Pep Boys Consumer Reviews - Page 4

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA -- Here is the following situation regarding Pep Boys in Norfolk, VA (Store no. 111): Nov 8, 2008 I went to Pep Boys to buy some products. I happened to talk to a sales person (black heavy set male) who seemed to be a manager and was very nice. I changed my power steering pump myself and after proper priming procedures still had a loud whine (95 Ford Ranger). I also noticed my brake fluid was very dark and was going to change it myself because Firestone wanted $74 to change it and the local auto shop wanted $60. I already bought fluid, etc.for the job.

However, last night the gentleman told me he would charge me $49.99 to change the brake fluid and thirty or so to flush the power steering to help kill the P/S whine. He also stated that the vehicle would have to be driven 500 miles or so before it should go away since the P/S was just replaced. We talked about Firestones prices and how because of his low price I would let Pep Boys do both jobs. He took my name down for a 9 a.m. appointment.

In honor of our agreement I arrived at Pep Boys at 8:45 a.m. and they got my truck in a little after 9. The sales person, who was also present the night before at the counter, completed the paperwork and asked me to sign so they could work on my truck. They finished the truck at 10:40 a.m. Before I paid I said the price for the brake service was incorrect and the sale person stated that's what we (Pep Boys) charge.

I explained that it was too high. I reminded her of the conversation the previous evening and she stated she only remembered the power steering part of the conversation. I told her that's the reason I came in to have the work done. (The sales person from last night was not present this morning).

I said can't you reduce the cost to what I was told last night and I advised her "why would I drive 5 miles and pay $65 for a brake bleed job when they charge $60 on the base where I am stationed?" She then stated, “You signed the paperwork!”

I stopped my protest at this point because she would not budge on her stance and I did not want to make any further scene in front of the other customers. I stated that I would not argue any further, that she got me, and she was right that when I signed, I didn't look at the price. I assumed that the brake fluid change was Pep Boys' regular price and that the price quoted the previous evening would be honored.

However, the next day the manager "Todd" called me and asked for me to come in to get the difference and he apologized for the mistake on our agreement. When I arrived we shook hands, he refunded me the difference and parted on great terms. Re-learned Lesson: read before you sign - don't assume! Note: Pep Boys' prices are lower than Advance Auto Parts on average. Thank you again, Pep Boys.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- On may 23, 2008, we went to pep boys located on sahara ave in Las Vegas NV (store # 0688) to order a fan motor for our car. We took the part with us that we needed, so there would be no mistakes. We were told that it would be in the following day at 2p.m. Went up there on the 24th to pick up the part and it was the wrong part. Then got the store manager involved and got the correct part ordered, so we thought!

Now it is June 2, 2008 and I still have no ** part. It has not even been ordered. After numerous phone calls up there, we are getting nowhere. We phoned on Wednesday and was told it would be there on Monday (today 6/2/08) and then again we phoned on Friday to make sure that everything was going as planned.

On Friday we were told that because we had only made a partial payment (because we paid for the 1st part that was ordered in full) then they could not order it until we paid the remaining balance, although on the 24th when ordering the correct part with the store manager, we were told that we could pay the remaining balance of $43 when we picked the part up.

So, again, on Friday we had the store manager get on the phone and the part was guaranteed to be there on June 4, 2008, with $25 deducted from the remaining balance. So, here these ** have $73 of our money already, for the part they they ordered the 1st time and it was the wrong part, although they had the part right in front of them so that wouldn't happen.

We called up there this morning (6/2/08) because on Friday the store manager stated that he would call us first thing this morning and let us know when the part would be in... No phone call, so we ended up calling and lo and behold the manager didn't come to work today! Not ** surprised. And the person we did speak to, let us know that the part has not been ordered yet.

So, explain to me how it takes 3-5 days to get the part that we need shipped to the store and it is guaranteed to be there Wednesday and it is Monday and the part has not even been ordered yet! I guess that incompetence is what it takes to work at pep boys and I will never step back in that store, if it is the last ** auto parts store on the face of the earth.

Also tried to call the corporate office, and couldn't get through. They kept reconnecting me to the customer service hotline, to employees that cannot even speak english, tried the CEO of the company Lawrence N Stevens, and he is not reachable either. Not surprised at although. Apparently no one at this company knows what customer service is and doesn't even care, as long as they keep making the big bucks. So screw Pep Boys. They'll never get another penny of my money!

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE -- On Saturday March 15, 2008 the power steering on my wife's 1998 Buick LeSabre stopped working about 4:30 pm. When I got to her place of employment I found the car to be somewhat drivable and moved it about a quarter of mile to PEPBOYS store #151 located at 106 Market place Blvd. Knoxville, TN. 37922. On Sunday morning March 16, 2008 I went to PEPBOYS service explained the situation to them and asked if they could look at it and determine what was needed to repair it. ** a service writer/counterman said they would check it.

He called me and said that the (3) bolts that hold the power steering pump in place had broken off in the block and they would have to remove some steering assembly to remove the broken bolts and repair the problem. He also at the time advised me that to removed the steering assembly would cost $139.50, that the drive belt tensioner was bad and that it would cost about $150.00 and may have caused the problem and a new belt (no price given but actually cost about $65.00) would be needed.

And the total price would be $937.00. I asked ** why would it cost over $400.00 just to remove the (3) broken bolts and he then advised me there were only (2) two bolts that held the pump in place but it would still cost $400.00 to remove them. He later informed me that one of the bolt mounts had broken off and would need to be welded and that he knew someone who would be back on Monday March 17, 2008 in the late afternoon who could give an estimate as to whether it could be fixed or not and how much it would cost. I then advised him not to do any repairs as it would cost more than the car was worth and I would need to see about towing it home.

He said they would reassemble it and see if it worked OK by just replacing the bolts. He advised me later that they had driven the car for about a half an hour and it would be safe to drive home and would not have to be towed. When I called him March 18, 2008 at 7:45 am I was advised ** was not in at the time but would be in later about 8:00 o'clock. I called back about 8:15 am and ** told me they had again driven the car and it was working safely and could be driven but they did not know how long the repair would hold.

When I arrived about 9:00 I noticed that when I dropped the car off and THEY entered on the paper work that the mileage on the car was 72993 prior to any work being done. When I went to pick it up after the above reported test-drives the mileage was 72994. Unless they drove the car around backwards for half an hour the mileage should have changed more than 1 mile. He advised they had driven it again between the time I called and the time it took me to drive the 3 miles to the store from my house, yet the temperature gauge indicated completely cold (The temperature gauge worked perfectly on the way home and prior to taking it there).

When I went to pick up the car there was a charge on the bill for Preventive Maintenance for $15.99. I asked why is there a PM charge on a repair ticket that stated a particular problem, the Service Manager (** I believe to be his name) who became quite surly when I inquired about the charge and would not discuss anything about the discrepancies or the misleading information, removed the PM charge immediately. He advised ** not to discuss the bill and took the bill to the cash register and told ** the amount to have me pay. The final bill came to $390.07 for removing the broken bolts and the steering assembly removal and replacement.

** advised me when I first inquired about the $937.00 that the labor rate was $89.00 per hour but the bill which I paid and have a copy of list a labor rate of $93.00 per hour to remove the steering assembly and a labor rate of $95.00 per hour to remove the broken bolts. Why are there three different hourly labor rates? It was not like that in the Las Vegas facility at any time in five years I used them for services.

I paid the bill and went to the PEPBOYS store manager and advised him of what had taken place and showed him the discrepancies and advised him that the service manager would not talk or discuss why there were so many different stories given to me about an auto repair problem.

I advised the store manager and ** the service writer that I would report this to the Zone and Regional managers and to PEPBOYS corporate offices as this type of customer service is not what I received in Las Vegas, NV. the 5 previous years that I used only the PEPBOYS facility for auto service (Tires, Batteries, Alignments, Brakes, Struts) on both of my vehicles before moving to Knoxville, TN. in December of 2007.

I advised them that I would report the attitude and misinformation all the way to the corporate level and if I received no satisfactory response I would make this information available to all of the local media outlets I do have access with and to state and national organizations as well internet sites dealing with automobile repair facilities.

08807, NEW JERSEY -- Hello. To whom It may concern and Mr **... I was in your store Pep Boys in the location below, on Friday evening 8.30-8.45pm 02/15/2008 purchasing some custom parts like Chrome beading (Body-Side Moldings)for my car doors and bumpers.

735 PROMENADE BLVD. BRIDGEWATER, NJ 08807. Tel: 732-560-9559. First of all I picked 2 of the items, Chrome Door Beading which was found on a shelf carrying the same item with different thickness but the price was marked as $15.99 (remember that was the only price on that row for that item by the same company, none of the other items had a price tag). Also I picked a 3rd beading with rubber in the middle - priced $16.99. My plan was to use the first two beadings on the front and back bumpers and the third one for the door center.

I walked over to the register. They were ringing out to be 18.99 each for the first 2 sets and 19.99 for the third. I told the cashier they were not priced that way. He page another associate. He walked over to that section with me and verified I was correct. So I went back to the register to pay. He paged another person MR ** to match the price. Mr. ** also wanted me to walk with him to show him the price which I did. This was second time.

Even though he saw there was only one price tag priced 15.99 and 16.99 he was not willing to match the price. He was arguing it was the price for that item. Only the others are not on sale, I found this funny because the item marked 15.99 and the item I was carrying was in fact the same manufacture and same product. I told him at least to show me any price tag in that area which says 18.99 and 19.99 which he failed to show me.

He told me he is not going to match the price and nothing is going to make him. If I want I can complaint to whoever I want. I told him to gave me the store number. He said he don't have them and told me to walk upfront to the cashier and ask him, I did walked back to the cashier and got the number and store manager's name MR **.

People like Mr. ** makes your shop on my list not to go in there. You know I can find these products much cheaper online. I thought about running a weekend project that's why I went to your store. I am a business man. I don't have time to call MR ** for $9.00 issues during store or his available times, I have better things to do. But the reason I filed this complaint is as a warning to you and your company's future with hiring people who doesn't know the common courtesy to a customer.

If the price was admitted to be wrong by your first associate or MR ** apologizes for the misunderstanding instead of arguing I would have never minded the 9 dollar difference. Because of Mr **'s Bad behavior you lost a sale worth $60.00 and more. My purchase was not a necessary purchase, so I thought "Why put up with this guy? I will go to Sears or Walmart or any online stores and can push my weekend project to another week." I didn't provide you with my number since I don't pass them out. You can email me.

BOARDMAN -- On 11-24-06, I purchased a Dirt Runner and a Doodle Bug mini bike. I paid $29.99 X two for a prep fee. I was told this was for changing the shipping oil, adjusting throttle, chain, etc and that they would put fuel in both and test drive them and make any other needed adjustments. I was also charged $38.00 X two for Ohio documentation fee, Ohio title fee and Ohio notary fee. ($30.00/$5.00/$3.00). I was to return in the afternoon to pick them both up. When I returned, neither unit was ready. While I waited, they changed the oil. (shipping oil to regular oil) They never started them or did any further adjustments.

They said they couldn't do the rest because they were out of gasoline. I was told they would be OK, that they don't have any problems with them. I was also told I would have official state title in about 4 to 6 weeks. I took both vehicles home and added fuel. The Dirt Bike is a pretty nice machine and did start up OK. I haven't had any real problems to date. The Doodle Bug is another story. I had a hard time getting it started. It wouldn't stay running. When I finally did get it running, I found the rear wheel was bent or something. I returned the Doodle Bug and they did change the rear wheel and installed another one.

They did ride it some but it has never run right in my opinion. To keep it running, I have to leave the choke half on all the time. It tends to stall a lot, etc. I have yet to get the titles so after returning to the store and getting the runaround (lost/misplaced/etc) several times, I decided to file a formal complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office. The Ohio Attorney General's Office did get them to returned the title fees but I was told I would still get said titles. They said they returned the fees because of my inconvenience. I received the check on 3-16-07. I have yet to get the titles.

I returned to the store today, 4-19-07 and the manager stated they could not find my paperwork which has such things as my social security number on it, driver's license number, birth date and home address. It appears said paperwork got misplaced. Nice job Pep Boys!!! The store manager asked me to get him copies of my said paperwork so he could re-submit them again. This is the second time he has said he would re-submit them. They had told me the day I purchased the two motorized machines that the paperwork is sent to the State of Ohio.

Today, 4-19-07, the manager told me the paperwork goes to the Corporate Office and they (Corporate Office) submits said paperwork to the State of Ohio. The manager also told me the Corporate Office was a little messed up at the time of my purchase and didn't know how to handle said paperwork. He said they are doing better now. I asked if everyone else is getting their titles and he said some are and some are not. Anyone want to take odds on whether I get any titles? I had also asked for a refund of the $29.99 X two prep charges when filing with the Ohio Attorney General's Office but Pep Boys refused said request.

They changed their story and said the prep charge was for putting the machines together. The putting them together was never mentioned during the purchase process. I was told what I mentioned earlier. I will leave the assessment to those who read this but my personal feelings are I would think twice about doing business with them again. I also feel things are said during your purchase that were not all true, at least in my case. In looking at some of the reviews that I have seen, it doesn't look like I'm alone. My purchases were made at the Boardman Ohio 44512 store at 215 Boardman Poland Road.

CHULA VISTA #651, CALIFORNIA -- FOLLOW UP FROM MY FIRST LETTER TO THEM: RESOLVED!! Hopefully the manager will train the staff better and this won't happen to anyone else. At least this one got resolved. I hope that others who voice out will get their issues resolved as well.

In follow up to my recent e-mail (below), I got a call from a man named Rafael from the Chula Vista location
(#651) and he resolved everything. I am very impressed on how this situation was handled and Rafael was very
understanding about the situation and apologetic. Thank you also to Mary, Rafael's assistant who was at the store last night, also apologized and I explained to her (and Rafael) that I know that everyone has a bad day and that as I told the assistant manager that day I was okay with waiting until this Thursday to talk to a manager about my issue. Mary (and Rafael) explained that they should've just done my refund then and there.

Rafael and Mary explained to me thoroughly that this is not how Pep Boys handles their customers. Rafael assured me that the assistant manager and service manager that day will be educated on how to handle situation like this in the future. That restores my confidence in continuing my relationship with Pep Boys. THANK YOU to Rafael for calling me immediately. Thank you for Mary for being there and helping me with my refund. Next time, I'll just make sure that the parts I buy is checked by the service department before I buy it. As well as making sure Juan (service manager I usually deal with) will be there. Again, THANK YOU to Rafael and Mary.

RIVERDALE, UTAH -- While dealing with a flat tire on my boat trailer, after hours in a Walmart parking lot in Utah, I decided I needed to change the flat myself. Just as I was getting the new tire on, a guy named Josh stopped by, he was a Pep Boys employee from the Riverdale Utah location, just off work, he had a torque wrench and a portable impact wrench with him and offered to finish up the tire install, I was so impressed. Josh you need a raise! thx! john

NEW JERSEY -- Worst experience I got! We called a day before to get price for oil change for Honda Pilot (They ask what car before giving price). The price they gave us was 75 - 20.00 discount. Honda dealer charges 70.00! So we gave ok to do it. After finish the service they say it's 80.00 - 20.00!! They "DIDN'T KNOW" how much oil will be used in advance! What a BS lies! PLUS it took over 1.5 to finish. DON'T go there! Dealer is way better.

SAVANNAH, GA, GEORGIA -- I took my car here for an oil change. I only drive 20 miles in any direction and usually only 3-5. Today I noticed a ADD OIL light on my car. Absolutely NO oil in my car. What the hell? I'm taking my car to a reputable mechanic tomorrow. A "29.99" oil change that turned into a 45.00 oil change on my bill that almost blew my car up? What the hell? Terrible business.

PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY -- Brian, in the parts department, did a wonderful job in finding excellent rims for my 2004 Ford Freestar.

This was my first time looking for rims for a mini-van and he went above and beyond the call of duty.

He is very detailed orientated and had wonderful suggestions when I wasn't sure how to go about searching.

A few items came up in his search that he clarified by contacting various sources for solutions. He is an

excellent asset to PepBoys by his attention, knowledge, awareness and kind helpfulness to find satisfaction

for a customer.