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

R

racingbeat

New member
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?
 
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.
 
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...
 
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...
 
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.
 
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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