This review is for Pep Boys at Lake Forest. I had an appointment scheduled for 4:00 PM and dropped off my car at 1:00 PM with Enrique for a simple two-tire replacement, which typically takes about 30 minutes. However, I never received any update. When I called around 4:45 PM, Enrique informed me that my car wouldn’t be worked on until the next day.
I explained that I had made the appointment two days in advance and needed the car early the next morning. He dismissed my concern, stating that the corporate appointment system is “useless” and that the online appointments don’t reflect actual availability. I pointed out that this should have been communicated when I dropped off the car, but he was completely unapologetic and indifferent.
Very disappointing experience — appointments should mean something, and customers deserve better communication and respect for their time.
Response from Pep BoysOct 6, 2025
We’re sorry to hear about your experience and the lack of communication regarding your appointment. We understand how frustrating it can be when expectations aren’t met, especially when time and planning are involved. Please reach out to us at [email protected] with your contact information and the store location so we can look into this further and address your concerns directly.
TM
Timothy M.
Acted like they were doing me a favor for returning stolen money
I went for a package deal where you get an oil change, tire rotation, and new wipers. I marked my tires to make sure they did the rotation. They did not but charged me for it anyway. I had to spend an hour of my day at the shop trying to get a resolution. The manager admitted they didn't do it and then acted like he was doing me a favor for returning my money for the rotation. No other compensation was offered for them giving me a false work order that included work they didn't do. This was on top of me using a coupon that advertised $140 for this service but the total was $160 because "some vehicles are different" as if my Jeep Compass is an exotic car.
PepBoys will try to rob you and when you catch them will do only the legal minimum of returning the stolen money. If they had refunded the full price I would have returned. Foolish business sense to lose thousands of dollars of future work for the sake of trying to get away with my money this one time. Astonishingly bad customer service at the Celebration, FL location.
Response from Pep BoysSep 30, 2025
Hello Timothy, We’re very sorry to hear about your recent experience at one of our locations. Please accept our sincerest apologies for the frustration, concern, and disappointment this visit caused you. What you described does not reflect the level of service and professionalism we strive to provide to our customers.
We take feedback like this seriously, and we would truly appreciate the opportunity to look into this matter further. If you would be willing, please send us your contact information along with the details of your visit (such as the store location and date) to [email protected]. This will allow us to investigate the situation thoroughly and address your concerns properly.
Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. We value your feedback and the chance to improve.
LA
Linda A.
Biggest regret
I regret taking my Toyota scion to Pep Boys on Gratiot. My battery died and they kept my car for six days only for them to tell me about a melted fuse. They finally installed battery and fixed fuse , but when I received my car the car radio no longer worked. They said that there is nothing they can do about it, so they showed no accountability. They said to fix it would be an additional charge. My radio no longer worked after I brought it Pep Boys. Why would I have to pay for their damage to my vehicle? They showed the worst customer service too . I called for days, and no one picked up the phone. They are short staffed , under pressure and take forever to get a simple battery change done. Jordan ( employee) said , “We don’t work on anything electrical, and we are not responsible.” In fact , they were responsible for damaging my vehicle. Do not trust them with your car . If they do anything wrong , they won’t take responsibility for their actions. Lack of accountability is the greatest sign of a company that is negligent about their business practices. Now, I have to go to another car service center and pay to fix my radio damaged by Pep Boys . Very poor inexperienced technicians where customer service shows you how little they care about their customers.
Response from Pep BoysSep 30, 2025
We're sorry to hear about your experience, Linda, and we truly appreciate you bringing it to our attention. We'd love the opportunity to make things right—please feel free to share your contact information and details of your visit with us at [email protected] so we can look into this further.
Thank you, and we hope to hear from you soon.
LC
Lisa C.
STAY AWAY FROM PEP BOYS
STAY AWAY! Stay away from all pep boys! If anything goes wrong it is hell to get any kind of resolution.
My sons car broke down 2 hours away from home and the car was towed to this place in May! It turned out they said we needed a new engine which would be $3700. Three weeks later, still no car and now they said they can't get the engine to fit with the transmission and he needs a new transmission which they said they wouldn't charge us for. (Which makes me think they broke the transmission)
They said we could pick up the car about a month later. My son goes to get the car with his grandfather and during the 2 hours back the car was making a loud banging noise and it was smoking out the tail pipe. They pulled over and determined they were going to try to make it home. They were about a half hour from home. We call them and tell them what happened and the cars not safe. They send a tow truck and pick up the car. They look at the car and tell me it's not that loud and it's safe to drive, there's nothing wrong with it. So we go back to get the car and I take it to my mechanics that I trust and he tells me there's no oil in the car, no transmission fluid and the transmission they put in doesnt work. He says I don't even know how you made it here. I called them told them what my mechanic said and sent them a video that my mechanic took showing the issue. They tell me I have to get a detailed diagnostic which costs $165 of which I don't think I should pay for. This is their problem. Now it's August and I have been trying to have someone call me back from corporate for the past 3 weeks. I am looking to sue them in small claims court. DO NOT GO TO PEP BOYS!
MO
Marisa O.
Care in a careless world— PRICELESS
I wanted to take a moment to share my wonderful experience at the Pep Boys in Pensacola on Cervantes. The staff there, especially George, Jay, Chris, and Kaleb, have truly raised the bar when it comes to customer service. Their friendliness and expertise are incredibly refreshing in a time when excellent customer service seems to be a rarity.
Visiting an auto repair shop can be a stressful and sometimes emotional experience, but the team at Pep Boys made it so much easier. They were not only super helpful but also took the time to share their knowledge and expertise with me. I was particularly impressed by their detailed inspections and the clear, thorough explanations they provided about what they feel are the the issues with my car and how to get it fixed.
What stood out to me the most was their honesty and transparency. They were upfront while being kind, which is something I deeply respect and appreciate. This kind of honesty is so important, especially in an industry where customers can often feel vulnerable.
I'm genuinely grateful for the outstanding service these gentlemen provided, not just to me but to our community as a whole. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Pep Boys Pensacola to anyone, particularly to other women. Many times, women are scammed or dismissed at other establishments, but that’s definitely not the case here. They even made my 7-year-old daughter feel comfortable and left her laughing, which was such a heartwarming touch in such a stressful situation.
Thank you once again to the incredible team at Pep Boys Pensacola for making what could have been a stressful experience into a positive one!
XA
Xavier
Waited 7 hours sitting down for 4…
Waited 7 hours sitting down for 4 tires . than after getting up going outside they tell me they got two wrong tires so I had to cancel . Shit service . Semoran pep boys horrendous.
KA
Kaitlin A.
Dangerous Negligence – Pep Boys Nearly Caused a Fatal Brake Failure
If I could give zero stars, I would. Pep Boys Gainesville (Store #0127) returned my father’s 2012 Nissan Titan in a dangerously unsafe condition after brake service that cost over $1,500.
Within 49 miles of leaving their shop, the brakes failed again on the highway, causing severe shaking and brake drag. My father, who has medical needs, was forced to tow the truck to Tampa for another $950 (Gainesville promised reimbursement, but never paid). Tampa Pep Boys then charged another $665 for “repairs” that still didn’t fix the underlying problem.
A third-party inspection later found a missing caliper bolt — a catastrophic oversight that could have caused a crash — as well as warped rotors that had less than 90 miles on them. This was negligence, plain and simple.
Pep Boys’ regional manager admitted Gainesville was at fault. But Pep Boys corporate has ignored all requests for reimbursement or acknowledgment of their dangerous work. My father’s safety meant nothing to them.
We are now out over $3,000 for “repairs” that were improperly done and caused serious risk to life and property.
If you value your safety, your time, and your wallet, avoid Pep Boys at all costs. There are plenty of competent, honest mechanics out there — Pep Boys is not one of them.
EL
Ellie L.
I would give this place 0 stars if I…
I would give this place 0 stars if I could. I never leave reviews, but our experience was so poor that I feel the need to. We took my car in because the AC wasn't working. They indicated we needed a new compressor, which they put in. I noticed a rattling noise started after that but wasn't sure at the time what it was related to.
They called my husband a week later to tell us they randomly found a part in their garage that they THINK belongs to my car and may have forgotten to put it back in. It was the return hose from the radiator to the coolant reservoir.....in Phoenix....in June where temps reached 104 that week. Leaving this part out of my car could have been detrimental to my engine and they are really lucky that they didn't need to replace my engine. That ALONE should have been enough for us to get refunded, but we were nice and didn't make a fuss and figured they'd put the part back and we'd go on our way.
The rattling continues and we bring the car back AGAIN. Now they tell us the new compressor they put in is defective so they need to put in another one. They do, we pick it up, and we realize it's in fact not blowing cold air at all.
So yet AGAIN, we go back and they tell us it must be another defective compressor. The likelihood that TWO defective compressors from DIFFERENT vendors ended up in one car is very low. The much more likely possibility is that they do poor work, especially considering they're forgetting to put vital parts back in cars.
They say they'll put factory parts in, but we decided we don't trust them to touch our car anymore. We were promised a FULL refund as long as we brought them back the compressor they put in. We did just that and then after they had their equipment back, they decide to tell us they are only refunding us for the parts and not the $1,000 of labor because we "voided the labor warranty when we went to the dealership."
So, not only did they continuously do a terrible job and NOT FIX THE ISSUE, but they misled us by saying we'd get a full refund and then went back on their word as soon as they got their equipment back. The dealership ran a dye test and said the AC system was leaking EVERYWHERE and also indicated that that type of compressor simply did not work for my car because it created too much pressure on the low pressure side.
Incredibly poor work and ridiculous customer care. The manager there then proceeded to argue with me that it's not their job to know which compressors may or may not work in certain cars....YOUR WHOLE JOB IS TO KNOW CARS. They seem to operate on the very unethical principle of putting parts in cars and crossing their fingers that it works out.
We were more than nice, understanding, and willing to have them continue working on our car after they forgot to put a part back in and after the first defective compressor, but come on, for them to expect that we'd ever let them touch our car again after that is absurd. Not to mention this is during the summer time and this is my AC we're talking about.
In total, between dropping off the car and picking it up, we had to go to their store TEN times and still ended up with a non-working AC and now they are refusing to refund us.
Whatever you do, DO NOT trust these people with your car.
As of 8/4: Since then, after fighting tooth and nail, they agreed to give us a refund, but the District Manager, Ronald Stone, has done a horrible job of staying in touch and updating us on the status of our claim. He told us he submitted a claim a week and a half ago and that he'd send us the claim # the same day. Well, that didn't happen, and we've followed up 4 times to try to get the claim # so that we can check on the status of our refund only to continuously have him ignore us. This place is terrible and not customer focused (or car focused for that matter) AT ALL.
P.S. Pep Boys used after market parts and are charging nearly the same price that the dealership uses for actual quality FACTORY parts so it's also a waste of your money.