Man Tries To Price-Match Between O’Reilly And AutoZone. Then He Makes A Decision—And Learns An Expensive Lesson

Trying to save a few bucks by shopping around sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan. You’d do it too if spending a few extra minutes meant you could save some real money.

But what happens when the place that you thought was going to be cheaper is not only more expensive than the competitor, but more expensive than their own online store?

Content creator Dave Savage (@trucker_ninja) recently posted a TikTok sharing his theory about why local businesses are losing out to Amazon.

Savage explains that he needed a motorcycle battery and figured he'd do his homework first. He looked up the part online and found that AutoZone was listing two options—one at $49.99 and another at $79.99. But O'Reilly Auto Parts was his first stop, partly out of loyalty.

"I used to work there," he explains in the clip.

When he got to O'Reilly, he says the employee pulled a $129 battery off the shelf. Despite the employee trying to get him to get his phone from the car to show that AutoZone had a better price and therefore get a price match, Savage said it was a better use of his time to just go to AutoZone right across the street.

He wrapped the battery back up, put it in his car, and drove over.

But in AutoZone, things were no better, he says. The employee pulled a battery priced at $136.99. Savage pushed back, explaining that the website had shown $49.99 and $79.99. The employee asked Savage to show him the proof.

Savage tried to pull up the listing on his phone and complained that the employee could have just as easily found the info on their computer.

"I know if I can look it up in your system online, you can type in on the little keyboard there and do the same damn thing," Savage says, especially since there were two employees in the store and no other customers, so they presumably had time.

"This is why Amazon gets business, because their customer service, which is non-existent, is still better than yours,” he says in the video.

Savage left without a battery since it wasn’t an urgent need, as he still has other work to do on the bike.

"This is why local businesses are going out of business. Not only is online available, but customer service has gone to [expletive],” he says.

What Are The Price Match Policies At O'Reilly And AutoZone?

O'Reilly's official low-price guarantee applies only to local competitors, not to online prices.

According to O'Reilly Auto Parts, its retail locations will match the prices of most local competitors, but it is "currently unable to price match online competitors." That includes prices listed on their website, which may differ from those on the shelf at any given store.

AutoZone's policy is essentially the same.

In a reply to a customer complaint on X, an AutoZone representative confirmed that the company does not price-match online prices—only those of other retail auto parts stores.

Online vs. In-Store: What's Actually The Better Deal?

The short answer to whether online is better than in-store is that it depends on what you need and how fast you need it.

Here's how the two options stack up, according to Endurance Warranty and Capital One.

They advise buying online when:

• You need a simple, universal part like wiper blades, air filters, cleaning supplies, or bulbs
• You have time to wait for shipping and want to compare prices across multiple retailers
• The part is easy to install yourself and unlikely to require expert guidance

Go in-store when:

• You need the part today
• You're dealing with a complex component like an alternator, cylinder head, or anything engine- ort transmission-related, where buying the wrong part could cause further damage
• You want to physically compare the new part to the old one before committing
• You have questions a website can't answer

Whose Side Are People On?

Some people in the comments had sympathy for the workers.

“Expecting top notch service from employees barely being paid a living wage by a corporate parts store is ridiculous. Stay online or pay the premium at a locally based parts store,” one wrote.

“Also: most employees have not even basic automotive knowledge. Went into one (I won’t name) guy didn’t know what parts cleaner fluid-5 gal bucket was. He proceeded to show me break cleaner spray, grease tubes, etc.—if you don’t have the part number when you walk in the door they LOST. If I have to do all the legwork then I’m gonna cut out middle man & buy cheapest part I can find,” a second person said.

A few weren’t sold on Amazon over brick-and-mortar.

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“Problem with Amazon, their parts they say fit your application so far hard parts for engines have not matched up yet,” another wrote.

Motor1 reached out to Savage for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to O’Reilly and AutoZone via email. We'll be sure to update this if they respond.

 

 

 

 

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