- Report: #108024
Complaint Review: Pep Boys - Kissimmee Florida
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Pep Boys
302 West Vine Street Kissimmee, 34746 Florida, U.S.A.
Phone:
407-933-0055
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Pep Boys Rip-Off Wasted my time, and failed to fix my car. Kissimmee Florida
*REBUTTAL Individual responds: THE TRUTH HURTS
*REBUTTAL Individual responds: THE TRUTH HURTS
*REBUTTAL Individual responds: THE TRUTH HURTS
*REBUTTAL Individual responds: THE TRUTH HURTS
*Consumer Suggestion: A.S.E. IS THE EQUIVALENT OF T.P.
*Consumer Suggestion: Oconnor-a happy customer? Nah, you must be an employee
*Consumer Comment: Pepboys was a pleasure to work with.
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Cheaper?
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Cheaper?
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Cheaper?
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: Cheaper?
I have my own sad saga of a Pep Boys experience. You may want to read it, or you may not. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't I'm so sick of them, I can hardly stand to think about it. If you would like to post this somewhere, please feel free to do so. This is my experience of Pep Boys in Kissimmee, Florida.
On August 31, 2004 I was having major trouble with the clutch on my 1997 Pontiac Sunfire. The pedal had little pressure, and it was deteriorating fast. I barely made it to the Pep Boys store located at 302 West Vine Street, Kissimmee, FL. The clutch was so far gone, I had
to fight to shift into second gear, and I couldn't shift past that.
When I got to the store, I jumped through the usual hoops (stand in a ridiculously long line, watch the people behind the counter ignore customers while they speak Spanish to each other, wait two hours for my car to make it into one of the service bays, etc.). Once my
car was on one of the lifts, I was told that the problem was in my master clutch cylinder, and that it would have to be replaced.
By the time my car had been on one of the lift for two hours, I decided to ask about its status. I was told that they were waiting for the part to be delivered, and that it should arrive within an hour. My car continued to dangle in the air, for a couple more hours.
Some time later, I was informed that the slave cylinder might be out of commission, as well. If this were the case, my total charge would be in excess of $600.00. I waited, and I worried. After a grand total of seven hours had passed, Javier, who evidently speaks no English, told Wanda that my problem was with the master cylinder only, and that the car was fixed.
Seven hours and $242.10 later, (not to mention my lost day's pay) I finally drove away. My clutch worked for ten days.
On Friday, September 10, 2004 I called Pep Boys to make an appointment for early service on Saturday. My appointment was for 9:00 am, September 11, but at 8:50 that morning I was calling AAA on my cell, for a tow. The wait for that was about 50 minutes. When I got to Pep Boys, I was told that though I had missed my appointment, my car would "be given priority". I guess it was, sort of. After about an hour, I saw it being pulled into one of the bays, and I called my boyfriend. I figured we could have some lunch, hang out, blah, blah, blah...
We went back to Pep Boys, and I was dismayed to see that my car, after three hours or so, was still on the lift. When I asked about it, I was told--get this-- that Javier was really busy, that day! When I asked the obvious question, "Well, can't someone else work on it?", I was told "no". It had to be the mechanic who had done the original work. Since the original work had fallen apart, you might be able to imagine the chill this news gave me. Ron and I went away, for a little while longer.
An hour or three later, my cell phone rang, and it was Jose, the service manager. Jose said that the master cylinder had been replaced twice with new ones, and that this hadn't worked. The suspected culprit now was the slave cylinder and that kind of work is pricey. I simply didn't have that kind of money. Jose assured me that they would, of course, credit my previous charges to
the new bill. I still didn't have that kind of money. Jose suggested that I apply for a Pep Boys credit card. My blood began to boil.
I suppose I began to sound like a disgruntled customer, as the conversation progressed. (Fancy that!) Jose told me how nice he was trying to be to me, and if I didn't like it, I could get a refund on the first bill, "and we'd be even". After all the hours of tension, frustration and worry logged during both visits, I didn't see it that way. Even? It's a wonder I didn't have a stroke.
Ron talked me into applying for the credit card. So, back we went to the store, where I cried my eyes out, as I debased myself by giving information to this company, knowing I would be refused. I have bad credit. I know it, I recognize it, I'm trying to fix it, but I'm a realist. And, I was refused.
After I had calmed down a little, I asked Jose for a refund. Jose said this was no problem. All I needed
was my receipt, which was at home. Ron and I made our way back to my house, through some really lousy weather, to get the thing. In the short time it took us to get back (about 25 minutes) Jose had supposedly gone home, and no one who was there knew any of the particulars of the problem, or claimed they didn't. One of those in denial had been at the counter all the while during my last conversation with Jose.
It was Jesus (I'm not kidding--there are very few Anglo-Americans in this store) who reluctantly took up
the banner Jose had dropped, and after plenty of baloney on the phone to someone, finally worked out the refund.
It was about 9:45 last night, when my second tow truck arrived. Today, Sept. 12, my car is sitting in
the dealership lot, awaiting its turn come Monday. That's it. I will never enter another Pep Boys shop,
unless one of my friends or relatives is in there and bleeding to death. What I'd like to know is to whom,
within this screwed up company, do I address my complaint?
Cindy
Kissimmee, Florida
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on PepBoys
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
On August 31, 2004 I was having major trouble with the clutch on my 1997 Pontiac Sunfire. The pedal had little pressure, and it was deteriorating fast. I barely made it to the Pep Boys store located at 302 West Vine Street, Kissimmee, FL. The clutch was so far gone, I had
to fight to shift into second gear, and I couldn't shift past that.
When I got to the store, I jumped through the usual hoops (stand in a ridiculously long line, watch the people behind the counter ignore customers while they speak Spanish to each other, wait two hours for my car to make it into one of the service bays, etc.). Once my
car was on one of the lifts, I was told that the problem was in my master clutch cylinder, and that it would have to be replaced.
By the time my car had been on one of the lift for two hours, I decided to ask about its status. I was told that they were waiting for the part to be delivered, and that it should arrive within an hour. My car continued to dangle in the air, for a couple more hours.
Some time later, I was informed that the slave cylinder might be out of commission, as well. If this were the case, my total charge would be in excess of $600.00. I waited, and I worried. After a grand total of seven hours had passed, Javier, who evidently speaks no English, told Wanda that my problem was with the master cylinder only, and that the car was fixed.
Seven hours and $242.10 later, (not to mention my lost day's pay) I finally drove away. My clutch worked for ten days.
On Friday, September 10, 2004 I called Pep Boys to make an appointment for early service on Saturday. My appointment was for 9:00 am, September 11, but at 8:50 that morning I was calling AAA on my cell, for a tow. The wait for that was about 50 minutes. When I got to Pep Boys, I was told that though I had missed my appointment, my car would "be given priority". I guess it was, sort of. After about an hour, I saw it being pulled into one of the bays, and I called my boyfriend. I figured we could have some lunch, hang out, blah, blah, blah...
We went back to Pep Boys, and I was dismayed to see that my car, after three hours or so, was still on the lift. When I asked about it, I was told--get this-- that Javier was really busy, that day! When I asked the obvious question, "Well, can't someone else work on it?", I was told "no". It had to be the mechanic who had done the original work. Since the original work had fallen apart, you might be able to imagine the chill this news gave me. Ron and I went away, for a little while longer.
An hour or three later, my cell phone rang, and it was Jose, the service manager. Jose said that the master cylinder had been replaced twice with new ones, and that this hadn't worked. The suspected culprit now was the slave cylinder and that kind of work is pricey. I simply didn't have that kind of money. Jose assured me that they would, of course, credit my previous charges to
the new bill. I still didn't have that kind of money. Jose suggested that I apply for a Pep Boys credit card. My blood began to boil.
I suppose I began to sound like a disgruntled customer, as the conversation progressed. (Fancy that!) Jose told me how nice he was trying to be to me, and if I didn't like it, I could get a refund on the first bill, "and we'd be even". After all the hours of tension, frustration and worry logged during both visits, I didn't see it that way. Even? It's a wonder I didn't have a stroke.
Ron talked me into applying for the credit card. So, back we went to the store, where I cried my eyes out, as I debased myself by giving information to this company, knowing I would be refused. I have bad credit. I know it, I recognize it, I'm trying to fix it, but I'm a realist. And, I was refused.
After I had calmed down a little, I asked Jose for a refund. Jose said this was no problem. All I needed
was my receipt, which was at home. Ron and I made our way back to my house, through some really lousy weather, to get the thing. In the short time it took us to get back (about 25 minutes) Jose had supposedly gone home, and no one who was there knew any of the particulars of the problem, or claimed they didn't. One of those in denial had been at the counter all the while during my last conversation with Jose.
It was Jesus (I'm not kidding--there are very few Anglo-Americans in this store) who reluctantly took up
the banner Jose had dropped, and after plenty of baloney on the phone to someone, finally worked out the refund.
It was about 9:45 last night, when my second tow truck arrived. Today, Sept. 12, my car is sitting in
the dealership lot, awaiting its turn come Monday. That's it. I will never enter another Pep Boys shop,
unless one of my friends or relatives is in there and bleeding to death. What I'd like to know is to whom,
within this screwed up company, do I address my complaint?
Cindy
Kissimmee, Florida
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on PepBoys
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
11 Updates & Rebuttals
Mechanicgtr
Mechanicsburg,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Cheaper?
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, March 23, 2009
Just food for thought. The Pep Boys in this area charges $95 per hour for labor, and the mark up their parts twice. Try this. Call the parts dept and ask for an alternator for you car and record the price. Then call back to the service department and ask how much it is to install an alternator in your car (don't tell them you just called). When they give you a price, ask how much the alternator is and it will be between 20 - 40% more than you were quoted. Pepboys has a strange pricing policy that takes advantage of low labor data times (which also screws their mechanics over) and tries to make more money by charging the customer more over the counter. Buyer Beware!! The service writers do have the power to override this parts markup.
Mechanicgtr
Mechanicsburg,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Cheaper?
#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, March 23, 2009
Just food for thought. The Pep Boys in this area charges $95 per hour for labor, and the mark up their parts twice. Try this. Call the parts dept and ask for an alternator for you car and record the price. Then call back to the service department and ask how much it is to install an alternator in your car (don't tell them you just called). When they give you a price, ask how much the alternator is and it will be between 20 - 40% more than you were quoted. Pepboys has a strange pricing policy that takes advantage of low labor data times (which also screws their mechanics over) and tries to make more money by charging the customer more over the counter. Buyer Beware!! The service writers do have the power to override this parts markup.
Mechanicgtr
Mechanicsburg,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Cheaper?
#4UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, March 23, 2009
Just food for thought. The Pep Boys in this area charges $95 per hour for labor, and the mark up their parts twice. Try this. Call the parts dept and ask for an alternator for you car and record the price. Then call back to the service department and ask how much it is to install an alternator in your car (don't tell them you just called). When they give you a price, ask how much the alternator is and it will be between 20 - 40% more than you were quoted. Pepboys has a strange pricing policy that takes advantage of low labor data times (which also screws their mechanics over) and tries to make more money by charging the customer more over the counter. Buyer Beware!! The service writers do have the power to override this parts markup.
Mechanicgtr
Mechanicsburg,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Cheaper?
#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, March 23, 2009
Just food for thought. The Pep Boys in this area charges $95 per hour for labor, and the mark up their parts twice. Try this. Call the parts dept and ask for an alternator for you car and record the price. Then call back to the service department and ask how much it is to install an alternator in your car (don't tell them you just called). When they give you a price, ask how much the alternator is and it will be between 20 - 40% more than you were quoted. Pepboys has a strange pricing policy that takes advantage of low labor data times (which also screws their mechanics over) and tries to make more money by charging the customer more over the counter. Buyer Beware!! The service writers do have the power to override this parts markup.
Amber
Kissimmee,Florida,
U.S.A.
Pepboys was a pleasure to work with.
#6Consumer Comment
Sun, March 01, 2009
This is my first posting on here, so forgive me if it's a little rough. I'm 19 yrs old. I've had one accident and two cars so far, and have taken them to all sorts of different repair places. My dad uses Pepboys for most everything because they are affordable and the work they do is wonderful. My car, a 99 Dodge Intrepid, suddenly started acting up on a long drive home from st. Augustine. I literally had to fight to get it back to Kissimmee and then had to have it towed to Tire Kingdom (Or whatever that place is, right across the street from pepboys). Normally, I'd have had it towed to O'Berry's Collision Center, but I had already had so many horrible experiences with them, from being overcharged to being lied to. Tire Kingdom was closest, and said they'd be able to fix it - whatever. I had to call THEM 4 hours later only to be told that they couldn't fix it, that the engine itself was going and it wasn't repairable. I went in to get my car and got it started long enough to go to Pepboys for a second opinion. (Tire Kingdom didn't even look at the car, mind you, they were swamped that day and I'm assuming they just didn't have the time). Pepboys was comforting. They saw how upset I was and worried because I need the vehicle to get to work and college and all that, and immediately, they assured me they would do all they could to look at it. I paid a hundred or so for the diagnostic alone, but they didn't do any work without calling me first and explaining exactly what they had to do and why. Since I'm so young, I can really appreciate that they took the time to help me understand. It turned out that it wasn't the engine at all and my car's still running well a month later. My cashier was a man named Jose as well (common, but still) and he was extremely pleasant. It cost me, in total, 399$ and it was worth every penny.
Lisa
St Cloud,Florida,
U.S.A.
Oconnor-a happy customer? Nah, you must be an employee
#7Consumer Suggestion
Sat, October 02, 2004
Give me a break. Pep boys in kissimmee can never get the job done right the first time. They guess at what's wrong, charge the customer, doesn't fix it so they keep doing stuff to the car till they get it right. I bought a used car and started having problems with it. Took it into pepboys and after spending $600 it still wasn't fixed. I went to the previous owner and when he found out that I'd been going to pep boys he told me to stop because he had taken the same car there for the same issue and spent over $1000. So your response is gibberish. They're con artists that have no clue about how to work on cars. I'd rather pay money to someone that knows what the heck they are doing! Anyway, I finally got rid of the car when I totalled it a month later and I learned to never go to Pep Boys again. My husband learned also when they screwed up the most simplest of jobs with his truck.
Steve
MIAMI,Florida,
U.S.A.
A.S.E. IS THE EQUIVALENT OF T.P.
#8Consumer Suggestion
Fri, October 01, 2004
it is not true, pep boys is not cheaper than the dealer. i took my friends truck into a pepboys for a slave cylinder. they wanted to charge me $400 for the part alone and $200 for the labor. something told me to check the dealer. the dealer 10 blocks away sold it to me for $200 wtf??? i can understand a SLIGHT markup but that is crazy!! p.s. i put it in myself & it took me 1hour
Oconnor
Newyork,New York,
U.S.A.
THE TRUTH HURTS
#9REBUTTAL Individual responds
Thu, September 30, 2004
WELL LET ME HIT YOU WITH THE TRUTH THE REASON YOU WENT TO PEPBOYS WAS NOT BECUSE YOU NEW YOUR CAR WAS GOING TO BE FIX RIGHT THE FIRST TIME BUT BECUSE THEY HAVE WAY BETTER PRICE THEN THE DEALER I CAN ALMOST ASSURE YOU THAT THE DEALER NOT ONLY REPLACE THE SLAVECYLINDER AND THE MASTERCYLINDER ON YOUR CAR BUT THE CLUTH PLATE AND PRESSURE PLATE I WOULD BELIEVE YOU SPEND OVER $2000.00 AT THE DEALER SHURE PEPBOYS CHARGE YOU $200.00 DOLARS AND GOT YOU ON THE ROAD FOR 2 WEEKS BUT THEY DID NOT EMPTY YOUR WALLET BESIDES THEY TOLD YOU THAT MAYBE SOMETHING ELSE WOULD NEED REPLACEMENT THE POINT IS THAT PEPBOYS REPLACES WHAT IS BAD ON YOUR CAR NOT LIKE THE DEALER WHAT THEY MAY THINK MAY GO BAD YOU HAVE AN OLD CAR PARTS WILL GO BAD YOU ENGINE MAY NOT WORK ONE DAY ARE YOU GOIG TO BLAME THE DEALER FOR THAT LETS SEE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY WILL GIVE YOU BACK I JUST SEE THEM WAIVING A FINGER TO YOU GOOD JOB PEPBOYS IF YOU CANT MAKE THE CUSTOMER HAPPY GIVE THEM THERE MONEY BACK LET THEM BLOW THERE MONEY AT THE DEALER I AM A VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER OF PEPBOYS I KNOW HOW THEY WORK
Oconnor
Newyork,New York,
U.S.A.
THE TRUTH HURTS
#10REBUTTAL Individual responds
Thu, September 30, 2004
WELL LET ME HIT YOU WITH THE TRUTH THE REASON YOU WENT TO PEPBOYS WAS NOT BECUSE YOU NEW YOUR CAR WAS GOING TO BE FIX RIGHT THE FIRST TIME BUT BECUSE THEY HAVE WAY BETTER PRICE THEN THE DEALER I CAN ALMOST ASSURE YOU THAT THE DEALER NOT ONLY REPLACE THE SLAVECYLINDER AND THE MASTERCYLINDER ON YOUR CAR BUT THE CLUTH PLATE AND PRESSURE PLATE I WOULD BELIEVE YOU SPEND OVER $2000.00 AT THE DEALER SHURE PEPBOYS CHARGE YOU $200.00 DOLARS AND GOT YOU ON THE ROAD FOR 2 WEEKS BUT THEY DID NOT EMPTY YOUR WALLET BESIDES THEY TOLD YOU THAT MAYBE SOMETHING ELSE WOULD NEED REPLACEMENT THE POINT IS THAT PEPBOYS REPLACES WHAT IS BAD ON YOUR CAR NOT LIKE THE DEALER WHAT THEY MAY THINK MAY GO BAD YOU HAVE AN OLD CAR PARTS WILL GO BAD YOU ENGINE MAY NOT WORK ONE DAY ARE YOU GOIG TO BLAME THE DEALER FOR THAT LETS SEE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY WILL GIVE YOU BACK I JUST SEE THEM WAIVING A FINGER TO YOU GOOD JOB PEPBOYS IF YOU CANT MAKE THE CUSTOMER HAPPY GIVE THEM THERE MONEY BACK LET THEM BLOW THERE MONEY AT THE DEALER I AM A VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER OF PEPBOYS I KNOW HOW THEY WORK
Oconnor
Newyork,New York,
U.S.A.
THE TRUTH HURTS
#11REBUTTAL Individual responds
Thu, September 30, 2004
WELL LET ME HIT YOU WITH THE TRUTH THE REASON YOU WENT TO PEPBOYS WAS NOT BECUSE YOU NEW YOUR CAR WAS GOING TO BE FIX RIGHT THE FIRST TIME BUT BECUSE THEY HAVE WAY BETTER PRICE THEN THE DEALER I CAN ALMOST ASSURE YOU THAT THE DEALER NOT ONLY REPLACE THE SLAVECYLINDER AND THE MASTERCYLINDER ON YOUR CAR BUT THE CLUTH PLATE AND PRESSURE PLATE I WOULD BELIEVE YOU SPEND OVER $2000.00 AT THE DEALER SHURE PEPBOYS CHARGE YOU $200.00 DOLARS AND GOT YOU ON THE ROAD FOR 2 WEEKS BUT THEY DID NOT EMPTY YOUR WALLET BESIDES THEY TOLD YOU THAT MAYBE SOMETHING ELSE WOULD NEED REPLACEMENT THE POINT IS THAT PEPBOYS REPLACES WHAT IS BAD ON YOUR CAR NOT LIKE THE DEALER WHAT THEY MAY THINK MAY GO BAD YOU HAVE AN OLD CAR PARTS WILL GO BAD YOU ENGINE MAY NOT WORK ONE DAY ARE YOU GOIG TO BLAME THE DEALER FOR THAT LETS SEE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY WILL GIVE YOU BACK I JUST SEE THEM WAIVING A FINGER TO YOU GOOD JOB PEPBOYS IF YOU CANT MAKE THE CUSTOMER HAPPY GIVE THEM THERE MONEY BACK LET THEM BLOW THERE MONEY AT THE DEALER I AM A VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER OF PEPBOYS I KNOW HOW THEY WORK
Oconnor
Newyork,New York,
U.S.A.
THE TRUTH HURTS
#12REBUTTAL Individual responds
Thu, September 30, 2004
WELL LET ME HIT YOU WITH THE TRUTH THE REASON YOU WENT TO PEPBOYS WAS NOT BECUSE YOU NEW YOUR CAR WAS GOING TO BE FIX RIGHT THE FIRST TIME BUT BECUSE THEY HAVE WAY BETTER PRICE THEN THE DEALER I CAN ALMOST ASSURE YOU THAT THE DEALER NOT ONLY REPLACE THE SLAVECYLINDER AND THE MASTERCYLINDER ON YOUR CAR BUT THE CLUTH PLATE AND PRESSURE PLATE I WOULD BELIEVE YOU SPEND OVER $2000.00 AT THE DEALER SHURE PEPBOYS CHARGE YOU $200.00 DOLARS AND GOT YOU ON THE ROAD FOR 2 WEEKS BUT THEY DID NOT EMPTY YOUR WALLET BESIDES THEY TOLD YOU THAT MAYBE SOMETHING ELSE WOULD NEED REPLACEMENT THE POINT IS THAT PEPBOYS REPLACES WHAT IS BAD ON YOUR CAR NOT LIKE THE DEALER WHAT THEY MAY THINK MAY GO BAD YOU HAVE AN OLD CAR PARTS WILL GO BAD YOU ENGINE MAY NOT WORK ONE DAY ARE YOU GOIG TO BLAME THE DEALER FOR THAT LETS SEE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY WILL GIVE YOU BACK I JUST SEE THEM WAIVING A FINGER TO YOU GOOD JOB PEPBOYS IF YOU CANT MAKE THE CUSTOMER HAPPY GIVE THEM THERE MONEY BACK LET THEM BLOW THERE MONEY AT THE DEALER I AM A VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER OF PEPBOYS I KNOW HOW THEY WORK
