On the evening of December 1st, I visited the Pep Boys store in Portsmouth, NH in the hopes of getting a State Inspection done. I should've known better, but I was somewhat desperate: I work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, they're EXTREMELY strict about vehicle registrations there, and I wouldn't be allowed to drive my car onto the base, if I didn't have an inspection sticker.
Pep Boys happened to be my last chance; no other garages in the area (at least, none that I knew of) would be open after I got off work, and I couldn't take any more hours off during the day, to take it somewhere else. I concede that it's my fault for waiting until the very last day of the month to handle my registration details.
What's NOT my fault is what happened after the inspection. I was told that my vehicle had failed, and that I needed (A.) A new front/passenger side tire, because the existing one had some damage to the sidewall. - AND - (B.) My driver's side brake pad was too thin (specifically, 3/32nds of an inch) and would need to be replaced.
I was quoted a price of around $400 for all of it. When I asked if there were any cheaper alternatives, I was told that I could probably get by without having my brake rotors machined, and that would knock $50 off the price. I could also go with some cheaper brake pads, and a cheaper tire, and save myself another $50.
I grudgingly signed off on the work, and scheduled it for the next day.
While complaining to a friend of mine, he reminded me of the full-sized spare in my trunk. So after a quick tire change, there was one crisis averted.
My friend also told me that he knew one of the guys who works at on Lafayette Rd, and that he could probably double check the brakes for me at no charge.
So I brought my car in to, and in the end, I didn't even really need to have it looked at. The service technician got everything he needed from the inspection report.
"Your brake pads were 3/32nds of an inch thick? Then you would've passed inspection if you had brought it here. State Law only requires them to be 2/32nds of an inch thick."
I took the failed inspection paperwork back to Pep Boys, and complained to the manager. He agreed with me that I should've been given a pass on the brake pads, and told the same service lackey who had originally failed me to give me my inspection sticker.
The lackey was none too pleased that I had called him out (and deprived him of the labor charges). Upon inspecting the new tire, and driving my car around to the front, he practically threw the keys at me.
He also left me with a lovely parting gift: a glass bottle under the same tire that had originally failed inspection. Sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company. Plus, if you post a competitors name more than likely they will show up on search engines as a Rip-off! - - your comments on this policy are welcome.
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