I Want a Local Mechanic (or “Why I’m done with Pep Boys on Piedmont!”)
January 16, 2007
In the spirit of people getting terribly annoyed and upset with companies (DIRECTV for example) I’ve had it with Pep Boys.
First, let me say that I don’t think it’s just the fact that they’re one of those big one-stop car places. I grew up in the Northwest and used Les Schwab during high school, college and while in Idaho. I was always happy with tires I bought there, as well as any other work they did on my car (brakes/alignment/etc). I first went to Pep Boys when I moved to Princeton. And many of you may remember when my friend Amy and I were driving down to Florida from Princeton and my car broke down and needed a new alternator - it was 9pm and Pep Boys stayed open for me and replaced the alternator. So, I was very appreciative for that. So appreciative that I even tipped the guys an extra $100 for staying open late.
But…then that same alternator needed to be replaced again not more than 6 months after it had been installed.
And then the current saga. Sarah’s car got new brakes put on at Pep Boys (the Piedmont store in Atlanta, GA) back in August of ‘05. A year later, they needed to be replaced. So we went to the same store and got new brakes again. The brakes were fine, but after a few days, the car had a very high-pitched squeaking noise. We took it back a few months later and asked them to fix it and they did “fix it.” But a few days later, the noise was back, and now our brakes made a grinding noise. So we took it back, they said the “fixed it” - both times they said the rotors just needed to be resurfaced. But then a few weeks later the noise was back again. So we just took it back in a few days ago. We’re in the process of selling Sarah’s car and it is in great condition except for this squeak - so we really wanted to get it taken care of properly. We dropped it off for the whole day and finally picked it up yesterday and again “it was all fixed.” They told me they took apart the brake system and cleaned it numerous times and the squeaking noise was now finally gone.
And it was..for the first 10 minutes of driving. And then it came back. Picture Adam extremely frustrated right now. So we decided to take it to another Pep Boys (the Stone Mountain store in Stone Mountain, GA) since it was still under warranty and we didn’t want to take it to another mechanic and have to put any more money into the car. We dropped it off around noon yesterday and didn’t hear back for quite awhile. I finally called and talked to someone who said she’d call me back in 30 minutes. A few hours later, I finally called back. Around 7.30pm, I talked to someone and they said, “We can’t find anything wrong with it - the parts are all new - and there isn’t a squeak.”
No way. So I said, “I drove 20 minutes to your store and it squeaked LOUDLY the entire time. Can you please have someone else drive it and check it out again?” This was the smartest thing I said all day yesterday. Around 8.30pm I received another phone call and they said they found the problem, but a certain bolt broke off during their work, so they’d have to call me in the morning. Well, at least the problem was fixed.
I just got off the phone with the store manager, and I can’t believe what he told me. He said that, believe it or not, he doesn’t think our rotors have been resurfaced in quite awhile. This is extremely hilarious because that’s what the Piedmont Pep Boys said they did each time. He said that the caliper bolt(?) just broke off last night, because it had been jammed back into place by whoever last worked on it. From what he could tell, whoever worked on the car tried to get it off to resurface the rotors, couldn’t get it off, and then just jammed it back into place. The rotors have not been resurfaced - and the other Pep Boys have been straight up lying to us. He was able to get the last caliper bolt assembly kit in Atlanta and we will probably have the car back today - and he is going to bill the other Pep Boys store for the parts & labor.
I’m glad I pushed them and pushed them - the store manager said that they passed the car off to their most meticulous mechanic after I asked again last night and he was the one who found the problem. I’m glad I did that - but I shouldn’t have to. I’m glad that they are paying for the work done today and for these parts - but the problem was caused by Pep Boys to begin with. I know that not all local mechanics are great - but I know that I’m done with Pep Boys and that I want to try and find an independent, local mechanic for future car work. There was one guy who worked on all our cars growing up, and I like that. I like knowing the person who works on your cars.
If you’re in the Atlanta area and you need to go to Pep Boys, I strongly discourage you from going to the Pep Boys on Piedmont. I have been pretty happy with the Stone Mountain location.
What about everyone else? Local mechanic? One-stop car store? Only the dealer? What are your preferences?
Tags: Automotive-Problems, Car-Problems, Car-Talk, Cars, Pep-Boys, Pep-Boys-Problems, Pep-Boys-Sucks
Posted in Rants
Adam Walker Cleaveland: I am a 28 yr old 
January 16th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I hate pepboys…we don’t have it up here in the midwest but when I lived in New Orleans, they made me mad on more than one occasion and it seemed like they could somehow make just about any car repair add up to $500.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
To answer your question though…now that we both have cars that aren’t clunkers we generally tend to stay with our dealership shop. It may cost a bit more but we figure they know what they’re doing.
January 16th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Adam - all I know is the Pep Boys around the corner from CRW in Princeton is sketch! A number of folks that used them while we were there said so.
Another friend at PTS, after a couple of bad NJ mechanic experiences of his own, turned me on to the section of Car Talk’s website where you can find their recommended mechanics in your area. In case you’re wondering, these are the guys on NPR on Sat. mornings - half annoying, half brilliant. Anyway, I found an awesome mechanic in Princeton via their site. Here’s the link: http://www.cars.com/go/advice/cartalk/index.jsp;jsessionid=2TLVKLNXV1JGZLAYIE2E2VA?aff=nationaleir site - here’s the link:
January 16th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Oops…bad link. Try this one:
http://www.cars.com/go/advice/cartalk/index.jsp;jsessionid=2TLVKLNXV1JGZLAYIE2E2VA?aff=national
January 16th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Adam,
Before entering the ministry, I was mechanic in Atlanta. If you don’t mind a bit of a drive, anextremely honest and competent man named Danny Moss owns Moss Automotive. It is in the Alpharetta/Roswell area, so it’s kind of a haul from Decatur, but it may be worth it to deal with someone honest. Danny can be irascible, but he takes excellent care of his customers, and he hires the best mechanics he can find. Here is his website:
http://www.mossautomotive.com/
If you have no choice but a chain near by, try Tires Plus. They have good prices,but the best thing about them is that, being owned by Firestone, they are phobic about customer service issues (since all of Firestone’s issues in the 90’s). If what had happened to you at Pep Boys had happened at a Tires Plus, they would have fixed it for free and given you a refund. If you called a regional manager, you would get double your money back.
If you can handle the drive, go see Danny.
January 17th, 2007 at 11:28 am
i have found that one of the best things in life is a good mechanic. three or four times now in my life, i’ve had to find a new mechanic, and every time i’ve looked for a privately owned place where the owner is actually one of the mechanics(this usually means that all the mechanics, along with the owner, care about the work that is being done). but the real valuable part is building a friendship with the mechanic/owner, so that you see them as more than a service, and they see you as more than just money coming in. out of all the mechanics i’ve used and approached that way, it’s been great.
January 17th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
did you sulk in your corner of the car when you were frustrated?
January 17th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
yes he did.
January 18th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
try this: http://www.angieslist.com - you have to register with your email but you can opt out of mailings. it’s has tons of local databases of all sorts of service providers with grades and reports assigned by regular people…it’s been great since we moved to a different area of townfrom where most folks from my church live.
January 22nd, 2007 at 2:34 pm
God bless Les Schwab! I miss them terribly… Who wouldn’t miss free steak with the purchase of a new set of tires?!?