The Pep Boys
reviews and complaints

At Pep Boys the customer service is lousy, unprofessional, plus the managers treat their own employees like crap (esp. blacks, often firing them for little to no reasons!), and the technicians are not mechanically certified to repair cars (like Jiffy Lube they are trained while they work on your car!), the managers & employees are a bunch of idiots and don't last long there (high turnover due to poor job performances & incompetence), the mechanics usually mess up the work that they do, causing many customers to come back in to get the work done over again and again; which sometimes they never get it done right. And sometimes they deliberately damage customers' vehicles while being serviced at Pep Boys! If you love your car, I wouldn't recommend sending it to Pep Boys Augusta, GA | 2728 Washington Road or the one on 1725 Gordon Hwy!

Take bob of port jefferson ny who picks a fight with a customer all because the customer was given the wrong order, then over charged, then asked to pay twice as much as previously promised, then late 1 week and then the old derelict picks a fight with a customer who merely points this out and referred to him as being unprofessional! Then you complaint to their useless corporate offices who give you the same bs nonsense! They forward the complaint this clowns boss ivan who won't do anything to him and fails to get back to the customer complaining within the false promises of 48 hours! With autozone, sears, sts, firestone, mavis, goodyear, meineke, midas, and many many others who needs these unprofessional people! Boycott and then maybe they will hire people who have an education level higher then their shoe size! Pathetic! If they have any response answer this and ask me to reply to their answer and you will see the same story! They are horrible! Any response?

While my car was in for a tire rotation they scratched my driver side rear bumper. The Moreno Valley store referred me to their "corporate" location who has informed me that they will do nothing to right their wrong. In addition the Moreno Valley tech advised me that my car also needed struts and tires and that the tires were cupping. Not wanting to leave my car with them again (who knows what they would do to it this time) I checked around for strut replacement and was advised by Ford dealership and another repair shop that my car did not need struts and my tires were fine, just a bit over inflated.

I needed tires for my car and kept putting it off as my busy schedule kept hacking away at my time. On the weekend I went to a local strip mall to a market and when I came out I had a flat. There was Pep Boys right next door to the market so having not much of a choice I had them put on four new tires. The price, which included new valve stems, was about what I expected to pay at the place I usually go for tires and I was going to get rid of the car in a few months anyway. They tried to include a front end alignment for 39.99 more and I told them to forget and just put on tires. They said it would be ready in one hour which was fine, so I was just going to hang out and wait...Well 15 minutes later the tech that was working on my car walks up to Jack in the Box and comes back with his lunch...So much for one hour. Two and a half hours later it's ready.
When I checked the work out the valve stems were so short that in order to put air in the tires you had to remove the trim ring on the rim...WTF! I pointed this out to the manager and he said those were the stems that were priced out and if I wanted longer stems I would have to pay labor to R&R the tires and the new stem cost. I mean they couldn't see this? We are talking valve stems here, not rocket science and the tech should have spotted this. I would have paid the difference. I gave them a huge ration in front of a lot of customers and left. I would not buy a shop rag from them now.

There is a serious problem with the Pep Boys in Orland Park, IL. I brought my car in on 3-24-12 to have front end work done because noises when I hit a bump. They said they will charge $19.99 to inspect the front end and I asked if that amount would be applied to the bill if I have the repair work done. I was told no. They told me what was wrong I gave the OK to have repairs done. I had the control arms repaired. When it was done, I paid the bill and the cashier said the noise would be 95% gone. On the way home, the front-end noise was still there just as always as if nothing was done. I went on the internet on the Pep Boys site and while checking some info I saw that the inspection fee should be free when the work I done. I called the store and complained that the noise was still there and that I should not have been charged for the inspection fee and I was told they could look at that when I bring my car in again for the front-end noise. I had decided I was going to bring my car to Pep Boys anymore because I don’t trust them to repair my car anymore. I called the corporate office many, many times and cannot get my $19.99 inspection fee refunded.

My windshield wiper motor on my 99 Jeep Wrangler went out after a recent rash of storms, and I went to Pep Boy's in North Little Rock to get it repaired. There were no other problems with my vehicle when I brought it in.

I was called by Pep Boy's approximately an hour later, and told that along with my wiper motor, a coolant leak was discovered. I was asked if I wanted the leak source found and a diagnostic check run for $35.00. Due to an upcoming long distance road trip, I authorized the check for the leak.

I was called an hour and a half later, and told that there was a problem with my water pump, and that they recommended a new pump and hoses. Since I had not seen a leak at anytime before, and I had a new water pump put into my Jeep 9 months earlier, I declined, and went to go pick up my vehicle with my new wiper motor.

Upon arriving at the facility, I paid for the parts and labor (an unbelievable $275.00!) and walked out to my Jeep. I looked under the jeep with my friend, and saw a huge amount of coolant on the ground. I opened my hood and found that the radiator cap was missing! I also discovered that 2 of the screws that hold the cowling panel where the wiper motor is located were missing, and the rubber seal around the hood was not back in place. I notified the manager, and after looking around the shop for the missing cap, he came outside and AMAZINGLY found the cap just to the side of the radiator in plain view. The funny thing is that it was not there until he came outside! I left the shop and proceeded to tell my friend who is a certified mechanic what had happened.

We returned to Pep Boys and my friend questioned the mechanic who worked on the Jeep several questions about pressurizing the radiator to locate a leak, and that a leak could be caused by over-pressurization of the radiator. The mechanic was dumbfounded and related that there was a distinct possibility this could have happened. Pep Boys got paid $35.00 to damage my car.The mechanic replaced the screws and rubber seal, but I was not compensated further.

These guys were attempting to pull a scam and were caught red handed. Do not go to this Pep Boys!

Took in my 08 Kia for tires and breaks. When I made the appointment, they gave me the total which I thought was a little high. I was charged almost $700 for breaks, that is insane to say the least. My truck calls for 245/70R16, I asked for 265/65R16 and they wouldn't put them on. I said, I am paying for these tires, these are what I want, please put them on. They stated, NO, we do not do that, it's against company policy. We can only put on what the manufacturer specifies. Ok, fine, just do it. I finally get called to pick up my truck, and when i arrive, the truck doesn't look right. It's leaning to the right. I thought it was the area it was parked until i got closer. It had a friggen flat, brand new tire was flat. I went inside, the guy asks, can I help you? I explained that I got called that my truck was ready, but that it's not done. He said what do you mean it's not done. I told him, it's sitting outside with a flat! He looked at it and said someone will take care of this right away. 10 minutes later, I see a guy out there filling up the tire with air to drive it back into the shop to fix it. (They claim is was a bad core in the stem...BS) After the guy filled up the tire, he put the air tank in my back seat. Mind you it had been raining all day and he put this thing on the ground. Now I have grease stains on my back seat. Their solution, we will give you a can of cleaner. I said save it, just check me out so I can leave, but I will never do business here again. While waiting for this, the same to guys had an argument with a lady who wanted her truck back. They claimed someone would look at it in a FEW hrs. 3.5 hrs later the lady said, just give me my keys, this is insane. The guy said to her, I told you it would be a few hrs. They lady stated, yeah, a few hrs is 3. He said, no ma'am, a few hrs is like 5 or 6. Hold back laughter, I am not kidding. She stormed out. I refuse to shop or do business with Pep boys ever again. Place is a rip off and they have no clue what they are doing.

Oday is august 25, 2010. And this is my pepboys horror story.

Having recently purchased a 1997 infiniti i30, I decided to bring the vehicle to my local pepboys on indiantown road, in jupiter, florida for the advertized free brake inspection. After an hour of waiting for the car to find its way into one of the 6 empty bays, (Yes, I counted them), I waited another hour for a "mechanic" to pull 4 tires, look at brakes, replace tires, inspect a master cylander and inspect the brake lines.

The mechanic, after inspecting my car, (More like sizing me up for the short con), told the service manager my car required the following repairs. Well to save time and space I can make it short and sweet. The mechanic told his supervisor to advise me that I need what amounted to an entire new front end. As in: both axles, sway bars, rack and pinion linkage, I mean, the whole enchilada. They told me I needed to virtually rebuild my undercarriage in the front end. And the estimated cost was $1, 200.

Luckily, I am a creature of habit. I deal with the same people as often as possible. Same girl or guy at the bank, same cashier in the supermarket, same mechanic at the local oil change place... You get the idea.

Feeling completely despondent and dejected, I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I was ripped off by one of my fellow americans in a used car deal. But as I do with everything, I thought about it. I had a nagging feeling and this inner desire to "second guess" the "professionals". So, I took the car, despite being left afraid to even drive it, to my oil change guy and asked him if he could as a courtesy, offer me a second opinion and tell me what his evaluation is. I did not tell him where I came from or what I was told. I basically told him that I think I made a bad purchase because I believe I need an entire new front undercarriage.

As it turns out, there is in fact a need for repairs under my front end. However, the "extensive" repairs required on my vehicle is a new axle assembly on my passenger side and I could stand to get a round of bushings just to be thorough about it. The cost to the public for this part at the local advance auto parts? (Drum roll please) $69.00 plus tax. What price did pepboys give me for the same exact part? $ 119.00 plus tax plus labor estimated at $210.00 to install it. At the moment, I am not aware of what the bushings will cost me.

My oil change guy sent me to a mechanic he knows and refers many customers to. He told me directly and up front that the mechanic is a little more expensive than a lot of people but he will not put you in an iron maiden while he repairs your car using the hayne's manual for sabotage. Having accepted that I am going to pay a little more than I could elsewhere, I wasted no time running over to the recommended mechanic's shop. I explained to him what it is believed to be going on based on what his friend who runs the oil change place had told me. Without leaving his desk or even looking at my car he quoted me a price of $225.00 installed with a 12 month/12, 000 mile parts and labor guarantee/warranty. That's right, parts and labor for free if his work proves substandard..

I have as of this day decided that I will not even drive into a pepboys parking lot ever again. I have also decided that I will urge friends and family to avoid pepboys and walk before buying a part from them.

I am clueless on how a person that has never worked on a car can tell me when an uninstalled product has been installed. I went to pep boys for a starter for my 94 honda civic. The price was reasonable (105.00), but after taking the old starter out and comparing. I had the wrong part. So i go back to pep boys and ask for the Store and Parts manager first and foremost. I explained my story to them and ask (nice and calm) that i "Either" wanted my money back or just "Exchange" the starter for the right one. The Managers looked at the part and told me they won't do anything for me, "they part has been installed". Of course i am talking about a rebuilt starter. So i tell them there's no way its been installed. No marks or anything on it, just a finger, a small hint of grease on the side of it. The only thing those ###s gave me was Attitude. I may not have been a Automotive Technician for many years but I'm damn sure not dumb. Great Job on satisfying your customer! I'll just take to extra drive to Napa for now on.

Shame on pep boys…. Scammers and thieves… the pep boys at 830 military dr.in san antonio, texas, are full of lies and deceit when it comes to servicing your tires. Your boss, pep boys president, mike o’dell knows about this and will not get involved.
An email to pepboys president gets no attention:
Today I visited your pep boys location at 830 se military dr.in san antonio. I needed this visit to correct a vibration problem that was felt on my 1995 mercury mystique. This has been an on going problem since mid 2010, yet I was not made aware of this until recently from my brother.
I entered the service department and was greeted by service advisor johnny (I soon come to find out he is the manager, he did not portray the position). I explained that I had a vibration that was getting worse daily and would like to have the balance checked since I had the lifetime balance. Johnny proceeded to write up a service order, he then walked out to my vehicle looked at the driver side front tire and he came back into the service area stating to me that the tires were almost worn out and they needed to be replaced. I felt this was odd since he just looked at 1 tire, so, I asked what the tread depth was; he stated 3/32”. I then questioned him as to what was causing the vibration; being sarcastic, I asked, is it the air? Again, he stated that the tires are worn almost to the point of being illegal, which is 2/32” (A scare tactic to make a sale by instilling fear into the customer) at that point; the service technician was bringing my vehicle into the bay. My vehicle was lifted into the air by this technician after he performed an inspection in the engine compartment. While in the air the technician also jerked on the front suspension, apparently to ensure there were no loose parts. I asked johnny to inform the technician be careful when removing the hubcaps since 1 hub cap was cracked on the last tire installation at pep boys (This still has not been taken care of). Johnny then went back out to the vehicle, this time a complete walk around the vehicle, looking at the other three tires, only this time he comes back into the service department counter stating that the right rear is not a pep boy tire. I tried to explain that my brother has had constant vibration problems with the mystique; apparently having that tire replaced at another retailer. As a note, I found this pep boy tire in his garage gathering dust. At his point the service technician was in the process of removing the 3 pep boy tires so that they could be checked. Each of the front tires were set up on the wheel balancer and spun to check for defects, at his point I noticed from the customer waiting area, that the right front tire had a severe separation which was more than likely the problem that was felt on the steering. I walked into the shop where the tire technician was measuring the tread depth; stating that it was between 4/32” and 5 /32”. This is when I realized that I had just been set up to be scammed; I asked johnny where did he get his 3/32” tread depth reading from, his remark was by his eyesight. Johnny and pep boys integrity and honesty fell way to trying to make profit and personal gain. Johnny should have never lied about the measurement; in fact he should have done his job correctly and measured the tread then he would not have to lie to me by telling me that the tires were worn out and needing to be replaced. I know pep boys is in the business of making a profit but at whose expense. Also, how many times does this type of selling tactics performed with unsuspecting customers never realizing that they have just been lied to and ripped off?
The next issue was when he decided to do an adjustment on the 2 tires in front; he quotes me a price that put me in sticker shock. Without asking if I wanted the road hazard warranty, he just added the cost into the invoice, then there was a charge for tire disposal (This tire is being adjusted and should be going back to the manufacture for credit, so, no disposal should have been needed) and then there was a charge for tire balancing, most manufactures credit the vendor for these charges for providing customer service for the handling their tire adjustments, at least this is the procedure that bf goodrich used on their adjustments. I thought this tire was a manufactures workmanship and quality issue not a mileage issue, yet the adjustment was based off of mileage; the terminal did all johnny’s calculation which I feel over charges on this percentage of wear. I rough calculated the percentage worn from the beginning mileage of 80, 000 and the current mileage of 116, 000 shows mileage of 36, 000 miles used out of the 60, 000mile warranty. Which roughly calculates this tire worn at 64% yet the pep boy system calculated for 71%, I guess another way to make a profit. (A couple of dollars here, a couple of dollars there, sounds similar to a shop supply fee) I asked johnny why the difference, he stated that he had no control on the pricing since it is all handled through the computer program, (It is easy to pass the blame to corporate, especially when uncertain on how to handle a situation in which he got caught being deceitful to a customer) he then proceeded to show me how he arrived at the adjustment price by inserting the required mileage in the fields provided on the terminal. We talked about other manufactures of quality tires, (Bf goodrich / goodyear etc) and the way the tire adjustment manual calculated the cost. I ask if he had the tire manufacture adjustment / warranty literature he stated, no. Frustrated, I finally told him to put my car back together and give me the number to pep boys corporate office so, that I could see about what could be done on this situation, in which he blurted out 1 800 pepboys. He did his best to try to keep me from contacting management in regards to this situation, stating that any calls to that number would be directed right back to him. Johnny stated, he makes the final decision on the outcome of this situation, since he is the manager, and that is the way it is. I don’t believe this to be the case; since the store name would be johnny boys or something of that sort. Although he does run it as if it were his own. You be the judge.
I definitely don’t trust anything johnny has to say now, since he lacks integrity, and has proven to be deceitful in lying to me about my tires being worn out and needing to be replaced; this just to make a sale and more profit. If nothing is done about this situation, then johnny’s 20 plus years of management style will continue to go unnoticed until he is caught in another lie, then again on this side of town due to the demographics, it is unfortunately easy to get over on customers by being deceitful. The sad part about it is most of them will or may never know.
Lastly, today I also did comparison shopping on this 60, 000mile tire, and it was on average $5.00 more at pep boys, than the equivalent name brand tires manufactured by goodyear, bf goodrich and others sold at wal-mart and discount tire, and when it comes time for understanding their customers needs for service and / or adjustments, these retailers are customer friendly, that really makes the difference. I don’t want these pep boy tires any more after the aggravation this has caused and deceit that I have endured.

I was hoping that I could get my rebate in a reasonable period of time, turns out they have no record of my sending in form. Will never do buisiness with this company again and will not get my self aggravated with resubmiting paperwork they got me. Others beware. I purchased tires buy one get one free. I got one free alright.

I am very disappointed with Pep Boys complaint resolution system. I took my car to Pep Boys in Apopka, FL to tell me what was wrong with my a/c. They did a "System Check" and said it needed an evac and refill of the refrigerant. That was done and 3 ½ days later my a/c still did the same thing. It would blow hot air and refrigerant would blow out of the underside of the car. I took it back and then they said the orifice hose and the accumulator can was blocked with trash. They replaced that (for additional money of course). I left and 2 days later the a/c did the same thing. I took it back and then they said the fan was not working. The only time the fan hasn't worked is when it was in their shop and the mechanic was hosing the engine down with water. We got no where with the store manager except getting treated like idiots. I did ask if they checked both fan relays and I was told (contrary to the repair manual) that my car fan had only one speed. We were told that our problem was being taken up with customer service to resolve the problem. Customer service is telling us the store has to resolve the problem. Now the district manager has called and stated we have a cooling system problem (and my car does not overheat, now or ever). We were told to bring the car back. Why in the world would I want to take a car back to a place that has done nothing but take my money and find something else wrong with the car every time they look at it. While my son was talking to the district manager they got disconnected (or he hung up on my son) so my son called back and was put on hold for almost an hour. Now I'm out almost $600 and still have an a/c that isn't working properly. Apparently their "Satisfaction Guaranteed" policy is their satisfaction and not the customer's. I will be contacting every agency that I possibly can tv stations, better business bureau, and drive my car around with a sign on it about Pep Boys' service. I will tell everyone I know and come in contact with not to go to Pep Boys for parts or service. From the looks of the comments on this site, it is apparent that they need to clean up their image.

Just want to let everyone know what BAD SERVICE I got.
I brought my '94 S-10 in for a whining noise to the Sandy, Utah store (9350 S 700 E) and asked them to do a diagnostic to find the problem and let me know.. I told them their service department thought it was the water pump but to check it out anyway and let me know.
I left my car all day and they replaced the water pump, thermostat and serpentine belt and said it was good to go. When I picked it up that night, right when I started it, the whining sound was still there.
I went back in and they said I should bring it back the next day. I drove one mile and it was shaking and rattling 10 times worse than when I brought it in and it was leaking coolant. I turned around and brought it back and told them it was not drivable.
I left it for them to check the next morning. They called me the next day and said that the whining was my air conditioner compressor and it would be $1, 000 to fix.
So bottom line, they repaired things that didn't need to be repaired to the tune of $432.00 and I still have the original problem. They should have found that in the first place and called me and I would have paid the $35 diagnostic fee and been done.
I will never do business there again and I will tell everyone I know to STEER CLEAR OF PEP BOYS SERVICE!