responsible for the damage caused by a consumers invalid installation procedures. The fact that your wiring was damaged is not their fault unless THEY installed it.

You should never assume any part you buy from any store is the correct part. I bought a battery for my lawnmower a couple of years ago from a well known national auto parts store and just like you, the battery terminals were reversed from the original.

I noticed this immediately but unlike you, I was able to just turn the battery 180 degrees and use the existing battery harness. However, had I not reveresed it, I would have no one to blame but myself. Also, if my garage burnt down due to the electrical short, that would be my fault also.

Take responsibilty for your own actions and when in doubt, read the instructions. I'm positive that there were clear markings on the battery for polarity (+/-) and it's up to you to follow them or face the consequnces of your own actions. Stop blaming others for your own mistakes.

Andrew,

From now on, take a few second and thoroughly compare an old part to the new one. This will avoid any future problems of this nature.

You mean to tell me that when you took out the old battery, you didn't compare it to the new one? You couldn't clearly see that the positive and negative terminals were switched around? This is pretty obvious, and just plain common sense.

I am fully aware it only goes in one way. They do this for a reason!

Furthermore, there isn't $1500 worth of work you can do to an ignition/starting system on that bike! What EXACTLY was damaged? Please be specific. You did get an itemized estimate from the shop, right?

An extra 30 seconds of paying attention to detail would have avoided this.

Thank you for your thoughts. I disagree with you though on your analysis of my complaint. It wasn't possible to bring the battery into the store because it was still in use. Also, I think it was reasonable of me to think that an AutoZone trained sales associate (Or whatever they are called) would give me the correct battery. If you read my original posting you will see that I mention the two batteries appeared to be exactly similiar. Additionally, the battery could only be installed one way.
$1500.00 is high. I do agree with you on that. The fuse failed to melt until the damage was already done. I'm told, that if the fuse had melted immediately then my damage bill would have been around 25 cents.

Again, I appreciate your thoughts. I just hope for my sake you are wrong.....I'll definately let you know.

First I want to say that I know how aggravating and costly it is to get the wrong part..However...

Here is what I have learned in doing business with Auto Zone, and the like.

1). ALWAYS take in the old part and compare them BEFORE leaving the store.

2). NEVER trust the person to properly look up the part. I always look myself.

Keep in mind that the improper installation is not the fault of Auto Zone.

I have installed many batteries, and I can tell you the positive and negative terminals are ALWAYS clearly marked.

You should have paid closer attention to which wire you took off which terminal, and this could have been avoided.

I think that Auto Zone will be found responsible only to replace the battery.

$1500?? That sounds a little high, as most electrical systems on bikes have fusible links that will just melt in this situation.

I can't see it.