Kenneth A.

On January 16,2024, I purchased a muffler and an exhaust gasket from AutoZone.com and paid an extra $4.99 for 2-day delivery.

Problem #1: The muffler was late, arriving on January 19.

Problem #2: The muffler is dented, which came as no surprise considering that it came in no package whatsoever, just a muffler wrapped in a little plastic—not even bubble wrap.

Problem #3: The two muffler support arms, which get installed through hanger holes, do not bulge at their ends, leaving the support arms at risk of sliding out of the hangers.

Problem #4: While I was waiting for the exhaust gasket to arrive so I could fix my car, I was using the only other vehicle that I own: a motorcycle. But coming home every day with hands that were nearly frostbitten left me with little choice but to reuse an old gasket of mine and install AutoZone's muffler, which I did on January 23. (I had to rig the muffler support arms with thick zip-ties to reduce the risk that the arms slid out of the hanger holes.)

Problem #5: On January 25, I called AutoZone customer service number and spoke to a "Louis." When I told him I wanted my $5.60 back for the gasket that never came, he told me that he could not issue me a refund and that he must "submit a request" for one because my order for the gasket was "special." Dumbfounded, I asked him what made my order so. He replied that what made my order special was that it was coming from Memphis. Say what? AutoZone's headquarters are in Memphis—headquarters, by the way, that it would take me all of three hours to drive to from the address that the gasket was supposed to be delivered to. Louis might as well have told me that my order was special because his favorite color is blue. So I told him he needed to have my $5.60 credited back to my card within "a few days."

I waited until February 1 to see if AutoZone had credited my card, and they had not. So that day I wrote and mailed a letter of complaint to their headquarters in Memphis, telling them what happened and that I wanted my $5.60 credited back to my card by the close of business on February 14.

Well, we are now one full week past that date, and I still don't have my $5.60 back (or the new gasket, which I ordered over a month ago and which of course is useless to me to now).