Advance Auto Parts in
Fairfax (VA)

Ahmed was very helpful today with my purchase of a discontinue item, he did not give up on finding the item I purchased for pick up, he was very knowledgeable and experienced and polite!

I get all my parts and materials for mobile mechanic business, the staff is super personable and helpful, they go out of they're way to get you good?????????? this is my go to

I came in to get a replacement rear wiper blade. The employee helped me find the correct one and installed it for me. He was kind and was a good teacher. Thank you!

Avoid this store and go somewhere else to save your time and money. Their battery is dead after 2-3 days of purchase. Took it to 2 different places to test and the results said Failed. When I took it back, the installing guy (believe he is General Manager) used his tester and showed me it passed. He did not listen and constantly cut me off from telling him what's wrong. I already purchased another battery at the dealership and would like to get some money back and recycle their bad "brand new" battery there but he told me to take somewhere else. I had to go to another store to recycle this "brand new battery" after 3 days of purchase at this location.

Darrin at store #7308 was kind enough to change my battery late at night when my car wouldn’t start. It was really cold outside too! He exemplified excellent customer service and care.

Needed a new car battery and Darren at store #7308 was so kind and helpful! He helped me figure out what kind of battery and wiper blades I needed and installed them both for me. I’m so grateful and will be returning for future needs!

Had the greatest experience as a customer on this Sunday Morning. Darrin was unfortunately working alone while his colleague was AWOL and he was able to help me test my old battery, and replace it with a new one that he recommended. He was also able to help other paying customers and went back and forth with helping get my battery replaced. He even helped replace a broken terminal. He went far and beyond for a car-illiterate person such as myself. Darrin, you deserve a raise brotha. Thank you for your help. If you come in this store, and you get Darrin as an associate, you’re in for a wonderful customer service experience.

Avoid this store and go to the one down the street across from the Harley Davidson or better yet go to the AutoZone across the street next to the Wells Fargo. In brief, the general manager (I believe his name tag said Ahmed) was rude, condensing, and a poor listener. I went into the store to return two items (headlamp bulb and rear windshield wiper). Both were the wrong items for my Kia Sorento (which were poorly recommended to me by other cashiers earlier in the day and were the wrong parts for my model and year). When I attempted to explain to the general manager why each part was wrong, the general manager did not listen, interrupted me, and made me feel that I did not understand how to install the part or configure the connector piece. He seemed tired and annoyed. He’s the type of person who should no longer be running a store since he has lost any sense of good customer service, and is probably to old to handle the day-to-day life of running a local car parts store. In fact, there were 4 other people in the store at the time (one was also a return that seems to be a bit contentious). I will be calling customer support to report this example of unprofessionalism, rudeness, and lack of good will. I will never enter into the store again. I will take my business to the other Advance Auto Parts down the street, or better yet go to AutoZone where I have never had a problem.

The "general manager" named Ahmed is a model of incompetence and unprofessionalism. When I bought tools from this store, he mistakenly linked my purchase to another customer's account. When I tried to return some tools a couple of days later at another store, I was denied because this customer had made a lot of returns previously. When I went to this store on September 22nd to resolve the issue, Ahmed demonstrated that he was an incompetent listener, constantly interrupting, rolling his eyes, waving his arms, and generally showing how tired he was of me. Finally, after half an hour of this theatrics, he gave me a refund receipt, but when I got home and opened online banking, I saw that the money had initially been refunded to my card, but then the same amount had been debited. In other words, Ahmed simply took my tools, took the original receipt, and didn't refund me. I came back to the store, but Ahmed refused to help me, saying he was very busy and that I was annoying him. He said I should come back later, maybe tomorrow, maybe later and that he didn't want to do anything else for me today cause he have another clients etc. I called customer support, explained what happened, they gave me a case number and promised to call me back. The next day, someone from the store, probably Ahmed, called me and said I could come in any day to finish the process. I came today, but the weekend manager said he couldn't help and asked me to come back tomorrow. I don't understand why I have to waste my time on endless trips to this wonderful store.

After a successful car show in Fairfax City, Va., my car's battery failed. Ahmed H. and one of his staff helped my find the battery I needed even though the system didn't find anything for my 1969 classic car. Outstanding service! I always go to this particular store for items since I have three other cars and use them all!

Earlier today I was out running errands and my car would not start. I contacted AAA and they gave me a jump but also informed me that the battery test showed "BAD / REPLACE". I drove to Advance Auto Parts #7308. When I got there, the car again would not start. They took a look at my car and informed me that given the location of the battery (under the air intake) they were not trained on removing that and suggested taking it elsewhere more equipped to work on it. Advance Auto Parts gave me a jump and I was on my way, but as I was pulling out of the parking space, the car died. I went back into the store to purchase the battery, planning on trying to replace it myself. Sebastian gladly offered to help replace it despite the initial reservations. The air intake was removed, battery swapped, and everything back in place and working order less than 15 minutes. Thank you to Ahmed and Sebastian at Advance Auto Parts for being very friendly, helpful, and turning around what was an increasingly stressful afternoon of car issues.

Went in for a replacement car battery. Ahmed was incredibly friendly and even offered to replace the battery for me. Was in and out super quick and car runs perfectly!

Called at 8:58 to tell them I was pulling in to buy windshield wipers really quick as mine came off in the storm we had just had (they close at 9pm) the guy who answered the phone told me they were closed. I told him it’s 8:58pm they close at 9pm, he said no it’s not, it was in-fact was not 9pm yet. When I arrived before 9pm I saw him go into the back and still on the phone with me he proceeded to stop talking to me. The store was still open and I told him I needed to replace my wipers as I couldn’t see. Leaving a customer outside before closing with a safety hazard is absolutely disrespectful and inconsiderate…

Update: I was contacted very shortly after I posted my review to provide additional details on the situation and they provided me store credit for my inconvenience. This was followed up by a call later from the actual store trying to determine how exactly this situation could have happened. In between I thought more about the steps that had taken place in the process of placing and attempting to pick up this order. As a result, I have realized that confusion was caused by showing them a receipt for a recent similar purchase at a store down the street when attempting to pick up the ordered item. The actual receipt for the order had only been sent to my email and was not printed. When store staff was shown the incorrect receipt, because it had a different store on it, they sent us to that store thinking we had gone to the incorrect store to make our pickup. They had not ordered it to that store. In hindsight, had we have just asked for the ordered item, rather than leading with the incorrect receipt, we likely would have received our order without issue. My apologies to the store staff for not realizing we were the problem before lodging the complaint. Stopped in to this store to get a cabin air filter for our car after another store in town told us they had it in stock. The sales guy that helped us was polite but said they didn't have it in stock. He said he could order it for us and it "should" arrive in 5 days. We asked if they would call us when it arrived or how we would know it was in. He wrote our number on the order and said he would give us a call. On day 7 we hadn't heard anything so we went by the store to check. We were told that they did not have it and that it had been ordered to the initial store we went to, so we drove over there. When we arrived there, they told us they did not have it either. I've now ordered it from a competitor.

Ahmed is the nicest person and was a huge help when I came in to get my windshield wipers updated. He made the visit easy, funny, and I learned something! Great place.

DO NOT go here if you are looking for decent help. As someone who knows NOTHING about cars, I went in to ask for help with my battery since my minivan had died earlier that morning. I get “greeted” by a rude older man (didn’t get his name but he’s missing a tooth and has an accent). I asked if it would be possible to have my battery tested or maybe checked for a bad connection. He had me pull the car up closer to the building then waves for me to pop the hood from the entrance then watches me struggle to figure out how open it bc I never have for this car before. He comes over and tests the battery, turns out the battery is fine which doesn’t make sense to me (not his fault) so I just ask a simple question bc I assume he knows more than I do about cars, “do you know why a car battery might die if the battery is fine?” And he replies snappy while walking away from me with “idk that’s why I told you to go to a mechanic.” Which I don’t recall him telling me before, but that’s beside the point. I’m sorry if this man is having a bad day but this interaction was absolutely unacceptable. I’m not asking him to bend over backwards for me by any means; just asking a few simple questions that could have simple answers… even if he doesn’t know the answers idc. Just looking for human decency.

I visited the store to purchase an engine air filter. While one cashier was reluctantly searching for the filter on the computer, another cashier interrupted and took over the computer to assist a different customer who was behind me in line. Both employees seemed rude, unprepared, and unsure of how to assist customers efficiently.

I have been buying almost everything that I need for my car from this store and they have very good employees except this one person named MAHMOUD S.. this morning when I went to buy a spray can and I saw that the can in my hand has been sprayed before and other people have sprayed on the bottom shelf before , so I thought it was ok to do it since there was no sign saying otherwise, I sprayed some to the bottom shelf to see the color. And this guy named MAHMOUD S. walked up to me aggressively and talked to me the way he’s not supposed to talk to a loyal customer instead of warning me like human being. After all that he started treating me for calling the police on me for spraying paint on a shelf that has already been sprayed hundreds of times. This is not acceptable behavior. Right after this happened I visited another location and went to the spray paint section, where I noticed that customers had tested the paint before purchasing. I approached the manager to inquire whether it was acceptable to try the spray paint prior to buying. He assured me that it was completely fine, stating that they allow customers to test the spray paint before making a purchase.

Ahmed H. the store manager was very aggressive and argumentative. I went in for a loaner tool and showed him the tool on my phone. He grabbed his catalog and gave it to me to find it for him which I didn’t see as much first because it was end of day and I thought maybe he’s tired or wtv. Then I paid and at the end asked him what happens if the tool breaks during use, does the AAP warranty cover it? (I had read some reviews about similar tools that ppl mentioned they are prone to failure). To which he responded if it breaks its your problem and its not covered under any type of warranty. I did a google search and pulled their own website showing it to him and he just flipped. Dude had absolutely zero knowledge about their own company policy regarding damaged tools and warranty and just made stuff up. The conversation started to get heated and as I didn’t care to educate Ahmed H. about the stuff he should already know, I just left while he was screaming! This tells me how frustrated customers could get if they had to interact with Ahmed about a similar issue. This is not the first time I’ve seen advance auto parts employees and store managers not knowing company policy and act in argumentative and rude manners. I have raised similar concerns with their corporate before at a different location in Annapolis, MD. Advance Auto Parts corporation needs to train their employees and store managers before they allow them to interact with customers at any level. Unfortunately, a lot of them lack proper behavioral skills and manners and suffer from lack of knowledge regarding business policies. I have attached a screenshot of the warranty policy for loaner tools here specifically for Ahmed H. (Store manager who doesn’t know their own policy) so he learns and hope that advance auto parts feels the responsibility to train these employees rather than expecting customers to enlighten them about their stuff. So sad I couldn’t give zero stars.

The WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! If there was an option to put -star would have done it. Came in with request to rent a steering wheel removing kit. sale rep was ignorant extremely rude put a big book in front of me to choose from. I asked for help instead he pointed at the book again. I asked for help again because I don’t even know what’s in front of me. I asked if I’d give car information and he could help, in a very rude manner he said NO! I asked what his name was and he said DON’T WORRY ANOUT IT.

Good auto service store wide a wide selection of stuff and very helpful staff. I bought a new battery and windshield wipers, and they installed them for free and disposed of the old stuff. It was under 20 minutes from the time I arrived at the store. I have bought items here many times in the past and will continue to go back.

Dropped in for some wiper blades and to drop off an old battery. Sebastian was super helpful and friendly, he found the right wiper blades and spent time explaining the options. He even insisted on lending me a cart to bring the heavy battery in. Great service!

Sebastian saved my life. The key fob for my Mercedes was an absolute pain to figure out how to dissemble it to get the batteries out. Thank goodness I figured it out and quickly ran to advanced to get replacement ones. Sebastian after seeing I got it loose recognized that these keys are finnicky as heck, and he jumped into action to find me the right batteries. Luckily he got the last one for me, and put them in as well, which he didn’t need to, he cut the battery case and everything. 100% not needed but much appreciated. Shout out Sebastian, I’m not sure if he’s the one running the show, but if he’s not management hook him up!

Thus place is ridiculous. I've neve had a worse experience trying to buy a battery. The older guy there is extremely unprofessional, and lazy. Both him and the younger girl in there were sitting on a stool and a ladder when I walked in in the back of the store. I went up to the counter and said hi they did not get up or come up to help me. I said hi I hate to make you get up, he did not get up and just said "what can I help you with". I told him I needed a battery and he got up very slowly and shuffled over. I bought a lot of batteries from Advance Auto Parts and never has a guy tested a new battery, made me wait there and show me all these results asking me to take pictures on my phone of the results. They're selling new batteries why do they need to test them? I told him I needed a new battery bolt, he said "they're on the wall over there". I said "okay could you show me which bolt I need?" and he said any of them will work I brought three different bolts over and he said this one won't work which of these two other ones do you want. He couldn't even be bothered to go get the bolt for me and give me the right one. I will not use this Advanced Auto Parts again. Should have gone to AutoZone right across the street. SO UNPROFESSIONAL!

I needed urgent help with my key fob battery, which died and didn’t allow me to get into the car nor get it turned on. I got a ride to the closest auto shop, and the manager who didn’t want to tell me his name was the rudest person I’ve ever met. I’m 8 months pregnant, and needed his help/expertise to at least help me figure out what battery I needed to buy! But he kept being rude, and even told me to LEAVE THE STORE after I asked for his name! I told him I was going to share this with corporate and he walked to the back to the store to hide as I tried to record our interaction. As a pregnant woman who needed urgent help, his response and lack of empathy were the last thing I needed to receive from someone who should know how to help people who go to an auto part store! After reading so many awful reviews, specifically related to him, this store needs a new manager if they want to be able to succeed

Managers at this location are very rude. Went in yesterday and noticed a really bad smelling large trash can left at the door way so everyone that walks in has to smell the stink. Told the manager very nicely that the trash was smelling really bad and he cut me off and basically said not to talk about the trash and let him know what I wanted. I then purchased one item for cash and returned the next day to return an unopened package. It was raining today and the front entrance had no slip proof mat, so I nearly fell on my head slipping on the puddle of water as I walked in. I caught myself and tried to explain the danger to customers to this day's manager. He just ignored me. I asked to return my item and that I paid cash. He stated he could not give me cash back because he did not have any to give. I told him just he day before the cashier reached down to another cabinet to unlock the cash drawer which had plenty of money. I only need $9.53 back and he very rudely stated "that was yesterday and today is today, I don't have cash to give to you, if you want cash, go to another store, that's all I can do." His demeanor was very rude. I will not be returning to this location for anything. The location further up in Fairfax circle area had a much nicer lady cashier who had no issues and was courteous on refunding cash. The location in Fairfax Station is also nice, but this Main street location has had a long history of rude personnel. Nothing changes, except that I won't be returning.

This is a great store with staff that really cares about their customers. I have purchased parts and batteries for my car from this store in the past and always gotten help or advice from store staff. Today I stopped by because of an issue with my car battery. Daren was so kind to take a look at it, test it and find a problem on the spot. Highly knowledgeable, very professional and caring. It is extremely hard to find an employee like that but once one does they have to be recognized. Thank you Daren for being a rare gem and for all your help this morning!