Defective Tires

[spinem]

I have a little story for all you 2wd guys....

2/24/2008
So i decided one day after having a massive bubble in the side of my passenger side tire, maybe it was time for some tires....

After shopping around I found pep boys to be the cheapest for the size and with I wanted (275-60-15's)

The quoted me 310OTD.... I said ok, do it. (for 2...so 610 for 4)

The jack it up, and go..... wheres the key to the rim locks?...(%(&^$&^$!!!!!!)
So i get them off without the key (not gonna say how), buy new rim locks, drive it back down, they jack it up, BZZZ BZZZ! 2 are off....

they dismount and remount with the new tires (just 2).... then the guy comes out and goes "whoever did the tires last put the wring lug on and stripped it"... he shows me a brand new shiny chrome metric.....

I say, "no. all my lugs are rusty, there's no way this one was on there for the year ive had the truck and didn't see it, ive rotated these tires 3 times, i woulda seen it"...

he responds" uhhhh... hold on"

he dose not come back.

They finish my tires and park it, as im leaving it starts clanking and ticking.... i made a "U", come to find out the smart techs put the weights on the inside too close to my brake calipers and they hit, and flew...

was i mad.... yes, did i express it, no.......

they "fix it" and i drive off again... just to hear them click and clank down the street until the eventually fly off. at this point i just want to go home. i get home and my dad goes, wheres ur lugg on this tire?......they did not replace anything.

I drive it back and fight with the manager, and review the tape, you can clearly see the tech pick up the wrong lugg from the car next to him and strip it.

I told him "no offense to you sir, but i don't want you guys to ever touch my truck again, compensate me the parts and ill do it myself"... he agrees.

11/1/2009
I look closely at my side walls and they are cracking!!!!
I go down and complain, they tell me its average wear..... i say "1year old, garaged, 4,000 miles?"

he says yes, totally normal, i tell him im not leaving until i get what i want, he says ok, hell prorate them,. i refuse and get escorted off the premises by the police for "aggravated sumthing a rather.."

after some internet researching i see my tires that i have (dot numbers matching) are recalled......in 2006!!!!!!!

i go back down with the paperwork and officers this time and they are shocked...

they sold me recalled tires, knowing the brand i had, did not catch it after seeing the tires I dont know how many times...

they say ok, well replace them but ull have to pay for M&B....

I say "NO. IF YOU GUYS WOULD HAVE DONE YOUR JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE I WOULDN'T B HERE, MATTAER OF A FACT, ILL SEE YOU IN COURT FOR DISGUSTING NEGLIGENCE AND GAS, AND TIME OFF WORK, AND TIME OFF SCHOOL.."

THEM:"oh no no no sir that wont be necessary, well replace them all expenses covered..."
I say okay, this time dont strip anything, and put the weights on the inside,, high... I know its a SOB but it has to be done or else the magnets will hit my brake calipers..

them:"ok sir no problem"

I sat for 3 hrs waiting.
when it was eventually done, the magnets smacked all the way home...
then the next morning i come out to a flat front driverside..... they didnt tighten the valve...

DO NOT GO TO PEP BOYS.

[old Rusty C10]

the one time i went there for tires they insisted that i buy the size that they wanted me to until i showed them the owners manual that said the size i specified was factory recommended. Then it took three hours to do two tires and another forty minutes for the paperwork. I was sitting in their waiting room calling corporate. These guys are fine if you need something quick youre installing yourself but their mechanics are complete morons

[Big Port Jimmy 6]

I love my local tire shop all they sell is tires and wheels, no alignment or brake jobs. In and out 30 minutes tops, Find one in your town you will not regret it Jay

[78 Chevyrado]

Go over their heads, beyond the store manager if necessary.

I had a problem one time with a tire chain around here. I had gotten new chrome wheels and tires on my buick from them. Well later on I had them do a rotation and balance and all was well (so I thought). Bout 2 weeks later I went to check the brakes and couldn't get the wheel off. Turns out the guys had stripped out the key-lock by using an impact on it.

I took it back to them and complained and the store manager basically told me to screw off, they might have done it but there was no possible way they were going to fix it. Well he was real nasty too, so i called the home office. It might have been luck, but I ended up talking to the national manager (or whatever he was called). He called them and then called me back and I guess the store manager was being nasty with him, because he flew in from California to Georgia in the next couple of days and sorted the guy out. When I got there to get my repair the guy looked like he wanted to cry. They had to cut my wheel off, and then sent their guy out to get another wheel right then and got it all put back together and I went on my way and the big boss told me to call him if I have a problem again. Funny that manager wasn't there in a couple of months when I went back....

It may not go that well for you, but you can always go higher up the food-chain. I'd get em to fix it... Regional managers DO NOT like to hear about this kind of thing and have a way of showing up to correct these kinds of issues. I'd also say I don't want the people who worked on it before to work on it again, since they lack hearing or skill. either way they suck and should be fired if at all possible.

[timpage]

It sounds like I am fortunate not to have a Pep Boys in my area. I have a somewhat local tire shop I go to for tires and alignment/front end work. Theyve always treated me right, the older gentleman in the alignment/brake shop is old school, and theyre prices are competative with other shops in the area.

[Stitch]

I've always had good luck with Pepboys when I lived in Charleston, but I knew the service manager...so it was in and out quick and I got lots of freebees so to speak...

[Matt Man]

i go to pepboys for a bunch of stuff for my truck but nothing major for my truck ie: tires ect.

[72lb4x4]

The mfgr date is stamped in the tire. Educate yourself and you don't need to trust the supplier. Learn to trust yourself.

[blazinzuk]

had a buddy that worked at pep boys for a short time, after hearing his storys I would never take my stuff there. If I go to a new tire shop I usually just walk right out into the shop and watch em. Have never been told to go back to the waiting room

[Mr.Scary]

man these kind of stories scare meeeee!!!! and im MR.SCARY! LOL

[smashingchuck]

Not the first time I've heard of Pep Boys putting defective tires on a vehicle. Experienced it first hand, watched my buddy pay for new "pro-rated" tires when the old ones (2,500 miles) were junk.

Also, are wheel locks really necessary? I always eliminate them just so I don't have the problems you guys are describing.

[74 C-30]

are wheel locks needed? no. but after someone loosened up all the lug nuts on my buddys K-30 and lost a tire and bent an axle housing going through town, he sure as hell put them on. kids got jealous of his truck so they messed with it. luckily, my trucks a pile so nobody ever messes with it lol

[baggedcten]

I used to work at Pepboys, but i wasn't a mechanic.I worked there on the retail side. I never trusted their mechanics either because that one year i worked there i couldn't believe they where that stupid I've seen their mechanics blow up cars(two cars blowing up and catching on fire),there mechanics forgetting to put the lugs on causing customers wheels to fall off in there parking lot(funny but i also felt bad for the guy) forgetting to put oil in there customers engine one time and a lot of stupid stuff. So I would never let them touch my trucks!!!!

[pcwillsie]

thats is the problem now days with these big company owned shops. No offense to anyone who works in one. But the people who work in the large chain shops are usually just there collect a pay check and are burnt out being under paid or just didnt care to begin with. Also when these big chains are so much cheaper than their competitors there may be a reason for it always look at the product they are selling you. Do your homework before you actually pay. It is sad to say but there are some fairly sorry people out there that will do anything to make a buck.

[spinem]

Originally Posted by smashingchuck

Not the first time I've heard of Pep Boys putting defective tires on a vehicle. Experienced it first hand, watched my buddy pay for new "pro-rated" tires when the old ones (2,500 miles) were junk.

Also, are wheel locks really necessary? I always eliminate them just so I don't have the problems you guys are describing.

yo homes, those would look good on my car...

swooppp!

necessary?... in my town.. yes

[dlanders]

I loathe Pep Boys. My wifes check engine light was on in he PT Cruiser one day. I drove it down the road to Advance Auto parts and their machine wasnt working so I was gonna drive to the Advance on the other side of town. On the way I saw a pep boys and stopped there because I was in a hurry and had a lot of other stuff to do that day. They told me that they did free check engine light scans. I had to fill out a service order for them just to do the scan. 2 hours later they give me the code, but wont tell me what it means. They said for $100 they could tell me what the code is but that money wont be deducted from whatever the repair is. I kindly tell them that I will find out what the code is and fix whatever it is myself. i go home and googled the code, misfire in cylinder 1. I changed plugs and wires and fixed the problem. So next time I will know it is worth the drive to anywhere but pep boys.

On another occasion I stopped by pep boys to get some brake lines for my truck. I go to the parts counter and tell the guy I need brake lines. He looked at me like he had never heard of them. He was on older hispanic guy who barely understood or spoke english. So he goes to the back and comes back with some vacuum tubing. I tried to explain that that was not what I needed and tried to describe brake lines to this guy. So then he comes back with some convoluted tubing. Again I tell him that is not what I need. He then proceeds to walk me over to the aisle with brake fluid. Now I am a pretty laid back person, it takes a lot to get my mad. I demand to speak to the manager. After about 20 minutes he comes out to the floor. I tell him that his employee is an idiot and that all I need is some brake lines. So the manager goes in the back and comes back with some vacuum tubing again. I asked him if he knew anything about vehicles and told him that he was in fact an idiot like the other employee. As I was storming out of the store I noticed a plaque on the wall by the door for employee of the month for the first guy who tried to help me. Now I want to know how he got nominated for employee of month. That means he was better than all of the other employees there, dosent say much for that store.

So I made a vow to never go there again if possible. I dont care how cheap it is, it is not worth their crap.

Like they said earlier find a good local tire shop. I have one down the road from my house that is a family run deal. I get the best service there. Yeah it may cost a few dollars more but it is worth it in the long run.

[spinem]

Originally Posted by dlanders

I loathe Pep Boys. My wifes check engine light was on in he PT Cruiser one day. I drove it down the road to Advance Auto parts and their machine wasnt working so I was gonna drive to the Advance on the other side of town. On the way I saw a pep boys and stopped there because I was in a hurry and had a lot of other stuff to do that day. They told me that they did free check engine light scans. I had to fill out a service order for them just to do the scan. 2 hours later they give me the code, but wont tell me what it means. They said for $100 they could tell me what the code is but that money wont be deducted from whatever the repair is. I kindly tell them that I will find out what the code is and fix whatever it is myself. i go home and googled the code, misfire in cylinder 1. I changed plugs and wires and fixed the problem. So next time I will know it is worth the drive to anywhere but pep boys.

On another occasion I stopped by pep boys to get some brake lines for my truck. I go to the parts counter and tell the guy I need brake lines. He looked at me like he had never heard of them. He was on older hispanic guy who barely understood or spoke english. So he goes to the back and comes back with some vacuum tubing. I tried to explain that that was not what I needed and tried to describe brake lines to this guy. So then he comes back with some convoluted tubing. Again I tell him that is not what I need. He then proceeds to walk me over to the aisle with brake fluid. Now I am a pretty laid back person, it takes a lot to get my mad. I demand to speak to the manager. After about 20 minutes he comes out to the floor. I tell him that his employee is an idiot and that all I need is some brake lines. So the manager goes in the back and comes back with some vacuum tubing again. I asked him if he knew anything about vehicles and told him that he was in fact an idiot like the other employee. As I was storming out of the store I noticed a plaque on the wall by the door for employee of the month for the first guy who tried to help me. Now I want to know how he got nominated for employee of month. That means he was better than all of the other employees there, dosent say much for that store.

So I made a vow to never go there again if possible. I dont care how cheap it is, it is not worth their crap.

Like they said earlier find a good local tire shop. I have one down the road from my house that is a family run deal. I get the best service there. Yeah it may cost a few dollars more but it is worth it in the long run.

hahahaha i know what u mean man, the head manager never heard of diodes in an alt. going bad and drawing power, it absoulty boggled his mind.

[78 Big10 454]

I can't go to Pep Boys out here - I don't speak Spanish...

[qu1cks1lver56]

Wow, I'm glad the pep boys here isn't that bad (I think lol). I've never had them do any work for me though, just bought cheap tires, and parts.

[Benelli]

Horror stories.

[Rogue_Sentinel]

there is no pep boys near me, thank god. but i hear the same BAD things from discount tire.

i would buy tires off CL befor any of these guys.