Pep Boys Auto Parts & Service

Went there the other day to buy a headlight and turn signal bulb. An employee noticed me searching in the aisle and assisted without asking. Just something you don’t see now a days, especially in stores like this. They weren’t too busy so maybe that’s why I got extra attention. Good job.

I would probably rate lower if I could. Came in to buy a full set of tires in a pinch because I was set to leave for Florida in the morning.
1^st– they called and told me they had my tires and to come down. When I got there, they didn’t have the right set.
2^nd– When they got the right tires 1.5 hrs later, they took 2.5 hrs to put them on.
3^rd– they installed them backwards. So I made an appointment before I left the store for the following weekend
4^th– they charged me $ 150 more than I was quoted for the exact same tire on their website and still didn’t give me roadside. So In the long run they charged me $ 250 more. When I ask about it they gave me a whole run around about specific tires etc. settled on the web site doesn’t include taxes and shop fees! $ 250 tax and shop fees!!! GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!
5^th– I left the next morning for Florida and heard a noise the entire trip. I kept checking every time I stopped without finding anything. When I got to Florida, took it to a shop and they found that I had been given a faulty tire (out of round). Instead of telling me, they stacked weight in it so thick that the weights were hitting the brake caliper and that was the noise I heard.
6^th– came back for the appointment that was scheduled a week and a half earlier (and confirmed by them calling me the night before), and had to wait 1.5 hrs before they even got to my truck. PLUS another 2.5hrs for them to complete the repairs…
In summation: THIS STORE is NOT the same pep boys corporation that my father took his truck to for years for everything. I can’t say it is company wide, but this store has deviated so far from the old business motto that they need to revamp the entire repair/​service department.
Cathy was my advisor…

Quick Verdict — Take your business elsewhere if you value your time and money
The problem: Had a tire pressure sensor warning on my car. Called up pep boys and was told that it could either be a case of reprogramming the sensor or replacing it. Asked if the sensor was available and was told yes. Asked for an estimate on time and was told that it would take 15 minutes for reprogramming or an hour for the sensor to be changed. Was given an appointment at 2PM
The experience: Reached pep boys at 1:45 — the person who I spoke to was out for lunch. A technician said they won’t look at my car till 2PM. I said ok, since that was my appointment time anyway. Handed over my keys and waited outside. 2:45 now, and still nobody had taken the car in. Went in and asked and they couldn’t find my keys. They said I hadn’t handed the keys over. I said I did. Another 15 minute search later they found it with one of the technicians. By now it’s 3. Already the time I thought I’d be out. Ten minutes later and my car is still in the lot. I then ask the manager, how long is it going to take? They now say, we’re sorry, we are going to take it in just now. It will take an hour to replace the sensor. I said, how did you determine whether the replacement was needed when you haven’t even see the car or reprogrammed the sensor? At this point it’s 3:30 and my car is still in the parking lot. Went in, said that when I come in for a 2PM appointment for an hour, I expect it to begin at 2 and end at a reasonable time. Was told the auto industry is kind of like the doctors office. We cannot commit to any time. Well, that did it. Told them, I choose my doctors wisely, maybe I need to extend that to mechanics. Asked for my keys. Said thanks for nothing and walked out. Never again.

I have always had great experience on buying parts here. Their parts guys are generally pretty good, especially Chuck. He is always very excited to help customers, not sure if he too much coffee in the morning, but he seems very positive about doing his job.
So when my buddy, who is mechanic didn’t have the time help me with a repair, I thought, why not take it to pepboys on Joppa road? So I called them to make an appointment on replacing timing, alternator, and drive belt. Dropped off at 8AM, when they opened. They told I should leave the car there, ok, that’s fine. Then they called me back and suggested that I should replace the water pump as well, and charged me for parts and install. Ok, that’s fine. A day later to pick up, $ 400+ paid, got the car back. Drove it around for about a month, power steering started to make weird noise. By then, my buddy came over and looked at it. The drive belt was jumping all over the place when the car is running, so they didn’t tighten the bolt down enough, and it got loose. Then we decided to lift up the car. Guess what? The alternator bolt is missing! The alternator was holding on its dear life by the pressure of the belt!
And on top of that, they took my pass side headlight off to work on the car, and broke a tab that hold the headlight. I really don’t know if they did that by accident? Or the fact that they didn’t tighten the bolt, and missing the alternator bolt are all care less mistakes? Or did they did that on purpose so I will have to bring my car back again and charge me a ton. This experience did not build confidence for me.
I will still go there for parts, if they have it… they often run out on parts and have to go to middle river store to pick it up. However, I will not go back there for service again. That is 3 too many mistakes on one car.

Very unprofessional! This place seriously needs to work on how they treat their customers!
At 8:30 am, I scheduled a 10 am appointment for a tire service using their online tool. I could not get the 9 am appointment because it was not available. So I waited until 9:30 to drive there and arrived at the shop at 9:55. This is when the guy told me that they could not keep my appointment and would like to reschedule for 12 pm. I told him that I had just spent 20 min in my car to get there and needed to go to work after the appointment. So he said, can you come back after work? I replied that I could not and I would like to retain my appointment as scheduled. He replied that that was not possible.
WHY DO YOU GUYS HAVE ONLINE APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING WHEN YOU DON’T KEEP YOUR PROMISES?
I consider this to be very unprofessional treatment of a customer. I will never go to this shop again!

Great group of Guys the service Manager Mike got me right in and out. Had to have a tire replaced and they had me in and out in less than an hour. If you have needs for you car and are in the area don’t hesitate to see Mike and the guys at Pep Boys!!!

My friend’s car broke down and this was the closest place so he managed to drive it there. They gave him an estimate of $ 1000 and he opted to have it towed to another place to have it fixed. They charged him $ 90 for the estimate. A few days later we had a significant snowstorm. When he called to say he was coming to get the car they said it would take him awhile to dig it out as the snowplow had piled up all the snow in the lot right in front of his car which was in the corner boxed in by the fencing. When we arrived I was shocked to see snow mounds higher than the car — packed, frozen snow. Completely boxed in. Both the counter man and the manager said they could do nothing to help us and suggested we wait until the snow melted. Seriously?! We could not wait as we had a tow truck coming. I estimated 2 – 4 hours of labor digging out. Just as we started two guys from the service bay who saw us struggling came out and pitched in. Hooray for these guys who did the right thing and boo on the management for not giving a hoot — never even said they were sorry.

I brought my car in for an oil change and because it was making a rubbing noise when coasting. After searching the internet, I knew that it could be a wide range of problems. I made an appointment online, and dropped off my car. Everything went perfectly.
Within an hour of opening the next morning, I received a phone call from the mechanic, who was very friendly and explained the possibilities. They checked out my car and told me that all they could find were two nails in my tire, which they patched for FREE. They then gave me a list of things that would probably need to be looked at in the next few months (a belt, new tires; my car has 62,000 miles on it).
I picked up my car; the entire cost was only $ 40 (I got synthetic oil). I was expecting to pay possibly several hundred, given the different things it could have been.
I appreciate the honesty of the folks who worked on my car. They earned a long-​term customer!

Went in for an oil change because I had a coupon. It took them an Hour and a Half to do it, then forgot to rotate the tires as the coupon said they would do. So that took another half an hour. So it took 2 hours to do what Jiffy Lube can do in 25 minutes. Jiffy Lube is a little more expensive, but they have much better service, and a nice waiting area, and they clean your car. The guy behind the counter at the Pep boys seemed to have a problem saying what he thought about everything, and when I told him that I probably won’t be back, he said «whatever.» The manager did come out and apologized, and gave me the next 2 oil changes free, which is why it got 2 stars instead of 1. At least he recognized the problem and tried to make it right. But if you are looking for a quick in and out oil change, don’t go here. If you need more extensive work done, then this is probably the place to go. They’ve been there a long time, so it can’t be all that bad.

I came in after my car failed inspection b/​c my battery was too small. The guy working pulled it out and installed a part to fix it… all for FREE!

Went in for a simple brake service because I had a positive experience at another Pep Boys. This shop kept me there for 6 hours just to replace the brake pads on two wheels and gave me no progress reports to explain why it was taking so long. If you plan to wait for your car DO NOT go to this shop for the simple fact they have no waiting room. I waited on a folding chair on the shopping sales floor while parts customers tried to buy supplies around me. The service writer was friendly and tried his best to make customers happy and that’s the only good part of the experience.