I recently had the displeasure of breaking down in Pittsburgh PA. Not knowing a reputable mechanic, my insurance company towed my car here. I was given the bad news; the water pump in my truck died. It was reasonable to replace the belt tensioner since it could very well be the cause of the pump dying as well as replacing the belt since everything was going to be off already and replacing them later would be a repeat of work.
What I wasn't ready for was the outrageous price they charge for the parts if they are installing them. This is confusing.
If I purchase the water pump and walk out the door it is $50.99. But if I purchase it from the service department because they are installing it the price jumps to $92.80; same exact part. When I ask about it I am told that the $50.99 cost is wholesale and the $92.80 is retail. Well......I know better. $35.00 is the wholesale cost on Rockauto. $50.99 is the retail cost that you pay at any auto parts store. $92.80 is the cost that Pep boys charges because you don't have a choice if you cannot do it yourself (which I couldn't because I was out of town and didn't have a chance to find a reputable mechanic that wouldn't overcharge for services). Then of course they charge $190 to install the part. As my dad use to say, Jesse James had a horse and gun when he robbed people. It wasn't like I had a choice. I couldn't say gee, don't do it, let me spend the next couple hours/days finding a reputable mechanic in the area that isn't going to cheat me out of money while I spend money on a hotel; I was stuck.
All the parts that they used were almost double the cost that I would have paid if I were walking out the door with them because service department was installing them. Please know this if you use the service department.
DO NOT USE PEP BOYS FOR SERVICE!!!!! FIND ANOTHER MECHANIC!!!
Find someone that will charge you a reasonable amount for the parts and not overcharge you. The cost of a part should be the cost of the part if you buy it in the store or from the service department and until people stop getting service from them until they change their policy they will continue.
On my ride home, the temperature got up there about 3/4 to overhearing again after running at 70mph for an hour which means that the water pump did NOT fix the problem. I will take it to my regular mechanic to check out the work that Pep boys did and make sure they did the work correctly. If I find that they did not, I will be contacting them for a refund. I will be contacting them to let them know that the truck temp went up and that I don't live near a Pep boys (Closest one is 42 miles away); not that I want Pep boys looking at my truck again anyway.
As for the actual service manager: Chris; This is the conundrum. He was great! Cannot say enough good things about him personally. He took the time to fit my truck in and do the work himself and keep me informed. So policy wise, I don't like what Pep boys does, but the service manager was great and went out of his way to personally assist me. So people great, company policy bad.