Adam Wartell

I'm curious about people's opinion of Pep Boys service.
Often I hear people say they won't take their cars there for work.

Would you...
Would you take your Vette there?
Would you take your Non-Vette there?
Would you not take anything there?
Do you buy parts there?

Thanks!

jonny4523

I would buy parts there. In fact, I bought my new distributer for the Vette there. But I would never let them install it. Nothing against Pep Boys or anything, but I ALWAYS do my own work. Well, I guess not quite always. I let a friend do my exaust work and another friend do my audio work.

jharakal

I bought my 82c/e in fl. and was driving it home to n/w pa. oil pressure gage
pegged on high, made a pit stop in tn. at a pep boys, I waited for 4hrs. for a
oil change,all new belts an hoses,prices were'nt that great, could not get brand
name parts i wanted.....at least they got me home......jbh :cheers:

CDaniel525

They couldnt pay me to bring my vette there!!
I do all my own work with the exception of exhaust (only welding[ i bolt up, they weld]), paint, alignments, and tires.

If i had to bring it somewhere, itd be a performance shop or only vette shop.

RJR99SS

i wouldnt bring a vette there, maybe a daily driver. Sometimes i stop there to grab oil or whatever, but the main thing that turns me off to that place is theres always a "now hiring" sign in the window. I mean its always there, so i can draw a few conclusions for that. One is that they cant keep people working there because of poor management.

I even tested my theory and asked one of the mechanics there and he said it was one of the worst places he ever worked. So naturally if everyone there is completly pissed off to be there, i doubt you want to bring your car there.

Its always best just to ask around about the best place to get your work done. i tend to stay away from dealer garages, in my experience small specialized shops do the best work. but the only thing i have someone else do is alignment.

Anar76

I would never take any car there.
And the only time i go there for parts is if they have something in stock that noone else does.

1LE

NO, NO, NO, NO,and Yes.

Tom454

I moved to Raleigh in 1996. I sold my 7 bay shop & 2 acre property on a 4 lane highway and moved without having a job.... I was on a mission... get away from the snow. I took a temporary job at PepBoys and can speak first hand on this subject-

First of all, the mechanics get paid terribly. They make between 7 and 11 dollars per hour (1996). They cannot use the company equipment or garage space to work on their own vehicles. The equipment is not properly maintained... the hammer mechanics ruin it, and it never gets repaired properely, if at all.

Of the mechanics I met, some were good, most were hammer mechanics.
In order to get a reasonably good job done there, you have to know which mechanic is best in each area. One guy may be good in A/C, and lousy on front end alignments.

Also, most of the mechanics I met there are "free spirits"... they don't always show up on time for work, and they have a lot of personal/family problems.. usually money related. This makes it very difficult for the service managers to schedule work because they never know who is going to show up each day. As a customer, you will not see this because it is hidden from you.... so when you come back to get your car, it may not be finished.... and you may never know the real reason why. The pay is not high enough to give the mechanics a reason to perform like superman.

The good "all around" mechanics don't last long at PepBoys... they move on as soon as they can. You may find a mechanic that has been around for a while, but he is usually best at only 1 or 2 major repair areas. PepBoys has a very high turnover rate. The mechanics are not treated very well. I was treated fine... but I also left quickly.... within 2 weeks.

mrvette

Tm 454, unfortunately the poopieuation is not limited to just PEP Boys....
Sears/whoever chain store auto repairs....Goodyear is one baddy that comes to mind...most gas stations...Exxon....for instance....
even most dealerships....I hear from mechanic friends over the years..the only dealerships worth working at are usually Chevy and Caddy....the rest suck,.....not MY opinion, but sounds strange....

"GENE

Flareside

I wouldn't let them work on my LAWN MOWER!

Tom, sure wish you still had your 7 bay shop! I could use a local engine guru... Do you know of any good machines shops in north Jersey?

Alwyn678

Good place to buy parts...But I would not let them touch any car that I own

Tom454

RE: shop in NJ... yes.

On Rt 10 near 287. P&W Automotive Machining... on Fanok Rd in Whippany.
One guy does the heads, the other does the blocks & cranks. 887-1377.
Small shop, high quality.

Cajun99

Occaisonally I'll buy parts from them....
But an absolute NO!!!! to all the other questions :nono:

ZD75blue

vette cant drive to pepboys to get worked on but if it could NO WAY...

ZD

gkull

I have a pending law suite about mentally challanged service mangers. I don't want any money I want two morons jobs. So they can't do anything to others out there.

I used to go there for parts and oil.

apple76

no , no , no, and no.

VTHokie77Vette

I definitely wouldn't take my vette or any other car there to get worked on. Parts... if its in stock at a good price then, yeah, why not. But if my car has to go to the shop, then I like it to be a small local shop where I know who is working on my car.

fauxrs

I had a set of tires installed on teh vette there once - no problems - still running fine - tires and wheels still on car :lol:

Apart from that - only parts - there is a local quickie lube I get oil changes at - I like this place because the guys that work there let me watch with an eagles eye - they also love working on my car - so I feel pretty good about it.

I even see some of these kids that work there at the various cruises I attend. Its cool to hear them boast to their friends - "I've worked on that car" or "I do that guy's oil changes"

I've made it clear to them that they are the only guys I get my oil from and they treat me accordingly.

Other work that I am not capable of - or dont have time to do - are taken to a local vette shop.

vettfixr

About 10 years ago I took our daily driver Escort GT to them for a set of tires. I had them stop after they broke 2 lug nuts on the first wheel (there's only 4 on an Escort wheel). I had them take the car down and brought it to Ford for repairs which they then reimbursed for. Never again. Their prices for parts also aren't that hot. I mainly just buy oil filters there.

chevyman

I use to briing them my daily driver until I found out they stopped using ASE mechanics. Oh yeah tires are pretty good if you dont mind waiting 5 hours.