In November of 2009, I had a Bosch battery installed in my 2002 Pontiac Montana. The installation was done at the Pep Boys, located at 1910 George Dieter, El Paso, Texas.
On the morning on September 09, 2010, my vehicle was totally dead and wouldn't start. I figured it was the battery. Prior to this, I had not had any battery or starter problems.
Because I knew that Pep Boys would probably give me grief upon attempting to return the battery, I decided to have the battery checked first at another location. I took the battery to an Auto Zone. The manager there stated that is showed that that the battery was "bad, " but that it showed 12.7 voltage. The manager of this Auto Zone attributed the problem to a bad cell.
Armed with this information, I took the battery to the Pep Boys. An employee checked the battery and I was told that it was good. I then asked to speak to a manager. The assistant manager responded and checked the battery. He too said that it good. I told the asst. manager that it had been checked at the Auto Zone and that it showed it to be bad due to a bad cell. The asst. manager insisted that his machine did not make mistakes.
I told the asst. manager that the reason that I had taken the battery to Auto Zone first was because Pep Boys had reputation for bad customer service. He then got upset and told me that he always helped on prior occassions in securing my Pep Boys card number, when I didn't have it. I told him that he was doing my any favors as I am the customer and I am spending money at the store. I then asked for his boss.
I met with the store manager. Once again, we went through the same arguments. I told her that Pep Boys was one of the most customer, unfriendly organizations around and that was not just my opinion, as I've known a lot of people that would agree with me. She insisted that her maching was fool proof and that the battery was good.
I left the store in utter disgust. Because I needed to get my van back on the road, a.s.a.p., I was going to buy a battery at Auto Zone. Prior to doing so, I met with a mechanic friend of mine who very competent when it comes to cars.
My mechanic friend asked me if Pep Boys had "load" tested it. I really didn't know what he was talking about so we both decided to go back to the Pep Boys.
The store manager was gone so we met with the asst. manager. Once again, the asst. manager tested the battery with his machine and we were told that the battery was good. My mechanic friend began to use mechanic jargon on him and the asst. manager advised that he would have the battery checked with equipment in the service area.
We went to the service and watched as a Pep Boys mechanic hooked up the battery. Within seconds, the mechanic stated that the batter was NO GOOD!!! The asst. manager looked as he had just seen the devil.
We returned to the counter area and the asst. manager proceeded to return the battery. He looked visually shaken and could not even print up my receipt. He gave me knew battery and I told him that I would return for the receipt later. I also asked for him to tell the store manager to call me, a.s.a.p..
About forty-five minutes later, the store manager called me on my cell phone. She seemed extremely upset and told me that the battery should have never been checked in the service area. When I explained to her that what she was saying was direlect of her duties as a manager in providing full service to her customers, she continued to insist that her machine (tester) was just two months old and that the machine in the service area was much older. I told her that it wasn't in issue of the newness/oldness of the equipment. It had to do with conducting the correct checks for the validity of the battery. She continued to insist that her battery was not defective. She offerred a half hearted apology, which I did not accept.
I short time later, I returned to the Pep Boys store and met with the store manager . She gave me my receipt and she furnished her name, asst. manager name, mechanic name, and her supervisor name.
I went home and installed the battery in my van. And guees what? THE VAN STARTED IMMEDIATELY!!! Let's just say that a lot of Pep Boys executives are going to hear this complaint.

Today is August 25, 2010. And THIS is MY PepBoys horror story.

Having recently purchased a 1997 Infiniti I30, I decided to bring the vehicle to my local PepBoys on Indiantown Road, in Jupiter, Florida for the advertized free brake inspection. After an hour of waiting for the car to find its way into one of the 6 empty bays, (yes, I counted them), I waited another hour for a "mechanic" to pull 4 tires, look at brakes, replace tires, inspect a master cylander and inspect the brake lines.

The mechanic, after inspecting my car, (more like sizing me up for the short con), told the service manager my car required the following repairs. Well to save time and space I can make it short and sweet. The mechanic told his supervisor to advise me that I need what amounted to an entire new front end. As in: both axles, sway bars, rack and pinion linkage, I mean, the whole enchilada. They told me I needed to virtually rebuild my undercarriage in the front end. And the estimated cost was $1, 200.

Luckily, I am a creature of habit. I deal with the same people as often as possible. Same girl or guy at the bank, same cashier in the supermarket, same mechanic at the local oil change place... you get the idea.

Feeling completely despondent and dejected, I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I was ripped off by one of my fellow americans in a used car deal. But as I do with everything, I thought about it. I had a nagging feeling and this inner desire to "second guess" the "professionals". So, I took the car, despite being left afraid to even drive it, to my oil change guy and asked him if he could as a courtesy, offer me a second opinion and tell me what his evaluation is. I did not tell him where I came from or what I was told. I basically told him that I think I made a bad purchase because I believe I need an entire new front undercarriage.

As it turns out, there is in fact a need for repairs under my front end. However, the "extensive" repairs required on my vehicle is a new axle assembly on my passenger side and I could stand to get a round of bushings just to be thorough about it. The cost to the public for this part at the local Advance Auto Parts? (drum roll please) $69.00 plus tax. What price did PepBoys give me for the same exact part? $ 119.00 plus tax PLUS labor estimated at $210.00 to install it. At the moment, I am not aware of what the bushings will cost me.

My oil change guy sent me to a mechanic he knows and refers many customers to. He told me directly and up front that the mechanic is a little more expensive than a lot of people but he will not put you in an Iron Maiden while he repairs your car using the Hayne's Manual for Sabotage. Having accepted that I am going to pay a little more than I could elsewhere, I wasted no time running over to the recommended mechanic's shop. I explained to him what it is believed to be going on based on what his friend who runs the oil change place had told me. Without leaving his desk or even looking at my car he quoted me a price of $225.00 installed with a 12 month/12, 000 mile parts and labor guarantee/warranty. That's right, parts and labor for free if his work proves substandard..

I have as of this day decided that I will not even drive into a PepBoys parking lot ever again. I have also decided that I will urge friends and family to avoid PepBoys and walk before buying a part from them.

Jim from Jupiter, Fla.

I took my 03 Toyota Tacoma to PepBoys to investigate and repair the source of the check engine light being on. The truck seemed to run fine and the light had been on for 3 weeks with no noticeable problems.

After 4 hrs PepBoys called and said that the oxygen sensor was defective and two other sensors needed to be replaced. They also indicated that my spark plugs were 'fouled out' and needed to be replaced along with the plug wires. They also recommeded their fuel system service. Total price $1230.00!

Wondering why it would cost $1300 to repair a functioning vehicle I took the car to the Toyota dealership the next day and they determined that only the oxygen sensor needed to be replaced for a total cost of $420.00. The plugs were not 'fouled out', otherwise the vehicle would not have started or run properly, and the other sensors were working properly.

Seems PepBoys needs to be added to the list of untrustworthy auto mechanics. Who can you trust these days?

I visited pep boys on the corner of cold spring and harford rd in baltimore md around 10:30 saturday the 17th to have a hole in my tire repaired. after waiting about ten minutes to speak to someone at the service desk, the gentleman informed me that the nail that was causing the leak was located in the sidewall. this confused me because the nail was clearly located in the surface of the tire that contacts the road. when i expressed my confusion the gentleman became offended and confrontational as if he was annoyed that i was questioning him. i understand that there may be guidelines as far as where and how a tire may be repaired, but this gentleman's behavior was something i would expect from a street-thug, not someone who should be dealing with the public. i live literally two blocks away from this pepboys, and will gladly tell my neighbors, friends and family about my poor experience today. i had the tire repaired at a location not five blocks away for fifteen dollars and it took about five minutes. the tire works fine. the attitude i experienced from this individual today disgusts me, to say nothing about the cleanliness of the store, which is dismal.

My Wife went in to get a front end allignment to correct some minor wear on front tires. Service Mgr came back with a parts list for $900.00 that included 4 tires, struts, and more. Luckly she was smart enough to get the hell out of there with a bill for $30.00 to get absolutly nothing done to the car.

Later that same afternoon, got allignment at a local Garage. Mechanic inspected struts and tires.
Struts - Nothing wrong with them
Rear Tires - Nothing Wrong with them
Front Tires - Still OK, Uneven wear should even out after a while