What is your go to OTC shop? would you travel for quality?

[racingbeat]

When not ordering via snail mail, what shop/chain/autobody do you purchase your detailing products from?



Nothing I hate more than going to an Auto store and seeing half of their products out of stock. :angry Show some self respect !



oh and one question,

If there were a high end detail shop that carried only the boutique brands would you travel as much as 10 miles to stock up and avoid shipping charges/waiting?

[imported_hooked]

No favorite place for me. I`m still scouting out which store has what. The closest place to me is Advance Auto and they have some Meguiars and Mother`s and E1.



If there were a high end detail shop in my area, I would definitely travel 10 miles to shop there as long as the prices weren`t too outrageous. Heck I traveled more than that to get to the closest Autozone to get some clay. And this is with my 2 young daughters who weren`t too thrilled to be going to an auto store.

[racingbeat]

ah yes the hunt for clay bar. I`ve done it myself more than once. As a matter a fact I`ve traveled more than a few miles myself on more than one ocassion for a specific product and ended stopping at more than one pep boys, autozone, strauss etc.

I should have just called a body shop or supplier...

[imported_Chris223]

My only choices are Advance and Autozone plus your Wal-Mart and Target. Have a big lots, haven`t been there yet. Don`t really have a favorite, as each store has 1 product I always buy. Advance has the Mother CG Clay Bar, Wal-Mart has TW PUG and Black Magic Tire Wet Foam, Target has Vroom MFs, etc...

[EMazda3S]

Ha! The claybar hunt. Did that one a couple of times.

Aside from some Meg`s,E1,Mother`s at the local Autozone, Napa, etc., there is a paint shop that has some autobody things and carries some detailing supplies. Professional Meg`s, 3M, Wizards and a few other things. Kinda nice but nothing like online. About 1/2 hour from my house but close to work.

Found some nice OTC Viking MF`s at KMart the other day.

I`d sure travel 10 miles for a great shop, especially if price competitive.

You are correct though, they are all frequently out of decent items and they take forever to re-stock.

[Accumulator]

Other than the occasional bottle of 845 at Advance AutoParts, the closest I come to OTC products is the stuff my local autobody/paint supply place has (or can order). They still have my beloved PI-III RC and MG on the shelf!

[VroomVroom]

Earlier this year I bought some Meguiar`s foam applicator pads at Pep Boys. Beyond that, I honestly haven`t spent money on OTC products in well over a year.



There`s a shop about 45 miles away from me that carries Klasse products, but otherwise I`ve not seen any non-OTC products for sale locally here in the bay area. Not to say they don`t exist, but it`s just too darn convenient to read about excellent products in forums like this and then just click & buy.

[jmsc]

I guess living in CT does have some detailing bennies.



Just about every auto body paint store carries every 3M and Meguiar`s pro line product. One carries 3M, Meg, Collinite, Presta. Zymol has their factory and local store in CT and P21S`s US distributor is out of CT. Local BMW dealer carries Lusso products. I found Menzerna in another local auto paint store last year. And we do have NAPA, CarQuest, Acme, AutoZone, Advance, Pep Boy`s.



Having said all that, I still can`t obtain locally Zaino, quality MF, Einszett, Sonax, Griot`s, One Grand, Harly, Finish Kare, Pinnacle, PoorBoys, Klasse, ClearCoat, Jeff W. products.



And yes. I did travel 30 miles once to the Zymol factory/store.



Bottom line, if you`re a real Autopian, know what`s available locally but have 3-5 online stores to order what you can`t get within reasonable driving distance.

[racingbeat]

buying online is covnient but I`m sure more than one of us has had to split a list of items between different vendors because one vendor didn`t carry everything on the list.

Actually I think this probably happens regularly with enthusiasts.

This means you end up paying as much as 20% of your total budget on shipping alone!

That`s a steep sales tax and you still have the lag time to deal with. The instant gratification

of seeing product as soon as you are charged can`t overlooked



Devoting $10-$15 on shipping and handling over and over really seems like BS to me.

But I happily do it just get the products I want.

[VroomVroom]

Very good points - but I`m curious since you mentioned shipping costs...how do the prices of the products compare? I actually smiled when I saw Klasse at the shop in Danville - the twins were priced nearly twice as high as I`ve seen them online. Obviously one shop in an exclusive area isn`t a good sample, but I`d take a guess that at least some of the shipping costs would be recouped by less expensive prices, and with interstate transactions, no sales tax.

[racingbeat]

yes very true. Much higher mark ups in the stores. Although if it worked out costing the same I would still prefer going to the store vs. dealing with the mail man. No one is ever home so I end up having to have the stuff shipped from work and carry it home. A real hassle because I don`t drive to work.