Pep Boys Auto Parts & Service

After driving across the country from California (approx. 3000 miles) I knew that I should have my oil changed. I went to Pep Boys because I had used them before only for a light bulb change and the service was awesome. (that was in CA) I trusted that the same would hold true for any Pep Boys.
I asked for oil change and overall inspection, tires, etc. as I want to be sure to keep my car safe and in order so that it will last a long time. It’s a 2012 with 45 000. It had been my company car and I got it when it was new. When I retired a few months ago I bought the car because I love it and know that it had been maintained according to the fleet car standards.
All of the staff at the store treated me very well, made me feel welcome and appreciated by the friendly conversation, etc. I had to wait and even went to lunch and returned because of the time it took.
During the thorough assessment the mechanics found that my battery had corroded and even started to damage the cables. They replaced the battery and thank goodness were able to salvage the cable. If not, it would have been very costly. Then they showed me the air filter and cabin filter. I was so aggravated to see that the original filter was in there, and I’ve had the car since 2011! (Lesson learned, make sure to check the work done when getting normal maintenance. I trusted the various chain shops that I used — none of them were Pep Boys)
Lastly, my windshield wipers were replaced because they were dried out. Living in CA, I don’t need the wipers much. Now that I’m traveling in the South, I sure need them now.
I have now become a loyal Pep Boys customer and will return to this shop when in the area. If not, then I will find a Pep Boys near me.
Thanks Team on Mobile Hwy! Keep up the outstanding work.

APRIL KIND AND VERY PLEASANT TO DEAL WITH. Very cute and BUBBLY (in a good way) and nice personality! ;-) she should have let me take that picture to post here so u all would know who she is.

UPDATE: It turns out that when the new radiator was installed, someone had inadvertently left the cooling fan unplugged, so it was not running and the car was overheating quickly at idle (no air flow).
When they got under the hood the next day, they located the problem and plugged in the fan. There were enough people waiting for service that the whole process took a bit more than an hour and half.
Now the car runs, it is not overheating, the alignment they did got rid of the slight shimmy at 40 mph, and the tires performed well for the whole 500-​mile trek. The only reason they are being rated A-​OK instead of «Yay, I’m a fan!» is… the fan, which was left unplugged.
It’s not the fault of the people behind the counter, they were very awesome, especially a young woman named Misty, but somebody back there in the garage is either sloppy or just terribly overworked — the fan not being plugged back in made extra work for everyone and delayed our trip back enough that we had to spend another night in a motel rather than making it all the way in one delightful 9-​hour drive. Assuming the Pep Boys mechanics are excellent, that means overworked rather than sloppy, and that means they need another body in the garage.
Good luck, Pep Boys Pensacola! We hope you find your additional brilliant mechanic. You stood behind your work, and we will come back to you if we are in the neighborhood with car trouble again. Hope this helps future customers, too — nobody is perfect, but a really good shop will stand behind its work and fix its errors if/​when they occur.
ORIGINAL: They were very friendly. They took the car in for a complete flush of the cooling and fuel systems and their «four way» — it was going to cost just under $ 400. They called us back and told us the wire connectors and the plugs had to be changed out, more money, then the radiator was cracked and had to be replaced. By that time the total was nearly $ 1000. On a 11-​year-​old car. When we’d paid up, they told us the tires had all dry-​rotted and couldn’t be trusted. We bought the tires, too — they showed us the cracking, and we have a long trip ahead of us and didn’t want to risk it; the car had been stored for more than a year. THEN the next morning (this morning), with the new radiator and all, the car started overheating as soon as my husband accelerated, and again at idle. We have to be 500 miles from here, and we can’t leave because the car has to be brought back in for more work. I will update this review when that work is complete.