Pep Boys Auto Parts & Service

I came in for an oil change at 4:20 they told me it would be done by 6:30. My car was done at 7. When I went in nobody was at the counter. The attendant who showed up after I asked a sales associate wasn’t apologetic. I asked to speak to the manager. He told me I could «complain» and was frustrated that I complained. The manager made up excuses, and wasn’t apologetic. Don’t go here the service is terrible

It’s hard to even give this dump 1 star. Went there earlier with my dad to get a new air filter for my car. The credit card machine wasn’t working and it took over 5 minutes and the transaction still never went through. I asked if we could manually do because now we have been there 10 minutes. The poor cashier couldn’t even find his manager. He was no where to be found. Someone finally found him he came out and my dad asked if he could ring us up or what should we do? Should we to go another place. And the MANAGER says. Yes that’s a great idea. Go somewhere else. We left and will never be back.

How convenient, you can make an appointment online for an oil change at this place… actually, don’t bother! I booked an appointment for an oil change + tire rotation for 1 p.m.
Dropped my car off at 12:55. Had lunch around the corner, anticipating a phone call notifying my car would be ready…
Came back and sat in the waiting area until 2:15, when I asked the guy at the counter what the status of my car was. Come to find out, my car is still in the freaking parking lot where I dropped it off at!!! I received a half-​hearted apology/​excuse that a lift wasn’t ready at the time I dropped my car off. Umm, ok, how about a heads up?!
This guy I was dealing with obviously doesn’t get paid enough to care, so he sheepishly left to get a manager to remedy the situation.
Remedy? $ 20 off + «Sorry, it’s the best I can do.»
STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE.
*edit* as I’m standing in line to pay, a lady tells me she’s been waiting for her car since 11! It’s 3:20! unbelievable. I should have read the Unilocal reviews first.

Hmmmmm…
I made an appointment over the interwebz for a same day oil change.
When I get to this location, the front desk guy told me that they never received the appointment. Come to find out, Pep Boys only transmits the list of appointments to the stores every morning?
Weird.
Anyway, the front desk dude ends up finding my appointment. He says hes «doing me a favor» and ends up fitting me in around the same time I had scheduled the appointment for.
Not a bad experience, but Pep Boys needs to invest in their IT staff.

Very little regard for the truth on a systemic level … watch out. I’m old enough to realize you’re going to run into the employee that doesn’t deal with honesty too well, but it was my experience that all three employees I dealt with in one day, broke their word and/​or had a bad relationship with the truth. If you’re hoping to find either professionalism or people honoring their word, I would advise you to look elsewhere.

The Pep Boys staff and manager on El Camino Real in Encinitas were extremely unprofessional and dismissive toward me. I had booked an appointment for an oil change today at 11am. I turned up promptly only to be told by the manager that he couldn’t fit me in until 1pm. When I said I couldn’t wait that long as I had to return to work he accused me of being inflexible. Additionally I was told I needed a coupon to receive the price quoted on the homepage of the Pep Boys Website. He claimed to have no knowledge of, or access to, his own company website. All three staff at the service desk were dismissive and extremely unhelpful. My appointment meant nothing to them.
I immediately drove across the road to Jiffy Lube where they saw me on the spot without an appointment. They were helpful and efficient. When I asked the staff about a coupon I saw on their website the night before, they knew exactly what I was talking about and were happy to apply it – even though I didn’t have the physical coupon or my smartphone with me to verify it. I was back at work by 12.
The difference between the two companies speaks for itself.

I had to come into the store to pick up something for my sister that she had ordered online. When I walked into the store and spoke to the person at the people at the register and gave them the name and order number, they went into the back and grabbed the item off their shelves.
The only problem that we ran into when I picked it up was that the order was no longer in their system and that I then had to purchase it on behalf of my sister. So after a few games of phone tag with my sister, we finally got ahold of each other and the manager of the store asked my sister the price of what she had paid for the item and then I ended up paying for that item at that price. I appreciate the work that she did in order to get me the item my sister had placed and I just wish that they would extend the hold time of their online items.

Update to previous review.
I’d like to thank pep boys for handling this issue in a timely and effective manner. Presented estimates to pep boys for the repair of the bumper and we were given a check. Thank you for handling this!
I’m writing this review for my little brother. He is in the Marines and currently going through Recon training. He left his brand new car with Pep Boys for a week to get his spark plugs repaired because he’s in training and had to be on base and this is how he got it back (posted picture separately). When he asked how or why his bumper was damaged he was told they have no idea and would not take responsibility. They charged him 600 $ for the spark plugs and told him they would take a look at the cameras. His car was damaged while in your care and you need to be responsible for it and fix it! Here is a young man risking his life for our country and you can’t even take responsibility for damage to his car while in your care! Shame on you!

They totally took advantage of my teenager looking to have service on his car. Last week he went in for an oil change on his Honda — he paid $ 79.95! He was told synthetic oil was needed for his car and even though there was a sign over the door that said $ 25 for an oil change the service alone cost $ 35! If he had walked north one block he could have had it done for $ 19.95. Yesterday he trusted them again, this time with tires. He did all his research, found the best price for the tires he needed and once again made an appt with this Pep Boys. Once he got there, they told him he needed different tires, never bothered to tell him they were more expensive and then charged him over $ 50 more than what he was expecting. I’m hoping they invest the $ 100 they cheated off of a kid, because it’s the last they’ll get out of us. We’ve used them in the past for several different reasons, but we won’t be using them again. I’d hate to see what they do to old ladies if this is what they do to teenagers.

Really appreciate the help from Mark yesterday; he went above and beyond to help with a problem with my ’94 Camry. After such friendly and helpful service I will definitely be coming back here when I need parts or service!

Not once, but twice they tried to get me to get the wrong antifreeze. I told them each time I needed the green/​yellow type. I was lucky and noticed the first time that it was blue. When I went to exchange, the associate brought a bottle up and when I questioned the color he said it was the one I needed. It was obvious the color was red. I repeated that I said I need yellow, that’s what is in car and they cannot be mixed. Ladies beware of this, it can end up costing a lot of repair. Don’t trust this store.

First time I went for an oil change there, they told me I needed to replace my air filter. I had just replaced the air filter about two weeks prior and it was brand spanking new still. However, the next time I needed an oil change, I went back. I found a great deal for an oil change so I made an appt online and went in the next dAy. The guy said it would be at least two hours for my appt. Said it would be an hour til any mechanic was free and then another 1+hrs for the oil change? Huh??? I told him I had an appointment and he says, we are fully booked til Tuesday (it was Sunday) and that I could come back. I went down the street to a different service station and for the same price was done in twenty minutes. Wonder how that place stays in business with so many dissatisfied customers.

Had a 3:00 appointment to get my brakes done. 3:45 I’m called because they can’t find my wheel locks. I asked them what they’ve been doing for 45 minutes. The response without as much as an I’m sorry was that they were waiting for a slot to open up so they could pull my car inside becAuse they were running behind. Unbelievable!!! Pep Boys has lost my business!

A few months back I realized the drain plug on my wifes car was getting stripped down so I took it in to let them do the oil change and replace the drain plug. When I picked it up I made sure to confirm with the person who checked me out and he assured me they had replaced the drain plug. I checked once I got home and of course it wasn’t. I called back and talked to Grant (the one highlight to my dealings there), he offered to have my come in and he would fix it right away. Never ended up making it there in what I considered quickly enough so I figured I would just make sure it got done on the next oil change so I could go back to doing it myself. Called up last night and asked if they could squeeze in an oil change before the closed. Was told they could. I get there and after waiting 20 minutes in line (don’t know how it possibly took so long) the man behind the counter (i’ll leave off his name) first made sure to ask the guy behind me who had just walked in if he was there before me. Then when I mentioned I had just called, which had been a while since I was waiting for so long and was hoping to do the oil change I was flatly told No we don’t have time. He was so short in his response I thought he was kidding for a second. I don’t know if I have ever been as disappointed with a company or service before. Couldn’t even write this review last night because I didn’t want to come off too rude in my comments and gave myself time to think it over.
It’s a shame because I really do appreciate the guys in the parts department, but after my experience last night I’ll never be back. Plenty of other options in Encinitas.

Since I turned 16 a long time ago, I have pretty much relied on Pep Boys for any car service I’ve needed. I’ve had bad experiences with other local places. The now defunct Winston Tires slashed my CV Boot when doing a tire change, «finding» the issue during the change and of course offering to fix it.
Pep Boys has always offered honest service at a decent price. I imagine you can find a little cheaper, but I like to manage risk. If I bring my car into Pep Boys, I know they will get it done in a timely fashion and not take me to the cleaners. You can also opt into their loyalty program and get what is essentially a 10% store credit rebate mailed back to you, improving the value proposition.
The store itself has the largest local parts counter, all the fluids and oils you’d need, and a bunch of car knick knacks you probably don’t need.
Overall, Pep Boys offers a dependably good option for local general car repair. They don’t do electrical work, but for any run of the mill mechanical problem, they have your back.

«Go away, you person who wants to use our free battery check service!»
Grant at the desk wanted me to leave my car for 4 hours to get the free battery check. That’s just crazy.
Myself & family have always gotten free battery checks at Autozone in Poway, they wheel the cart to the car, put the test clamps on the battery then 1 minute later a computer report prints out. Pep Boys has this same testing cart but to wait 4 hours? Yikes!
UPDATE:
As I’m standing in line, they are telling another customer she can get her auto work done today (Friday), but if she wants to use the coupon then she must make the appointment online, and book the next appointment avail thru the online system
which is for Monday. Very snaky way to do business. Thought I’d try this Pep Boys cuz it’s a few blocks from my new house, but I’ll just continue using the old reliable Autozone

Didn’t have service but the review is for the poor customer service. Came in at 6pm looking for an oil change, was told itd be at least 1.5 to 2 hours wait or cine back around 8 because it’s slow.
Came back at 820p…20 minutes too late I guess. Same guy said «bummer were closing up. We close at 9 and it takes too long for an oil change at this time. .then finger snap oh shucks» all while snacking on his sandwich.
What has happened to good customer service these days. Always trying to hope other Unilocalers are wrong but in this case I should have listened to their reviews!

Made an appointment on PepBoys website for an oil change for a Tuesday at 12N.
I arrived 15 mins early to check in, waited for probably 15 mins before someone even checked me in.
I figured that I should be in and out of there by 1p. That’s 1 hour for a 20 minute oil change. My car was finally done at 215p. Really ?? And no explanation as to why it took so long. Not even an apology.
Not only did it take them way too long for this service, somehow they also managed to get the paperwork mixed up with another car. The license plate, mileage and veh info on my paperwork is not that of my car. Also the little sticker they place in the windshield telling you when the next service is due shows a different mileage that what my car is at (way higher.) I didn’t even bother to go back and let them know. For what?
I just wish I would have read the reviews before going to take my vehicle to them. Never again!

I want to preface my review by saying the guy working there was very nice and apologetic.
I made an appointment on
for an afternoon time to get my oil changed. It wasn’t until after I’d made the appointment that I realized this was the location that took forever. I figured with an appointment I might fare better. I arrived early and stood waiting for a good 10 minutes before someone came to the front.
A guy finally came to the front and had to answer the phone first — by the way, if you are calling Pep Boys and the guy keeps repeating that he has «multiple customers waiting, just bring your car in and he’ll have a look», stop talking (many expletives).
Anyway, when it was finally my turn, he said their online system doesn’t account for how busy they get, so it just keeps making appointments whether or not they can handle it. This completely defeats the purpose of an online ordering system!
It’s 5PM and he tells me my car should be done before 9PM. Yeah, I’m not waiting 4 hours for a 20 minute oil change.

Manny, Moe and Jack do not hire very helpful employees. I just wanted help selecting an oil filter. Not so much help. Actually, I got no help.
They had an ad in their own store advertisement — Buy a certain brand filter and 4 quarts of oil and get the fifth quart free. Well they were out of that filter so I couldn’t get the deal. Not that I care much but it was their own promotional ad.
I’ll still occasionally shop here for engine cleaner, spark plugs, colored tape when my tail light breaks etc… You know, those not so hard to find things. But when I need something special for my car made with quality American made components, I’ll have to go elsewhere.
This is a low budget auto parts and accessories store. That’s about it. It serves it’s purpose. Average!