Pep Boys Auto Parts & Service

Went to Pep Boys in Howell to get a front directional light replaced on my 2006 Cadillac CTS. They told me they had to take the whole bumper off and it would cost $ 287.00. I left, went straight to a gas station the guy put it up on the lift, reached behind the bumper and replaced it for $ 20.00!!!. Pep Boys is a rip off.

The worst!!! I will never again bring a car to this awful place! Customer service is none existent and they all have a bad attitude! Even when you have an appointment you will end up waiting for a long time.

Just read that East Brunswick Pep Boys (along with several other locations) has been accused by the state of mislabeling prices on some of their merchandise in violation on the consumer fraud act. Another reason to shop elsewhere !

I’m sitting in Pepboys’ sorry excuse for a waiting room for now 3 hours waiting for them to change a flat tire. I was told they’d be done in half an hour. They didn’t even take the car to the service area until I complained an hour and a half into waiting.
The people at the desk are arrogant and rude as if I’m taking up their time. Hilariously, the service person called me into the back because he didn’t know how to reattach and store my spare tire and needed me to show him.
The thing that irks me the most is that I paid $ 25 for hazard protection and they’re only discounting $ 25 on my replacement despite buying the original tire from Pepboys a few months ago. Why did I even bother with the warranty?! These guys are absolute crooks.
The sheer incompetence and utter failings of this location are beyond excuse and I would not recommend it to anyone.

Had a nail in a tire so got that repaired here … I was in and out in less than an hour but I went early on a weekday morning so I’m sure evenings and weekends are a different story … the service was a bit rude and disrespectful but that seems to be the case wherever you go these days …

Only come here for minor stuff and never work on the engine… not even an oil change. Just needed break pads as recommended by my dealership… JUST BREAK PADS. The dealership confirmed that everything else was in good condition. But the service associate from PepBoys told me I needed new pads AND rotors and brake fluid. KEEP IN MIND no one even looked at my car yet. It was still parked in the parking lot. How does he know I need all of that when my car has not even been inspected yet? Be prepared for the up sell of your life.

4 hours is kind of a long time to wait in the store when I had an appointment for only an oil change and 2 new tires. Not the first time I’ve had problems but I know it’ll be my last!

I’ve always come here for minor work, and I never worry about how long it takes to wait for the car because I live so close that I can always go home and come back when it’s ready.
But I noticed that in general the staff here have some kind of attitude. Not sure if they’re tired from a long day, or the younger guys are a little rough around the edges, or they think they are «Gods» because they are the ones to fix a car for people. Doesn’t hurt to be kind of pleasant, rather than gruff and abrupt.
Firestone are efficient and get the job done, but when they are asking you questions about the car, their general tone and demeanor are friendlier. You don’t feel like an inconvenience to them. Especially when you’re the one paying them!
Prices are in line with all car chains — more expensive than a small garage, and they find a way to give you a laundry list of «scary» issues that you must pay to repair ASAP.

My sister got fresh tires put on her car a year/15,000 miles ago. They are in fine condition. When she went to this Pep Boys to find out why her car was making a noise, she received an estimate of $ 1,800. The work, much of it unnecessary, included four new tires.
This is why Pep Boys is facing a class action lawsuit. Stay away.

Came in to buy 1 tire as the side wall was damaged. They refused to sell me just 1 tire. They claimed the other 3 tires did not have sufficient tread for an AWD vehicle according to the pep boys «policy». The tires had less than 30K miles on them and were far from needing replacement. Despite the fact that I was in a bind with a flat dire, the Manager refused. So… I called Mr. Tire down the road on Rte 18 who confirmed there is no such law or policy at Mr. Tire and they were happy to have me on my wan within 1 hour. Such a shame Pep boys is focused on driving increased sales vs helping their customers.

Well, not 24 hours went by before I was contacted by Pep Boys regarding my experience. To make a long story short, they seemed genuine in their apologies about my bad experience, and they offered to make it right, and then followed through. Since every company screws up, and I believe that the measure of a company is how they resolve their errors, I have increased their rating to 3 stars, a blend of their poor initial service and their aggressive efforts to correct those errors.

I’ve always been a fan of Pep Boys. Typically you can expect quick service at reasonable prices for all basic maintenance like tires and oil changes including parts up the wazoo.
When you deal with a chain, any chain there’s usually a protocol that’s followed to a robotic text, kinda like CK’s favorite dance move. One exactly like another. Sorry sir, but we don’t do things that way here or well that’s our procedure as per corporate. This particular branch exceeded my expectations in a big way.
So my story begins with a noticeable nail in my cars tire which I happened to notice at 8:15 pm. Oh no! Where to get help by the time before I reach a garage before the a flat develops? Ahh, Pep Boys is open to 9pm, but I’ll be very close to closing time when I get there. Oh heck, go anyway I thought and proceeded. As soon as I arrived 8:35p, I knew I’d need to speak to a manager especially due to the line in the waiting room, aughh. Warren the retail mgr. without question brought me over to Andres the service advisor who gladly prepared my order to plug the tire. Low and behold, the tire was damaged and couldn’t be plugged. Now I faced the wallet draining need to buy a new tire. Or do I? Andres quickly checks my history records discovering I have a tire protection plan (I wipe sweat from my eye brow) and it’s covered, yeah bady!
So as a chain most locations must handle situations in similar fashion to a point. But, rest assure that service at this location is pretty good for your basic car parts and minor repairs.

The Pep Boys Merry-​go-​Round continues…
After complaining to customer service, Guy actually called me back, apologized, and offered me new hubcaps. Value: about $ 35. So now I have nice new hubcaps.
Of course a day later, I ran over a nail on Route 1 and needed a new tire. Karma kicked my ass. Oh well…
Still plan on getting my oil changed elsewhere, but a nice recovery job for Pep Boys.

I don’t usually give out 1 star reviews unless it is truly deserved. I am a very accommodating and easy to please customer so for me to give this rating, it really means something .
I do not like coming to Pep Boys. I have not been back for a really long time, but this time it was out of emergency and desperation. The job I requested was not difficult or complicated. Typical shops like Sam’s Club and Costco would get it done within an hour. Here the rep promised a job completion time of an hour but it took the crew 3. I even made a note to the rep that I was in a rush, and he brushed me off.
The reason why I stopped coming here is because this place just takes too damn long for the simplest jobs and the time estimated to do them are way off. The rep was also incredibly unapologetic that I waited 3 hours. What bothered me the most was the sneering comment he made towards me, saying that the wait was not bad because I was having fun playing on my phone. I was speechless, this was exactly how I imagined spending my Saturday, playing on my phone for 3hrs at Pep Boys while waiting for my car to get fixed.
Please do yourself a favor and do not come here. There are plenty of better priced, efficient mechanics around East Brunswick or in neighboring towns with better customer service you can go to.

Pep boys service customers… Run from this place and head over to the new AAA repair center right down the road on RT 18. What a breath of fresh air. Rafael the car care manager was so professional. It must be the good company he works for that treats employees like assets and not disposable garbage. I have been a life long east Brunswick resident and I will now take my cars here for their service needs. They actually have mechanics with current ASE certifications unlike pep boys so you have no idea how certified the mechanics are. My family is more important.

I have spent SO MUCH MONEY in this place, and somehow, there’s always an issue with my service one way or another: be it 2 – 3 hour wait time for an oil change or tire change; technicians failing to reset my oil sensor even after I ask them; breaks squeaking about a week after I have them completely replaced– pads– roters– everything; or failing to replace fluids during an oil change.
Well, today left me with no words for the disgust that I feel for this company, and particularly this location. I came in to have a tire replaced, a tail light replaced, and an oil change. I had a premonition that I wasn’t leaving without spending at least $ 300. Of course, the thieves told me my tread was dangerously low and that I shouldn’t even drive home without replacing all 4 tires for around $ 800. No. Not doing it– I settled for 2 tires and the tail light and oil change.
It was done in about an hour and a half, not bad time with their track record. I get out to my car and a plastic and metal part on the side of my seat is completely broken. IT WAS NOT LIKE THAT WHEN I BROUGHT MY CAR IN! I have no reason to spend so much time and effort lying about a part being broken that wasn’t broken in the first place, which is what the manager is still insinuating– that it was brought in that way.
He came out to my car to check it, we went back and forth, and he told me he was offering to fix it. I gave him the keys and said, «Then here, fix it!» Meanwhile, I called the customer service line to file a formal complaint. After I’m off the phone and step back inside, I peeked through the service window and saw my trunk was open. I approached the manager and asked, «Can you tell me why my trunk would be open if he’s supposed to be fixing my seat?»
The manager replied, «He forgot to fix your tail light.» Wait– the tail light I paid for, the tail light that was broken and still would be broken if the technician hadn’t damaged my seat. I threw my arms up, as if to say «of course» and paced back and forth in my infuriation.
The manager called me over, told me he had to order a part for my seat which was around $ 60, and replace it with labor– a job that would total over $ 375, normally. I questioned his quote, and he reassured me. I said, «you don’t expect me to pay for this, right?» At first he said he’d work with me, and I argued. I mentioned the tail light faux pas, and he said he would «absorb the cost.» Yeah– you better absorb the cost because YOUR technician broke my seat.
STRESS… That is what to expect when you come to Pep Boys. Another 3 hours logged today, and IF the part comes in tomorrow for my seat, god only knows how many other countless hours of my life will be wasted in this establishment. I am so unhappy and DONE with this place.

I almost decided to not write this review because of the large number of angry reviews made by others, but I guess the point of Unilocal is to get a wide range of views… including contrary opinions.
I went to get my battery changed. It has been bone-​chilling this winter and I had a feeling that my 5-​year-​old battery was on its last legs as starts were getting a little rough. The place was packed on a Sunday morning, and I’m REALLY glad I set an appointment online because it was as much as a 3-​hour wait for walk-​ins. That’s important because it was only an hour from the time I checked in to the time I walked out with the work completed.
The crew was polite, and everything works fine now. I had a good experience and, while it seems to differ from so many others here, it was worth noting that they seem to be running a thriving shop based on customer volume.

This store is heading down hill and fast. I went to visit the brand new Auto zone on Rt 18 on Friday, they are fired up and ready to take pep boys out. If you don’t listen to your customer’s your business at this location is going to suffer.
I had the privileges of meeting and talking to one of the managers at this location. I saw his picture on the wall, I don’t know if he is the store manager or acting manager. I was not impressed with the way he handled the situation.
I bought a Code Reader and the software that came with that code reader was not compatible with a mac laptop. I do not own a windows based PC. I explained to the cashier which was rude and didn’t even let me finish a sentence. I didn’t want my money back, I just want one that is compatible.
Shame on me for not reading it, but why can’t you listen to your customers. I left the store after being denied a return from that very same store manager, on a brand new item. I called the home office and spoke to someone, he was back on the phone the same day, but why does it have to get to that point?
But, what really bothers me even more is when you get me on the phone to tell me, I ultimately can still deny you. They just ask me to call you. Why would you even say that? Because you think I’m trying to get over on your store and you clearly want to let me know if I encounter another denial, you’ll have every right to still deny me.
So, I emailed the company which makes the product, I asked if their software would ever be compatible and they told me, at this time, the product I had was not compatible. I had to print that email and bring it into the store to show the store manager I wasn’t lying.
I do all my tire changes and buy all my supplies from pep boys and have done so for many years. I believe it’s time to start looking for a new favorite store.
Guess what, I hope Auto zone puts you out of business in the first few months. Whats really gonna shock people, this problem happened over a year ago, and in my mind its still fresh enough to go down on a Unilocal review.
Boom!

In the high summer heat of July I brought my vehicle in to the East Brunswick, NJ branch to get an A/​C Evaluation and hopefully a solution to my broken A/​C. I received a call from one of your employers telling me that the only issue was a clog and that I would receive a new air filter and a recharge and the service would only cost me $ 200 — which was a deal! My excitement was soon taken away from me the next day I entered my car. I no longer had A/​C and my check engine light came on — I was fuming. I let a couple of days go by to see if the car just needed adjusting and luckily the check engine light turned off however my car was hotter than it was outside.
I brought my car back in to the establishment to find out what happened, why my air conditioner wasn’t working, and how we can get it to work. After dropping my car off again I received a call from one of your associates during work. I was told that I would need to replace the A/​C suction line for $ 500 because I have a leak, I declined the full service. When I stopped by later to pick up my car I questioned your associate and asked — why wasn’t this caught the first time I came in? He simply answered «The leak probably happened after that». I questioned him again «What you are saying is that after you serviced my car something happened and I have a leak now, because when I first came in it was fine,» no response. I am sure by now you will understand my frustration with having to pay $ 500 on top of the $ 200 I’ve already paid for, for a service that only guaranteed me misleading results.
I would also like to point out that several of the East Brunswick, NJ branch employees of Pep Boys were rude and condescending. One in particular was not nice and he did not help the situation. However there were other employees who were pleasant to do business with so that one person’s bad attitude will not tarnish my impression of Pep Boys’ employees.
I went to Pep Boys because I was under the impression that I would receive great service, but unfortunately I did not. It’s a shame that I had to pay $ 200 of my meager earnings in order to learn a modern fundamental lesson that online reviews are 110% valid.

I hate pep boys, but they sell automotive supplies and so sometimes I have to suffer through shopping there. Thankfully when they asked for my phone number while making a cash purchase and I declined, they didn’t ask again. Thank you.
Go for parts if necessary, but don’t use their service center.