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Bait and Switch, Subjective Business Practices
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

TURNERSVILLE, NEW JERSEY -- I could go back and tell of each experience in detail but it is too much to write. But PEP BOYS thinks they have earned the right to charge car dealership rates but has never proved they can be consistently able to perform work on vehicles with the same level of knowledge and professionalism.

1, 4 brand new tires on a Mercury Cougar Customized that had 4 incredibly perfect honeycomb rims that had weights on the back to balance the originals due to the high quality of the rim. Pep Boys put 4 new tires on and the idiot put the weights on the front face of my perfect rims and scuffed them so badly and when I confronted the service manager his arrogance and lack of concern along with his attitude was more than I could tolerate.

There is a problem when you are not intelligent enough to preserve a rim of high quality and, I told the service tech to make sure to put the weights on the back and the service manager's excuse was that it is not as accurate of a balance if they are on the back. My arguments got me nothing. Their arrogance and lack of professionalism to honor their mistake shows clearly they like sweeping their screw ups under the rug.

Next, my Mazda, Pep Boys in Turnersville charges me for doing a computer diagnostic and they said it would be $210. Already this is more than the dealership charges me and the dealership has never lied to me like Pep Boys too. Well, they tried to charge me another fee which brought computer diagnostic charges to well over $340 because they said my braking system was on a separate circuit.

Well Pep Boys, the dealership vouched for me and confirmed that you lied to me, and a diagnostic fee is a diagnostic fee and if you quoted me the $210, there was nothing giving you the right to add more unauthorized charges without my consent. I did approach the Service Manager at the time and his arrogance, and ignorance didn't change. Needless to say, he does not work at Pep Boys anymore. So, a 3rd attempt to use Pep Boys seemed like I could be safe right? Wrong!

Another time I go into Pep Boys for a Water Pump on my Mazda. Later I learned I could have had the dealership do this job for $560 parts and labor. Pep Boys charge me over $880 and I wish I did not pay them until I started my vehicle. When I started it, there was a loud wrapping and banging noise. I thought it was a rod and my engine might be shot. Well, Pep Boys excuse? They said it was already like that when they got the vehicle.

Well Pep Boys, let me teach you something. You can't fool everyone all the time. Turns out the dealership said that the person who did the water pump had to remove the timing cover to get to all the bolts. Under that timing cover is a tensioner for the timing belt. Well, idiots who work at Pep Boys did not check the tensioner and forgot to tighten back up and as a result, the tensioner broke, and the repair for the water pump was just a waste of time and money.

Bottom line is there are some very good mechanics out there and I have had some of the greatest experiences with some of them. And I used Pep Boys in Berlin NJ with outstanding results for a repair on an air conditioner in one of my vehicles and the mechanic was so honest and only charged me $30 because it was too simple to try and rape me for money. It was a connector that was not on the compressor. He not only put the connector on but he actually replaced it to make sure it stayed on securely, and he was honest enough to tell me it only took 5 minutes and THAT my friend is what deserves good rating.

But when you have several inconsistencies across the board due to different levels of service at different branches of your organization, you have some work to do in order to earn a good reputation. Before the internet, the world had a hard time finding out about the true happenings at all different types of businesses far and wide. But we owe it to each other and ourselves to speak up about the unfairness and poor treatment like what I experienced from Pep Boys in Turnersville NJ. I could care less what they have to say anymore because after this 3rd episode I've made sure I do not allow them to get the best of me again.

Big companies are all too willing to stomp all over consumers these days and for those of you who have had good experiences with this branch of Pep Boys in Turnersville, I am happy for you. I am in fact not going to deny you are telling the truth. However, the consistency of their actions is not something that earns them 5 stars over-all. They are truly an unbalanced and poorly run organization at times because they have no system in place that will respect the complaints of a customer even though they will try and claim that there is a procedure for people like me to follow in order to find a remedy.

I will not even entertain this because I was not even able to drive my vehicle away after they charged me $880 for a repair yet I was able to drive my vehicle into their parking lot when the water pump started leaking. I should not have to file any grievance as this was a flat out screw up on their part and they just swept it under the rug again.

I would say the only satisfaction they could give me is if they allowed me 2 or 3 open shots to punch that service manager square in his nose. He was a jerk and even after he was gone, I still had yet another incident of disaster with Pep Boys Turnersville. Their upper management for this region is probably full of corruption and borderline business practices and the entire organization is in no way worthy of charging the same rates as a dealership for service.

Dealerships are specifically trained for the work they do and it is a training that far exceeds anything I've ever witnessed from a Pep Boys mechanic. Furthermore, dealerships are Union and the rates they get paid as well as the Union benefits and other fees charged by a Union are just part of the full rate they charge. The dealership also has a stake in the service department so there are a lot of hands in that kettle.

But Pep Boys is not structured like this and they are raking in fees as if they are a dealership and never will they convince me they can even match the skills of a back yard mechanic. They might do a brake job or tune up, oil change and handle it well, most times. Yes they are good at the basics. And let's not forget their tire scam buying 3 and getting the 4th free. But you are forced to pay for a road hazard warranty on this deal. Any other time road hazard warranty only costs a few dollars extra per tire and it is OPTIONAL. But they made it mandatory on this buy 3 get the 4th free deal and they quoted me $79.99 + tax for it.

Not to mention I've seen it when someone tried to use it, the road hazard and the service department was trying to say there was a pro-rated fee which basically ended up costing the person 70% of the cost of the original tire. Now we know why they claim it's a free 4th tire because they get most of the cost back up front and even more back if you rely on the warranty. Who knows if they might say you had 70% tire wear and it might only be 30%.

I do not trust them after my experiences since I've been cheated by them so many times. It's my fault for trying to trust them after already being ripped off. But I think there has to be a line somewhere. Never would I expect they would be so consistently greedy and dishonest so many times. Any other tire place I've gotten tires from includes the road hazard in the cost of the tire + installation at only a few dollars extra per tire. And Pep Boys is getting upwards of close to $86 extra for that and man that is such a rip off.

Oh, and the road hazard warranty is not optional when you buy 3 get one free. There's your gimmick. Such a scam. My cost for tire installation, including mounting and balancing with road hazard warranty is only $21.95 per tire. Pep boys is charging close to $50 per tire for these same services on their Buy 3 get the 4th free deal and that should be considered price gouging and a deceptive way to sway people to buy. It should be looked at as something illegal IMO.

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Destroyed My Engine Now Trying to Total My Car
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

AUBURN, WASHINGTON -- Brought my SUV in for a simple spark plug change, but while they were in the process somehow they dropped a bolt in my cylinder causing the whole engine to be destroyed! They then tried giving it back saying not to be concerned about the rattling in my engine, and that the plugs were changed. After demanding they fix the rattle they created they held my SUV a week telling me every day a different story as to why there's a new rattling. After being carless for a week and calling daily they told me it was being towed to the dealership it came from and that they would pay to fix the damage they caused.

The dealership then found that they not only charged me for a spark plug change and only changed the top 3 that was easily reached but that in the process they dropped a bolt in the engine which would cost $10,520 to fix. Instead of staying true to their word they're now trying to total my car, which was in perfect condition before I brought it in for a simple spark plug change. And their offer was $6,600 and for me to keep my now useless vehicle. I asked why keep the vehicle when you won't give the amount needed to fix the damage you caused. They now won't return any of my calls and have blocked my email.

Worst customer service I've ever dealt with and worst mechanics you'll ever deal with!! I've been without a vehicle for almost 2 months because I decided to do what I thought was a simple tune up. If anyone has any advice for dealing with this horrible company, please let me know.

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Grossly Overcharged for Replacement of a Fuel Pump. Also, Had to Have Them Correct Their Faulty Installation.
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CARTERET, NEW JERSEY -- I had a faulty fuel pump replaced at Midas. One month later I broke down on the NJ Turnpike and had the car towed to the Carteret Pep Boys. The next day Pep Boys called me and I was told it was the fuel pump again. They gave me a price of $950. I told them that Midas had just replaced the fuel pump and I thought the price had been $800. I was told to bring the Midas bill with me when I picked up my car and led to believe the price would be matched. I presented the Midas bill to **, the manager at Pep Boys, he charged me $900 to replace the fuel pump.

It turns out that Midas had only charged me $650 for the same service - a $250 difference. **, the manager, would not (“could not”) meet the Midas price. I picked the car up at 8:15 PM, I live in Connecticut, Carteret is a 100 mile, 2 hour drive from my house, one way. I got on the turnpike heading South to pick up my nephew in Old Bridge to bring him back to Carteret so that he could drive his car (I borrowed it) back home. I pulled into the service station on the turnpike for gas. Gas poured out from under the car flooding the ground. This was not a trickle, more like a waterfall.

At 8:35PM no one answered the phone at the Pep Boys Carteret store. The store closes at 8:30. I turned around and drove back to Pep Boys in Carteret, dropped the car key in the night drop and drove back to Connecticut. I was so distraught by this and exhausted from driving I am lucky I did not have an accident on the way home. I got home at midnight. On Tuesday morning, at 8:02AM, **, the manager, called me (good for him getting in touch so quickly). I told him what happened and asked that he fill the tank before returning the car to me.

** called me later in the day to tell me that the leak was fixed and that Midas had used silicon on the gasket when they replaced the fuel pump and that is why the tank leaked when I put gas in. So ** wants me to believe that the leaking gas tank was Midas' fault and that the Pep Boys' mechanic, seeing that there was silicon where the gasket sits, was not responsible or saw fit to not remove the old silicon before seating the new gasket because Midas had put the silicon there? That's what ** seemed to be arguing.

Here's another bone of contention. Pep Boys charges $43 to do a computer reading on the car. All they have to do is plug the device into the computer connection and write down the codes. (They did wave the fee when I let them do the repair.) Auto Zone in Connecticut does the computer check for free. If you have an Auto Zone in New Jersey go there first or check around for someone else who performs this service for free – it is not worth $43. Also, consider going to Midas to have your repairs done wrong – it's a lot less money. It's a 28% saving.

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Replaced Starter
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MIAMI, FLORIDA -- To whom it may concern, not only does #Pepboys have poor service and inexperienced mechanics but their customer service skills are even worse I have dealt with them before in the past they charged me $68 to figure out what was wrong with my AC in my car they said it was an electrical problem they had my car for two days and could not tell me what exactly the electrical problem was OK so I took my car to another mechanic within 15 minutes of looking at my car he said my fuse was bad OK replaced it with that mechanic problem solved I called #Pepboys after giving me a hard time and calling their corporate office they offered me a free oil change which wasn't really free since I paid you $68 for nothing when I tell you the people there are so rude and disrespectful once they get your money not only do they not do the job right they just don't care anymore!!! second incident same car it breaks down right in front of #Pepboys so I have no choice but to take their services OK so I'm saying to myself second chance for them to redeem themselves ok here we go they take my car in they have it for a week and a half they tell me it's the starter and the battery I replaced the starter with them I buy the battery somewhere else their battery was truly too expensive they called me and said my car was ready remind you he told me that my car had started but I needed the battery OK no problem so I bring the battery with me to install it they did not assist me I'm guessing because I did not buy the battery with them so me and my dad are hassling trying to take the old battery out and put the new battery in we get the battery in and the car does not start he tells me he has to bring the car back in to see what's wrong with it here we go again at this point I'm stressed out and aggravated I have been catching the bus and Uber at that time for about 3 weeks so no you can't take my car back in but what you can do is take your starter out and give me a refund is what was told to Jose Jiminez he said the store manager was not in and no one else could issue me a refund so how are you running the store without a manager OK no problem I called the very next day no manager I go in the day after no manager I called again for the manager we're playing pass the phone now I called their corporate office the very next day after the incident I keep getting someone will call you within 24 to 48 hours ugh really I filed a case with the corporate office September 14, 2016 my car has been at #PepBoys and still is since September 5, 2016 The store has yet to call me to settle this issue and the corporate office has escalated this case so many times I think the escalator is broken now!! never again Pep Boys Auto Parts & Service sign case number 472986

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Phony Repair
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA -- Asked the Pep Boys technician manager to check my electrical system. The car was hesitating to start. They did their electrical systems check with their fancy machine and came back with "your battery is fine... your starter is fine... oh, but you need a new alternator." Then with a smile on their face they show the labor as $353 and watch me gasp. With faux kindness in their hairy little hearts that adjusted the labor down to $250. I said I would think about it. They said "Oh no, you can't drive the car, it will stop on you and cost more money to fix".

I drove to my trusted mechanic who told me that the car DID NOT HAVE ANY ISSUE. I didn't tell him that I had gone to Pep Boys scam repair. I can read people well and the look that manager at Pep Boys gave me at the start was that of scammer. Check out all the rest of the Pep Boys rip-offs online.

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Sabotaged our BMW X5
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

UNION CITY, CALIFORNIA -- Stay away from Pep Boys Auto Repair Shop at 30085 Industrial Parkway SW, Union City, CA 94587. One of their mechanics sabotaged our BMW X5 by making a cut in one of the drive belts, damaged the oil filter compartment, and made cuts in the both front CV axle boots. We have a statement from another shop verifying this. The idiot mechanic did the sabotage because he disagreed with the fact that the shop had damaged the oil filter compartment and the drain plug when changing the oil. They will be taken to the Small Claims Court for reimbursement, they will be reported to the BBB and the Bureau of Automotive Repair.. So, beware and stay away from this shop because it will happen to you as well.

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Won't honor quote
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

BEDFORD, TEXAS -- Classic bait and switch! Got an online quote from "Chris" to replace brake pads and rotors. After dropping off my truck for the repairs, was called by store manager "Joe" that the quote couldn't be honored and the cost would be double. Contacted customer service - they pulled the chat and confirmed the quote amount. They said made a mistake, "leaving a few services off" which drove up the cost. The store wouldn't honor the quote - said it came from customer service, not them! They ALL work for Pep Boys, just pointing fingers at each other! End result - I picked up my truck still needing repairs. Never again, and I cannot stress enough the lack of integrity and accountability from this company. Stay away!

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2008 Prius
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA -- My 2008 Prius red triangle warning light engine lights came on so I took it to Pep Boys and while they were fixing it said that my water pump was bad so I had them replace that too. Got car back 2 weeks later went on trip. While driving on Interstate all the lights came back on. Then it completely would not work. I had it towed to Pep boys in Ocala. They did nothing to it so I had to take it to Toyota dealership. 2 Pep Boys did nothing. I am out $1,500.

I went to Pep Boys in Kissimmee to ask for some of the money back (Not asking for water pump). He said it was not the same problem. When clearly it was the same thing. Never go to Pep Boys again and I will be sure to tell all my friends never trust them. Their work is not guaranteed.

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So Frustrated! Get It Right the First Time!
StarStarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 2/51

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA -- A call to place an order for front assembly struts and rear struts with coil Springs. I kept getting different prices. They kept changing their price making mistakes so when she was finished I called back. The same thing happened. It happened three or four times I had to call back. Finally they got the order right.

With all this frustration they promised me a gift card. I waited for the following Monday no gift card and only half of the parts (fronts) are waiting at the store so I call back, to order the rear strut and coils and asked where my gift card was. They never sent it or there was some confusion about it so now I have to wait another week for the gift card and the rest of my order.

In the end it all turned out, customer service tried to make it okay, I just lost time with my mechanics schedule and it was the most frustrating unprofessional experience of my life. I based my stars on my experience. If I had to base stars on them making it right then I will give them five stars

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Should Change the Name to Poop Boys
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CLERMONT, FLORIDA -- You will treated like Poop. Why make an appointment and receive a confirmation at Poop Boys? It is a waste of your time. First, they could not find my name on their printed list. After several attempts I used my finger to show them that it was indeed on their list. Then the fun began!! The online appointment software had put me down for the wrong vehicle and service. Gad! What a catastrophe!

"Sorry but we only do tire balancing, rotation and alignment of days that end in ***day, and that ain't today." They could get to me in a day or two, if I would just take a seat. No thanks! Stay away from this place. Customer Dis-Service should be clearly marked so you will know to run, not walk, away.

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Pep Boys Rating:
Star Star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.9 out of 5, based on 54 ratings and
145 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Pep Boys
3111 West Allegheny Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19132
215-229-9000 (ph)
215-229-5076 (fax)
www.pepboys.com
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