Pep Boys Auto

This place is dishonest. Every time I have been in, they tell me my tires need to be replaced. I have been to other places now who have all told me that my tires are fine. Avoid them.

Waited half hour for someone to say hi I’ll be with you in a minute. Hear with a headlight out

Horrible service — HORRIBLE– RUDE. I showed up 15 minutes b4 my scheduled appointment at Noon. and waited until 1pm and then I was told it would be at least 30 minutes to 1 more hour of waiting. So I left and went to another business, Speedline Auto & Repair.(and it only took 30 minutes without an appointment).
I left mainly do to the HORRIBLE customer service I received from the moment I walked into this location. Working the desk was Alex and Mike and when I walked up to the desk no one greeted me — they avoided me in fact. talking between themselves and then the phone rang and Alex pick it up to help them as i still stood there waiting. AT NO point did either of them look up, ever! After he got off the phone I said «Is this where I go for my appointment?» ONLY then did Alex then look up and ask my info. After waiting over an hour I went back to the desk to ask for an update and I was informed that they haven’t started (my appointment was a Noon) this was after 1 Pm. When i was informed it would take 30−1hr more. I left. Mainly due to the HORRIBLE RUDE service. I expressed my frustration and at that time no one looked up –NEVER answering any of my questions. there was another employee behind the customer at that time (Joe) and he as well did not look up or answer my questions.
Horrible RUDE service — i will NEVER bring my business to your company and i will take be calling the company, Unilocal and any other media I can. I am SHOCKED of the customer service you provide. I own a small business in Chicago for 15 years and WOULD NEVER have anyone working for me if they treated any of my customers the way ALEX and Mike did to me that day.
GO ANYWHERE else — ANYWHERE

Appointment one: called on Sunday, and brought my car up that afternoon for a simple oil change. When I arrive, they don’t have my reservation and cant service my vehicle. Greaaat! I should’ve just gave up there, but ill give the benefit of the doubt. Let’s make a solid appointment.
Appointment two: my wife brings the vehicle up after work, leaving her job early for the day to make time before we pick up the baby from daycare. She arrives early for her appointment, but after nearly an hour they haven’t even started on the oil change. She complains to the manager, and they give her a coupon for free oil change. Fool me twice…
Appointment three: ok this time I’ll try an early morning Saturday appointment. Surely they’ll get me in quick. Besides, its now a ‘free’ oil change right?! I even show up 15mins early. 75mins later, after complaining to the manager, they’re finally changing the oil on my car. Not really free anymore, when you consider what your time is worth. Hours of my life wasted in their dirty waiting area for a ‘free’ oil change? Meh.
They provided me with a sob story that they recently had cut wages, hours and staff, etc; and while I sympathize, that’s awful, I still made three appointments for the most simple service they offer. It’s a bummer that they’re hurting for good help, but while I sit here and watch my car finally get serviced, it’s tough to feel bad when I’m also watching four guys laughing at a YouTube video on a cell phone instead of getting the job done.
TL;DR — Steer clear if Pep Boys. Even with an appointment you’ll get shafted. Just go somewhere else.

This place is awful. I came in to get 4 tires, new brakes, and an oil change. The sales person that was working with me offered to do the oil change for free. He was really nice (I think he was the manager) and explained everything that would be done. I was told to leave the car there and pick it up later in the day. When I came to pick up the car there was a different sales person at the desk. He was rude and didn’t seem to have the time to answer any questions. He told me everything was done, including the oil change and handed me the paperwork that showed it was done I got into the car to drive away and noticed there was no sticker for the oil change, so I came back in and asked if it was done. His response. «I don’t know. Please drive up to bay 2 and I will have someone check». I drove up to bay 2 and waited… And waited… And waited. After about 15 min I went back into the store and asked «are you going to check the car?» Without a response the sales person walked into the shop.
Was he checking??? Was I supposed to go back to my car??? After another 5 min I saw the gate to bay 2 open, so I went back to my car to drive it in. A mechanic came out and told me no oil change was ordered… Oil change was clearly on my paperwork. Had I not have checked the sticker, I would have been falsely informed that an oil change was done. In addition to the fake oil change, I also noticed none of the new tires had valve caps. Really? I just paid $ 1000 for new tires and they can’t put valve caps on?
I wish I had read all the negative reviews before coming here.
I do think the initial sales person provided good customer service but beyond that, my experience with this place sucked. They need to hire some better employees.

No one asked if I needed help. Stood at the cash register for 10 min before someone came to check me out.

Got a flat tire on Saturday, was desperate in finding any service willing to help nearby.
Called PepBoys, said they can get it fixed in 15 minutes. Came in, waited for 1 hour, after which they said they do not fix this kind of punctures and the only thing they can recommend is to replace whole tire, and they have it (obviously), and you need to replace both. $ 500 out of pocket for a mattress spring in you tire. I refused, found tire shop on Ashland and got it fixed in 20 mins for $ 20.

I made an appointment online. I received two emails, the first confirming my request and the second confirming my appointment. What is the point of being able to make an appointment if they can’t honor it? I showed up on time only to be told they won’t be able to see me. Customer service apologized, said the website doesn’t translate to the actual shop time and that this is an issue they are trying to fix (is it really that hard?! Take away the option then! What a waste of my time!). I feel worse knowing this has happened before to some other schmuck. I called another store and again I receive the same answer and an apology saying they understand I was scheduling it around my time. Here’s the thing, I did not schedule it around my time. I scheduled my appointment around the time they offered me. Fool me once Pep Boys, shame on you. I’ll be darned if I’m fooled again. Yes a bit dramatic but I am sitting in the parking lot feeling very screwed over, wishing I could place negative stars on this review and very much feeling my place as a stupid consumer.
Word to the wise, if you are going to use Pep Boys, don’t be stupid like me. Call ahead and verify your appointment.
Now, can someone direct me to a more reliable tire shop?

If you care about the safety of your loved ones, do not go here. I have proof that they charged me for new rotors and then resurfaced my old ones and attempted to pass them as new. This is fraud, and illegal. I have video of the resurfacing and photos of the rotors after the resurfacing. When confronted, the manager simply got in his car and left.
They are charging for new parts, and leaving the old parts on your car.

There are so many negative things that people write on Unilocal,I thought I’d be the exception.
I just left Pepboys a couple hours ago, where I needed my tire fixed (there was a nail in it), before I drive a long distance tomorrow. When I walked in, they told me they couldn’t fix it tonight because they were already going to be there way after close (it was 30 mins until close). Knowing that feeling when people do that to me at work, I politely said ‘Okay that’s fine, I totally understand! Thanks anyways. I’ll come back at a different time.’ After I said this, I was ready to leave. This is when one of the mechanics stopped me and asked what I needed done, and then proceeded to ask me for my keys — he was willing to do it for me, on top of his full load for the night. I was caught off guard and so unbelievably appreciative, that I decided I was going to tip him when he was done.
Once he was done and I tried to give him money, he wouldn’t accept it. I then went in to pay and the lady walked out from the back and told me that I was ‘all set.’ On top of helping me late, my services were taken care of. $ 20 might not be a lot to some, but being a college student, it’s a lot for me.
When I walked in there tonight, I had no idea I’d be writing this right now. Proof that good people do exist, but even more proof that simply treating people with respect (even when things don’t seem to be going your way) is recognized and appreciated.

I live in the area and went to this location to have an alternate set of tires placed on my vehicle. The next day while traveling the «check tire sensor» light came on while I was on a road trip to Canada. When I returned to Chicago, I went to the location and told them. They asked if the tire pressure was low. The answer was no as the Vehicle provides provides a different warning for that. I explained more than likely there’s a problem with the sensors when they did the work. Four hours later i came back and they told me it was fixed. I got in my vehicle and the light/​problem they said was corrected was still an issue. Obviously they don’t have the capability to know how to fix what they potentially caused. Going to the Chevy dealership as I just need it fixed.

I broke my serpentine belt on my way to work this morning and this Pep Boys was the closest auto parts store to the Loop. I’m so used to the over and above service in my home town. We pre-​ordered the parts online. When we got there… Not one hello or how can I help. The guy grunted… «You ordered online? I think there was a problem with the belt» what problem, I asked? He just walked away. After yelling at a few employees not to touch his register from across the store, he came back and threw the belt on the counter. I said don’t forget the tool we ordered with it. He just looked at me and said, just wait, I’m not done. He brings the tool back and rings it up saying I cannot use my pep boys rewards number. I just want to fix the car and go home. I’ll find another store in the future.
Not even have a nice day or even good-​bye!

I’ve been to this Pep Boys quite a few times and I’ve always had a great experience. I thought this last experience warranted a good review. I went in there for wiper blades and I bought the ones that were in the book as the right ones. They offered to put them on for me and, upon pulling into the bay and removing my old ones, informed me they were the wrong ones. The gentleman who was working in the service bay escorted me inside, showed me the right ones, handed me the sleeves to pay, and the correct ones were on before I was even back outside from completing the exchange. That was amazing service… on top of the good service I usually get. I’m truly sorry others have had bad service, but I think it’s just as important to talk about the great experiences as the bad ones, so this is getting posted!

Thanks to Mike and Julio for taking care of my car! They were easy to work with, did not push unnecessary or expensive services or items and went above and beyond to help me. Julio is an honest mechanic too. I asked him to change my air filter, only to have him tell me I had a brand new one (I guess hubby changed it and never told me). Julio could have easily ripped me off. Thanks guys! I’ll be back!

Like all other posts I should’ve trusted Unilocal.All i needed them to do was give me a quote and inspection on my brakes. I called them to ask just how long that might take they said «30 minutes, no problem.» I then asked how long would it take for them to install the brake pads to my car if I did end up agreeing to the quote and inspection. They said «Hour and a half». I was very pleased with both of these answers and the confidence that went into both of them. Unfortunately nothing went as it should have. I had been calling places all morning Jiffy Lube, which I should’ve trusted and gone with, Pep Boys, and local auto shops. I got multiple quotes and time frames of when they could do this all because I wanted to go to Bloomington to pick up the rest of my stuff in storage before work started next week because I’m moving into my new place. So I decided why not go to Pep Boys first let them inspect it in 30 minutes then give me a quote and if I like it, I’ll tell them to install it and it’ll badda bing badda boom. Unfortunately it wasn’t anything but. I work during the week so I took 30 minutes out of my work day to go to Pep Boys drop my car off because the brakes are f’d up and I don’t feel comfortable driving that car all the way to Bloomington the way it’s started to drive recently. So I dropped it off there and went back to work and everything seemed like it was going to be ok. well I dropped the car off at 10:15am and after two hours and fifteen minutes I decided to call back at 12:30pm. One of their service guys said «Alex is working on the inspection and putting numbers together right now, he’ll give you a call back in 10 minutes.» He hung up and I was like ok. Then I go back to work and before I know it, it’s 2:30pm and not a call because I’ve been watching my phone while I’ve been working. I call them back and ask them what’s going on with my car you said 10 mins two hours ago and it wasn’t even supposed to last till 12:30. It was suppose to last 30 minutes! Finally I got in touch with Alex and he said «oh man I must have gotten your number wrong because it just get saying invalid #.» No duh you wrote it down wrong, you think I gave you a fake number to fix my car? Jesus. He even repeated my number in the beginning but still got it wrong. I’m not so mad about the number thing because mistakes happen but he should remember for next time maybe he doesn’t hear everything as clearly as he thinks so he should confirm more than twice with customer. My problem was that they were behind schedule when I called them at 12:30pm because at 10:15am they said an inspection would take 30mins and they didn’t have it done in two hours and 45 minutes. Then it took me to call them back again. Cmon Pep Boy, you don’t have caller id or a ring back thing or something. That’s outrageous. Now it’s 3pm and I’m 20 minutes south of Pep Boys if I take 90 and there is no traffic. But it’s 3pm and a Friday so 90 will take over an hour to get there so I won’t be able to bring my car to another shop until tomorrow which has now caused me to not be able to go to Bloomington tomorrow because I can’t get my car in time. I left my car there at 10:15am and it’s now 3:05 pm. They told me 30 minutes for an inspection. Much longer than that. My advise is to stay away from this Pep Boys. Go to Jiffy Lube or a local auto shop. I should’ve trusted Unilocal like I normally do but I thought how could it be that bad. It’s a huge store. But if a huge store is run by subpar workers, lying about time estimations, that can happen and it did to me. So thanks Pep Boys, way to live up to the hype about you. All the comments are true.
And I bet their PR/​Customer Service person will reach out to this comment like she has for every other truthful comment and say «I’m sorry to hear about your experience at one of our stores Will. This is not how we’re usually run. Could I get you in contact with our Customer Service Department so you can describe it more in depth to them?» No I wrote the story here. I’m done with Pep Boys. Leave me alone, your Customer Service obviously hasn’t done anything to change the way your employees act after so many people have had such a miserable experience here. Maybe you should stop writing responses to truthful comments and actually train somebody how to be a good Manager at that place. I HATE PEP BOYS! Jiffy Lube you have won by default.

Very unreliable! Took 2 hours to check the status of the car break. Then I got the page that the car is ready. When I got out, my car is still in the service area with no tires! The manager on duty can’t find the staff who is working on my car. Waited another 30 minutes. This place is a hot mess! Everybody needs to go back to basic training on customer service. This place never heard of under promise and over deliver strategy.
I will not come back to this place again. I should have been warned with the 2 stars rating here at Unilocal and never brought my car here in the first place.
Don’t know how this place stays afloat with poor customer service.

When I initially brought my vehicle in, I thought «not bad» on the service and wait time. Of course I was the only one there to wait on and the garage was quiet also. So pretty quick on my radiator check and off I go on my trip only to have my engine seize from overheating not 3 hours away. I tried to drive it slowly, nursing it along as I was in the middle of nowhere, the nearest auto repair with a tow service was 150 miles away.
Thinking it was a fluke, brought my other car in for some work ‚(they were walking distance from me) I told them what I needed done, I don’t have a garage or lifts but apparently those don’t help these guys anyway.
That car never did run right after their repairs, they kept telling me there was a mysterious electrical problem following a battery, alternator and belt replacement. The battery was a $ 150 Bosch, best they had, I don’t skrimp. Finally just sold that car with full disclosure , I stupidly trusted their diagnosticians. bought another import. that too soon needed a battery, damn chicago extremes. Again, I bought another Bosch from Pepboys and they installed it –also big bucks, soon after the car wouldn’t start if it sat for a few days.
I dealt with it almost all winter, AAA came out with a tester when I called for a jump and told the guy he was wasting time and sure enough, the battery was defective, it had a bad cell! He printed out the diagnosis. Changed that battery and not another problem! Oh and I did not bring I back to those butchers. did it myself.
Then I thought about the other car with it’s mystery electrical crap… The Bosch’s were likely old sitting on the shelf or a defective batch and I wasted ALL of that time, money and frustration, not to mention being stranded on the coldest days… I wasn’t going to bother posting, but if this helps one person from the unbelievable stupidity that I dealt with, it’s worth it. Go ANY where else for auto repair and parts!!!
And save your rebuttal, I shouldn’t have to, as a customer, bring my car to get the battery tested when you sold it to me and installed it… twice!!! Guess who is now a proud owner of a 15 dollar battery tester?

This is a follow up to my original post.
The Pep Boys on Elston is under new management. After seeing my review on Unilocal,the new manager, John, contacted me and offered to replace my struts at no charge to me. I brought my car in and they did the work as promised.
I would give four or five stars but I can’t because of so much of my time that was wasted getting to this point. I also still feel that I was over charged on the labor on my original visit which wasn’t remedied.

DO NOT take your car here unless it’s just an oil change. And probably not even then.
I’d taken my car here twice for oil changes before, and they were always relatively quick and reasonable and I liked the fact that I could make an appointment online. So when my brakes were acting funny, my boyfriend and I thought it would be good to get them to check it out before we drove 8 hours (the next day) on a road trip.
So my boyfriend took it in on a Tuesday morning, where he stayed for four hours with little to no communication. After four hours, they told him they had to replace the brakes ($ 400) and the master cylinder (also $ 400), so they would order the part and it would be ready the next day around noon.
The next day (when we had hoped to leave around 6 am), we didn’t hear from them, so my boyfriend decided to go to the store at about 2 pm. At 3, they took the car back (good sign, right? and already 3 hours past their quoted time), but at 5:30, we still had no news. At 7, a full 5 hours after getting there, my boyfriend said they hadn’t given him any update, and his phone died. At 9:45 PM, he finally came home with no car and no hope. At 9:30 PM, they had finally informed him that the part they ordered was defective, and we wouldn’t get a replacement until Friday (because of Thankgiving)
So tl;dr my boyfriend spent SEVEN AND A HALF HOURS in their waiting room with NO COMMUNICATION.
We then had to rent a car ($ 400) for the weekend, to which the guy managing our car said «oh sorry.»
Despite promising to call on Friday, we hadn’t heard from them by Saturday night, so we called. «Oh the Mazda? That was fixed Wednesday,» said the project manager. NOPE. No one had bothered to write anything down, so the internal communication was completely nonexistent. He then told us everything would be good Sunday and he’d give us a call.
No call. We called on the way home, and we were told it was fixed, so we stopped by the store. SURPRISE– it was not fixed. The guy took us through everything like they’d made great progress, but literally nothing was better.
Long story less long, it took them TWO WEEKS and FOUR REPLACEMENT PARTS to give us our car back. In that time, they called when they promised exactly zero times. I realize that sometimes parts are faulty, but at least let us know.
Anyway, they didn’t charge us for the master cylinder, but I will never ever ever ever ever go back here again.

I was aware of Pep Boys being awful and expensive but cheap for Oil changes. I was leaving for a month long road trip and thought it would be a good idea, So i brought my car in for an oil change thinking they couldn’t mess that up. Guess i was wrong. They haphazardly crack the plug off my oil pan to cause a leak. The incompetent mechanic told me that they couldn’t put a temporary plug in and that i had to basically drop $ 500 to fix my car right now. How did a $ 20 oil change turn into a $ 500 cost so quickly?
Finally one of the slightly more competent mechanics realized that they COULD put a temporary plug in, but stated that it wouldn’t last more than a couple days. I spend the first 3 days of my road trip in fear of leaking oil on the highway. When i finally reached my day off in Toronto, I took my car to a autoshop. Not only did the mechanic say that the temporary plug would hold, but that i didn’t need an oil pan replacement. Guess what? THE PLUG HELD THE ENTIRE TRIP.
Thank you Pep Boys for being money-​grubbing liars who try to scam everyone out of more money because no one trusts your work, and this is why.
NEVER take your car here. NEVER.