Pep Boys Automotive Incompetency At Its "Finest"!! PepBoys Put Parts in Incorrectly and Incompetently!! Bensalem Pennsylvania

I never once said that they put the batery in backwards, just incorrectly. I say this, because there was "felt" on the battery connector, which was impeding the battery current flow. However, it has become more that just an improperly installed battery. We now suspect (have some proof, and are obtaining more.) that they are installing faulty/ inferior parts. As my spouse said, our car was great, until AFTER the 1st battery was installed, and that is when this problem started. It was upon insertion of battery number 2, that it got progressively worse.

On a much better note, as it turned out, I contacted CBS 3 On your Side, and someone there put me in touch with a Jack Bill who is the Corporate Services Director(?) for Pep Boys. we had a very nice discussion onthe matter, he ACTUALLY LISTENED to my concerns, and they will tow the car to another auto nody shop in the area (Of our choosing.), that specializes in older/classic cars like ours. They even agreed to not only pay for the towing, but for the evaluation itself! They also offered to compensate us for the time lost from work, and the rental cars, just fax over our pay stubs (To show time lost from work.), and the car rental receipts to Pep Boys. In short, they will take care of what we asked for. Amazing, huh??

The heavy battery connecting wires usually will not reach the now-incorrectly located terminal posts, and the battery posts are of different sizes. This is a standard design feature because a "backwards battery" will usually cause some interesting, i.e. expensive, problems.

The hard starting on damp days sounds like the secondary harness (spark plug wires) should be replaced. The distributor cap should probably also be replaced.

If you are mechanically declined, locate a trustworthy shop. See the cartalk site's mechanics' files, where you enter your ZIP code & the max distance you are willing to travel to a shop. AAA recommended shops are also often good.

About two weeks ago, I start getting phone calls from someone Identifying himself as Dan McLaughlin, a District service manager for this area/store, wanting to talk with me on this issue. After several days of playing phone tag, I discover an arrogant, egotistical, sleazy individual, who basically states the same BS that Jose gave me, but worse. He has the audacity to say that both he and Jose had been in "constant communication" concerning my spouse's car, that Jose offered us the option of getting a second opinion on the car, (At a place of their recommendation, no less!), and I said "No", and overall, basically accusing both of us, that we are lying about the condition of the car.

I also encountered someone, who refused to let me talk, but constantly interrupted me at every turn. I then stated to BOTH him and Jose (The following day.), that I NEVER ONCE SAID NO to the second opinion, but that we would choose the place to get the second opinion from. Dan had the further audacity to not only offer the second opinion at the Farmco Automotive (Their recommendation, by the way!), but to tow it to the alternate opinion location on their dime!! I stated to Dan as well as Jose, that we will not use their towing service, because they did such a lousy job of towing it to the location in the first place (Please see my statement on Nolan's Auto.), that IF we get a second opinion, it will be of our choosing, and that he will get it himself. I further stated to BOTH Dan and Jose, that the car was fine, until AFTER the first battery was installed in January, and that we can prove this through our jumpstarter system. I then "thanked" Dan for "listening" and ended the call. The following day, I spoke with Jose reiterating all of the above, and ended the call.

Just this past week, I got a phone call from someone ID himself, as Jack Dill(?), who wanted to talk with me on this matter, but as usual, we are playing phone tag. I did get in touch with CBS 3 On Your Side, and they are calling us back to see what can be done.

Let's see where this one goes........

Let's just say for the sake of argument, that I was not completely detailed with this. Let me me give as complete a detail as I can on this, and make it easy for you to understand.
1. Battery #1 was put in the car in January, along with an alternator, but it was "intermittently" not starting after this. Even then I would have to get rental cars, etc, and lose time from work, but it was not as serious. It became more serious after battery #2 was installed and this was when it became worse. So as one can plainly see, it was going on for a while. Does that help??
2. Battery #2 was installed in late May, which is something I CLEARLY stated before.It was not even two weeks into having the second battery installed that the situation became bery serious, and thus where we are right now.
3. My spouse has had to do the talking with this company, because I refuse to be sucked into their BS. What BS you ask?? Let's see, How about their refusal to admit that there could be a problem with the battery? How about how they brushed off valid suggestion/comcerns over the car, then call back stating the same thing you told them, like they came up with it themselves!! How about their attempt to treat my spouse like she is a "dumb female", by talking down to her. Better yet, how about their attempt at making themselves look good, by saying that they had 3 different mechanics looking at the car for up to 4 hours at time, and they "can't find anything wrong with the car"?
4. You say we won't get satisfaction, I say we will, and we are. We are getting a lawyer that specializes in consumer fraud, and we have also contacted the media on this. We have the law on our side on this, and we will LEGALLY make sure they do not shirk their responsibiliry on this one. As for the competent mechanic bit, PLEASE!! That's something we realized as a result of this, so tell me something more original.
5. As of today, my spouse is going to talk with the district managers of this area tomorrow, so hopefully this gets resolved.
If this isn't detailed I don't know what is!!

Initally you did not give enough detail about the reason your vehiche was failing to start in the morning. Was it a dead battery and wouldnt crank over or was it cranking and not starting? Upon your first visit to Pepboys when they installed a new battery and alternator and it seemed to have fixed the problem, correct? After that it started doing the same thing? You state that Pepboys has said that they looked at it for hours and cant figure it out (did they charge you?) Hes admitting that he doesnt have anyone good enough to fix the problem. Hes totally grasping for straws with the felt issue, but is trying none the less. You need to bring your car to a competant mechanic and have it repaired and be done with it. As far as you getting reimbursed for days off, rental cars etc. you better forget about that. You will never win that money in a court of law. The blame for this whole mess lays squrely on your shoulders for being cheap and trying to save a buck while bringing it to Pepboys.

After getting 2 voice mail messages that were incoherent, my husband decided that I should be the one to talk with ANYONE from there. (Trust me, he's soooo upset, he might say saomthing he doesn't want to.) I, being the diplomatic one (LOL) contact the store and insist on speaking with the department/store manager, and lo and behold, I get Mike, the very one who treated me like a dumb female!! I proceeded to let him know how dissapointed we were with the quality of service we received, the lies, the double talk, and that my husband will be getting the car as soon as our complex finishes the paving job they are doing. I further tell him, that we have reported him to the PA attorney general, and that they will be hearing from our lawyer. Then, I hung up on him!!
About 24 hours later, we get a phone call from the store manager, Jose/Joe or whatever he calls himself. He continues the bull****, but even has the nerve to add, that they had people working on the car for multiple days, up to 4 hours at a time, but they can't find anything wrong with it. He also acknowledges that we have threatened to use them, and "wants to make it right", to which I respond, "Do your job!" I further tell him ,that I found it very despicable to be treated like a dumb female, to which he apologized, and I named the culprit, Mike. I then mentioned how they damaged my husband's car, by breaking the key off in the trunk lock, to which he apologized, and replaced it, but I stated that it was still despicable. I also said that even if the electrical system is the issue, they should have people competent enough to handle electrical systems of cars like my husband's. I further said that if they truly want to make it right, to compensate us for the time we both lost from work (My husband 3 days, I one.), and also for the car rentals. He said that he couldn't promise anything, but if my husband came into the store, something could be worked out.
Just yesterday, I spoke with "Joe" again, and I let him know my husband was delayed in getting the car, and might be able to get it this weekend. I also let it be known, that the care better not be moved anywhere, or we press charges. I also let him know, that the car was fine until they replaced the battery, and I told him we have strong reason to believe that the battery is faulty, and it is NOT the electrical system. During this whole time, he was silent, and could not refute anything I said. What's next??

After two days of hearing nothing, my wife gets a phone call from Mike the Assistant Manager. He actually stated that they discovered a felt type substance around the battery connector of the battery itself!! After I told them I noticed this, and they ignored me and brushed me off over this!! Get a Clue!!! Despite this being "fixed", we are stilll having probems with the car. I just took the car back to them, and they stated that they "cannot" do anything over this, because to them it is an "intermittent problem", and it is in an area that the have no expertise in: the electrical system. I sent out another complaint to the corporate office, plus left two messages, but have not heard anything!!! If there is an attorney available that deals with this matter, we would LOVE to hear from you.