Pep Boys

My friend had her car towed to Pep Boys on Bristol street in Santa Ana, Ca because when she got to work it was overheating and steam was coming out from underneath the hood of the car she had it towed to Pep Boys there at 10 AM in the morning they called her back and told her that It need A new radiator thermostat, and a radiator cap and a new hose and they told her that it would be ready at 6 PM
And that they would call her to let her know when it was done they did not call, she called them at 6 PM and was told that the car was not ready and once again they said they will call her to let her know when the car would be done
Well guess what no call so she called them again at 7:50 PM and was told that the car was almost done and it will be done in about 30 minutes so at 8:15 we left to go to Pep Boys to get her car when we got there we noticed the car was still up on the rack and to find out that there was an electrical problem in the cab that need the master mechanic to check out who wouldn’t be there until 9:30 AM the next day so she had to leave her car overnight so the master mechanic can look at why wasn’t a master mechanic there during business hours for problems like this makes no sense I wouldn’t take my car to pep boys for any major repair job at all

So I made an appointment for 1pm for an oil change. I get here early and they say it’ll be an hour to an hour and a half. I ask what the point is of the appointment. I thought you make them so you don’t have to wait? They told me they had 4 other appointments for 1pm. Either they’re full of it, or it’s the worst appointment system I’ve ever seen.

Jorge Martinez, service advisor, was super helpful and i kid you not, helped me with everything without swindling me. Extremely educated in his line of work. He took the time to explain everything and get the the best price to suit my actual needs. Being female sucks when you’re going to an auto place. He went above and beyond. So happy with their customer service and quality work. Thank you thank you thank you! Will definitely be coming back.

My car battery decided to die at the Camp shopping Center today as I was on my way to an appointment. I trotted across the street and the mechanic walked back over to my car, jump started it, then drove it back over to Peo Boys. Within 15 minutes the new battery was installed. And they even put air in my tires. This was an unexpected need and the staff at Pep Boys really helped me out. The price was a bit higher than Diehard but I was glad to have it taken care of quickly. Thanks!

Not my usual place for an oil change. I usually go to Oilstop, except they don’t do tire rotations. I also avoid the Toyota dealership.
I called and spoke with Alex. I told him i shopped here a few times for auto parts and noticed it was always busy. I needed to check nail in tire, oil change and tire rotation. I was prepared to make an appointment for the end of the week to avoid hassle. He said, «we have a window this morning, can you bring it now?»
Got a break from work. Drove down and I waited at the picnic tables. Did some work email and phone calls. Felt like 1hr and 15 minutes. Cost me $ 37 bones.

I now give this pep boys a negative 100. I had to bring my car in because the alignment that they did was still off. Jesus told me it will take one hour. I came back after one and half hour, I saw my car in the same spot because they had not even checked it yet. Then Ana, who claimed to be the manager told me that it will take another hour. I should have been first in line because they had failed to do their job properly. So disappointed. I will not come here anymore and do not recommend them.

Needed a battery check on a Saturday afternoon for my wife’s car. George Martinez was very helpful. Even though he had a lot of people and requests coming at him, he managed to pull himself away and help me with a quick diagnosis of what was going on with my wife’s car. Good, quick, seasoned perspective. This is my third experience with this Pep Boys, and they are three for three. I will be back next time I need something. Good job!

UPDATE: If I could give negative stars I would. 2 days since leaving the car and the work is still yet to be completed. Not only did they not have the part, but then I got a call that they needed another part that broke when they pulled out the piece! After all that I was assured they’d finish the work that day. 3 hours later I get another call that the work canNOT be done!!! Night number 2 with no car! And again, we were given assurance yet again that the mechanic will work and finish it first thing the following day.
That morning, expecting to hear that our car was finished and ready, we get a call at 11:30am that there is no one at the shop to work on it! I am not sure what is going on over there and if that is how they run their business, but I know that I have never felt more pushed aside and unaccommodated in my life. The very basic thing is to be truthful and communicative and they seem to have a very difficult time with that. Would not recommend coming here. They should take a lesson from the Lake Forest location. Worst experience by far.
Poor communication and customer service. We brought our only car in to have a part replaced. Not only were we unable to get an accurate estimate on how long it would take, but it was like pulling teeth to get someone to contact us for an update once they had a better idea. We communicated to the staff that the main reason we would like to have an idea of how long it would take is because this is our only car. Having it in the shop for longer than needed is a huge inconvenience.
So after finally being informed that they would need to keep the car overnight, they informed us that someone would be able to work on it first thing the next morning at 8am and that we should expect it to be completed by noon that following day. Considering that we would be out of a car only in the morning, we opted not to make arrangements to borrow a car not change any of our afternoon plans.
Noontime rolled around and no update! I finally called at 12:30 to see what was going on, and apparently they were wrong the day before and did NOT have the correct part in stock! So in the 4 hours they had the car while open for business, not once did they check to confirm that the information they provided me was correct??? That they, in fact, did NOT have the part?!? I received no call from them with this update and because of this gross error I was unable to take it somewhere else that had the part!
I don’t really understand how they could conduct business in this way especially when we’ve been more than understanding of their workload and schedule. We would at least expect that they’d follow up when promised and ensure that the information they provide is correct. Truly truly disappointed and frustrated.

Made an appointment for 5pm online to get an oil change. Checked in my car 4:47 pm and Martinez handles the car to get assigned to get my car oil change done. He quotes me 40 min so i wait for 40 minutes. Go back to the desk and ask about my car. Martinez tells me its done since its not in the work area. Then i hear Chris was supposed to take care of it. So now i find out my car is still out side and hasnt been started yet. They apologize because someone had to go on break and forgot to service my car. So now its 6:50 pm and im still waiting. Not good. What is the point of an appointment? What benefit does it provide? Where the hell was chris? Place needs new management. Joel looks like hes in charge of the whole thing but even though it doesnt look good and it makes me rethink on doing business here again. And based on the Unilocal reviews this place is going downhill. Someone needs to step up and follow up on the flow of service orders coming through. Take into account the amount of staff you have and schedule accordingly based on businesses demands you get throughout the week. Whats your busiest day? Thats when you schedule more people. So that way Chris can take a break and not forget a customers car. This teams lacks communication. 6:52 they said my car is done. Bitbnow the service light is still on. Martinez just told me to pull up behind spot #7 still no one knows whats going on. Just found out it was the tire pressure. I thought you guys filled that up when doing an oil change? Get it together Pepboys Costa Mesa. Its now 7 PM

Really bad customer service and gave me attitude when I would asked my car was ready. They did not give my car back when the time was promised. They need better customer service.

How replacing a battery turned into a two day ordeal:
We just picked up our car from the dealership for an oil change, and they mentioned to us that the car needed a new battery. Fine, we decided to go to Pep Boys instead of paying dealership prices for the battery and installation. What a mistake that was.
We bought the battery and they told us that we’d have to wait an hour to replace the battery (That sounded crazy to me as replacing a battery is simple), but anyway we thought we could eat dinner at The Camp while they did that.
We return over an hour later and not only is the car not done, but they’re very obviously and visibly struggling to replace the battery cover/​engine bay trim piece. Jesus in service looks at us and says «Your car is done, i’ll ring you up for the battery and service now.» We informed him that their technician was obviously not done, and that we preferred to pay once the job was done (this turned out to be a great decision).
Jesus goes out and begins struggling with the technician to try to put the piece back in, they’re pushing, and pulling for a good while. Finally they look at each other and close the hood (the piece was obviously not installed correctly, this was visible even from the other room).
Jesus comes back and says «alright, it’s all done!» I go out and point out to Jesus that there’s obviously a half inch gap between the trim piece and the windshield. This trim piece acts as the weather sealing along the bottom edge of the windshield, and that huge gap was obviously not supposed to be there.
Jesus, the technician, and a manager named Rene all tried for another hour to try to replace the part; all the while Jesus is trying to convince me that I’m wrong and how they installed the piece is the correct way.
Finally they get the part on (loosely, it still didn’t seal) and we notice that the weather sealing has been messed up and the trim is scratched. But by that point it’s been three hours total (to replace a battery…) and we want to go home.
They then tried to charge us full price for the battery, service AND THE EXTRA TIME THEY SPENT TRYING TO PUT OUR CAR BACK TOGETHER! Luckily Rene was kind enough to discount our total after we asked to make up for the inconvenience (although this should have been done without us asking).
The next day I had to go to the dealership and purchase a replacement trim piece to replace the damaged and scratched one they had messed up.
They have a manager named Alejandra who was very helpful and she was able to reimburse me for the part and labor without much trouble.
Overall it was a huge waste of time for something that shouldn’t have taken fifteen minutes. Also as you’ve seen from other reviews on here. Jesus was rude, and gave me an attitude as if I was in the wrong somehow the entire time. He honestly shouldn’t work in the service industry if that’s how he’s going to treat clients. The nice management staff doesn’t make up for the terrible customer service their employees offer. They shouldn’t have to be going behind them to clean up their messes like that.
I don’t recommend this Pep Boys.

Came here desperately as I got a flat right before heading on a road trip tp San Diego and they were kind enough to take care of me right away despite how busy they were. Great customer service. Omar and Eddie the store manager definitely went out of their way to help me out…

They will mess you car and try to cause problems. Go elsewhere or watch YouTube on how to do anything that needs to be done. Won’t come here ever again. They can easily remove hoses so ko check engine light but your car will run rough or stall. No way to prove anything unless you know your stuff. I never do. Review but lookin out for yall.

Left my truck for an oil change at 3pm yesterday. No one called to give me an update. They closed at 6 and still no call. After making arrangements to get a get a ride to work I called at noon the next day to check on the progress. «It was finished last night, I don’t know why no one called you». Awesome. Now I’m here at 7pm waiting for someone to help me pick up my keys and pay. I’ve been waiting for 30 minutes watching the service techs try to ignore me and the nine other people waiting through the glass. Best service ever.
I’ll never do business here again, and I’ll make sure to tell everyone I know to do the same.

IF I COULD GIVE 0 STARS I WOULD, BUT Unilocal MAKES YOU CHOOSE AT LEAST ONE STAR. HORRIBE!!! THEY DAMAGED THE DOOR AND FENDER AND LINER ON MY CAR SO SEVERLY THAT HONDA HAD TO REPLACE ALL OF THEM!!!
PEP BOYS DIDNT EVEN SAY ANYTHING-​THEY JUST LET ME PICK UP THE CAR WITH IT DAMAGED!
I brought my car for a clutch job. Jesus would tell it would be ready within a few days, I would come to pick it up and would not be ready, he said that they needed to reinstall the clutch and it would be another few days.
When I show up to get the car, he again told me it would be another few days and it would be ready when I come to get it after work on August 12^th. I show up and he lies to my face and tells me that he told me not until 9pm. My ride had to leave and I stood outside for 2 hours.
At 8:15 pm it did not look like the car was going to be ready by 9pm so I asked the mechanic who was working on it if it would be ready at 9:00 pm and he said «no way». Jesus had lied to my face and let me stand there for over 2 hours knowing the car wouldnt be ready! I demanded a ride home and a discount on the bill which he provided. I called corporate to make them aware of what had happened. But, oh no, it gets so much better…
The car is ready the next day. I was out of town so I picked up on Sunday. I pay for it and they give me the keys and tell me where it is. They say nothing about all of the damage that they caused. The door was so severly damaged that it wouldnt open and close correctly, they also damaged the bottom of it and the fender and ripped the liner to shreds!!!
I was livid and had Jesus take pictures of it. He said he would show it to the manager, Eddy Sandoval and that Ed would call me on Monday. I called on Monday and spoke to Eddy and demanded that my car be repaired at Honda and that I get a rental car for the days it takes to be fixed. I called corporate again and reported all of this. They provided a rental and agreed to pay for the damages.
I dropped my car off at Honda and they determined that it cant be repaired due to severity of the damage. They had to replace the door, fender, and fender liner! The total came to $ 2,963.92! Pep Boys corporate sent a check to this Pep Boys which I picked up and took to Honda when my car was ready.
Oh yeah, and Eddy never took care of having the rental car extended like he was supposed to, Enterprise called Pep Boys and spoke to Alejandra and she gave them a number to call which was a fax number. Again, I called corporate to get it taken care of. Unreal!
Please don’t take your car here under any circumstances.
Pep Boys-don’t you dare respond to this review with your apologies. I don’t want to hear it!

These people are the laziest dumbest mechanics I’ve ever seen. Took 3.5 hours just to attempt to change a friggin lightbulb and they ended up blowing all my headlights, tried to question the mechanic but he had already «left». Worst service ever. Get a trusted mechanic and save yourself the long waits. One star for at least providing sluggish free WiFi

Don’t go there. Their mechanics knows shit. Go to specialize mechanic. Google it first and find out your problem or once you know the problem go to a specialized person
Zero star@@@@

We replaced the tires on my daughter’s Acura three months ago. Unfortunately, in avoiding an accident, she hit a curb and got a flat tire. The damage was to the sidewall and it couldn’t be repaired. Thankfully, my husband had purchased the tire protection plan and we got a new tire for FREE!
But wait, there’s more!
We’d just had the alignment done three days before and the curb knocked it out again — so they redid the alignment for no charge. We only had to pay $ 43 for the labor and another warranty on the new tire (honestly, this was a small price to pay).
Joel was the service representative who helped me. After the tire was replaced and alignment done, they noticed that the car was still «pulling» to the right. We had a more thorough assessment performed and found that the strut was bent. They had it in stock and by the end of the next day the car was as good as new.
The store does have a waiting room — it’s sparse but clean. Let’s be real — you’re not at the Mercedes or Lexus dealership… so it’s simple. But you’re not paying $ 500 for an oil change, people. Realistic expectations help minimize disappointment that there isn’t a cappuccino machine or leather sofas. There are power outlets (which I definitely needed because my phone battery was almost empty. I bought a charger at the counter for $ 15 and juiced up the phone while waiting for the diagnosis. There’s a TV in the waiting area but it was off… not sure if it works. I don’t believe they had free wifi. There is a restroom in the very back of the store. It was a bit like going through the bat cave to find it but it was clean — and (GASP) they had seat covers AND hand soap! :) I admit I’m a germ phobe so this meant a lot to me.
One suggestion: healthy snack machines, coffee, and bottled water for purchase would be most appreciated.
I want to give a special shout-​out to Joel for working with me to get the car repaired on time and correctly. I really believe he went the extra mile to take care of the car and keep me informed about what was happening. I also appreciate that he gave me an honest assessment of the issue with the vehicle without trying to take advantage of me and up-​charge me for repairs that weren’t needed and he took time to answer our questions.

Poor service. I went to turn in my old oil to be recycled. Oil and filter that I bought from here and they acted like they were doing me a favor even tho it’s state law. Had to take it and pour it myself.
This is the third pep boys that had poor service when it comes to receiving old oil, I’m starting to think it’s their corporate culture to discourage it.

Put a little PEP in yo step BOYS
I have NOT had the BEST experiences with PEPBOYS from other locations but this place was like a cold bottle of water in the dessert!
So I’m leaving church after praying and singing and working the cameras and I go to get in my car and I hear that sound. That sound of the engine NOT turning over… OHHH NOOOO! WHAT! You’re kidding me I hungry I don’t have time for this! Where was the warning that it was DYING, LOSING LIFE, GIVING UP, ABOUT to leave me FRICKIN STRANDED and HUNGRY?
So I call AAA and NO BUENO! Why do I bother to keep a membership there! TRULY TROLLS WITH BOILS! I ABSO-​FRICKIN-​LUTLY HATE THEM… but that is a story/​review for another time. So THANK THE LAWD JESUS I have GEICO and pay for the ROADSIDE SERVICE!
I call them up and the give them my poor me sob story (that wasn’t needed) and my location and PRESTO CHANGO they will send out a truck to assist me and give me a MUCH NEEDED JUMP!
So while I’m waiting I pull out my NOT so smart phone and look up the nearest PEPBOYS on the Unilocal App and give them call to see if they have a battery for my car! They look it up and they have NOT ONE but TWO batteries! Both are three years, some minor differences that are reflected in the price blah, blah, blah… it goes in one ear and out the other. All I heard was they have the battery I want and so desperately need so I was just SUPER DUPER HAPPY! Everything else he said was a blur!
After the tow truck shows up and gives me a jump I quickly pull out my NOT so smart phone adapter to charge up my phone and pull the Unilocal App back up and get the address and directions. It took me straight there! SOOOO FRICKIN HELPFUL!
I didn’t want to tuen my car off when I got there just in case the person I spoke on the phone with didn’t actually have a clue but to my SURPRISE they had NOT ONE or TWO but THREE BATTERIES depending on my engine size!
I had overheard the service guy tell the person in front of me and in front of them that they wait was about 2 ½ hours! I figured that would be fine and I’d go to the Anti-​Mall or Lab and grab some food because I of course was STARVING like a HOSTAGE! Much to my SURPRISE when he wrote me up they were able to take me RIGHT AWAY! OHHHHH BOY WAS I HAPPY!
Then this AMAZING SERVICE guy named CHAD helped me out! He told me my battery was giving a false positive probably because it was jumped and when I asked him to check the alternator just to make sure he had NO PROBLEM WITH DOING THAT FOR ME FOR FREE! He was SUPER DUPER PLEASANT, KIND AND HELPFUL!
He came back with GREAT NEWS that everything was PREFECT and it was most likely the battery! Then he asked if I got my battery from them and I said yes. So he ran to check the computer and LOW AND BEHOLD the battery was STILL UNDER WARRANTY by a few months so he replaced it FOR FREE! My FAVORITE FRICKIN ‘F-​WORD” EVVAAA! So I NOW HAVE a NEW BATTERY for ANOTHER 3 YEARS! THAT’S 6 YEARS if you CAN’T COUNT… DUMMY! SO FRICKIN AWESOME! CHAD MADE MY DAY!
I was jumping up and down in the store like a 5 year old! I couldn’t help it! He replaced the battery in NO TIME and I was on my way!
CHAD was AMAZINGLY HELPFUL sooooo GREAT and the other SALES people were also VERY HELPFUL and KIND! Even though they had lines going out the door and trying to wrap the aisles EVERYONE was SUPER DUPER FRIENDLY and HAD A SMILE and WORKED QUICKLY to try and get people in and out!
I think I fell back in love with PEPBOYS after the NIGHTMARE-​ISH of an ordeal I had before at a different location!!! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!