Pep Boys Auto Parts & Service

Reviews 3

RI

Rick Perry

I recently brought my 2003 Mazda M6 in to the Pep Boys at 1212 N Collins, Arlington TX. I brought the car in because of a "flapping" sound which I could hear coming from one of the wheels on the driver side whenever I drove faster than 25 mph. I dropped the car off on Sunday 7/10. I received a call from the shop the next day explaining that there was a lot of rust damage underneath the car and there was a lot of work that needed to be done. I was aware that there was rust underneath the car and it is an older car. However, the Mazda had been running fine prior to my discovering the flapping sound. The Pep Boys manager (Jay) who called me cautioned me that it was going to be expensive to repair, about $ 3500.00. I was shocked at this, but he read off a long list of items which needed to be repaired. I told him that I could not afford such an expense all at once, and asked if he could repair ONLY THE MOST ESSENTIAL ITEMS FIRST, so that I could at least get the car back on the road. Then, I could return the following month and get the additional items. Jay called me back and said Pep Boys would replace the Struts and a few other items for 1220.39. I agreed and the work was complete on 7/14. I paid for the repair and drove out of the parking lot. I immediately noticed THE EXACT SAME FLAPPING SOUND that had prompted me to bring it in initially. When I came back in, Jay seemed irritated by my presence and said "well, we told you the car needed all the repairs. It was your decision to just do half of them. Thats the reason its still making that sound." I replied that I had asked to do the MOST ESSENTIAL ITEMS FIRST, and in my mind this would seem to be the "flapping sound" that brought into Pep Boys in the first place. I took the Mazda to my regular mechanic and asked him if he could fix the flapping sound, which was still present. He said the sound was caused by a piece of plastic near the inside wheel hub which had come loose. He fixed it for $ 92.00. He was shocked that Pep Boys had charged 1220.00 and had not even fixed this loose piece of plastic. He agreed with Pep Boys that there was a lot of work that needed to be done on the suspension of the car, but his advice was not to sink that much money into a car with this many miles on it. I showed him the invoice for the work Pep Boys had performed and these are his comments: Line 1 is 2 hours labor to replace the struts.179.98. We charge 2.2 hrs. Lines 2 and 3 are the price of the 2 new struts. 152.59 each. We can buy direct from Pep Boys. 56.24 each. Lines 4 and 5 are new strut mounts. 55.48 each. We buy for 27.67 each. Line 6 is the service guy that called you on the phone. 19.99. He did not evaluate anything except how much he can charge you. Line 7 is the mechanic that did the work. He charged you 0.00 to evaluate and tell the service guy what he sees. Line 8 and 9 are the sway bar links that they replaced. 71.89 each. We get them for 26.44 each. Line 10 is the labor to replace the sway bar links. ? 2 hours at 145.60 per hour? We charge 88 per hour and the sway bar links take 0.3 hours each. Line 11. 80.10 for their labor warranty. Our guarantee is free. Line 12. 35.00 shop fee. Ours is 4.00 I am sure you can see why I am upset. My mechanic fixed the problem with my car for $ 92.00. Pep Boys over-charged me for work that an honest mechanic would advise against performing in the first place! After calling Pep Boys customer service, I got a call back from the shop manager. He offered to give me a free oil change. No thanks! And NEVER AGAIN WILL I TAKE MY CAR TO PEP BOYS!

BR

Brent Jones

I just posted this to their corporate office, I wonder if they are willing to do anything about it. I want to say that I have been going to PepBoys for many years, but the last two times I have been in this store I have had a problem. The first time I was in to buy some cleaning supplies for my truck. I couldnt find anyone to ring me out. There were techs out in the shop playing on their cell phones, and the manager James was berating the cashier about the brightness of their floors. All the while I was standing waiting to check out. I gave up after 3 minutes, and left my items at the check out. I got my tax check back last month, and needed to get some tires for my truck. I set up an on-line appointment, and called up the night before. Again I spoke with James, and he assured me that I would be able to get my tires done, and be out by 3PM. I had to pick up my son from school. Well low and behold I show up the following day at 11:45, 15 minutes early and they take my keys and get my information (that I had already given them the night before). Apparently James hadnt done anything with the information I called about the night prior. They also didnt have the tires that they quoted me. The other desk person said that they hadnt had my tires for over a week. I agreed to a lesser quality tire at a higher price, because this was my one chance to have this done. After about 90 minutes I noticed my vehicle had not been moved from the spot it had been in the shop. I asked James, who apparently had just gotten back from lunch, what was going on. He told me that they were running behind that day, but "Stop Worrying" theyll get to me. I reiterated my time concern. At 2:15 they still hadnt touched my car, and he called me up there. "Youre going to need an alignment." I told him that I didnt need an alignment. "I know what Im talking about, if you dont get an alignment youre going to be buying tires again in another 10 months." I dont need a condescending little man telling me what I need. I had them give me my keys, and I took my truck. I have since purchased $850 worth of tires, $440 in brakes, and a $350 tonneau cover from your competition. I dont want anything from you. I have told my friends and family to never go back, especially to that store. If you were smart you would get rid of James, but that is up to you. He said hes been there a long time, but Ive never come across him before these two experiences. Im done.

ME

Mel S

11/24/13 I just needed to replace the front fuel soft tubing because leaking gasoline which is $4.56 in parts. They insisted they needed a fuel leak evaluation which is an additional $34.99. I went ahead and decided to get an oil change at that same time (synthetic). which added $67.98 to the cost. The labor comes out to 157.75. Total of $224.47. The next day I decided to apply heat wrap tape to the new fuel tubing to protect it and found the Coolant Temp. Switch (left side) broken (plastic). Since its Thanksgiving Holiday I didnt bring it back until 11/29. I realized the temp switch may have been inadvertently broken and probably need replacement anyway (1996 Mustang GT). I told them I needed the Coolant temp sensor replaced and to go ahead and change the Coolant ($60.49). The replacement Coolant temp. sensor cost $35.13 ($14.99 actual cost in the internet). After working on the car the coolant temp was reading high at 260 F and now leaking. They decided to do a coolant system evaluation ($34.99) and replaced the thermostat ($103.00). I took the car home and realized my temp gauge was not working. I did research on my Chilton Manual and found that they replaced the coolant temp switch WT724/SW5110 (left side with the wrong part (Coolant temp sensor WT3058P/DY961) which is one on the right. I brought my car back that same day and informed Pep Boys. At 1st he state they were the same part. I showed him my manual in which it state to make sure not to get it mixed up. Pep boys replaced the sensor with the switch but Im still having problems with my temp gauge (still not working). This 2nd visit cost me 293.93. In short I could have change the fuel line tubing for less than $5.00 and now I payed Pep boys a total of $518.40 and 2 whole days lost. Lesson learned: take it to the dealer and Itll cost you less and hopefully will be done right. Note they also advised me to change my inner rods (not alligned/loose) on my 1st visit:$ 300.00+ but I declined. If they simply replaced the fuel tubing like I asked them and not broke the coolant temp switch then all this would not happen. Beware of there recommendations and check the work done on the car afterwards. I decided to take my lost and repair it myself otherwise Pep boys will end up making it worst costing me more money and time lost.

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