Had an emergency need for a new car battery. Rapid, efficient service. Knowledgeable, friendly staff. I was in an out in no time!

The Pep Boys staff and manager on El Camino Real in Encinitas were extremely unprofessional and dismissive toward me. I had booked an appointment for an oil change today at 11am. I turned up promptly only to be told by the manager that he couldn't fit me in until 1pm. When I said I couldn't wait that long as I had to return to work he accused me of being inflexible. Additionally I was told I needed a coupon to receive the price quoted on the homepage of the Pep Boys Website. He claimed to have no knowledge of, or access to, his own company website. All three staff at the service desk were dismissive and extremely unhelpful. My appointment meant nothing to them. I immediately drove across the road to Jiffy Lube where they saw me on the spot without an appointment. They were helpful and efficient. When I asked the staff about a coupon I saw on their website the night before, they knew exactly what I was talking about and were happy to apply it--even though I didn't have the physical coupon or my smartphone with me to verify it. I was back at work by 12. The difference between the two companies speaks for itself. read more

It was Thursday night at 8pm and our car battery was acting crazy. What do we do? Pep Boys to the rescue! I had previously gone to Pep Boys before and knew they had great customer service, but I was blown away by this particular visit. We walked in at 8:30pm with a dead battery. Mark, the manager on duty, offered to check the battery for us for free. Awesome! I had intended on buying a new battery and brought in the old for a recycling credit, but sure! Check the battery! It turns out the battery was fine. We later found out the alternator wasn't charging the battery correctly. Mark then offered to charge the battery completely for us. Again, FOR FREE! The charge took an hour, so Mark stayed 30 minutes after they closed to charge the battery for us. Thank you to Mark and the staff at Pep Boys. You have a trusted customer for life! read more

Since I turned 16 a long time ago, I have pretty much relied on Pep Boys for any car service I've needed. I've had bad experiences with other local places. The now defunct Winston Tires slashed my CV Boot when doing a tire change, "finding" the issue during the change and of course offering to fix it. Pep Boys has always offered honest service at a decent price. I imagine you can find a little cheaper, but I like to manage risk. If I bring my car into Pep Boys, I know they will get it done in a timely fashion and not take me to the cleaners. You can also opt into their loyalty program and get what is essentially a 10% store credit rebate mailed back to you, improving the value proposition. The store itself has the largest local parts counter, all the fluids and oils you'd need, and a bunch of car knick knacks you probably don't need. Overall, Pep Boys offers a dependably good option for local general car repair. They don't do electrical work, but for any run of the mill mechanical problem, they have your back. read more

I went to Pep Boys to get a new taillight for my car, the minute I walked in, I was greeted and all the staff was very friendly, helping me find what I needed. After I bought the taillight, I needed help because I don't have any tools, nor did I know how to change it. The service department was very busy and I patiently waited for help. I watched Roderick the service manager deal with multiple situations and a long line of people. He was very professional, very friendly and very knowledgeable. Definitely worth Yelping about :-) read more

Have appointment for oil change, told it will take half hour or less. Get here and I'm told they are backed up and it will be an hour. Ask cashier what the hold up is after TWO HOURS and he gives me some line about how doing an oil change right takes time. REALLY? read more

They are so moody and lazy, to do oil change need appointment with 3-4 days,they should add more employees to serve people

I do most of my car repairs myself but I won't mess with exhausts or struts. When i was changing the brake pads on my wife's car, I noticed the struts were leaking oil out the bottom. That's a bad sign - the struts are shot. I telephoned the Pep Boys in Encinitas along with some other shops. They gave me a price exceeding $800 but said if I would go to the website, I could print a coupon for 1/2 off the labor all this month. So, that discount brought the total down to $565 parts, labor including re-aligning the front end and an oil change. That was the best price. So, we made an appointment and had the work done. They estimated the work would take 7 to 8 hours. They called to say our car was finished after having it for 7 hours and 20 minutes. The bill came to $534. Best price. Did what I wanted. On time. Within estimate. They were easy to work with.. That's the way it is supposed to happen! 5 stars. Update: I guess a $534 purchase put me over the top of some bonus point threshold because Pep Boys sent me an email coupon for $40 off anything in the store valid until the end of the year. Not expecting that! Way cool. read more

Alex and Gary were super nice but I feel like I got screwed. My Hancook tires had bad cracks in the sidewalls and they were only 3 years old with 20K miles (warranty was 40K miles). Tires shouldn't crack that bad after 3 years but they did give me a little credit towards a new set (50% of the tires only). My issues are this: #1. It's total BS that the "credit" can't be used like a gift card; they make you bypass all the typical deals (e.g. buy 3 get one free, x% off 4, etc.) and can only apply the "credit" on full priced items. #2. They wouldn't call the tires "defective" which arguably they are. #3. We found out the tires were manufactured 3 years before they put them on my truck making them 6 years old, #4. They didn't give a proration / credit on my lifetime balance and other costs related to the original set. sooo...again, the guys were nice and the install was good but the policies seem really unfair. read more

Two years later and here I am trying to give them a second chance. This time I made my online appointment well when advance. I saw online that they even guaranteed same-day appointments, but I still had my doubts. They even guaranteed 30 minute appointments. Five days after making my appointment, I went in for my oil change. I patiently waited for 20 minutes for the representative to get off the phone. He then proceeded to tell me that there were no appointments available when I made the appointment and I can either wait for over two hours or come back in a week, which was their next available appointment. I had even received two confirmation emails the day before my appointment. Don't bother making appointments and don't even bother wasting your time!!!!! I guess somethings never change!!! read more

I had to come into the store to pick up something for my sister that she had ordered online. When I walked into the store and spoke to the person at the people at the register and gave them the name and order number, they went into the back and grabbed the item off their shelves. The only problem that we ran into when I picked it up was that the order was no longer in their system and that I then had to purchase it on behalf of my sister. So after a few games of phone tag with my sister, we finally got ahold of each other and the manager of the store asked my sister the price of what she had paid for the item and then I ended up paying for that item at that price. I appreciate the work that she did in order to get me the item my sister had placed and I just wish that they would extend the hold time of their online items. read more

Made 8am appointment online. It was after hours. They called next day to let me know it wasnt available but i was driving and couldnt get cal!! While i appreciate the call it is unacceptable that you are able to make early morning appointment and they cant honor it. They said they are short handed... Hey - if its a known problem, go in as fake customer and block off appointments so people like me dont waste our time!! UNPROFESSIONAL! read more

The staff there is extremely helpful and made great suggestions when I was there today.

I went in looking for new wiper blades for my car. I spoke with Mark and looked it up for me and explained the different brands. He told me about Bosch and how good they are. I bought them wow are they amazing worth the money. Here is were Mark service went beyond. He asked me if I needed help installing and I said no which was the wrong answer. I was out front trying to figure it out when Mark came out to check on me. He showed me how to do it and did not make me feel stupid. Mark thank you!!! read more

Bought a Bosch Premium Plus battery (about $90) from the Pep Boys in San Carlos in Northern California in June 2007. This battery carried a 36 month replacement warranty and 96 month pro-rated warranty. Last week it failed, about 30 months after installation. I held onto the receipt for a year or two but lost it in a move. The only evidence I had to support my claim was the date of manufacture, April 2007, stamped on the side. It's now December 2009. Clearly less than 3 years old. So I took the battery into Pep Boys Encinitas this morning and sure enough it failed a test. After some very minor hmming and hawing about not having a receipt they agreed to exchange it under warranty. Would have been 5 stars, except for a little confusion between the back of the shop where the test happens and the front of the shop where the manager authorized the no-receipt warranty replacement. All in all a good result, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you purchase your next car battery from Pep Boys, just don't choose a Bosch Premium Plus if you don't fancy getting stranded some rainy December night! read more

On Sunday I had waste oil I needed to get rid of. I called Pep boys in Encinitas, and the guy said, sure we'll take it, come on down. So I did. A mechanic, with a car on a lift, wheeled the used oil drum around. The problem was, I left a used filter in my container and it blocked the pour. So I had to reach into about 10 quarts of oil to grab it. Without me saying a word, the mechanic brought some rags and after that some hand soap to clean up. At one time, such service would've been expected, but not anymore. I sure appreciated the guy going out of his way to help me. read more

They changed my battery in a very short period of time for probably the best price of anybody in town. Can't beat that. Will definitely be back again next time I need something for my car. read more

Had to get my brakes checked out because they were making a grinding sound. I took my Chevy Malibu in and was greeted by a friendly personnel. Alan set me up and let me know I could get FREE Brake inspection to find what was going on. After about an hour I got a call that after the inspection I was in need of new brake pads and several other potential fixes. Alan was honest and let me know that the brakes were a must in order to be safe on the road. He also let me know that the other fixes could be done at a later time as long as I keep an eye on them. Needless to say GREAT service and will be going there again. Also I used the pepboys site to get 10% off my service. Here is the link I used: http://www.pepboys.com/sale_specials/coupons/ read more

Thank You " MICAH " for going being the call of duty and fixing that part for me. It would have taken me forever to figure it out. Good selection of merchandise and a friendly staff. Will Return. read more

NEVER AGAIN! I wish I checked yelp before coming here. I had a flat and the roadside assistance person suggested coming here and offered me a discount code. Slow, rude and generally unhelpful (unless you are young and female. Then they help by telling you that oil needs changing every 3000 miles). The tach also claimed my pressure sensor was broken, so I'll be taking my old part to a Toyota dealer. They will probably confirm that the sensor wasn't broken and that the staff at Pepboys were again being inept or dishonest. And this all took almost 6 hours. Automation and fleet vehicles will kill this business. I The staffers with poor people skills face a bleak future. They deserve it. EDIT - Assigning an unhappy customer a task (like contacting them) shows how little respect they have for us. read more

Suspension on truck had been in need of repair for a long time... finally decided it was time to have it replaced. Looked up some pricing online ahead of time to make sure I was getting a good deal. Guys at Pep Boys helped me find better parts with lifetime warranty at an even better price!! Truck is driving great! read more

Made a Noon appointment to check brakes and despite being told I could wait, 2 hours later it had not even entered the shop. Sat on hold both times I called for over 15 minutes. Was told they are massively under staffed- would not recommend if time is important to you read more

Wow, based on the majority of other reviews, I would normally avoid a place like this however I wasn't there for a battery or car service. I just bought a new car and an after market Curt trailer hitch to mount a Thule mountain bike carrier. I got a really great deal on the new Curt hitch ($132.00) and started calling around for an install price since I didn't have a torque wrench. Just for a laugh I called a dealer, they wanted $150 (more than the hitch itself) then I tried my local auto repair, they said $90-$120, again too much for a simple install. Called the local Encinitas Pep Boys and they quoted $69.99 possibly more if any additional work was needed (cutting/removing panels etc). Philipe told me since it is a 2013 model, it likely won't need any additional work and should be easily installed within an hour to an hour and half. About 25 minutes later (I should have just waited there) I got a call telling me it was done and the total after tax was $69.99! For this particular service I couldn't have asked for much more. I can say I called ahead and explained what I wanted and they suggested making an appointment which I did, no wait, no hassle, no problems. One thing I did notice was that one employee mentioned to another customer several times that this particular store is corporately run and stridently sticks to those rules, which gave me the impression the employee wished he had a little more wiggle room to help the customer ahead of me. In the end the customer got what he wanted, and the employee seemed to honestly care about what the customer was asking for. It was obvious this customer comes in a lot as they new him by name. I can only comment on my specific experience which is likely out of the "norm", so take this review for what it is. -L read more

I wish I would have read more reviews on Pep Boys before I took my car there. These guys smiled and played dumb while they gave me the run around on my car. DO NOT BRING YOUR CAR HERE. THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF!!! I have used Pep Boys two times in the past 6 months. The first job was to replace my brakes on my Toyota Highlander. They did a free brake inspection, which was nice. They recommended that I got all my brakes and rotors replaced. Before I ok'd the work, I did some price shopping and was able to buy the parts for about half of what they were going to charge me for the same parts. Then I got a quote on just the labor for the job from one of their competitors. Pep Boys agreed to match the price so I gave them the work. Bottom line here is by making a few phone calls and checking around, I was able to save a total of $387 on the same job. Bad news is that 2 weeks later, I brought in my other car for a check engine light. I dropped it off and paid $49 for a diagnosis. They called me later that day with a list of things that they recommended I do to the car. Several of the things had nothing to do with the check engine light. I explained that I was going to sell the car and just wanted to fix the items related to my car not accelerating properly. They gave me a smaller list of things the they would do to correct that problem. I said ok to fix it. They were all super friendly and nice and made me feel good. I picked up my car and they said they fixed the problem. I drove it home and it seemed to be ok. The next day when I drove my car, I had the exact same problem that they told me they had fixed. I brought it back down to the shop and explained the situation. They said to leave it with them and they would check it out. They called me about an hour later saying that I needed to do some more work to get the problem fixed. I said "you told me you fixed it the first time and now I need to speed more money on something that I already paid for and was told was fixed?" I spoke with the Manager Sal and explained the situation. I said I think that it should be covered. He said no, if I want the problem fixed they need to do more work and it will cost me extra! I said they told me it was fixed the first time and it was not. If it was not fixed correctly, they should stand by their work. He said if I wanted them to fix it, I was going to have to give them more money. So much for their nice friendly smiling faces and service guarantee. Bottom line, they are very good at making you feel good with their nice friendly smiles but when it comes to standing by their work, they did not do it. I would not got back to these people, stay away. Best advice I can give is find a good mechanic you can trust. Good luck. read more

****WARNING*** Take your car to Pepboys at your OWN Risk! I took mine to the one in Encinitas for battery change. When I picked up my car there was a $3100 worth of damage to the driver's side door( the door has to be replaced due to the extent of the damage), they say where I signed to give authorization to work on the car, also is a waiver that releases them of any responsibility for the damages which they don't tell you verbally, and suggested that I call my insurance company!!! I will be filling a complaint with Better automotive repair department and will pursue this is in small claims court! read more

Alex was extremely helpful with my tire purchase. He found the best pricing for me based on what I needed! I even had a mishap with my tire a week later and he was so helpful to get me fixed up and on the road. Thank you! read more

Alex was exceptional and went above and beyond to help my wife today. Great customer service. I will for sure go back.

The Parts store inside is listed on YELP seperately from the Service center for a reason people! I am just rating the STORE for PARTS. Today, the Parts store inside had a sales manager named Mark, who took out the time to answer alll my questions and give me personal help. After I have service done in the "Pep Boys Automotive Supercenter," (as listed on YELP), I will then rate it separately. read more

I made an online appointment and received two emails from Pep Boys confirming the appointment. When I went to the Pep Boys they told me they were too busy to honor online appointments. I called their customer service number and described my appointment service problem. They told me they would escalate my complaint an someone from Corporate would contact me in 24-48 hours. You can guess the rest of the story. No one called me except the same Pep Boys that refused me service trying to have me make another appointment. Treating their customers at Pep Boys convenience is a sure way to lose customers, or in my case, never get a first time customer. A pure waste of my time and gas. Go elsewhere. read more

Worst customer service that I've experienced in a long time.

I'm just posting my complaint letter to the manager here since I am too frustrated to retype it all! Avoid this place!! Hi Salvatore, I wanted to write and complain about a horrible experience we had recently at your store on El Camino Real. I signed up for a 5:00 appointment online to get my brakes inspected. I arrived at 4:55 and waited in line until about 5:10 to check in. The man behind the counter looked confused that I had an appointment but then was able to find me in the system. He checked out my car and told me it would be about an hour to hour and a half. Ok fine, so my boyfriend and I went to dinner down the street. An hour and a half passed and we went to retrieve my car. It had not even been moved from the parking spot I left it. The same man gave me excuse after excuse on why it wasn't done. First he couldn't find my clipboard, then he said it was up on the rack (and I pointed to it in the parking lot), then it was that the specialist wasn't available, etc. If there was communication in the first place that it may take longer, fine. But to be told it would take 1.5 hours and then it hadn't even been touched? Unexcusable. On top of that, my clipboard with my car and house keys was in the same spot as when I left - on the front counter. Which leads me to believe I was completely overlooked. AND my keys were right there for the taking! Your workers leave the desk unattended quite often, whats keeping a customer from just grabbing my keys?!? I am horrified at the service we received. This is not an isolated incident either. A very similar thing happened to me at the Oceanside Pep Boys two weeks prior. It's my understanding that the workers just lie about timing to pacify customers? This is not how to run a business. I don't want anything from you, although a response would be nice. I will never be stepping foot in a Pep Boys ever again. read more

They are so helpful here...Mark the the manager suggested that I use epoxy for the trim that was loose on my car door...it had been barely hanging on with gorilla glue...the epoxy totally did the trick...he even helped me put the expoxy on the car! yay! read more

Worst Pepboys ever. Yazmin is the worst. She was helping me look for a part today and just because she doesn't know what an evaporator core is she starts flipping out and yelling at me. To get out of her store. Worst customer service ever. Never coming back here again until she gets fired. read more

Dont ever book an appointment with pepboys encinitas. 2nd time this happened to me. Booked an appointment at 11am and got there before my appt time. Almost an hour (12noon) later after my appt. My car was still parked on the parking area. Asked them if my car is gonna be next. They told me its going to be a little while before they can get to my car. Because they only have 5 bays. So whats the use of setting up appts when they cant keep those appt time anyway might as well do first come first serve. And i was waiting there for almost 1 hr and nobody even told me that there is going to be a delay. Very poor customer service. First time this happened was thinking they just got really busy. But after the 2nd time. Not going to be doing any business with pepboys anytime in the future. read more

Learn from my mistake--believe the bad reviews for this location. I showed up at 8:30am for a 9am oil change appointment. It's now 3:11pm and my car still isn't ready. I see that Pep Boys has a reputation management person or agency responding to the bad reviews, insisting they're sorry and know how important the customer's time is. Please. You keep apologizing but obviously fail to actually fix the recurring problems. Maybe you need to close down the service department for a while, assess problem areas, determine how to correct them, then give it another shot. 12/20/2016 Update: Wow, Pep Boys; thanks for the thoughtful canned response. That, combined with the free oil change offered to me by Angelo, the Encinitas store's Assistant Service Department Manager, makes me feel so much better about wasting seven hours due to your staff's incompentence. You obviously don't care about the pattern of poor service at this particular store, and your insincere apologies to all of us who experience it are offensive. One question about that free voucher Angelo offered--will that oil change take seven hours, too? June 29, 2017 Update: took my car into Pep Boys on Mission in Oceanside today. Turns out the Encinitas shop put the wrong spark plugs in last December. Unbelievable. read more

came back to have my girlfriends suv looked at...they did an oil change a month ago and light came on for a needed oil change. they were fast and helpful...still didnt explain why the oil lever was low. I havnt ever brought my car here for service. Guy quoted me like $800 + for a set of 4 new tires...Wow only $800? as we were leaving he made a comment about calling him before I buy tires anywhere else. Guess that would mean $800 was not his best deal? read more

Make sure the parts you buy are clean. This location sold me a dirty part and when I asked about it, the guy said someone returned it but it's brand new. We needed to return it, they wouldn't because it looked used. That's really wrong. It was a really expensive part. read more

Went in for a simple oil change and requested information about an oil leak I've had for a year and a half. First, Grant at the front desk was extremely friendly and helpful. But even better, Michael Packard, the mechanic was able to pinpoint the location of the oil leak and even took the time to show me. Now this might not sound like a big deal to you but I've had several mechanics look at it and no one else found it OR they just wanted to up-sell me on a much more costly repair like the main seal. This kind of honest, friendly, service is a girl's best friend. When we walk into a service shop it seems some think we have "rip me off" tattooed on our foreheads. Thanks Mike! Thanks Grant! read more

Are you kidding me a parts store? ya maybe if i want to get some car wash soap or some gay neon lights for my dash board. after being told that looking up parts would be too much work for the parts counter guy i knew i'd be in trouble, i stupidly proceeded to try to obtain parts from these guys after failed attempt of ordering the wrong parts they only wanted to try and order the right parts, a week or so after the parts were suppose to be in i went in to check. They kept insisting that if the parts had come in they would have contacted me. I made them check and sure enough the parts were there, wrong ones again. these guys have no clue what they are doing and only want to re-order instead of just taking the loss, and refunding my money. next time i'll know if i need to do home repairs not to trust these guys for my parts, unless i have a spare backup car for the month! read more

smaller store but very helpfull staff. went in for a small diagnosis tool and they didn't have one to loan at the counter but he found one in the store and even opened the package for me to make sure it was the right one. read more