Pep Boys

Tom W.

Joined 16 days ago

Horrifying Accident and Funny Business at PepBoys

My experience with PepBoys couldn't have been much worse. If you're thinking of patronizing the PepBoys store on Elston Avenue, I urge you to read my review first.

Here's what happened.

1. In September of 2012, I had PepBoys work on my car's steering system.

2. About 10 days later, the driver's side front wheel detached from the steering system while I was exiting Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, causing an accident. If a wheel detaches from the steering system while you're driving, it's impossible to control the car. It was a horrifying experience and could easily have resulted in multiple fatalities. Miraculously, no one was hurt, but my car suffered substantial damage.

3. Immediately after the accident, the front wheels of my car were sharply pigeon-toed. This means at least one of the wheels was not attached to the steering system. When both wheels are attached to the steering system, they point in the same direction.

4. I had AAA tow my car back to PepBoys. Since PepBoys was closed, AAA left the car in the PepBoys lot.

5. When PepBoys reopened the next morning, I spoke with them by phone. I asked them to inspect the car and determine what caused the accident and what needed to be done to fix the car. I didn't authorize any repair work.

6. When PepBoys completed their 'inspection,' they told me both wheels were attached to the steering system and had been that way when the car arrived at their store. They said they couldn't explain what caused the accident.

7. I've asked mechanics repeatedly if the wheel could reattach to the steering system without human intervention. No one has an innocent explanation. The only plausible explanation is that PepBoys reattached the wheel in order to hide the cause of the accident. PepBoys must have thought the accident was caused by their negligent repair work 10 days before, and wanted to hide the evidence. The 'inspection' was done by the same mechanic, Paulie, who did the original repair work.

8. I've spent a lot of time trying to get PepBoys to assume responsibility for the accident, but so far with no success.

9. The PepBoys store manager, Chris, admits the wheel couldn't reattach itself, but claims the wheel was in fact attached when the car arrived at PepBoys after the accident.

10. The AAA tow truck driver saw the wheels were sharply pigeon-toed after the accident. So did a young woman who stopped to help me on the night of the accident. So did I. In other words, we all saw that the wheel was not attached to the steering system.

11. My insurer, Travelers, investigated the claim. They agree with me that someone at PepBoys must have performed work on the car in order to hide the cause of the accident.

12. I filed a claim with PepBoys. PepBoys denied my claim with no real investigation. They made no attempt to contact the AAA tow truck driver or the young woman who stopped to help me. Their claims staff contacted me only after denying my claim--and then only by an automated phone call. Instead, they relied on assurances from Chris, the store manager, that they'd done nothing wrong.

13. Looking back, PepBoys couldn't have behaved much worse. First they performed negligent repair work on my car, causing what easily could have been a multiple-fatality accident. Next they did unauthorized and undisclosed work on my car in order to conceal the cause of the accident and hide their negligence. Finally, they denied my claim without making any real effort to determine what happened.

14. My advice is to avoid the PepBoys store on Elston Avenue at all costs.

Krazy Kat

Joined 3 years ago

I've been going here for a long time (my last 3 cars) with varying results leaning towards the positive. But the current service crew and service desk staff are really great. Today, as I was waiting at the desk, one of the fellows was going to lunch, saw me standing there and actually stopped to see if I had been waited on. When I said, "No", he went back behind the counter and took care of me before re-heading off to lunch. Very nice. In fact, most of the desk guys - Dan, Oscar, Sam, etc. - are all great to interact with.

Also, and MOST importantly, the mechanics have really done right by me, especially Paulie D. He's the greatest ~ clear talking, seriously knowledgeable, and really makes you feel comfortable. Like many people, I've had more than one "mis-diagnoses" of what's going on with my car from other garages AND from Pep Boys, themselves, that Paulie has spent time re-checking, resolving and taking care of (if needs be) -- saving me time, trouble and unnecessary costly repairs. Thanks, Paulie!

In a world where, it seems, 90% or more of the car repair shops are bent on taking advantage of women, it's nice to have someone to trust.

Amar N.

Joined 8 months ago

Great job by these people. keep it up

Doesn't Recommend

tomik1

Joined 3 years ago

Waited 3 hous only to be told to come tomorrow. This place is incredible. A month ago I let them change tires on my car - waited 4 hours (instead of 2 hours as promised). That time I said myself: OK, changing tires is a big job, so they probably needed some extra time.

Today my engine light came up while driving. Pep Boys at Elston Ave. were 5 min away - so I went there hoping that I can convince somebody to check it for me. A years ago it happen to me and I went to Autozone and they check it for me with a hand held scanner for free. Not in that place - they asked for $90 (with taxes). Well, I said OK and asked them about how long would I need to wait. They said two hours (for 5 min job: put a scanner into a slot and turn on the key).

After three hours of waiting in the Starbugs for a phone call from them that never arrived I came back there only to be told that they cannot do it today - to come tomorrow morning. So I wasted three ours waiting for a 5 min job that they could not do. This place is a joke, save a time and money and go to some other place that value customers at least a little bit. If you wish to go there the Starbucks is right cross the street - you will have enough time to enjoy a cup of cofee there (or rather several cups) before they finish with your car (in the best case).

TOM

Doesn't Recommend

Jimmy Boi

Joined 4 years ago

One star is too much for these BUMS!!!!!!!. Since when does Pepboys hire cons who dont know there azz from a hole in the ground? My car went in for warranty work-to sit there for a week-then leave w/more issues than it went in for. They broke parts tryn to get them off, reset eng codes to make it look like it was fixed, and said they couldnt hear the problem when my 96yo grandmother could here it from on top of the Sears tower! To make it worse the tech who rode w/me who claims he couldnt hear the problem smelled like booze? maybe if my name was Capt Morgan or if I hid a six pack inside my wheel bearing he could find the problem! seriously what was i thinking? i could have had one of the bums mooching for change on the corner of Fullerton do my repairs for much less and probably better! The 3 pepboys owners should change there name to "Larry, Moe, and Curly" cuz its a big frikn joke! woobabwoopwoop-naknaknaknak

Doesn't Recommend

Chicago09

Joined 4 years ago

Terrible. Rude Inept And Totally Unprofessional. The Worst.. These idiots did a brake job on my van last year. After having the vehicle three times longer that they claimed they would have it I finally picked up the vehicle. There was a loud thumping noise in the right rear wheel area. I took it back and the resident idiot said he took it for a ride and couldn't hear anything; therefore, there was nothing he could do. The sound continually got worse and this last week I took the vehicle to a Chevrolet dealer. One trip around the block and the mechanic indicated the rotor was warped, at least on the right rear side. After claiming the vehicle would be done by 3:30 p.m., I got a call @ 7:00 p.m. The guy was an idiot and indicated that there could be no pickup, and that I had to pay for a ride over to the dealer. I attempted to explain to this moron that if the job had been done correctly the first time I wouldn't be needing to pickup a vehicle to begin with. He hung up on me. I called back and spoke with an even bigger idiot who was just as rude. This place absolutely stinks. It is the worst service I have ever received. Ironically, this place is busy. Look over the other feedback and don't rely on just my opinion.

Doesn't Recommend

mendoza969

Joined 7 years ago

Bad Customer Service. I went to have my battery changed. They told me they could do it in 30 minutes. After two hours had gone by, I went back up to the counter. They said, "Oh we just finished it now." I said I was told 30 minutes but it took 2 hours. They didn't apologize and just became grouchy. They rang me up and handed me my keys without saying anything. I left the store. I won't be back.

Doesn't Recommend

chideise

Joined 5 years ago

DO NOT use these guys. Rude, unprofessional, long waits. Absolutely no customer service. You can also get cheaper.. This is my first time writing a review online but I had such a bad experience with pepbboys that I had to. Do NOT use this place. You may think they have the cheapest prices but if you shop around you can get better, and the experience isnt worth the few dollars you may save. I brought my car over labor day weekend for 4 tires. They say you get 1 of the 4 tires free, but this is on a mail-in basis so you have to pay the full price first. I was told it would take 90 minutes to have the tires fitted and aligned so I asked if i could come back later that day, they said fine, if i call ahead they will make sure they have a slot free for me. When i returned later i had to wait 15 mins to see an attendant who said my car was next up and would be ready in 1 hour, 40 mins. After 1 hour 15 mins I came back and they hadnt even started working on it yet!! They wanted me to wait anoter 90 minutes having already wasted 75 mins. Eventually after complaining to 3 different people, neither of whom wanted to know about it one of the employees gave me his number and said if i call back the next day he would mke sure my car got worked on. The next day when i called on the way to the store the manager didnt want to know about me and was completely rude about it. At this stage I had dealt with 5 different people, none of whom wanted to take any responsiility for getting the work done, and 3 of whom were rude. I called Lucas Tires on Western instead and got better tires, for a better price with really excellent customer service. They even kept my car overnight, did the work on the morning of Labor day and paid for a taxi to/from my house. DO NOT use Pepboys!

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Editorial Review by Citysearch Editors. Offers everything from shocks to XM radios. Auto service includes engine tune-up, wheel alignment and brake maintenance.

Doesn't Recommend

felicitiz50

Joined 5 years ago

Worst Experience with an Auto Mechanic Shop Ever Completly INCOMPETENT STAFF, who is in charge?. This place takes hours and day's to diagnose your car. Paperwork is all over the place. Good luck talking to anyone that know's the status of your car. Misdiagnosed my car and tried to charge me an astronomical amount. They don't know what customer service is and don't care. The staff is not qualified and completly incompetent. Save yourself time, money and frustration. Stay away from this place and it's incompetent staff. Makes you wonder who is in charge, it is so poorly run.