Pep Boys Auto Service & Tire

I needed four new tires on my car. I arrived at this location at about 6:15 or 6:30. Even though they closed at 7, they kept working on my car well past 8:00 so I would be able to drive home instead of walking through the rain and walk back in the morning to get it before work. They were courteous and explained every step of the work. I really appreciated the extra effort they put in.

After a recent change in management this Pep Boys has lost its customer friendly appeal. It now resembles a common garage that tries to overcharge you.
I would strongly recommend getting a second quote/​diagnostic before using their services.
Pros:
–qualified staff
Cons:
–Cold Staff
–Pressures you to make purchase after diagnostic by exaggerating your issues.

I love this pep boys. I recently took my van there for a break job back in May and the store
manager George was amazing. They did a great job and it was half the price I usually pay my mechanic. I have had no issues with my breaks since getting the work done. I recommend anyone who needs work done its worth taking the time to drive to this PepBoys location and speak with George.
George is wonderful service manager and knows how to make a customer happy.

This is the second Pep Boys I stopped at. I. Was looking to have my air conditioner checked. To be fair the first one was a Sunday in Niles. They said they had nobody qualified there on Sunday. So I stopped at this one on my way home from work on a weeknight. I asked about the air conditioner and was told they have had nobody there for over 2 months to work on air conditioners. I was surprises as there is a huge banner over one of the bays saying free ac check??. I pointed out the sign saying I think they should remove that it could be false advertising. The guys laughed and walked away, I called customer service and after waiting 10 minutes on the phone other disconnected the call. Now a week has passed and guess what the sign is still there? I would not patronize businesses that knowing false advertise!

UPDATE 5÷11÷2015: I didn’t expect a call but the store Manager, George, gave me a ring a few days later to let me know his District Manager had contacted him about my review. I was told that he looked up the work done and that I had bought the extended warranty which would have covered the re-​leak repair, however that was never told to me when I called back before, had it I would have brought the car back in for the repair. I, by my own fault, didn’t review the receipt to double check it, but I would have appreciated on my call back when the issue was found again that they checked my order.
After being contacted by the manager and the DM himself as well, Pep Boys has offered to take a look at some other repairs my car needs. I appreciated their willingness to correct a mistake and that they value each customer, which was something that was apparent when I previously worked for them and glad to see it hasn’t gone away 10 years later.
I decided against doing an update because that seems too confusing to Unilocal ratings.
ORIGINAL 5÷7÷2015: Background here: I work in the auto industry just no longer in a shop. I needed some work done on my wife’s car and I didn’t have the time and it was leaking pretty bad. I used to work for Pep Boys and liked taking my cars there for tires, oil changes and whatever else I didn’t have the time for. I still turn wrenches, but when in a time crunch like I was when I brought this in I didn’t have the time.
I usually go to the store on Touhy but they were busy and couldn’t fit me in, so I remember this place and booked an appointment. I brought the car in and waited for them to open. The manager (I assume) mentioned a managers special where they go over the entire car and let you know what it needs, rotate the tires and whatever else for a small fee, I agreed to that as well as a new valve cover gasket.
I got a call a few hours later that the car was done but it was costing more due to some unforeseen circumstance. I understand, I work on cars, so I agreed to pay the increased amount. I picked up the car and did a quick once over on the work, I could see that the engine was cleaned where it used to leaked so I thought they did the work. Within a few months it was leaking again, how did I know this? When I had it in for tires at the Pep Boys on Touhy in Lincolnwood they pointed it out, as well as a bad boot on the front axle and some other things that were bad the NO ONE let me know when it was in earlier for the gasket. And it was still leaking from the cover gasket too.
I called over to the other Pep Boys and was (in essence) told that there was nothing they could do because that specific work wasn’t warrantied beyond 90 days. Instead of getting irate I conceded to being had and chalked it up to a learning experience to never visit that Pep Boys on Milwaukee. I ended up going to a friend’s shop and paying again to have it fixed, which I should have done to begin with but he is slightly out of my way, so much for the cost of convenience.
If you are reading this, don’t go here. If you need to use Pep Boys, which overall is a great company, go to another one. I highly recommend the one in Lincolnwood on Touhy, I’ve had great experiences over there, but avoid this place. Learn from my $ 500 or so collective experience.

Every time I go to this store I receive wonderful customer service. I’m greeted with a smile and professionalism. The manager at this store does a wonderful job with helping my every need for my vehicle. He was very patient with answering my questions. I refer all of my friends to this store. I love this location. Thanks manager George.

Manager George at Pep Boys called me to help resolve my previous issue. I appreciate the follow up with me after my disappointing experience.

I would not go this place at all. I gave them many chances since I’m in the neighborhood. Too many times the manager would tell me there isn’t a mechanic available till Thursday. I go Thursday and still no one is available. Then it’s a different day. This place should be called Jiffy lube because I can never find a mechanic to service me. Never had a problem before Pep boys moved in when there was a full service mechanic there before. I will never waste my time there. You have better luck at Sear auto on 6 corners.

Because of my earlier review of Pep Boys on Touhy, I was a bit hesitant to go to any Pep Boys. I had a nail in my tire and this Pep Boys quoted me $ 15 to fix it. I came in the next day — I was out of there within 15 minutes AND it only cost me $ 10 after I signed up for a loyalty program. They were courteous and helpful. I definitely recommend this Pep Boys.

First of all I wanted to say Thank you to the 24hr towing service provided by PepBoys towing. on Google .wow ! .was he a nice gentlman .And i was towed to the nearest Pep Boys which was on 4164 N. Milwaukee Ave .George the Mgr was totally awesome on getting me in as a priority and servicing my flat tire in a hurry .Not only that tthe price for my tire was thankfully inexpensive… I was a stranded motorist at 7:30 in the morning and was towed by 8“10 am to Pep Boys by 8:30 due to rush hour traffic .and was out of there by 8:57 am .Wow ! were theyfast and curteous… George …you and your Pep Boys team saved my job and my day. Thank you again .and have a great year .sign Art Lara. a very happy unexpected customer

Aside from this location being incredibly convenient for me, it is a pleasure to go there for anything I need done to my car. The staff are friendly and helpful. They explain exactly what’s going on with my car and don’t try and scam me into getting services I don’t need. They also try to get me the best deal for any service or parts I need.

I went here to get my tires rotated and balanced as I wanted to give Pep Boys one more chance after having a terrible experience at the Bucktown location. I will say they kept my business and more. The service was awesome and they got my car in and out in no time. They were honest with me and not intimidated by my vintage Porsche. Both the manager and assistant manager asked me if I was satisfied with their work, and of course I was. I highly recommend this location.

I’m not the one-​star review sort. But our experience here has been pretty awful. We’ve taken our car in for 2 mechanical problems, and both encounters have been fairly unfortunate. For sake of wordiness, I will only expand on the second experience.
The first time we had to take it in, it was the starter, and the second time, while I was sure it was the alternator, was just the battery. At first I felt relieved because I thought that it would be much less expensive, but they said there were some corroded wires around the battery, and they needed to replace some belt (I obviously know nothing about cars), so it was going to be just under $ 300.
They called us on Monday to let us know the car was ready to be picked up, but I remembered that our front right headlight has just gone out, so I called and asked them if they wouldn’t mind doing that as well. They said it would be no problem. Then they called my husband back, and said they had put on a bracket to hold the belt, but they had actually put on the wrong one. So they would have to order a new one. The guy says it will now be closer to $ 600. My husband told the guy that he had been quoted closer to $ 300, and that that $ 600 seemed a little exorbitant. The guys says he understands and that they could definitely help out on the price by giving a discount at the end, and it would be a lot closer to what we were originally quoted. So my husband approved the work.
They said it should be done on Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest. On Thursday we still haven’t heard anything, so we call and the car still isn’t done. They said it would for sure be done by that night. Nope. We finally get a call in the early afternoon on Friday that it was finished so we bundled up our two kiddos and commuted over there. When we got there I was super disappointed to see that our back left taillight had been smashed and there was a big scratch there that hadn’t been there before. I asked them about it and they said it definitely must have been the guy who towed it over there.
Then they say that the total is $ 511! I told them them that when we have spoken on the phone to approve the repairs, the guy we spoke with had said he would give us a discount, but they told us that the guy who said that didn’t actually have any authority to give discounts! It must have been obvious that I was frustrated, so they gave us a discount anyway, and we paid the now $ 450, which still seemed like a lot, and then we went out and started the car. I walked around the car just to double-​check things, and the headlight wasn’t working! So they come back out and mess with it, then say they just forgot to re-​connect it when they were working on it…
I got in the car a day later and it’s not working again. At this point though, I don’t even want to take it back to them. I don’t feel like I can trust anything they say, and the fact that something simple like the headlight isn’t working makes me question whether the rest of the work was done honestly. Disappointing at best.

I did not actually get work done here. These guys wanted to charge me almost $ 900 for a repair that other Pep Boys would do for about $ 500. The parts had a 50% markup from another Pep Boys store just a couple miles away. I will avoid this location even though it is very close to me.