Pep Boys

So Ive been going to pep boys for a while buying side parts and stuff from them like light bulbs, wipers etc. I ended up getting a battery from them, the battery dies the next day. I get them to test it for me to see if I just have a short in my car. Nope they gave me a defective battery so they swap it out for me AND SAME THING HAPPENS. I finally got a good battery after my third swap.
A few days later I now go off to get my car repair because its making a weird noise and I wanted to get it checked out and a price estimate to fix it. 90 $ just to look at my car, like I get it so people dont just take advantage of their services. But 90 $ geez so I tell them about my car and they say that they cant fix or diagnose it. Like what the … wasted 90 $ getting my car checked and they cant fix it. DO NOT GO HERE

I have been going to this location for service on my VW Jetta since I bought it about 3 years ago. The first experience I had was to have diagnostics ran on the check engine light not long after I purchased the car. An employee who, to my knowledge no longer works there, who was doing the diagnostics HIT ON ME in front of my mother while talking to me about my car. So embarrassing and unprofessional! Like I said though, that tech no longer works there as far as I know.
So, the next experience I had going there (albeit I was reluctant because of my last experience — I’m typically a loyal customer, and I give people second chances and the benefit of the doubt, we’re all human!) I needed an oil change and my alignment done. When the oil change was done, they called me up and told me that they were unable to do a wheel alignment because for some reason the VW dealership had to do it. That was incredibly frustrating. It just seemed like they didn’t want to do the work.
My third experience was about two weeks ago when I made an appointment at 1 pm to have a conventional oil change done. I arrived 15 minutes early and confirmed that I had an appointment. I have one of their points cards, so they also have all my info in their system (like I said, loyal). They told me they would call me when it was done. I went for a walk to the record stores across the street and browsed for an hour and 45 minutes, never had I received a call. So I walked back over to pep boys and asked them what was going on. Apparently, they still had 2 other patrons ahead of me!!! So I said politely, «so it doesn’t matter that I made an appointment at 1 pm?» (it was almost 3). They said «oh, uh, we will get started on it right now, then». Admittedly, they were busy. But I aways understood (in my careers of hairstyling as well as health care) he who has an appointment has priority. It seemed as if it having an appointment was arbitrary. I finally left after 4 pm.
FINALLY, my last experience from yesterday! My car’s engine began to rumble and the check engine light began to flash. I took it to a muffler shop where I had had the catalytic converter replaced as the car manual stated that in this event, it was likely the exhaust system or cat causing the problem. They ran I diagnostic code FOR FREE and said to go get a tune up and the coil pack replaced. Seemed pretty simple so I dropped my car off at pep boys and they quoted me about $ 300 parts and labor. We discussed using the less expensive parts available. A couple hours later they call and quote $ 590 because the engine size of my vehicle was different than the size they quoted me for. I approved it because I really just didn’t have a choice. A couple more hours go by, my father has to drop me off at work because my car is still at the shop, at which point they call and say that the car is still rumbling and they need to replace something else. EVEN THOUGH they ran a diagnostic on the problem (supposedly) and what the codes had brought up was apparently supposed to be the issue to be fixed. So why then, if they had run diagnostics and the computer produced codes that were addressed, would that not have solved the problem and they would have to replace more parts on the vehicle? My father who was communicating with them asked them this and said to go ahead and replace the new part, but if the car was still running rough we wouldn’t be paying a dime. The tech HUNG UP ON HIM!!! Wow. What was originally quoted $ 300 turned into $ 855 at that point. My father called them back and he was hung up on AGAIN after that. I had to call in my card number to pay over the phone since I was at work. When I called they just said «so…what’s the card #?». He did not even tell me the total I was paying, I had to ask. Insanely poor customer service!!!
Take your business elsewhere.

I got my front brakes and rotors done in July with PepBoys…(coupon/lowest est sold me) well the last two weeks my front brakes had started to groan when i had to come to any sudden stop, i called and talked to Justin who was very helpful and set an appointment for yesterday, we get there and Justin is on lunch so another gentleman sets us up with a free brake inspection, I didn’t think they would go near the back tires or I would have warned them about the stripped stud in my back left, we see the mechanic try to take off back tires, he brings some other mechanics over and they are pointing at my studs and rapidly motioning with their hands, they see me watching and one of the guys move in front of my view, whatever some places are like that and as long as they didnt break anything we are cool! They do come back with an estimate for replacing the stripped stud and another «wobbly» one for $ 289!!! I almost gave birth to a kitten!!! I laughed and said no thank you just focus on front brakes!!! He huffs and goes to tell the mechanic who starts on the front.
30 minutes later he motions for me to come to the desk and gives me an estimate for 251 for front brake pads and rotors, (notice the price difference then above est… blew my mind) Again I laugh and say «No sir, I have a 2 year warranty on my rotors and a lifetime warranty on my pads through you», «oh you had them done with us… sighs, rolls eyes… let me look you up» I am trying my best to not snap or be rude, I have been in his shoes before, he says” Oh I see you right here in July, Let me talk to my service manager and see what we can do” I go sit down, he never talks to me, never updates me, we just observe them taking our front tires off and commencing with said brake job, they get done 2 hours later and have my van off the lift and the mechanic is driving back and forth, back and forth in the bay, not out in the parking lot, not take around the block, just in and out of the bay?! They take it out and park it, having to do a 12 point turn to get into a space! and give us the key, I did not owe them anything and we leave, as we are backing out of the spot we hear a knock in the back, we drive forward, we drive back but we don’t hear it again, until I go to pull out in traffic when it starts to knock with my tire rotation and as I cuss them out and turn the corner to head back into their parking lot, it makes a loud BANG! and my tire starts to shudder! I park the van right in front of a bay and walk in, the front counter guy (different then the initial rude gentlemen) doesn’t make eye contact as he’s on the phone when I walk in but I can see the two mechanic notice my van and notice me (and my face!) and start talking to each other and smiling… needless to say I’m pissed! The guy gets off the phone and I very calmly explain what I experienced and he took my key and after 45 minutes of them knocking the shit out of my rim to get the BROKEN STUD out, They hand me my keys and say free of charge. Here is where I finally got really disappointed with the whole service, The gentlemen up front was very busy with multiple customers waiting, I do not blame him for his decision. I went back in to talk to him and say I want to pay at least for one stud (since i knew one was stripped) and half the labor, he says he needs to rewrite the est and give him a few. He then answers the phone twice, helps a customer and then has to run to the back to rework my estimate, I was there a total of 30 minutes, after they gave me me the keys to a free service, trying to be a good person and pay half of what went wrong, and I waited instead of walking the fuck out like I wanted too.

To sum it all up: 1) You tried to give me an estimate for almost $ 300 hundred to remove 2 studs on a tire and your mechanic is responsible for breaking one!!! and he knew he broke one, he HAD to have heard the knocking in my tire during his park job
2) You then tried to give me a $ 250 estimate to replace ROTORS+PADS!!! which was under warranty with YOU!!! and gave me attitude when you couldn’t get me for any money
3) You then proceeded to endanger my life by letting me drive off your lot with a BROKEN STUD!!! instead of coping to the mistakes and striking an honest deal with me, you were just going to let me die in a car accident caused by you!

Horrible experience!!! I will never got to them again, which is the worst part because my gma has been going to them for YEARS!!!

So i make an online appt for an oil change at 1:00. 12:30 im here, just in case they wanted a head start. And I had a discussion with them upon dropping it off – realistically how long. Dude says by 2.
And they already have my car in their system. Now its 1:45 and my car is still not done. Now they come out and tell me that 3 lug nut bolts are damaged and must be replaced. I told him that their store on Folsom blvd was the last ones to touch my car and im not paying them to fix something they broke. Ironically, ladt week that store in Rancho noticed one damaged on my wifes car too. Hum??? They were also the ladt people to touch her car as well. And I paid them $ 50 to fix something they say my wife (somehow) did.
Now its 3:40 and my car still sits in their shop. Im only a shade tree mechanic at best, but i could have done a simple oil change and change out a few bolts.
The svc mgr did put up with my complaints and did not charge me for the bolts and even threw in the oil change for no cost. I offered to pay for it but he said he wanted me to be compensated for the headache.
So 2 stars instead of negative 2
Its now 4:00 and im finally on my way out of there.
What a waste of a day off. Thanks pep boys for eating up my little free time!

Where to start–
I called the service center at around 1:30pm on Tuesday to check and and see how long the wait would be to check my VW Touareg’s coolant system. Tom answered and immediately told me that they were «all booked up» and that I could bring it in, but it wouldn’t be looked at until early the following day… Which is fine– totally understandable. I did however confirm before hanging up that «I will be receiving a call tomorrow morning correct?» Tom replied «yes».
The next day (Wednesday), about 12 o’clock rolls around and I call them… Spoke with Tom again and he mentioned that the coolant system was «buried» in the vehicle and that I’d be looking at least 6 or 7 hours of labor and they might «send me to the dealer» because the scope of work was too difficult. He said that he’d have to wait to hear back from his master tech and once he finished «unburying it» and get back with me within the hour.
I waited until about 4pm and I called the service center back and then someone different picked up. I said «hello, my vehicle has been in your possession for over 24 hours and I still have not received a call back with an estimate for the scope of work.» The gentleman asked me my name and the type of car and placed me on hold.
He came back to the phone and said «okay I’m writing it all up for you now… It looks like it’s going to be about $ 912 for everything» I then replied, «okay and how much of that is in labor?» He then muttered something under his breath and said «let me check» he came back and said «ummmmm it looks like it’s $ 900 in labor». Shocked, I asked «so the part that you need to replace is only $ 12?» He replied and said «ummm hang on, I’m kinda new but it looks like that’s your total.»
I said «okay allow me to discuss this with my partner and get back with you. What are your business hours?». He replied with «we’re open until 8pm.» We said our goodbyes and hung up.
The next morning at around 9:45am (Thursday) I called and spoke with Tom again. I said «Good morning Tom, I’m calling regarding the VW Touareg and I would like to approve the work that needs to be done. He interrupted by saying «HEY, IVE GOT YOUR PAPERWORK HERE IN FRONT OF ME!» I replied and said «Yes, I called and received the total and I would like to approve the work to be completed. Just confirming, the total is still $ 912 correct?» He said «oh no! We’re looking at least $ 2400 with about 15 different parts that need to be ordered.» I said, «wait a second — we were told $ 912 for everything and I even confirmed that» He asked «well who’d you speak with? Because that’s wrong.» I told him that it was someone that picked up and seemed to know what they were doing up until they mentioned that they were new.
He said «yeah, I’m sorry– I’m actually still typing up your paperwork now, and can call you back with the final estimate.» It’s now going on 4:30 on Thursday and I still have not heard from him at all!
The bottom line is this…
1. Customer service needs a lot of work; They have NEVER called me back as they promised. All contact that I have had with them has come from me contacting them.
2. I’m without a car: my vehicle has been there for over 48 hours now with no final quote for the scope of work so that I can approve the repair (s).
3. They just do not seem trustworthy — One person tells you one thing, while the manager (Tom) tells you another. Completely contradicting what you’ve already been told. I suspect that they are up-​charging for their labor, and do not seem to have clear communication between the techs, management, and people answering phones.
4. The service center is extremely dirty; I can’t believe that they expect people to sit in there while waiting. Cobwebs everywhere.
5. It doesn’t matter who messed up and told me what the wrong price. Why play the blame game? Why would you involve the customer in figuring out your problem? All that you simply say is «Well that was unfortunately incorrect, my apologies on behalf of Pep Boys. How about after we get your coolant system all squared away, we’ll throw in a free oil change you for the inconvenience.
I will never bring a vehicle back to this location, or ANY PepBoys due to my rotten experience that I’ve had with this particular center. I would also recommend that anyone reading this review do the same.
Btw, the VW dealership quoted us only $ 1100 for everything and that’s without even seeing the vehicle yet! (Probably because they made it! Lol)
We will be picking our car ASAP from StepBoys…
Dear Pepboys, please consider investing in some customer service training for your team members. It would go a long way…

These wonderful people went above and beyond the call of duty to help me when I really needed it

Not a happy customer. I had went down there to get their FREE check engine light code retrieval service. Ended up having to pay $ 89.99, so that was FALSE advertisement. The guy also told me there was a leak in my lower radiator hose (supposedly) so when I left my car overheated leaving me stuck til someone came and got me. There was no leak before hand or we’d all seen it when working on it. And the antifreeze certainly was not flowing out or else I wouldn’t have made it there to begin with. NEVER going back there. Wasn’t going to pay more to have them fix it when I just dished out money to have something done that was supposed to be for free in the first place.

My husband had booked an appointment online for an oil change. I am no expert on oil changes so I’m assuming they did it right. My only issue was the time it took. His appointment was at 9am and I arrived 10 minutes early. They did not take the truck back until 9:30am.
In the waiting area there was a sign that said 29 minute oil change but from the moment they took it back until they called me up to pay was 38 minutes and 25 seconds. I set my timer.
I understand sometimes there will be a wait but maybe when booking an appointment it should say between 9 – 930. I’m probably being more critical because it wasn’t for my vehicle.
A positive is we did get $ 25.00 off a synthetic oil change with a coupon that was sent in a mailer.

I have to say every time I come to the Arden Pep Boys I always leave satisfied and smiling. Everyone is awesome but Tom and Robert from the service center are beyond amazing and helpful!! l

Way to go above and beyond! Forget Manny, Moe, and Jack… I’ll take Scott, Doug, and Luis any day!
I brought my car in the morning, and when my car issue turned into a lot more work than what was expected, those 3 didn’t hesitate to get it done for me. The best part is that, even though they put in a ton of extra work, they still honored my original quote price. They worked over time just to make sure I got my car before the end of the day and I really appreciated that. Thanks guys! You’ve earned yourselves a loyal customer.
Honesty and hard work goes a long way in my book and the 3 of you proved that’s what pep boys is all about. They should put your faces on the billboard!

Summary: Dishonest Business.
Sorry for the long story, but I promise it’s worth the time. My car was starting to leak radiator fluid, so I went to my regular mechanic who told me it would cost $ 1,000 to fix several things including an oil leak. With such a large repair, I figured I might as well get a second opinion.
I dropped my car off at Pep Boys and after a few hours they called me and said it would be $ 550 in labor to get several parts disassembled to access what they thought needed to be repaired. I never told them I had already had a mechanic look at it, so I asked them what they thought the total might be. The guy on the phone said a few hundred more with parts, but they wouldn’t be sure until I authorized the $ 550 in labor fees to figure out what wrong. My regular mechanic had diagnosed the problem for only a $ 45 exam fee (which he also credits toward the actual repair).
I’m no mechanic, but I’m positive Pepboys was trying to get me to commit to the $ 550 labor fee so that they could trap me into getting the repair done with them. This is a classic move for repair shops where they:
1. Already know what the problem is, but tell you it’s going to cost $XXX to figure it out.
2. Then once you’re knee deep in the repair, and have already sunk money into the «diagnostic», they call you back and hit you with the real bill, which they knew all along.
I had a coupon for Pepboys and I figured it couldn’t be that much more than my regular mechanic. I decided to take a chance and tell them to go ahead with the «labor fee» to figure out what was wrong; this way I could find out if I could trust Pepboys. Two hours later, they called me back and told me it would be $ 1175 for the repair because they found additional problems. Remember, when Pepboys first called me they said $ 550 in labor to diagnose the problem and a few hundred more for the parts… apparently a «few hundred» means $ 600 to Pepboys.
Here’s what alerted me to what Pepboys was doing:
1. They called me and said it was $ 550 for the labor to figure out what was wrong.
2. After I gave the ok, they called me back in two hours and told me it would be $ 1175. They either charge $ 225 an hour for labor (which they don’t), or had 4 people working on the repair for 2 hours each, or lied to me… I’m pretty sure they lied.
The icing on the cake is that the next day they found an additional $ 200 in labor and parts. The guy on the phone said he would take care of the additional labor since they didn’t mention it when they first examined the car… when I showed up to pay for it the labor fee it was still on the bill. I was so upset and disgusted that I didn’t even argue and just paid it.
I wanted to see if I could trust Pepboys since I have gone there for small repairs in the past (they’re open on Saturdays and regular hours are from 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM during the week, pretty convenient).
In the end I paid $ 300 more than my regular mechanic by going to Pepboys; it would have been even more if I didn’t have a coupon. Remember, with Pepboys my repair went from $ 750 estimate, to $ 1,500 in repairs!!! I was pretty upset at first, but it was money well spent. Not only did this experience verify that I can’t trust Pepboys, it also proved I can trust my regular mechanic.
Trapping people into having repairs done with a shop is just plain wrong. People work hard for their money and Pepboys is ripping people off. Shame on you Pepboys.

With the diligent help of Jesus, we were able turn around what could have been a disasters start to a Family vacation into a minor set back.
On our drive to Donner Lake from the Sacramento Airport, our trailer towing the family boat busted a ball bearing. While stopped for lunch we noticed grease had sprayed all over the rim of the left tire like a Jackson Pollock painting.
We jacked up the boat and removed the tire only to see first had the damage that was done to the bearing. If we wanted to take this boat out for an adventure we needed to get this tire fixed fast, problem was it was 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday and most boat trailer repair shops were closed. We were to fix this ourselves.
First auto parts store we stopped at were not very helpful, and because we could not locate a parts number on the bearing, did not want to try and find a needle in a haystack.
In comes the boys at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts and Jesus from Pep Boys! John and Francisco, with the use of the naked eye, guess and check and the proper dimensions, were able to locate the part we needed. They were patient, and helped without judgement. They could have easily given up on us or not even tried but they went above and beyond to help us get back on the road.
When we found the right part, it was time for Jesus of Pep Boys to take the wheel! He was able to pop in the bearing and we were able to get back to our boat and on the road to our vacation.
Thanks Jesus! You Rock.

I went there on a very busy Saturday. Tom let me know that it could be a bit of a wait, and I expected that since I didn’t have an appointment. But they did my smog check in no time, for a very competitive price!
Nice people. Timely service. Competitive prices. I’ll be back for sure.

I made an appointment online to have a smog check at the Pep Boys located at 2500 Arden Way. It was great that the process was so easy. I received an email confirmation and a text message reminder.
Unfortunately, when I arrived about ten minutes before my appointment, I was informed that the machine used to do the smog checks wasn’t working and had been out of commission for about three weeks. Why is this not mentioned on the website? You folks have my email address and my telephone number. You couldn’t call me, even the day before, and let me know? I made the appointment three of four days ahead, so there was ample time to contact me so that I could make other arrangements.
This is VERY poor customer service. I would be very unlikely to schedule another service appointment on the Pep Boys website for this location since I can’t even be sure they will be able to do the work once I arrive.

*update
I really appreciate the call from their manager Tom who was keen to work with me and come to terms with an agreement. Even though i didn’t follow up with them after the experience, they told me they are giving me a refund after calling me over the phone which i did not expect.
Thanks pep boys for the follow up, resolving the issue and great customer service. And thanks Tom.

I normally take my car to the shop my friend owns, I unfortunately made the mistake of taking my car into a pepboys after receiving a gift card for the holidays. It took them over 4 hours to complete the oil change. They pulled my vehicle into the shop when I was there, so being busy or having a line up is no excuse.
When I arrived to pick up my vehicle, I was notified of numerous issues that the technician claimed to find on my car. I got in my car to immediately take it to my friends shop to check it out (to my surprise the check engine light was now turned on AFTER my service, it wasn’t when I dropped it off). When I get there I was informed that not only was the oil tank only about ¼ full, the filter wasn’t replaced, and ⁴⁄₅ of the issues claimed weren’t legitimate!
This shop has not only screwed me out of over $ 50 for an oil change that wasn’t completed correctly, they also didn’t replace my oil filter, falsely claimed issues, and has cost me damages that I had to take care of at my friends shop for cost. I normally don’t Unilocal such poor reviews, but I feel the general public should be very aware about the horrible experience I had and avoid taking their cars into this shop.
Unfortunately I will never be going back to a Pepboys for any work and will continue to inform others of my horrible experience until they rectify the situation. Refund well deserved! Fortunately I can use the remainder of my gift card for items inside the store to put inside my car on my own, so I know it won’t be messed with.

Where to begin… I had an appointment at 2pm on New Year’s Eve to check my power steering. When I got there, they asked what the problem was. (Shouldn’t this be written down. I told them over the phone). Nevertheless, I explain again how it is tough to turn and how the belt is making noise. I tell them I also need a new tube for my windshield wiper fluid because it wasn’t spraying. I get signed in and they tell me in 30 minutes they will have a diagnoses for my car. Awesome! But I did have an appointment, so a quick 30 minutes was more or less, expected.
After one hour, I see my car finally go into the bays. Well, it is New Year’s Eve, I thought, I’ll cut them some slack. Thirty minutes after that (twice as long as I was promised) they tell me I need a new power steering belt etc etc. I am given a quote and I say go ahead, let’s do it. I ask how long, they say less than two hours. (It’s 3:30) They finish around 5:45. Then they say okay, come back in one week… We like to make sure the belts hold and don’t slip. So we made an appointment for the following Wednesday.
Over the week of driving, my car drove much better. I could really feel a difference. However my windshield wiper fluid still didn’t spray and they said they fixed it.
I purposely get work off in that Wednesday to take my car in for the check up appointment that they told me to make. This is the good part. I get there and tell them I have an appointment to check my belts because I had them done last week. They looked at me like I was crazy. «Well are they making noise?» They inquire. No, I said, but you guys told me to come in after a week. The two guys inside laugh. Like, chuckle laugh. LAUGH! Jokes on me, I guess. Laughing at customers is not the best customer service I’ve experienced. I also explain how my windshield wiper fluid still isn’t spraying. The main guy sends a mechanic out to check my belts.
When we get to my car (in the parking lot, not in the bays), my boyfriend and I ask him about the windshield wiper tube since that was the main issue because the belts felt fine. He said they could fix it (again). He doesn’t look at the belts. So we said ok and the guy walks away. We stand in the parking lot waiting for someone to tell us what’s happening.
So we go back in the office and ask the guy what’s happening and he says «oh ya you guys are good to go.» Good to go? No one checked the belts and clearly the mechanic didn’t relay the message that they will be fixing their poor work with the wiper tube from last time. «Oh, so everything’s good. He checked the belts then?» My boyfriend asks (knowing he didn’t as we were standing right there asking him about the windshield wiper tube) «Ya, ya, belts are good. He checked them all,» the guy lies to us.
From being laughed at to lied to just so they could move on to the next customer, not to mention the poorly executed service that was done, I know I’ll be going elsewhere next time. This is a place where appointments, customer loyalty, and outstanding service mean nothing. They fixed my power steering belt, but that’s about it.

Okay service and the waiting room can be updated. I came here on a Saturday morning without an appointment for an oil change and the person inquired if I had an appointment and I replied no. He then snickered and asked «do you have time to wait?» He informed that it was a 4 hour wait. I was like «ehhh I have time, I’ll wait» I couldn’t believe it was that long of a wait, however it got done. In the future i’d probably set up an appointment online before going to Pepboys for any work done on my car.

Good service on our car at Pep Boys. I needed struts and shocks and got a quote from the dealer and Pep Boys was significantly less. They did have to order parts but called and schedule my car in as soon as the parts were in, which was about a week. They completed the work in a few hours and took good care of my car.

I’m amazed that they did right by me once again. One of our car parts has been acting up for the past few weeks. We’ve been dreading bringing it in for fear of the price tag. We scheduled an oil change and decided to deal with the problem immediately.
My fiancé went in with the car today during our regularly scheduled appointment. Although Mondays are usually bad for any type of customer service, they checked out the car closest to the time of my appointment. When my fiancé texted me the details of the problem, dollar bills flashed before my eyes and I feared the worst.
Robert completely hooked us up! He made sure that the problem was taken care of immediately as well as noted our customer loyalty to their store. What could have been a very expensive proposition was dealt with in a very inexpensive way. I could only say that this is due to their honest business practices, in an industry known for bait-​and-​switch and notorious customer service. Thanks Pep Boys, you’ve solidified our continued patronage for all our car services.