Has anyone one else had bad service with pepboys?

Question

I went in for an oil change and they emptied my tank and never refill it so my engine went up and they have told me they wil give me a new engine and have not yet. I have been with out my van for 9 months and i have been calling and emailing the company and no one have not returned any one of my calls. So please make sure your job get done so that you and your babies won't be walking in the cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Answer 1

That sucks, but I have to tell you that it's not rare to see this type of thing happen. I've tried various different what I'd refer to as second tier repair service centers. I've used the following.

1: Firestone - ***
2: NTB now Tirekingdom - *
3: Midas - ***
4: Jiffy Lube - **
5: Walmart - *
6: Local repair guy Leonard's of Austin - * 1/2

I have had problems with service at every one of these second tier companies.

With Walmart I just gave up since it doesn't look like they can even do a proper oil change, this happend on two occassions back to back. Won't go back there again.

With Jiffy Lube, honestly aside from a broken headlamp which they repaired promptly, things went well but I've heard so many negative press things such as they may put the wrong fluids in the car, that I try not using them.

The local recommended mechanic did work that just didn't last. Repairs seemed o.k., but ended up failing in short order. Little to no recourse here.

NTB: Did o.k. with tires replacement, balance and rotation. However, they did some damage to my car on two occasions, broke car stereo they shoudln't have even touched and stripped stand offs?, threads that are used to bolt wheel onto the car, and in both cases would not admit to fault and would not address the problem.

Midas: Does a decent job with breaks, haven't had them do much else. In a couple cases things were not done correctly, but when I confronted them with it, they took care of the problem without much fuss. The one issue I have with them has to do with parts. On my Jeep Grand Cherokee, they could never get the breaks to not squeak! Even when I'm driving down the road, a small squeak persists. I believe it's due to their use of semi metalic breaks. A couple other friends have had the same issue with other brand cars. If you can live with the constant squeak, the breaks do hold up.

Firestone: I've pretty much decided to make them my standard place to get work done. They do a good job with balance, rotation, flats, oil change, any basic things. For basic things, I think they are o.k.

However, I've had my fair share of problems with Firestone. From forgetting to put on or tighten lug nuts, bending a drive shaft, misdiagnosis, and the list goes on. Again, the good thing I can say about them is that they are willing to make things right, even if it ends up costing them some money. For example, the bent my drive shaft and they replaced it. Another thing I've observed is that the Firestone locations I've had work done at have a lower turn over than some of the other shops. I actually see the same guy there on several visits rather than a different guy every time.

I can't say these problems were painless since it's very frustrating to have them happen, but I guess If you're a gambling person, you roll the dice and hope the work they holds up. Usually their repair costs can be up to 1/2 less than the dealer.

This takes me to my general rules or idea for auto maintenance and repair.

1: If it's a simple job, I'll have Firestone do the work. Fuild changes, oil, radiator, transmission, or differential. Tires, since it's their specialty will also be done by them.

2: If it's a major job, Firestone find a problem during a routine check up or something I point out, I'll take it to a dealer or higher end mechanic/specialist for a second opinion and to possibly have them do the work. If it turns out that the dealer is ridiculously higher 2x or more, I'll have Firestone go ahead and do the work. Caveat being that my car is old and I can't bring myself to spend the higher dollars. I made that decision, transmission leak, to go with Firestone, and in the end it was probably the wrong choice. I had to go back many times to have them get it right and in the end I have a suspicion they may have damaged my transmission, but I can't point to any specific problem. I digress

3: When dealing with Firestone or other, be sure to get as much as possible in writing and identify problems ASAP. The sooner you can show the mechanics something failed due to an action they took the better. Once they admit to having caused a problem, have them log the problem in their system and indicate what they plan to do to resolve the issue. Get a COPY of this from them in the form of a receipt or other. Be sure to check in on them on a 2-3 hour basis if they promise the car the same day. If it's a week, call them daily to find out where the status of the repair sits. Essentially you have to be on them to get the work done or it will be forgotten. Whether it's on purpose or not, don't let them do this.

Also, anytime you get something done:

- Be sure to check the work! If they change the oil, check the oil dip stick twice. When you get the car, when you park it, oil can settle.

- If something doesn't seem right, stop the car and check. For example, I had the wheels balanced and rotated. When I drove off the car was kind of wobbly, I stopped the car and found the lug nuts where not tighted properly and the wheel was about to fall off! Luckily I was able to get it back to them right away to fix the problem. Having checked the dip stick could have saved you all of this trouble. I'm not saying it's your fault, but certainly it would have made life easier for you.

I haven't used PepBoys so I can't tell you what type of outfit they are. It really doesn't matter since the quality of the service really boils down to the people working at the location you're dealing with. I'd try to deal with the people at the location directly and in person. They don't want to see unhappy customers in the lobby so they may be more receptive to you than an e-mail than can be easily lost.

If they end up promising to take care of the problem, as I mentioned earlier be sure to get it in writing, with a definate expected time for completion of the work. Also again be sure to follow up on a regular basis to see if they are on track for getting the work done in the specificed time.

If in the end they either tell you that they won't do the work at all, or pretend not to remember ect... Write the BBB and the Pepboys company. Be sure to mention the specifics of the case, location, date, people you were deailing with and resulting situation. You'll be surprised by the amout of help the BBB can provide.

I haven't done this for a auto repair facility, but my wife has done it for other situations where the company was being negligent and it worked out very well.

http://www.bbb.org/

Mike

Answer 2

Yup I am also fed up with bad service and will make it known. But I do so in a civilized manner. I will always ask nicely and be polite towards the waiter when complaining about something. More times than not the faults occur in the kitchen and yelling at the waiter is like shooting the messenger. But If I get attitude or rudeness from the waiter. They can expect the same and all civility goes out the window. I do tip well if the service was good. And I will only tip 5% if it was not. Even Escoms' directors get paid for doing a kak job. I have also waitered and know that some times you are just down or had a long day. So that is why I am always friendly by default. But don't give me attitude. hellopeter rocks.

Answer 3

First, you should have contacted a lawyer 9 months ago. $200 and a letter and phone call would have had you on the road in no time.

They are called Pep Boys!!! Any boys I ever new who needed 'pep' were on drugs, and were looking for their next hit.

I've found that mom and pop shops are some of the most reputable service companies to go to for work. They have their reputations at stake and are more willing to do their best for you.

Pep Boys is like the McDonalds of auto service. The folks who work their are only there until they can find something else, and the quality of work is hardly ever good. The overall level of experience isn't there either.

You want tires installed, or a battery changed, they will do just fine. You want major work done, ask around for a good mechanic.

Answer 4

I had an alternator put in during a trip. Pepboys was the only shop around. That alternator was replaced 6 more times before I got rid of the van because it was under warranty. I would never go to them on purpose as there is some reason it had to be replaced by them 6 times.

Answer 5

You can help get the word out of your experience if you post it to this website. They are a consumer complaint/compliment site.

Answer 6

Have a lawyer send them a threatening letter....That works.

Answer 7

I own my own repair shop, so why would I go to "Pep Boy's" for service?

Answer 8

Is the Pope German?

Answer 9

yep. guy at work complains about it all the time.