I really would rather not give a 3 or lower rated review but something needs to be done with policy and business practices with car services here. And company wide dealings. So not to waste precious time and peoples' money. My adult kiddo brought in our mutual vehicle for a flat tire issue. Albeit they came in an hour or two before their closing hour. Malik handled the situation and said that the tire would need to be changed because of age of tire and cracking. As I was speaking on speaker phone trying to handle the situation & I specifically asked for the buy 3 tires & get one free. As they wouldn't honor our existing warranty in simply just honoring it for just the one tire. I was requesting that all tires be newer since they unbeknownst to me on our last replacement they put (older2019) on our '23 visit (yeah confusing) hence tire needs replacement because it's "old "bit. Uh you guys gave us older in the first place without explanation of those allowances/loopholes. I strongly requested 2026 and for them to be more uniform in its manufacturing DOT date...what they ended up sending our car home with was three 2023 and one 2024 tire. Jesse was the tech who installed and left the sealant gunk all over the already aged tires and rims. A rushed and poorly done install. Paperwork had bogus dot number of all tires 11112025 ??? Uh no not what we got. Mind you legally they can put tires almost 7 years old by DOT date. Did you know this? I didn't until this incident. Tho the tread and mileage was still under our warranty that we've had with them. We were duped. We've been repeating tire maintenance stemming from before and more on our recent visits...particularly in 2019 and 2023 when we've had prior tire replacements with this nationwide company. We had to put in a complaint alongside posting pictures here to clearly show what happened. Danial the manager handled the issue as promptly as he could and explained company allowances and the struggle with what comes from the warehouse that gets loaded to the delivery truck. Clearly they don't seem to follow a good quality control policy. They get what they're provided and those can be manufactured almost seven years ago. Sorry but putting 3-4 years old tires that just been sitting around aging in a warehouse or shop isn't giving me NEW tires IMO. We had to take an extra day getting them replaced with all tires manufactured mid 2026 Note the dot number means it was made a certain week of a certain year. I'm happy Danial called around and was able to produce what we initially asked for. I updated a picture of the re-do. The quality of installation was better the second time around but it should not require a manager to be present in order for a shop to function better and run smoothly for customers with valid warranties be honored. Danial was seemingly patient with me as I strongly expressed my needs for better resolve. He acknowledged my points were valid. So rating would be more along a 3.75 stars because if car warranties are not even checked or properly honored when tread and mileage was still within normal limits from the get go the manager and I wouldn't have had to come up with a rational and honorable resolution. I love deals especially if it comes with quality services. I prefer to get what you pay for and even tho you get one tire free it's still not cheap to maintain a vehicle. read more

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Pep Boys in San Marcos is seriously lacking in customer service excellence. I scheduled a 9:00 AM appointment for an oil change on my 2009 RAV4. After an hour, the service manager recommended two front tires, a brake fluid exchange, a coolant flush, and an air filter package. Despite the mileage on the car, I agreed to the additional work, essentially rewarding their upsell with several hundred dollars in extra business. The reward for my cooperation was total neglect. Between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM, I watched my RAV4 sit untouched in the service bay. At 11:00 AM, the manager told me it would be "another hour." I reluctantly waited, only to find my car still aloft at noon--no tires mounted and no fluids changed. It was only after I voiced my frustration that the mechanics finally began to work. They seemed far more interested in hitting their vape sticks and jamming to blaring industrial music than completing a job for a waiting customer. I finally got my keys back 3.5 hours later. When I questioned the delay, the manager claimed that two tires and fluid exchanges is a "three-hour job." As someone who grew up working on cars with my Dad, I know that is absolute nonsense. In a professional shop with the right equipment, that work does not take three hours--unless, of course, the staff is lollygagging at the pace of a snail pulling a bobsled. What is the purpose of a 9:00 AM appointment if the vehicle is ignored for the first two hours of that window? I was billed the most, yet served last. The unprofessional atmosphere and the "distracted" nature of the technicians also make me question if safety-critical tasks, like my brake fluid and tire mounting, were even performed with the necessary precision. I have been a loyal customer of Pep Boys for years, but the appalling attitude and lack of work ethic at this San Marcos location has me rethinking that loyalty. You didn't just lose my afternoon; you've likely lost a long-time customer. read more

They helped me when I needed it the most! Courteous, friendly.... will use them again for tire service. read more

Literally the worst experience ever!! Go anywhere else but here!! Was told a routine tire change would take an hour, it took 3 hours. Super unprofessional, front desk guy was cussing and on his phone the entire time. Bathroom is a mess, I will never go here again!! read more

I'm finally getting around to writing a review sometime back. I did a cross-country trip and took my car here to get an oil change and an inspection. They want up keeping the key to my lug locks. They changed the oil but neglected to put the oil cap back on. I stopped in New Mexico for gas and found it missing. When I called and discussed these issues with the management there, they said well they could help me if I was still in that area but since I'm not, there's nothing they can do for me. I would not recommend taking anything to this place. They're incompetent. read more

My teenage son took his car in to replace two front tires. They told him he needed over $5k in repairs for brakes, rotors, suspension issues so we took it to our regular mechanic. All he needed was rear brakes pads $200. Won't be going back! read more

Thank You to Arnie and his Crew. Another great experience for our Auto Repair at this Pep Boys location! I've said it before the Honesty & Transparency on what your vehicle needs from this group is so Refreshing! Professional Honest On Point with Expertise. If you're in need of anything for your Car,Truck, Van, I'm sure even Motorcycle too This is the place to come! Mike Sirota read more

One of my tires had a huge puncture on the side of it, so went in to simply put a new tire on the rim. Very fair prices since I was only putting a new tire on a rim. Super fast. Employees knew what they were doing. No bs. In and out. Even had a little coffee machine in customer lounge area. 9.3 out of 10 easily read more

Time to this terrible business. Don't waste your time here. Terrible customer service rude employees. I brought my car in here for two tires. They had it for 3 1/2 hours never touched it and acted like they were busy there was nobody in their stalls nobody working. Never coming back to this place again. I hope nobody ever does either if you're smart if I could give it zero stars, I would've wasted my day. read more

I had a flat tire that needed repair and Costco wouldn't help with the Continental tires I had on my car. I called a couple of the Pep Boys locations and only Ken at this location was kind and agreed to take a look for me at 6pm on a Saturday. He and the technician, Joel, were both very friendly and went out of their way to repair the tire for me. Joel was extremely meticulous and skillful. THANK YOU to both Ken and Joel for showing me kindness when no other tire place cared to take the time. read more

Read the other negative reviews. It doesn't get any worse than this shop. A mechanic who watches shows on his phone in the bay, while you are waiting on your car. (He wasn't on break...) A service desk worker who doesn't know about their own warranty. The price quote was insanely out of line ($250) for a hose that supposedly needed replacing. A local shop replaced a clamp in less than five minutes to fix. Unreal. read more

Pep Boys - Mechanic watching a show on his phone while my car was in the bay. - Auto Repair Near Me - San Marcos, California

BEWARE!!! We have a well maintained 2018 Nissan Pathfinder with 80k miles. We recently brought it in for a non-start issue. Malik quoted almost $7k, with a long list of things wrong including a blown head gasket! I had it towed 32 miles to San Diego to get a second opinion at our regular mechanic who cringed when I'd told him that we had taken it to Pep Boys. He just cleared a couple of fault codes, charged the battery, drove it for 2 days, and couldn't find one thing wrong with it. He said that it could use a tune up around the next oil change. I know that they work on commission, but this is just unscrupulous gouging! read more

My break light sensor went on in the middle of my 100 mile commute one way to San Marcos . I was scared something drastic was going to happen..... I pulled into pep boys at 8:23 am and the took me immediately. It took an hour for them to look at it but my brakes and roters were shot. Thank you so much Arnie and Jose . You guys are lifesavers. read more

Bad service, or check tire pressure light has been on ever since we left, first they put on the wrong tire, and when they were done realized it. An hour-long job took almost 5 hours, in the cost remain the same, totally High. read more

While the work was done well. I felt poorly treated by the front desk staff. I would not recommend especially for women.

Had oil change no problems. Went back for coolant flush. My car was not leaking this was just maintenance. 2 hours later they said I need a new radiator because they discovered a leak. They wanted $1500 to replace. I took car to different repair and they found hose had been tampered with. No I did not NEED A NEW RADIATOR. If I had excepted their word I would never have known that I was being scammed. This was the first time going somewhere other than the dealer. Live and learn I am sticking with dealer from now on. read more

I had flat tire and i called at 6:15 pm to see if they can fix the tire & Leena picked up the phone and told us to show before 7 pm. I went there and tire was fixed. Leena Padberg is an awesome service manager. She went out of her way to help us past closing time . I highly recommend to see her if you have any issues with your car read more

Standard response from Pep Boy's social media "damage control" team. I have reached out and you guys never replied to my concerns. Again, folks stay away unless you want a damaged vehicle. Update: No follow-up by Pep Boys Corporate Customer Service, had to trade my damaged vehicle in as a result of Pep Boys not filling the transmission fluid levels back to proper levels in the vehicle, took to another auto shop and transmission fluid was 2 quarts low, damage already done. Was told need major transmission work or replacement now. I was forced to buy a new vehicle as a result of unproperly trained mechanics at Pep Boys. DO NOT TAKE YOUR VEHICLE HERE!!!!! read more

I ordered 2 tires online and received an email to come pick them up. Once here I was told that the tires weren't there and they couldn't give me an explanation on why they weren't there. No option to buy two other at the same price, not even a discount on to different same size tires. Worst customer service in a while for sure. read more

Jose Z really helped me out! I got my brakes done and he assisted me to make sure I had a great experience. I appreciated it very much! Thanks Jose read more

I can in with a tire pressure light on my dash. It was the sensor and I asked if they could replace it. They said yes and they had it in stock. Should take 35 minutes. That was two hours ago. It turned out to be two sensors, an hour ago. I'm not sure what the problem is, but they've had time to run an inspection and suggest an oil change (had one 4 weeks ago) and spark plugs (replaced 6 months ago). But, no news on my car's sensor replacement. I'm hungry and could have used some time to leave and return had I been properly updated on the progress. I'm pretty frustrated with the service today. Really, was this a drop off type service? read more

I had a brake light out and needed an oil change. Also, the check engine light was on. I didn't have an appointment, but they took my car in and by the end of the day had resolved everything. It did not cost a lot, either. A great place. read more

Came here on a Sunday in desperate need to have a bent rim replaced. Arnie (I believe that was his name) at the front desk was so kind and helpful, as were the two gentleman who switched out my rim. Will definitely return to this location for any future car related needs! read more

Took my car in for servicing. People were helpful and friendly. No pressure to buy any extras. Car was ready within an hour. Thank you! I'll be a returning customer! read more

DO NOT GO HERE. I was the only customer there and it took 2 1/2 hours for them to tell me that the condenser in my air conditioner was broken. They quoted me $2450 to fix it and all other shops quoted $1200. Stay away. Slowest staff you will ever come across. read more

Called on Thursday morning and asked if they could install customer provided parts to upgrade suspension, spoke with Tom and he said yes. Dropped my truck off and left it overnight, got a call this morning and he said the upper control arms I provided dont fit. Texted him back and said to install my coilover springs and not to worry about the control arms today. No response. Called and left a messages with some girl who answered the phone two different times for Tom to call back to make sure the springs were installed; never received a call back. Sent an email, no response. Texted him again and asked when I could get my truck; he said no work had been done on it. To summarize: I left my truck overnight at this location because he said it would make it easier for them to start on my truck early. They didn't return any of the messages that I left them today (two of them), reply to email, and did not respond to my text messages confirming the work that I wanted to get done. So no work was done, and between today and yesterday it cost me a $100 in Uber rides since I didn't have my truck. Will never take my vehicle to this shop again, if I could give negative stars I would. read more

Walked in to Pep Boys San Marcos. Was greeted by guy named Tom who might be the manager as he came out of private office. Offered me repair immediately. Sat in their waiting room. Was called short time later that my truck was fixed. Was checked out by nice young man named Malik. Give both guys a raise. Will use again if needed. read more

Do not go here! Worst customer service and it took them 2 hours to bleed my breaks. Therese plenty other options around.

Went to get my A/C serviced for them to put my filter to close to my fan so my fan was hitting my filter causing a loud rattling noise and then a/c went out a month later. Get your car serviced at a proper mechanic that knows what they're doing. read more

Took my car here for an oil change. Was told I needed new brakes and rotors. Didn't do the job because I didn't have time. Went to another location and was told me brakes are fine and I don't need new brakes. On a side note.. the customer area is filthy. There was a coffee cup on a table there that had mold growing on the top. Floors were also very dirty. read more

The manager at the Pep Boys San Marcos, CA location was absolutely AMAZING!!! She was extremely helpful from the moment I called on the phone to the second I stepped foot into the store. She rolled up her sleeves and fixed my problem (a dead rodent near my battery). It was beyond disgusting and stomach turning and she and her crew handled it like true professionals!! I really appreciate her and her crew!! My alternative was a gas can, a match or a cliff. I don't handle rodents dead or alive, so she saved me and my vehicle. Thank you for your out of this world customer service and support!!! read more

This is a follow up on my previous post. I sent an email to customer service explaining the problem. I received a reply the next day requesting my order details and the next day I received a call from the DM telling me I could take my receipt back to the store for my refund for the bad wipers. read more

This place is terrible! Made an appointment and i've never had a worse experience at a auto shop here in San Marcos let alone San Diego County. Blonde hair older woman and a older man with glasses didn't want to assist me with my appointment 2 hours before closing time! Really seemed like the two were already preparing for closing very early in the evening and it's very unfortunate after calling in advance for the appointment and then coming in for that appointment and not receive any help or assistance. Keep in mind both employees did not even try to reschedule or anything in that matter. I definitely do not suggest anyone to this place unless you're looking for a terrible experience. You'll value nothing from this specific pep boys and they should consider who they have working the front desk in the evenings. read more

So I was in the area of the Pep Boys over in Oceanside and bought a battery for my Jeep. No problems there. I just needed to return the old battery for the core return. I live closer to this Pep Boys, so I went by at closing to try to drop it off the next day. The person working the register had said he was turning off the computers, so I asked if I could bring it back the next day. He said no problem. The next morning I come by and the same person and a person I can only believe is the manager as he was wearing a different colored polo shirt were both there. The manager tells me that he can't accept the battery because he's not a parts store. The person who told me I could bring it in the previous day says nothing. Absolutely nothing. Even after I say "He, told me I could bring it by.", and point directly to the person from the previous day. The manager refuses to perform the transaction. Now typically I wouldn't care and would understand, except for the fact that I know that if I had taken my car for service to that location they would perform the exact same transaction. If they had replaced the battery for me, they would have charged me for a new battery, taken the old one and given me the core deposit back. The transaction would have been identical. This was just being unreasonable. I did go to the location in Oceanside later to perform the transaction and when I explained what happened the person at the counter knew immediately which Pep Boys location was being difficult. I didn't even have to tell him where I lived. This is really terrible customer service. My pops used to work at Pep Boys back in the 70s and I always had some loyalty to the brand. This is surely making me rethink my stance. read more

If I could leave no star I would. They have absolutely no communication. The blonde older female wants nothing but to sell sell sell. She is absolutely lost. Financing come first, but they decided to order tires a week in advance and then put them on a 19 y/o truck knowing he could not pay.... Ofc the financing got denied and now they are saying they cannot take the tires they put on and put mine back on. Not even for labor $$. They will not give me my truck until I pay 1500. So I'm out of a vehicle until the check I told them I needed hits. " we will take care of the financing after " hmmmm? read more

The customer service is awesome, and the tech that worked on my car was ok. I would return for the customer service

I was promised excellent service but unfortunately, they under delivered. I'm very disappointed that their effort seems minimal at best. My company vehicle has taken over a week to repair...so far Stephanie - Hometown read more

Pat and Robert are here from when Harry used to own it. I decided to give them a try. They are both very pleasant and easy to deal with. Pat was the man that helped me and took care of my car. He didn't make me get any extra services and even let me know my next big one would be in 5000 more miles. Really appreciated it. Prices are similar to when it was Premier Auto but a little higher. They do have AC and complimentary coffee. I'll keep these guys for my future work too. read more

I took my car in today for an oil change and tire repair. I was called about 30 min later. Cesar B inspected my car he determined my tire could not be repaired because it had a nail in the sidewall of the tire he also reccomened to replace all of my tire. My car is a 2019 with 27,000 miles and my tires are good for 75,000 miles, this made me question the outcome of Cesars inspection. I told them I would replace the tire but I wanted the same tire that was on the car and that could not be provided. I picked up my car and paid for the oil change and air filter. I then took my car to discount tires to get a new tire. Upon inspection of the tire they found that it was absolutely repairable and fixed it at no charge. The tires were inspected and found to have a good amount of tread life on all four. I sat to write this review and pulled out my bill from PEP BOYS to find THEY CHARGED ME $19.99 FOR A TIRE REPAIR. Not only was I lied to about the condition of all 4 of my tires but they charged me for a service that they said could not be done and was NOT DONE. I called the customer support line for help and I feel the only concern was that I was charged for a service that was not done. I am concered that the employee flat out lied to me about my tires condition. The customer service person "Erickson" seemed to have little to no concern about the inegrity of the employee. Maybe...this is how they are trained by the company. read more

Apparently, my review was removed, so I am going to post it again. Pep Boys deserves 0 stars for their lack of integrity,rudeness and attempts to rip us off. We brought our old 2006 Toyota in for an oil change since we were planning to sell it. My husband is on a walker because of Sciatica and Parkinson's and can't drive. We went for yogurt a few doors down,and were called back in about 1/2 hour saying it was done. When we got there, we were informed the oil cap was broken and we need a new one (they probably broke it). Since we couldn't drive home without oil, we let them replace it. It was then that they us they would have to find one, and btw, the pan is rusty. We couldn't leave and had to wait for 2 hours until they got it done, and then told us we owed $500! We agreed to 1/2 the amount, and we were livid since they held our car hostage until we paid them. We were definitely taken advantage of! read more