My parents brought their 1983 Ford Thunderbird to Pep Boys in Santa Ana at 120 East 1st Street to repair a heater that was leaking with the hopes that this would remove fumes that emanated into the car from the heater. Pep Boys charged approximately $600.00 to repair the heater but did not actually fix the problem of both the fumes and the leaking.
My parents returned the vehicle to have Pep Boys revisit the problem. At this time they said there were still some oil leaks. They then charged $1060.00 to fix oil leaks and assured my parents that it was resolved after it took them a couple weeks to finish this work.
The car was then picked up and driven home which was approximately 1 1/2 miles away where the engine light came on as they entered their home driveway.
The next morning my parents called to report the engine light issue to Pep Boys and asked Pep Boys to pick it up by towing it. Pep Boys insisted that they thought the car was fine to drive and to proceed to bring the car back. When my parents proceeded to drive their car to the Pep Boys in Santa Ana it stalled at the driveway as they entered the Pep Boys parking lot.
My parents spoke to the owner of the Pep Boys store who required my father to sign a contract that indicated that he would pay them $82.00 to diagnose the problem. My parents asked to get a ride home and they said they would give them a ride home in their Pep Boys truck.
My parents agreed to pay them $82.00 to diagnose the problem.instead of driving them home in their Pep Boys truck, as they indicated, a Pep Boys employee took my parents home using their own Ford Thunderbird. After Pep Boys kept the car for five days, my parents then decided to pick it up since Pep Boys indicated that they had not figured out the cause of the problem. However, Pep Boys was certain that it was not their fault. They said the car was alright to drive home.
When my parents proceeded to drive their car home they got 5 blocks from Pep Boys where they decided to park in a city parking structure because the vehicle was making strange noises and not running properly. They then had it towed to an independent repair shop in Santa Ana to diagnose the problem.
This independent mechanics' conclusion after removing the oil pan and finding an engine rag was that the engine was completely destroyed from the rag that he believed had been left in the oil pan by the service repairmen at Pep Boys.
My parents then called the bureau of automotive repair and provided them with pictures of the engine rag that had made it's way into the cam shaft and throughout the engine provided by the independent mechanic.
Pep Boys refunded my parents for the previous repair costs ($1660.00). This car had been kept in perfect running condition with an engine that had been completely rebuilt six months before this incident.
Pep Boys initially agreed to pay them for the Blue Book value of the vehicle which they have indicated is approximately $1,000.00. Given the pristine mechanical and aesthetic condition of the vehicle, my parents felt that they should get at least $3,000.00 for the vehicle. Pep Boys verbally agreed that they could pay them $3,000.00.
A year has since passed and Pep Boys has not returned numerous phone calls that my mother has made in the hopes of resolving this issue for the agreed amount of money.
I have only recently become fully aware of the grief my parents have gone through in dealing with this matter.
I found this website after doing a Google search for the claims department at Pep Boys in the hopes of helping out my parents resolve this matter. When I read the numerous complaints on this website from others that have had problems with Pep Boys I couldn't help but want to contribute yet another story of the rip-off tactics and service you'll get at Pep Boys in the hopes that others will be better informed to avoid a similar situation.
Paul
Long Beach, California
U.S.A.
0 comments