On january 27 i had my car towed to pep boys, hoping that the would be professionals would tell me what i needed to repair and how much i needed to pay. Giving them two days to notify me, decided to stop in with my co-worker on the way to work and find out the status of my car. I wanted an estimate on what the "main brain" would cost to replace, the employee replied six hundred dollars at the most. (making myself as clear as possible they already told me what the problem was - then giving me the estimate of $600.00) leaving the store i was relieved knowing that i could pay for the problem without a problem.
The very next morning pep boys called (it was a different guy) giving me an estimate of $1,200!! In shock i asked if i could call them back in 15 minuted. My boyfriend and i called several other places who said that the repair including labor should be no more that $1,100. When we called pep boys back my boyfriend explained to the employee that the day before the other guy said only $600.00. Catching him off guard the employee replied that he "would see what he could do."
I went to work and my boyfriend said that the guy at pep boys said the best he could do is charge us $925.00 for the part. And in total the cost was $1,122—this isn't neccessarily the problem. The day i went to pick my car up no one explained anything to me i even had to find a guy who could tell a guy to get my car keys. Here is the thing i didn't even get off the pep boy's parking lot when the RPM's would go crazy! When i would reach 25 mph the RPM's would drop down so low that the car would almost stop—it did this the whole time i drove the car. Once i hit a certain mph the car would pause—almost getting rear-ened i drove the car home.
Getting a ride to my job i called and asked to speak to "service, " i waited for 11 minutes and finaly hung up-then called right back. They put me on the phone with a guy i had never spoken to—explaining to him that my car was acting weird and said how the car was doing the same thing it was doing before i brought the car there the first time! The guy on the phone explained to me that getting a computer in a car is sort of like getting a "heart transplant" and i should "let the car adjust and give it a day or two." concerned i explained how i don't mean to pester but nobody explained anything to me and all i wanted to know was what i should expect. I wanted to know hom come the mechanics didn't notice, he went on to say how they "don't get paid to test drive cars."
Two days passed and it was exactly one week after the car was first brought to pep boys when on my way to work the check engine light came on and the car stalled out in traffic. Being a few blocks from my house i nursed the car home-immediatly calling pep boys all they said was "when are you bringing the car in?" i replied 10 min.!! Dropping the car off they asked if they could keep the car over night, i said no problem. Two more days went by and it was now monday.
Pep boys called saying the i needed to pay $374.00 more dollars in order to fix the problem - i cried that i would call them back. My mom seeing how upset and confused i was, called and spoke to the same man who called, and she questioned why that wasn't already taken care of and why nothing was said. Knowing about consumer rights she drove to pep boys asking for my old part at least to see it - they said that the don't know where it is. My mom demanded that they locate where the part is because originally they never showed or explained anything.
We had to wait for the maneger to get off of lunch break and once he returned the other employee explained why we were there and truthfully he didn't seem to happy. For 35 minutes i explained all that i could, and that the car never had a problem with the rpm's until i had the work done there—and if that seems minute i continued explaing how the car was doing the same thing that it was doing before i put $1,122 into repair work.
The maneger acted as if i was a fool, not really saying anything. While expressing my side the mechanic who fixed my car walked out and the maneger called him over he explained how he test drove my car. I explained how 4 days prior i was told that they don't get paid to test drive car's. They were left speachless.
To conclude this fiasco the asked if i would be willing to leave the car stating that i won't have any problems once i get my car back for the second time and offered me a deal to not charge me for the labor.
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