Whoa.....worst PepBoy story I ever heard!! Only one in my town and
I'm drivin' around it. No one should have to go through that!!
GS -
98 5.2L 5spd
>
> Well Gang, believe it or not, I've got a Pep Boyz horror story of my own
> to add to the growing string of auto service disaster stories
> originating from that chain.
>
> Last year I was preparing my '87 Grand National for a 2,000 mile trip
> from Maryland to Arkansas for business, then backtracking to Bowling
> Green, Kentucky for the Annual Buick GS Nationals, and then back home.
> My starter had been acting up and I had to hit the key several times
> before the engine would turn over, so I decided to have it replaced at
> the last minute before going on my trip so I didn't get stranded along
> the road during the next week of roadtrip.
>
> I would have done it myself, but it had been pouring rain for days and I
> don't have a garage or a car-port. Pep Boyz was the only repair
> facility that could do the job for me
> on a Sunday. I had serious reservations about this, but fearing being
> stranded far from home made me reconsider.
>
> I had an 8:30 appointment which I had made Saturday morning--because
> they were already all booked up when I called. When I got there they
> told me it would probably be at least 1:30 until they could get to it
> because they were very busy. I explained that I had
> an 8:30 appointment, and he said "We make appointments for the DAY of
> service, not the
> hour, because sometimes jobs take longer than expected." This should
> have been my first clue to run out the door, but my judgement was
> clouded by visions of missing the drag racing in Kentucky because of
> breaking down in a very inconvient location.
>
> After arguing for 20 minutes with the service advisor, he said he would
> make my vehicle
> a priority since I was leaving town at 4 a.m. the next morning. Finally
> they got the car on the lift and had the "new employee" begin working on
> it. He had no idea what tools to use and was working so slow, I was
> pretty sure my car was the first car he had ever turned a wrench on. He
> finally got the starter out and the new one in (total elapsed time 1
> hour and 45 minutes! I could have driven home, jacked the car up in the
> driveway and done
> the job myself, quicker than that.
>
> He asked me to get in the driver's seat so he could put the car back up
> in the air and listen for any unusual sounds indicating that the new
> starter needed to be shimmed. Are you ready...'cause this is where it
> gets real ugly!!!
>
> Now I'm way up in the air and I hit the key when he tells me to. There
> is a LOUD clunk, then the starter strains (obviously in a major bind)
> and the engine roars to life--BUT the starter wouldn't disengage from
> the flywheel so it starts SHREIKING like a dozen cats in an electric
> dryer! It was so LOUD that the mechanics in the bays on either side of
> my car drop what they're doing and they run underneath my car and begin
> YELLING back and forth with the guy who installed the starter over the
> ever increasing noise. One of the three idiots grabbed a large hammer
> and began wailing on the starter to get it to engage.
> After half-a-dozen blows with no success I shut the engine off.
>
> Every hair on the back of my neck was standing on end, because my worst
> fears had now become reality (and I had heard them say they ONLY HAD ONE
> starter in stock). Just
> about that time smoke started rolling out from under the raised hood and
> up the windshield.
> I saw the manager run out of the office and head for the industrial size
> fire extinguisher on the wall. In all the comotion they totally forgot
> I was IN THE CAR on the lift. I had a halon extinguisher because I used
> to sell fire safety equipment and I know first hand how corrosive the
> dry chemical extinguishers are. In some cases the chemicals do more
> damage than the fire would.
>
> There was no way I was going to let them use that stuff on my collector
> car. I jumped out of the car and ran after the guy carrying the
> extinguisher and ripped it out of his hand. I SCREAMED for him to let
> the car down so I could get my halon extinguisher out of the trunk. He
> did. As I was running toward the front of the car to extinguish the
> flames, another employee cut me off in order to throw his entire Big
> Gulp right on my nice clean engine$*&^!)(#$!!! My engine bay had just
> been detailed in preparation for the show in Kentucky, and this little
> stunt, on top of the incompetent mechanic AND THE FIRE, made me feel
> like I was going to burst a blood vessel in my forehead! I emptied the
> extinguisher on the engine and then proceeded to strip the jerk verbally
> for about 5 more minutes!
>
> They spent another hour splicing new wire into the melted harness
> running to the starter and then shimmed the starter and I tried it
> again. This time it started, but it cranked REAL SLOW. I knew the
> starter was damaged but there was nothing I could do since they didn't
> have another one (and neither did the other Pep Boyz in the next town).
> AND TO TOP IT OFF, THEY ATTEMPTED TO ASSURE ME THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG
> WITH IT!!!!!
>
> I immediatley went home to clean all the Coke syrup off my engine so at
> least the car would present itself well IF I made it to the show. The
> next morning I awoke early to make sure the car would start, because I
> was going to be forced load my gear into my Chebby S10 (and take that to
> the GS Nationals) if it wouldn't. Well, it did but I didn't
> trust it enough to turn if off until I got to Bowling Green, because I
> was supposed to travel with 7 other Grand Nationals (just imagine 8
> matching Dakota's instead--hey, I KNEW there was some Dodge content in
> here somewhere).
>
> It was late in the evening when we got to Bowling Green and much to my
> dismay there
> wasn't a Pep Boyz in the whole town. I had to drive at least 20 miles
> further south and I only had a half-hour until the stores would close.
> So I hit the highway at 130 mph plus.
> Well, I got to the next town and guess what? I had been misinformed, NO
> PEP BOYZ!
>
> I happened to run into a UPS truck driver at a gas station and he told
> me there was one just over the state line in Tennessee. He gave me
> exact turn by turn instructions with landmarks so I trusted him...and
> off I went again at warp speed. I made it to the store
> five minutes before closing, ran inside and relayed my tale of woe and
> PLEADED with the manager to stay late and replace my the starter (which
> was installed the day before) under warranty. I was SO relieved when he
> confirmed that he had a starter in stock and said to pull into the third
> bay.
>
> I pulled the car into the bay and shut it off (after 16 straight hours
> of running)! There was only one mechanic left because they had a slow
> afternoon, and he was willing to test the starter to see if my claims
> were true. My tale sounded so unbelievable that he was probably having
> a difficult time accepting what I had to say. I asked him to let me
> start the car so he could listen to the very unusual noise to confirm
> that he believed me (unlike the other Pep Boyz crew) that it was in fact
> defective. KNOW WHAT? IT WOULD NOT EVEN CRANK THE ENGINE OVER ONCE or
> make a sound. It was totally fried!!! Thank God I didn't shut it off
> during the trip.
>
> I believe there is a special place in heaven reserved for hospitable
> southerners. I also believe there is a special place called HELL that
> is reserved for the staff at Pep Boyz
> in Laurel, Maryland.
>
> Sorry for the INCREDIBLY long post...but I bet nobody can top this
> nightmare :o(
> For your sake, I HOPE you can't.
>
> Randy
> '98 FR CC R/T
>
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