I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had ethics problems at = any Pep Boys stores.
I had 2 worn front tires to replace - otherwise the car was fine. PB = put on 2 of their store-brand tires, balanced them and that's all. I = picked it up and went straight from PB to the highway and at 60-65 mph = the steering wheel vibrated like crazy. Had to slow to below 60 to stop = the shaking.
Next morning I took it back to PB and they balanced it again and checked = the suspension. Told me the wheel was bent. Also that it needed front = wheel bearings, and the hub nut was loose. I had just replaced the = bearings a couple weeks before by my regular mechanic, so I took it back = to them. They checked and said bearings and hub were fine.
Took it back to PB and they put on 2 new same type tires balanced again = but then switched the back to front. I went straight to the highway to = test and the front was fine but chassis was slightly shaking from the = new rear tires.
Took it to a reputable tire place in town and they checked the new tires = and found the wheels was fine, but the tires were out of round. On the = spin machine I could see that the wheel was straight and both tires = wobbled in and out, and up and down. They wrote all this on the = receipt.
Back to PB, and they replaced the tires with 2 more of the next better = quality but same PB brand. Spin balanced and I had them put the new ones = back on the front. Back on the road - vibration again.
Back to regular mechanic and he said these new tires were out of round = also.
Getting irritated by now. So I took it to the Ford dealer who balanced = them under load. Ford service mgr told me wheels, bearing, suspension, = etc., were all fine. Each tire had 5-6 weights on them, inside and = outside. They pulled them all off and balanced with 1-2 weights each. = Tires are on the front and just fine now at all speeds - no vibration, = etc.
I called the PB serv manager and told him how the problem was solved - I = never asked him for the $50 I spent at the other shops or the 5 trips = and waiting for hours at his and other shops.
The PB serv mgr got irritated that "he had spent so much time on this" = and "he could not please me." Plus now he has "gone thru 4 tires that = he can't sell as new." I told him he only lost a few minutes and that I = had lost 5 days plus $50 on other shops testing and fixing problems he = created.
I never asked for and $$ back and really only wanted to let him know = that they had a problem in that shop. But the guy never acknowledged = that they could have a problem -- and never admitted that their = diagnosis of bad suspension, bad bearings, etc., was wrong.
While waiting at PB, I struck up conversations with several customers = and found that they all were there for re-fixes of one kind of another.
Here's the reason for this posting....
Tonight I told a neighbor about this, and he said he was in another PB = store waiting for his car, and overheard that serv mgr tell a mechanic = to be sure and do some extra work on an elderly lady's car so they could = charge her more. (Not work that it needed -- unnecessary work.)
I'm wondering if these are isolated to these PB stores or if this is = could a company policy to defraud customers.