Pep Boys Auto Parts & Service

Ok, so I believe you know the true character of a store when the place is slammed. Although the service I received from the people I interacted was fine, I am completely disappointed in how long it takes for my car to actually get serviced. My car sat idly in the parking lot for 52 minutes before it was brought into the garage. Mind you this is with an appointment. I feel like I’m on that episode of Seinfeld where he had a reservation for a rental car, but there were no cars for him.
As I waited, I made laps around the store. The employees looked uncomfortable as I did this, but I would be uncomfortable watching someone make THIRTY SEVEN laps around the store.
With my time study, I found out that the actual service took twenty one minutes. It’s absolutely ridiculous that the wait time more than doubled the service time. With an appointment.

I recently had a car problem and had it towed and serviced through pep boys. The towing price is cheap compared to other towing service, only 25 dollars. Then they started diagnosis the other day, which is fine since my car was towed on late Sun afternoon. Then on Monday I was called and they said battery, oil change… All normal stuff, and doesn’t seem to be the reason why my car suddenly stopped and ceased on the road. But that’s what they gave me, so I agreed to let them do what they can. By the end of Mon, I still didn’t get any call from them even though the ETA they gave me is 2:00pm. So I called them, and they said it’s all ready. By the time I arrived their shop, the manager said I’m sorry we just found the AC compressor is causing smoke that got your car ceased. And they didn’t find it by diagnosis. I was so mad and upset. Till then, I should rate this store with 0 star. But what happened after made me change my mind. The manager apologized that he didn’t pay full attention to my car at first, it was diagnosed by other person. So he wanted to make up to me, and offered free labor on what they did, and let my car sit in the shop for 3 more days till I got a new AC compressor and put it in for free.
So, to me, it’s valuable that people are willing to admit their fault and take actions to make it up. I really want to say Thank You Edward, you make this shop alive. If everyone in this shop is like you, this shop will be rated very high.

What a day we had today… driving home from a weekend in Pennsylvania. We were on 684 outside Brewster, NY, approximately 3 hours from home, when we hit a huge pothole on the highway when we blew out the front tire. My boyfriend was able to put the spare on, but of course driving on a «donut», they are not made to drive over 200 miles. I immediately started panicking as it was 4:30pm on a Sunday. Thank goodness for cell phones and Google. I was able to pull up Pep Boys in West Hartford and thank God I did. At 5:10pm, less than an hour til closing, I walked in the store where it was extremely busy, with some unhappy customers. When I got to the counter, Ramona, a service advisor greeted me with no hesitation of helping me with my issue. I told her we were on our way home to Boston and had already driven for many miles and how I did not feel safe to continue driving on a donut. She told me she would be right outside to look at the tire. After waiting about 5 minutes, she came out to look at the tire and thank God they had the size tire in stock. About 5:45pm, 15 minutes before closing, they took my car into the bay and replaced my tire and what was even more of a relief was that I didn’t need a new rim. :) Ramona and the staff at store #0421 all deserve a raise!!!

Don’t get it. Brought the car to get tire plugged. The tire was checked and found to have two small holes with one close to the edge. Was told it was not repairable. I buy a tire to replace bad one and now have to wait at the end of the line after being here for 2 f’en hours!!! Don’t understand why since the car was already being looked at. Def won’t return here!

Charges exceeded the quote for the repair. Had to argue with the manager that they needed to honor the quote. Finally got the car fixed only to find out that they messed up the latch on the hood and now I can’t open the hood. Pep Boys claims I did something to the hood and won’t fix it. NEVER go there. They are terrible mechanics and business people.

Terrible. Made appt. for hitch to be installed one week ahead of time. Was told they had hitch in stock. They knew I was coming and from an hour away. Arrived at opening time on appointed day. No hitch in stock. They could get it overnight and do it the next day. Reluctantly I agreed. They wanted me to pay overnight fee, but did waive it finally. I had to have it waived again upon pick up when they tried to charge me for it. Came back the next day to retrieve the car. Job was done, car was a mess. Grease on the floor from dirty boots. Next day I heard a small rattle. Finally figured out it seemed to be the tailpipe. I know they explained they must take of muffler to install the hitch. Figured it just needed a quick tighten. Just took it to my local garage where they showed and explained to me it was installed wrong, off center, rubbing on tailpipe and bolts were all loose. Thank God I didn’t lose the trailer and cause a major accident. I do not recommend you go there for any reason, and due to this poor job, I would never use ANY PEP BOYS anywhere.

Wow! Where do I begin?! I was SO impressed by the service I received from ALL the staff at this location. It all started when I brought my car in for a routine oil change about a month ago. I asked the staff to look my car over to make sure that there wasn’t anything else I needed to do to it. During that visit there was a very upset customer that didn’t want to give up to say the least. He yelled and cursed. He was upset because he didn’t repair a recommended part before he left and that actual part broke after he left the shop. In my opinion he was looking for something for free. He even called corporate to make a complaint. This is after the store manager (Engelbert Andrade) tried EVERYTHING to help him. The manager Bert went over and beyond to try EVERYTHING to satisfy this customer. There just comes a point where you can’t please someone who just wants to be miserable. I was so impressed by how Bert handled the situation. Never once did he yell back or disrespect that customer. So after the staff had a chance to look over my car they found I needed a belt for my car. Jonathan a tech told me that it needed to be replaced. He was very understanding that I needed to bring my car back the fallowing day and made an appointment for me. I returned to have the work done and again was VERY pleased with the friendliness and compassion that Bert and his staff have. Ramona at the service area ALWAYS has a smile and is VERY friendly. Even if it’s busy and crazy she NEVER treats the next customer bad. She is ALWAYS going over and beyond for each and everyone I have seen her come in contact with.
About a week or so later I started noticing a sound coming from the same area where the belt was. I returned to the shop and they told me that I needed to replace the tensioner. I didn’t understand why and Bert took the time to show me what it was and explained to me step by step why that part failed and where it was located on the car. He NEVER once made me feel bad about not knowing because I’m a «woman». So when I brought the car back to replace the tensioner the wrong part was ordered for my car engine size. This was on a Saturday and I knew there maybe a possibility that I’d have to wait until Monday to find one. Nope! They called around and found one in the Berlin location. Bert sent another staff member (I wish I could remember his name) over to pick it up. I honestly thought he flew. It just seemed like it was back a quick. So when he got back he started the work on my car. In all I was there 5 hours. The staff stayed until 9pm to make sure my car was finished when they closed at 8pm! WOW!!! AMAZING!!! During the time that my car was In the shop I had conversations with almost everyone who works there. I was amazed at the upbeat attitudes and the smiles I revived from EVERYONE I spoke with. You can truly tell that the staff are happy to work there. In my opinion this is because of having an AWESOME manager. BERT (the store manager) was SO professional and very personable. I was also looking for a sun blocker for my back window for my infant son and Bert came out into the store to personally shop with me and made sure I got EXACTLY what it was I needed. You can tell he cares 100% about everyone he comes in contact with. It shows in his employees. Even the customers that aren’t so nice.
Even though there were some hiccups in the ordering of the part for my car and I was at the shop a lot longer then I had originally thought it planned I never once got upset. I felt like I was around a family who cared. I can’t say enough about how pleased I am with the service I received from the staff at this location. I will NEVER take my car anywhere else! They truly represent what customer service should be like anywhere you go. I will recommend this location to EVERYONE who needs work done. I’ve been to other locations and NEVER got the impressive service I received at this one.

This place robbed my money I went there 3 less than 1 month the store manager doesn’t care nothing I replace radiator hoses and thermostat because my car it was overheating 2 weeks later my car overheating again I brought my car he told me the issue now is radiator and the motor fan 1 werk later. My car again overheating at this time he told me now is the head gasket in less than 1 month my total it was $ 2500 I will never go back and recommende this place Store manager Engelbert Andrade he doesn’t know nothing poor and bad service!

Pretty solid experience at Pep Boys earlier today. My car needed some general maintenance and I needed to pick up a few items (new wipers, etc) so I dropped it off around 2 and ran some errands in the meantime. I was able to pick up my car about an hour later, which is a completely reasonable timeframe for some small repairs.
While services aren’t cheap here, they’re not as expensive as I’ve seen elsewhere, and the staff do indeed try to upsell services and products that aren’t entirely necessary (no thank you sir). Otherwise, the employees I encountered were friendly and helpful.
In the event that my regular mechanic is too busy to have me stop in (like today), I’ll definitely bring my car to Pep Boys again.

Took my car here to get my snow tires put on and they put my existing tires –without wrapping them or protecting my seats in any way– on my leather back seats. The seats turned pitch black with dirt and the service was unbelievably horrible. The mechanic didn’t apologize and looked at me like it was no big deal. They also put the wrong size tires on my front vs back set. This place sucks!

It’s a pep boys so don’t expect expert service. I got an oil change and tire rotation. They did it. They stated my car had some leaks and offered no solution to them. I guess that’s pepboys standards. State a problem with no solution.
Anyway I went online and found out how to fix the problem. The oil pan has a small leak. Next oil change I’ll do by myself and purchase the pan from rockauto. Thanks pepboys. In your crappiness you saved me quite a bit of $.

I was completely blown away by the terrible service I received at this location. I’m from waaaaay out of town and needed a mechanic to take a look at my tour van on a Sunday, because I needed to be on the road by the next day. They were the only shop open.
The initial visit was quite pleasant, with the gentleman behind the counter explaining the protocol behind the diagnostic fee and labor fees and yadayadayada. Everything was cool.
I was told that certain services were being administered at the correct cost, which was incorrect. I had been charged three separate labor fees for three services to be completed in the same area of the vehicle… When i pointed this out, only then did they point out the «mistaken overlap».
The employees behind the counter were also very rude upon my return to discuss the invoice. They would come from the garage, look at me, then look back at the computer as if they were busy… Without saying «hello» or «can I help you?» or any acknowledgement at all. They did this to several customers during my visit who all asked to speak with the manager, who I later saw snickering with another employee about the recent events in the store.
They were rude, unattentive, and overcharging. I’ll be sure to tell everyone I know in the area and surrounding not to do business with them.

not bad, always pleased with the service there.

I have ventured into this location for various parts. Recently it seems that the staff is less trained, perhaps they have had some turnover. A few years ago, I could always find someone knowledgeable to help. Not so much now. They do have an adequate supply of inventory.

Made an appointment for 10 and the car wasn’t touched until 11:30. Them it took forever while it was in there. Finally left around 12:30. All it was for was to check for a slow leak in one tire. After the hour they looked at it it was determined nothing was wrong. Everyone in the store moves slower than a snail. No sense of urgency at all. Everything moved slow. If you have hours to kill then this is the place to go. The staffs’ attitudes isn’t much better than the work place. Excuses for everything.
Only decent thing about this place is the selection of products for your car. If you need some stuff to clean your car that’s the only thing I’d advise is good in this place.
Save your time and go somewhere else

I ran into a situation this weekend where I dropped my oil cap while adding oil and it landed in a location where I couldn’t get it back on my own. I tried Pep Boys because it was the closest location to where I was, but I am so glad that fate brought me there. The service guys were super nice, fast, and helpful. They couldn’t reach my oil cap with the tool they had, so they had to put it up on the lift and take off the plastic that protects the engine from the road. It took maybe 10 minutes and did it for me FREE of charge. Who does anything for free these days?! I was impressed and will definitely be headed back there for any future needs.

Aw dammit…
I can smell it. I’m burning oil…
Check the dipstick, it’s bone dry… Throw a quart in, it’s gone 18 hours later…
I can feel it. This is the end of the line. 175,000 miles and no more. Images of a $ 500 car payment on top of my student loans and credit card debt…
*Violent shaking*
«Wake up dude, it’s fine! You just had a bad oil filter and a busted drain plug gasket!»
*gurgle* What?
«It’s all good, man. Oil was burning because it was leaking out of the filter and burning up on the exhaust… Don’t worry, we’re just gonna charge you for an oil change and a new gasket. It’ll be like 35 bucks.»
The hallucinations and nausea stopped instantly. I was saved. My car was saved. My finances were saved. And these guys brought me back from the seventh circle of automotive hell…
I know, it’s Pep Boys. But a garage is as good as the people working there, and man was I impressed. Engelbert, the man who runs away with the «Best Name Ever For an Automotive Technician Award,» was happy to take me under my car to show me the problematic oil filter and gasket. Chris, the man at the counter, went into incredible detail to explain an additional small issue with my car, even drawing a sketch to illustrate his point.
I thought I was on the hook for 4 digits. I walked out for the price of an oil change, an air filter (which incidentally needed replacing), and a drain plug gasket. $ 56.56.
The people are good here. That’s what matters most.

I went in to have tires and an oil change. They had replaced my tires and taken the car off the lifts and brought it back outside. Unfortunately they had not changed the oil. They were able to bring the car back in and change the oil right away but it added an additional 30 minutes to my wait. They were professional and apologetic — that’s why they earned the three stars instead of 1.

Took a little longer than promised, but the dudes here seem very competent, no BS.

If you live in West Hartford or surrounding towns, you will probably agree with me that it is not a motorist’s mecca. The reputable car washes, garages, and overall auto enthusiast venues are few and far in between. Thus, when you go to a run-​of-​the-​mill place and get extraordinary service, it speaks volumes of the business. That is Pep Boys in West Hartford in a nutshell.
They may not be the biggest, but they certainly have a lot of the essentials at a reasonable price. They also rotate and switch out winter/​summer tires for free. Albeit, I drive one of those finicky European GTs so I do not buy parts or get more extensive service here, but I would suspect that if you call for that, the service and quality would be excellent.