The Pep Boys

Unfortunately, I must be straightforward because of all the experiences I've had with this store, my entitled opinion is to say that this place should NOT be trusted.

My story, in December 2010, my boyfriend purchased a $135 starter at this Pep Boys location for his 1978 Mercedes Diesel (already in-stocked item). Within 3 days, the starter decided to spark and shoot sparks. They sold us a bad starter. On Dec. 26, the starter stopped working.

The El Cajon blvd. Pep Boys was said to be the only Pep Boys in the San Diego county to carry in stock a 1978 Mercedes Diesel; therefore, we shopped there.

The day that the car stopped running due to a bad starter sold to us, (12/26/2010) he called that night to speak with an employee to ask if the starter for his car model was in stock, and the employee said "Yes, it is in their store as a stocked item" and told us to stop by as they have it in stock now.

We showed up the next day (12/27), and the Pep Boys employee said the item is not in stock. We said that we called in to ask about it and a female employee said that it was in stock to pick up.

The manager came out and asked us if we called their Pep Boys location on El Cajon Blvd, and we said yes as it is the only Pep Boys in the county that sells his particular starter for his 1978 Mercedes Diesel vehicle model.

Next, the manager insisted that he must had dialed another number to another Pep Boys. We disagreed and showed the receipt from his rewards/gift card and Pep Boys card that has records of his purchase at that store. Then, an employee came out to scan his rewards/gift card, which did show that he purchased the $135 starter at that location.

The manager acted like we did not purchase the starter at that location and than told us that the employee must had not been at his location. We disagreed again (as we did call this location's store number and reached their employee), as a result, the manager concluded that the item was sold to someone else---a coincidence that this customer had our exact car model ('78 Mercedes Diesel 300)

According to the manager, he said that we must bring in the starter and the receipt to the store in order to check if the starter is bad like we reported. After testing the starter, approximately 5 minutes, the manager agreed that the starter no longer works. The manager said that this comes with a warranty, in other words, we can get the starter replaced, but he cannot order it for us.

Because the manager stated that he will not/cannot order for us, we must check every few days (call- in or walk-in) to check if the item is back on stock. According to the manager, this item was a regularly stocked item. He said it is likely to arrive on Friday (Dec.31)
The car was without a starter for one week, starting Dec. 26-31. He came in or called to (Monday & Wednesday) to check up on the status, whether the delivery truck had the item in-stock.

On December 31st (Friday), like the manager believed, the starter was there. On that same day, the starter broke in-half within a few hours of driving. We drove up to Carlsbad for a New' Years Eve gathering with friends, and came back to find that the car would not start and once he pulled open the hood it showed a starter that was falling apart. We were stranded.

On Jan. 1st, we entered the store to speak with the same manager in regards to the starter that was given to us by that store, the manager said that he must had installed the starter incorrectly and that he wants him to bring it back into the store to run some tests.

We believe that the 'new' starter was the original 'bad' starter that was given back to us, like it had been unprofessionally 'fixed' up.
There was no new packaging on the so-called new starter, it had the same golden tip box when it was first purchased with the same markings/scratches on the box, said my bf.

We asked if the manager can just please order a new starter, but the manager refuses because he insists that there is no point in ordering the part because it supposedly comes in as a regularly stocked item for the store.

We will NEVER shop at Pep Boys again due to false service, lack of care, weak customer service!

Lastly, the manager said since it will be the 3rd time, that the starter is returned (as it has a warranty), he believes that there is something wrong with our car and therefore, it must be brought in to check. He just would not admit that his place sold us back our original starter because he refuses to order it.

Misinformed, waited over a week for a new starter to get in-stock at this location (the only San Diego County location to carry this particular item for this particular car model) and got back original broken starter that was temporary fixed which broke down the same day it was replaced.