Pep Boys

Horrible! I purchased my tires from another pep boys two years ago, and recently gotten a nail in one of the tires. I dreaded coming into to get it serviced, but I decided to stop by because it was on my way home. I walked in around 3 pm. I asked them to look me up to see if I had a warranty, they couldn’t find me. They told me that I should go to the original pep boys I purchased the tires from. That was it! I picked up my phone and called the other pep boys. They gave me my order number. I gave it to the guy working at the desk; he looked it up. He found me and I do have a warranty so they would be able to fix it for me, however the guy who does tires is leaving at 5. It’s 3:30 and he’s sitting on the computer but he can’t take my car because he’s leaving at 5?! Really!!! And while the guy at the desk was looking up my work order, the tire guy came and refused to do some other work on another car as well, but the guy at the desk said he can do it. I don’t understand why the tire guy has to leave at 4:30 if he is scheduled until 5pm. I also don’t understand why the guy at the desk could work on another car, but can’t work on mine. Instead, I was told that the one in Skokie could possibly help me. Really!!! What kind of customer service is that!!!

Extremely Friendly, Welcoming and Efficient: I went to to another non-​Pep Boys establishment for an oil change I had a very shady experience. I was not confident that my oil change had been done properly. I took my car to pep boys to have them check my car to make sure I had not been duped. Eric warmly greeted me and was willing to assist me right away. After explaining the situation Eric went and grabbed a mechanic who stepped outside to look at my car, fully explained my oil change, and eased my nerves! they didn’t even charge me for checking the car! I was out of there in less than 10 minutes. I’m so grateful for their hospitality and understanding.

I give this place ZERO stars. I brought my car in on a Friday morning (2012) to have my brakes fixed. 3 ½ hrs later, not only did they not tell me they were replacing my rotors AND drums until I got the bill, but they did a horrible job. Less than a week later I started hearing abnormal sounds coming from the tires. Brought my car to a dealership for service, turns out my rear brakes were loose and falling apart. I guess the 3 ½hrs Pep Boys had my car wasn’t enough time to tighten the brakes and do the job right. STAY AWAY from this place!

These guys went above and beyond what was asked for them when it came to repairs for my car. They were supposed to change a tire and, on their own accord at no expense to me, fixed my dislodged bumper. All in less than an hour when I came as a walk in. Very appreciative of the staff at this location today.

A complete rip off. I had a nail in my tire and asked them to repair by plugging the tire. Although it only takes a few minutes, they said to come an an hour. They called and told né the tire was too damaged, which was strange cause it was not, and that I needed a new tile. I went ahead and approved. When I picked up my car, nail was still in my tire and the new tire was on a different wheel. When I asked to see the tire they removed, it had a hole in its side that was plainly put there by the shop. It was the size of a dime, meaning I could never have driven my car to the shop with a hole that large. I would not do business with these characters.

DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID AND IGNORE THE BAD REVIEWS! This place is horrible.
I arrived on Tuesday for an oil change and was told I would have to wait two hours so I should make an appointment. Okay, fine. So I make an appointment for 10 a.m. today (Wednesday). I arrived at 9:57 and tried to check in. The man behind the counter seemed confused about my appointment time, but told me everything was in order, filled out my form, took my keys and walked away. I was never told whether they actually found my appointment, but I sort of believe they did not.
After sitting for 20 minutes and having a walk-​in be taken before me (the only reason I didn’t say anything was because the front counter was abandoned for most of that time), someone finally came and asked me if I had been helped. I had to repeat all the information to a different person, and it turned out the first guy (I think his name was Frank) hadn’t even finished filling out my form. They took my car back, but I had to wait for the walk-​in to be finished first. I didn’tleave until 11.
Also, when they brought my keys back, I had to wait for Frank to take a phone call and FINISH TEXTING ON HIS PHONE before he rung me up. The receipt I was initially given showed a charge of $ 37, and I had to remind him that their website says oil changes are $ 19.99 Tuesday-​Thursday. All in all, a terrible experience.
Go anywhere else but here! It’s not just me, either. The walk-​in before me had been waiting for 30 minutes to get her car taken back even though the place was empty when she arrived. DON’T GO!

Short Version:
They fixed the problem, I passed emission test. Ho-​ray! I am satisfied with the price and service now that the dust has settled…
Long Version:
Screw you Illinois with your BS emission Testing nonsense…
1. I failed the emission test because of a broken sensor… not because my car is polluting the environment.
2.Pep Boys took my car in on a Tuesday and told me they would run the diagnostic get the parts and fix it before the end of the day…
3. Wednesday at the end of business I called to check on my car… they had not run the diagnostic test yet… to which every driver in Illinois knows takes less than 10 minutes to complete…
4. Thursday after calling in again i found out how much it would cost and was told it would be completed by Friday morning…
5. Friday after calling in again in the evening close to the end of business I found out the car wasn’t done… I preceded to flip out
(I work as a freelancer and the only day of the week i needed my car that week was Saturday and it would not be ready… so other accommodations had to be made)
6. On Monday when I finally was able to retrieve my car I was told that the car had to be driven 48 hours to make sure the check engine light would not come back on…
This left me one week before the end of the year to in my mind take a 48 hour road trip while contending with the obligatory holidays before I had to have my car mandatory testing again by the emissions facility…
After pressing them for a clearer explanation they redefined «drive it for 48 hours»
to drive it for an hour at a minimum of 45 mph so the engine heats up and has a chance to cool down at least three times, and then bring it back to them to check for an error code…
They gave me a discount… which really… come on, anyone who is told their car will be ready day of and has to call and pester a shop for a week should rightfully get a discount… did the follow up diagnostic, And I passed the emission test. so hooray and thank you pep boys…

Rarely do I read a review that captures the EXACT experience I’ve had at an establishment, but «Mean B» was spot-​on! Not only did Mario waste my time by not working on the car (per the appointment), but he basically lied to me by telling me they «had just pulled it in… just give me 35 – 40 minutes». I live right around the corner and could see — literally — that he was lying! Can’t trust you to tell me the truth about pulling the car in the garage? How can I trust the repair work you would subsequently do? Never going back.

Short version: The manager and staff saved us time and some money, treated us honestly, with respect, and were genuinely pleased to find out our problem was simple and inexpensive. They did everything right and we would definitely go back in the future.
Long version: We had a check engine light come on in a 2006 Volvo. The parts store ran the diagnostic codes and said the next step was to replace the oxygen sensor. We happened by Pep Boys the same day so I stopped in to see if they had one (didn’t realize it was service only). The manager said since there were multiple codes it was just as likely a fuse at the gas station next door was all I needed. I did indeed find a bad fuse labeled engine management, and popped in a new one. I went back to the original parts store and asked if they’d reset the light since the fuse seemed to be the problem. They said that couldn’t be the case and said we needed to buy an oxygen sensor. So we went back to Pep Boys to clear the light and see if it stayed off. The guys reset the check engine light for us and cheered us up when it stayed off and said don’t hesitate to come back if it doesn’t fix the problem.

FAIR, HONEST, COMPETENT. What more do you need from auto repair? I read the poor reviews… so they aren’t the speediest. I’d rather wait for an honest, trustworthy quote, and to be treated with respect. Mario was all of that. I had just brought my car from a dealership service department that had tried to scam me. They told me all sorts of things were wrong with my car, to the tune of $ 1500. I didn’t tell Mario that, I wanted to see what he had to say without bias. Turns out most of what the dealer said was not true. My car was fixed in less than a day, and runs great! I have a 2008 Subaru Legacy.
I have used this Pep Boys once before for a minor repair because they were open when most were closed. That is a plus as well. But for me, bottom line is I can trust them, they do good work, reasonably priced, and I am treated with respect. My go-​to repair shop. (I live in Edgewater, I pass a lot of shops to get there!)

I took my car in for a brake inspection. I appreciated their honest assessment that my brakes were in good working order and didn’t need any work. They pointed out that the pads may need replacement in a few months.

I had a fast leak in one of my tires. This Pep Boys is across from my work, so I dropped it on the way in to work at 8am.
The person who helped me was nice, took my car in, and I told them to call me when they knew the cause of the leak and how much it would be.
Two hours passes…
I called them wondering the status of my car. The guy says «oh it’s just a flat»…like I didn’t know why I took the car there in the first place. Then I asked him, why is it flat. A five minute hold later to check with the mechanic and it was a tiny whole that they already fixed.
They already fixed it – what happened to my call telling me the cost.
Luckily it was only $ 15, but seriously you should have called me, I didn’t technically authorize anything.
That’s aside from the fact that my car was done when I called… where was my call to pick up my car?
Get your act together, or next time I will just walk a mile and a half from a good service station to work.

5 stars.
Mario and his staff were personable and professional. I went in for a synthetic oil change, but they did a full once-​over on my car and learned that my air filter and tire needed to be replaced. Thankfully! I would hate for my tire to burst during my commute or when my kiddies are in tow.
I replaced the air filter (extra $), but I’ll take the tire back to where I purchased it for the swap. There was zero sales pressure. Just information, and I was allowed to mull it over and decide in my own time. How refreshing!
Plus, while I was waiting for them to finish up I got a few car maintainance questions answered.
And on top of all that — I got a great lunch recommendation (Hecky’s) and I just noticed that he went ahead and signed my up for their rewards card and put my purchase on it. That was nice — other places wouldn’t have done that.
I’ll certainly be back…

Pep Boys is a scam for tires.
1. Advertise $ 86.99 for Definity Dakota H/​T for Suvs and 27 Additional SIZES available at Similar savings.
2. On the same advertisement «Buy 3 Installed Tires and get the 4^th Free» You can’t tell but it has a speck next to the Tires. (Go to the website.)
3. Enter the store and the manager greets you, he is friendly, not like the manager of the Skokie store, when reading the other review, after I got my tires.
4. He told me the Definity tires for Suvs start at 124.99 for Suvs and told me it was because I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
5. He asked if I wanted a Wheel Alignment, I agreed, he told me he would give me a discount of $ 59 from $ 80. I was like great; you have a sign in front of the place saying Alignment Sale, $ 59.
6. My total bill was $ 780! They said I had to purchase a Warranty & Install charge for $ 130.
My Jeep dealer told me it would have been $ 550, who would have figured.
And he charge me $ 80 for the alignment. You don’t get to review your bill until after you pay and I just wanted out.