September 28, 2003
Pep Drones
Needing tires, we stopped at Pep-Boys on Cobb Parkway. We went in through the service entrance, and stood in line for ten minutes. When we finally got to the counter, the desk clerk said, "We can't do tires here. You have to go into the store and go all the way to the back." Great.
We went to the back of the store, and waited at the counter for several minutes. An employee saw us and said, "You're here for tires? You can't get tires here. You have to go to that counter over there." So we walked to the next counter. And waited. A few minutes later, a guy who had been chatting with one of one of the employees noticed us standing at the counter, and nudged the employee. The employee, "Jon", came over to the desk.
"Tires?"
"Yes, for a '99 Sentra."
"What size?"
"We don't know. Can't you look that up?"
"No, you've gotta have the tire size."
So we had to go out of the store, back to the car, and then write down all the numbers. After half an hour of hassle, we finally got the key handed over and a price quote.
A few hours later, we went back to pick up the car. Again, the service desk guy couldn't help us. He could give us the paperwork, but couldn't complete the transaction. "You have to go to the front desk for that."
We stood in line for another five minutes or so, and finally paid the bill. When the cashier handed me the key, I asked her where the car was. "If it's not out front, it may be around by the side." I'm so glad she could pinpoint that for me.
Once we got to the car, I noticed there were no valve stem covers. We went back in and told the service desk clerk, who grabbed some and put them on for us. I'm very impressed with this overwhelming attention to detail, and this fills me with great hope for the oil change they also performed today.
"Pep-Boys: Bringing Mindless Bureaucracy to Automotive Service, Since 1921."
Posted by Eric at September 28, 2003 05:45 PMPep Boys has been on my list for years..
I took my very first car there to have a water pump replaced. Two days later, I pick it up and the intake is cracked with fresh grooves cut in it, like someone had used it as a fulcrum while prying at something with a crowbar.
The manager stands there, looks at the damage, then says "We did not do this to your car."
So I crank the car with the hood open and note that it would have likely caught fire and burned on the way there if it didn't happen in their shop, as gas was leaking directly on to the exhaust manifold. "Yeah, let me drive off in this thing and I'll own Pep Boys if I survive the blaze". They ordered a new manifold, yet didn't get me a rental or anything while waiting the three days for it to arrive.
I was dumb enough to go back a couple of years later to have my truck's transmission serviced. It got about 5 miles, then at an intersection it decided it was a 1 speed transmission. Drove back to the store in 1st gear, then was told they were really busy and it might take a day or two. It mattered not that they caused the problem, I was supposed to wait in line just as if I had came in off the street.
For tires and brakes, I use NTB now. They have so-so prices, but will balance your wheels over the life of the tires. This is real handy if you have alloy wheels or the car has a tendancy to lose balance. The extended tire warranty (~$15/tire) has been a life saver, too. Three tires have been replaced for minimal cost due to punctures.
According to Clark Howard, Sam's has the best prices for factory replacement tires. I have only a Costco membership, so I've not looked into it myself.
Posted by: Awptimus Prime at September 29, 2003 06:22 AMNext time, check out www.tirerack.com. Be sure to budget an extra $50 or so for someone like Metro Wheels in Marietta to install the new ones and dispose of the old ones.
Posted by: roderickm at September 29, 2003 07:24 AMRemember that one day when I had you pick me up at Pep Boys because my car broke down?
In a nutshell, my car just stopped working while running down 285 one day, so I had it towed to Pep Boys. They looked it over ($70 just to check it out), and they determined that I had a whole bunch of shit wrong and that it would cost about $1300 to fix. I pretty much said "Fuck that", and brought my car to a mechanic that James recommended to me. He checked everything out and discovered that my timing chain had snapped - a diagnosis Pep Boys did NOT give - and that it would cost about $800 to fix.
The moral of this story: Pep Boys was ready to take $1300 from me to fix a non-issue. No doubt they would "discover" the real problem in the process, then try to get me to pay for them to fix that as well.
Fuck Pep Boys.
Posted by: Christopher at September 29, 2003 08:04 AMI loathe Pep Boys. They are the bar none last place I'll go to after exhausting the AutoZones and Advance Auto Parts and NAPAs out there. And even then; it sure as hell will never be for service.
Posted by: kayvan at September 29, 2003 05:03 PMI was really lucky on Saturday. On my way to take my parents to the airport, my "Volts" light came on. I went directly to Kaufman Tire. They tested it, discovered my alternator was bad, got in a replacement, and had me running again in less than an hour. K seems to think it was a little on the expensive side, but I am still impressed that they were so nice and speedy. I know nothing about cars, but now at least I know that Pep Boys is the suck.
Posted by: sushi at September 30, 2003 10:50 AMPep Boys is the suck but you did get ripped off at Kaufmann Tire too. But I digress; since I didn't pay for it.
Posted by: kayvan at September 30, 2003 01:22 PMI'm so glad Hunter works at Goodyear. I'm going to take your story in to show them, I'm sure they'll get a good laugh. I work right across the street from a big (12 bay or so) Pep Boys, and we watch them stand around and play football all the time.
Posted by: Mary at October 1, 2003 07:48 AMOil change done at Pep Boys CT., Few weeks later oil drain plug fell out while driving on parkway. Engine blown, Hole in block.
Anybody have any ideas ?