Pep Boys Automotive Poor Service Could have Killed My family Liverpool New York

A great many may not know this, but Pep Boys recently changed the way that Service Advisors get compensated, taking them from a respectable hourly wage, to a "base pay" (minimum wage in most cases!) plus commission scale. In short, the more you sell and the more you smile, the more you make, in theory. What this creates is a culture where your "trusted" service advisor will do whatever he thinks is apropos to up-sell you on services and parts, some of which you may not really need!

As for the mechanics, some are good, others are just "parts replacers" instead of diagnostic experts. Brakes are a no-brainer. I've changed my own brakes a few times, with my trusty Chilton's and Haynes manuals at my side. (Then again, I'm also mechanically-inclined.) I've seen the shop (PBY) mess up on brakes numerous times, so I would NOT recommend you take your car to them for that. Tires, oil changes, wiper blade replacement, fine.

If you DO take your car to ANY Pep Boys to get it fixed, try this; get to know your mechanic. Talk to him / her about what's going on with the vehicle. Listen to how they respond to you and your concerns. Watch their body language. If they present themselves in a professional manner, and you are comfortable with their level of knowledge, then go with that. If your gut tells you "this guy seems "iffy", I don't know", either request another mechanic or take your vehicle elsewhere. But by all means, KNOW who has their hands under your hood! Your life depends on the safe and reliable operation of literally HUNDREDS of moving parts in your car. If the mechanic gets ONE THING wrong, it could be the difference between stopping, or rolling into a collision.

Pepboys does NOT only hire ASE techs. You can get hired as a mechanic (not installer, mechanic) with no ASE's. Many previous mechanics or aspiring mechanics have found this useful and a first professional mechanic job. That's does not necessarily mean that the new guy working on your car is not good. the real problems lie in the fact that the company is trying to be a retail outlet instead of a shop, and it shows in their offerings and business attitudes.

Example. Go to Pepboys and see if the have radio controlled cars for sale on the floor, or floor mats, or sandwich tays. Now ask if the have a catback prebent exhaust for, well, anything at all! The real problems are with corporate and how they do business.

Well as I stated i decided to take the truck to another Pep Boys ( Ciceroe NY) that I called and had talked to a resonable sounding shop manager named Tom. Who apparantly went on vacation that evening when i called back and talked to a very rude employee which made me a little leary of my chioce but it was too late.

The next day I was totally suprised I talked to Rich he was great dealing with over the phone he stayed in contact with me explained what they wanted to do and everything and sugestions. They finally got it all done around 4:30 and he said he would like it if I came up and took it for a test drive with the kid who did the work on my truck so I showed up and Rich was very friendly, empathetic, and well beyond what I expected. They thought the brakes felt spongy but wanted my opinion as I had driven the truck before when the brakes worked proper.

The brakes actually worked quite well and I was very very satisfied. He told me there was air in the system and they bled them and tryed that first and still he sugested the master cylnder because there was some play in the petal so I had that done. He took a few charges off the bill such as towing and he charged the other pep boys for having to bleed the brakes and in then in the end with a coupon I had the $200 bill was a mere $103 which I was more than willing to part with for the good work and freindly service. They even told me that alot of people come from the other store disatisfied with there work. And told me I should call the corprate number to file a complaint. Which I plan on doing and try to make them refund me for Poor work that was done and work I payed for (Bleeding the brakes) that almost caused me to have an accident. Im glad the other shop put on the paper work that there was air in the back lines, the ones that had the cylinders replaced.

As the person who posted above said they prob failed to do and I believe he is correct. I guss I cant say all Pep Boys are bad as now I found one that I would trust with my business again. I will keep everyone informed of any reponse from corprate about the other shop.

Richard,

Actually Pep Boys is not as bad as some shops, and they do hire only ASE certified techs, with the exception of oil change, tire busters, and helpers.

What happened to you is pure laziness and lack of attention to detail. If they replace the rear wheel cylinders, that system needed to be bled. This was obviously not done properly or at all.

The only thing that will usually cause a pedal to go to the floor is air in the system, and/or a failed master cylinder/booster.

The mechanics at Pep Boys work on a % of the total ticket parts and labor. They want quick and easy jobs they can stack, as they get paid off the job guide rate, not an actual hourly. They can get paid 2 or 3 times for the same hours' work.

It is obvious that nobody road checked your vehicle before releasing it to you, and a road test is part of what you paid for. This is grounds to get your money back.

Richard,
I am glad that you were able to stop. You have just had a valuable lesson as to what happens when brakes fail. With such an important system in your truck why take it to the highschool dropouts at Pep Boys. Next time to protect you and your family take it to a real mechanic, and at all cost avoid places like pepboys, or Just brakes. These morons can cost you or some innocent person on the road their lives.