This review comes from a couple months ago, to when I had an experience I'll never forget. The check engine light went on in my car and I needed my tires rotated/oil changed, so I made an appointment to get all of that done. 1st Problem: no one told me that the mechanic that checks the engine wasn't working on the day I requested. I went in and had my service, and I left. Shortly after, my car began to shake uncontrollably when I was on the freeway. I asked a friend what the problem was, and he said it was because they didn't rebalance my tires after rotating them. 2nd Problem: How am I supposed to know that I need to do that? I'm a girl who knows nothing about cars. I called them and they said it was an additional $14.95 per tire. I was going to go to a different place to do this, since I really didn't want to return, but the appointment wasn't available for a couple days. Not an issue, I could deal with the shaking until then. BIG PROBLEM: My tire blew out on the freeway. Had to get a tow truck to take me to Pep Boys. TURNS OUT I NEEDED NEW TIRES BUT NOBODY TOLD ME. The mechanic had written notes, but no one relayed the info to me. Aside from the fact that I could have been seriously hurt, they told me they were going to charge me for their mistake. For your own safety, AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS. read more

Pep Boys - My tire blown out on the freeway. - Auto Repair Near Me - Santee, California

UGH! I am part of a Word of mouth community (Smiley360) and they gave me a coupon and gift card to Pep Boys so I could try of Pep Boys and get an oil change. SUCK ASS. It's 11am on a weekday, there are 4 service bays open, 2 of them are being used, the other 2 empty. The store is dead. I was told it'd be 2 hours for an il change. It was free, so why not. My two year old and I set off for a walk, and about 45 minutes later, they call and I ask if my car is done.. Oh, no, they are calling to tell me that my car needs over $900 worth of work. Funny, my regular mechanic who gave me a tune up less than 3 months ago said that my car was running well. And it will be at least another 90 minutes. When we came back to pick up my car, the lady who checked me out was terribly rude and told me that I needed to have them fix a laundry list of stuff ASAP or my car would start falling apart. And she got even snootier when I handed her my coupon and paid with a gift card. So would I go back? Never. Would I trust them with my car? No. One star for re-inflating my front tire that was kinda low. I received a free gift card from Smiley360 for a Pep Boys oil change in exchange for my honest review. I was in no way obligated to write a positive account of my Pep Boys experience, and my review is written entirely in my own words and from my own personal experience. read more

Discovered today, after taking my Honda to another shop for service, that Pep Boys replaced my thermostat last month with a non-Honda or OEM part! Not only that but there was nothing wrong with the original thermostat, it was one of those "oh, you're at 90,000 miles, lets replace your thermostat" deals. They also didn't forget to charge me $160, for a thermostat! This is a $20 part anywhere else. Not ever going back here for service for either my car or my wife's car again! read more

This Pepboys sucks!! Going to Discount Tires next time. I had to get two new tires and the only reason I went here is because you can pick your tires and set an appointment online. I got there at 11 and also wanted an oil & filter change and figured I'd be out by 12-12:30. At 12:30 they let me know that the tires I selected online didn't match. I selected by specific make/model but not a big deal, the big deal was that they hadn't even started yet! Ended up done by 2:30. The actual amount of time to put on tires and do and oil/filter change is ~45 minutes. I don't mind paying a bit more than a mom and pop place if they could get their appointment system down. As of now it's just for show. Imagine if you had a reservation for dinner, but still had to wait 90 minutes to sit.... read more

Every experience I've had at pep boys has been terrible, and this visit was no different. I called up pep boys early at 10:00 AM that I need an oil change at 5 afterwork. The employee was nice and the phone and scheduled me in. I show up at 5 and they were over booked because of online appointments don't take in consideration what their actual store has schedule. The employee I talked to was really cool, but I'm still disappointed in the amount of time it takes to do an oil change especially when I schedules way ahead of time. It took 1 hour and 30 minutes to do the oil change... with an appointment. Lesson learned, don't go to pep boys expecting to get out of there on time. read more

I made a appointment to get my oil changed. They called me an hour before my appointment to tell me they can't do it today. The only options I got was dropped off and we will try to get to it or come a different day. I had an appointment for a reason. read more

Came in to get my tires checked out because it was getting flat...i know that this place is a chain, but gosh, $356 to replace 2 tires on a small car, for generic tires... You've got to be kidding me...it's not a lifted truck or a racing car. Then u tell me that if I find a better price to bring it in and they can match it, oh I'm sorry if I find a better price then I'm going to give those people my business. Geez! At Firestone I can get better quality for less. read more

i went to this location after googling them and making an on line appointment for same day. Diego, was excellent and had great customer service skills "Thanks" . But my only problem is that i ended up paying close to $700 dollars for a break job and an oil change after i found out i could have paid way less for all this after showing the parts and labor receipt to a professional mechanic. All i can about a place like this, please be considerate with your prices with customers and there is no reason for couching people. I'll be sure to take my bussiness else where the next time i need a service for my car. read more

I just want to say that Mario the Service Manager rocks. He gave me an awesome deal and worked with me based on my needs. Originally I wanted to get four tires and a brake job and he handled my request based on situation and driving habits. I had to make a second visit because I needed two filters for my car based on the dealer's recommendations. He handled it right away and set me on my way. Five stars Mario! You rock! Thank you! Happy customer. read more

Pep boys "does everything for less" because they DO NOT do it right!!! How,in today's technological world, do you put the wrong part on a vehicle..?? And have that vehicle back in pep boys shop twice for the same problem and then tell the customer it's something different wrong?? Only $474.00 first go around and now to "fix" problem it will be $725 really??? ........ Now I had 2 mechanics diagnose my car and the "problem" was that pep boys put the WRONG part on my car.... And now it's costing me $300...to not only repair the damages but to also complete the job CORRECTLY!! Speed sensor that's not for my Chevy Equinox damaged my entire hub assembly.. Which could have damaged my wheel baring... So i need new struts and shocks to fix my hub assembly($725.00)...huh pep boys??? WRONG!!! I will update this yelp after receiving my full reimbursement and compensation for the damage done to my vehicles drive mechanisms... WAKE UP!! The old carpenters rule... Measure twice... Only cut once!!! "Pep boys doesn't do it for less..". Pep boys "DOES IT WRONG"!! DO NOT BUY ONE THING THAT PEP BOYS OFFERS!!! read more

I went to Pep boys on Friday night because my car was having a headlight issue and I thought Pep boys could fix it. I thought wrong. They told me that I had an electrical issue with my car without checking my car seeing if it that was the actual issue. Came to find out that it wasn't an electrical issue but that my lightbulb died in my headlight after I went to another mechanic shop and they told me that after they ran their test. So I'm not coming back to this Pep Boys anytime soon. Plus on top the customer service was poor. So yeah I'm no longer going to Pep boys for of my automobile issue or services. read more

Everyone I interacted with was super friendly and helpful and my car was in and out for an oil change (without an appointment) in under an hour. read more

Pep Boys on Mission Gorge Road in Santee is AWESOME. I am so bummed to see so many awful things are being said about it! Everyone is super nice. The store is clean and neatly organized. I love the early bird drop off, it makes my day very convenient. I had quite a bit of work done on my pickup there in December; it cost a little more than I expected BUT I am SO HAPPY with it. Davy Jones (not the one in the locker - ha ha) is one of the service guys and he did a fantastic job. My truck is almost 10 years old but you'd never know it because it runs like a dream! Just this week I dropped off my truck for an oil change. Mario gave me a call and told me I should get a few additional services since I was over 90,000 miles. He explained the work and what the cost would be. He also told me I could wait on having my transmission worked on until after I reached 100,000 miles - he didn't pressure me into having it done that day like some other places have done. Mario and Kenny the service managers are wonderful. They're so friendly and informative. They take very good care of their customers and do it with a smile. I will never take my truck anywhere else!!! P.S. Mario - Don't forget the cookies. :-) read more

Avoid this place at all costs. I called previously to schedule an appointment for my rear brakes and all four tires to be changed. I showed up for my appointment and they told me they only have two of the tires they quoted me for and they were discontinued so they couldn't order more. The female manager at service told me my price would be $600 plus tax compared to the $450 I was originally quoted for. She tried to blame her employee Alexis as being new but that doesn't excuse how you would change my quote after I was given that price. If she would have made it work at that price or offer some kind of reassurance that we could be taken care of, I would have gotten it done. But to tell me sorry, that's it... isn't good enough for a holiday weekend. Took my car to discount tire down the street instead and was given awesome customer service! read more

My husband arrived to our scheduled appointment Eight minutes late. Considering we've been early to all other appointments, and 8 minutes really isn't that much time, that they would be like whatever. Nope. "Late is late" and turned him away. We took our business to Walmart and I'll never visit a pep boys again. Life happens, don't be a jerk ppl. read more

A mystery sound in my car, like a whining, has been bugging me for at least 2 years. It happens so randomly that no one could figure out what the problem was - I had to have seen at least 5 different mechanics and even the dealer. Brought it in to Pep boys in Santee and they figure it out in no time. I was extremely impressed and it was something so simple - lubrication needed not he break pads. They reassured me that there was no long term effect of having been without. These guys know what they are doing! I left a very happy customer! read more

Mario was extremely helpful getting tires for my husbands truck. From start to finish was a wonderful experience. Will definitely be back to get tires on my car. read more

I saw their deal online for an oil change (only 19.99-w00t!) and decided to get it here. THe customer service was great, they were fast (especially for a Saturday). They have a satellite t.v. for when you're waiting, but I ended up browsing around the store instead and getting some much needed seat covers, lol. Everyone there was nice and the store was clean, so yeah. :D I call this place a win. read more

Normally I don't reviews for the day to day places I do business with, but this might be one of those exceptions. I walked in Saturday afternoon to have my truck aligned, also to have it inspected for a noise it makes when steering. I was scheduled for the next day (today). I was told $25 for the inspection which was fine. I dropped off my truck and as I was heading back home from buying lunch I got a call that it was done. Not only was the service so fast but, Gabe, I believe, said they couldn't find what's making noise in my truck and everything checked fine. The $25 was waived, which was really nice of him but also the fact that he was so honest about the whole process. Wish other businesses I deal with were so transparent and honest. Hope to keep doing business there for a while from now on. read more

This is a story about a bad potentially bad experience turning into a good experience. I have a 2002 Mitsubishi Galant and after 10 years, it does require a replaced part every now and then. Hey, it beats a montly car payment. A few weeks ago I had to replace the radiator. I called around a few other auto part stores, some were closed and others did not have one in stock. The Pep Boys in Santee did not have one, but they would have it delivered from another store and they could do the job that day if I dropped my car off by 4:00 pm. I dropped my car off later that day and they said they should have the car ready by 7:00 pm (nice to have a auto repair shop open until 9:00 pm). I recieved a call around 6:45 that my car was ready. A few days later, I noticed a small leak underneath my car. This was the first leak my car has had. Crazy, but the engine has been one of the bright points for my car. The paint job is another story (don't buy a car from El Cajon Mitsubishi). I took it back to Pep Boys in Santee and the service attendant originally wanted to charge me for a fluid leak diagnostic at a cost of $49.95. This was unreasonable to me as I had just paid to have my car fixed and now there was a leak that had never been there and the attendant wanted to charge me to look at my car. The manager on duty, Mario, said that they could take a look at my car if I could come back at a more conveinent time as they were very busy (it was a Saturday). I took my car back on Monday and Jeff was very polite and had my car checked out by a mechanic. They located the cause of the leak and corrected the issue in less than 30 minutes at no charge. The Pep Boys in Santee did a nice job of making a potentially bad experience a good one. read more

Mario Salas and his team provided me with exceptional service. They took care of all of my needs in addition to going the extra mile and offering other services at an exceptional rate. I highly recommend this particular Pep Boys location to my friends, family and new associates. I extend much gratitude to Mario and his awesome team at Pep Boys in Santee, CA for taking great care of me and my car. It is great to know that such wonderful people are out in the world spreading positivity while caring for their patrons on a personal level. Be Blessed Pep Boys Crew! Heather Marie marieheather49@outlook.com read more

AWESOME service!!! Within the last week I've had 3 vehicles in for oil changes. Brandy assisted me the first two time and was professional, courteous and friendly. I couldn't see it but I know there was a smile underneath her mask! Today, Brandy was busy helping someone else, so Mario offered to get me checked in. He was friendly, professional and courteous too. I needed a cap from a Chevy dealer and Mario got it, had it installed and finished my service. Each time I've had an appointment and things went smoothly. I've gone to this location for years and because of employees like Brandy and Mario, I won't go anywhere else. Thank you to all the Santee Pep Boys staff! read more

I had a battery replaced and things went OK so I went back to get brakes done and it was suppose to take 1hr 1/2 and it took 3 1/2 hrs. Then I realized that when they replaced my battery they broke the air filter top. I took it back and they said it was because my car is old. Huh! They didn't take responsibility for the late brake replacement or the filter top. They were a mess! read more

We had car troubles and this place was close by. They were able get us in right away. But the problem is they did not fix the brake light problem even though they said they did. We ended up having to go back the next day. They did fix it but they should have ran the diagnosis test the first day. read more

Came here because my girlfriend's car broke down and it was nearby. We were greeted by Mario and told him briefly what had happened. We informed him that we were in need of a tow and he was willing to pay for half if we called 1-800-pep-boys. We ended up getting a free tow through insurance to get the car to the store. After doing an assessment Mario gave us all the details of what needed to be done and explained everything in detail so that we could understand and make an informed decision! He was able to give us discounts where he could and we were able to get everything done that day! They're very honest with the amount of time it takes for them to complete the tasks and they offer warranties and rewards! Very satisfied with our visit! read more

Mario and his team go above and beyond. As a woman, going to a mechanic is always intimidating. Even though I grew up around cars and my dad and brother taught me a lot, it's still a lot to take in under the pressure of something being wrong with your car. Mario and Humann treated me like they would their own daughter or sister. They showed me what was going on under the hood as well as images and pricing. I felt empowered to make my decision. I also appreciated the way Mario showed confidence in his employees diagnosis. All around a great experience. Would highly recommend. Who would have thought a trip to the mechanic would actually improve my day. read more

I made an appointment to get 4 tires mounted and balanced on my truck. They removed the 4 center caps to take off the lug nuts and when they put the center caps back on, they didn't tighten one good enough. Within 3 or 4 blocks the center cap fell off and got crushed by the car behind me. I contacted them and they started making all kinds of BS excuses but they wouldn't take any responsibility for the shoddy workmanship or to replace the destroyed center cap. That center cap has been on the car for 17 yrs, and it fell off after they failed to fasten it down properly! They refused to do ANYTHING about it! Don't go here, they don't care about customers or customer service! I'm lucky my wheels didn't fall off! They'd probably just say "too bad." read more

We want to thank Mario, the service manager and his team for provoding with a great customer service that my husband I are always pleased with. Make sure to take your car when Mario is there and he will make sure to take care of your needs and your car. We only take our cars to Mario at Pepboy!!! read more

Went in for three new tires and new brake pads. I must also mention that I had a new tire replaced on my car about a week before at this place. After they had replaced my tires, they claimed that my car needed much more work on the brakes. $1300 worth of work, including parts. The one tire mentioned previously cost $130. After they completed their "work", my car was returned to me with a broken emergency brake and a hissing sound coming from the brakes. They claimed the hissing was related to the broken E-brake---this now cost me over $1400. Initially they wanted me to pay for this. I said, "I paid $1400 for my car to be fixed and now it has two brand new issues. You need to make this right". I dropped my car off to be looked at once again, and it took literally 24 hours (friday at 5:30pm- saturday5:30pm) to find out that they had broken my E-brake when fixing my brakes and there was also a hissing sound still coming from the brakes. An employee had actually told me my car would be ready within 30 min- 1 hour after this diagnoses. Even when they knew they did not have the parts to fix it on hand. No one called me back. I called them multiple times to learn that they were doing nothing about my car, and had actually gone on lunch during this time. Why tell me my car would be ready to drive when your going on lunch??? Finally two weeks later, the part arrives to fix my E-brake. They fixed it for free, but there is still a hissing sound coming from under the hood of my car. I will never use a pep-boys ever again---anywhere!!!. Terrible experience... My car still isn't even fixed.. read more

Tiffany was not only professional and helpful, but she communicated as well as any customer service professional could with timely and accurate information. My car's problem was resolved in a time frame that was under-promised, but well over-delivered. I have no problem becoming my network's new spokesman for Santee's Pep Boys auto shop. Well done! www.ReachSanDiegoNow.com - Helping Local Businesses get to Page One so Your Phones Ring More! read more

I have been going to this Pep Boys location for a couple years now & I wouldn't take my car anywhere else. The guys there are so nice! They put a personal touch on the experience & call you by name :) Mario, Freddie & the whole staff are great! I never feel like I'm being taken advantage of, the are fair & follow through with their word. The care about their customers & that's why I keep going back! read more

I had a wonderful experience with a wonderful representative- Mario and Will. Mario was able to explain everything to me and work with what I needed and what I could afford. Over all I was very satisfied and I won't be going anywhere else to get my tires or oil changes. Thanks Mario :) read more

Unprofessional and rude. Front desk employee named Mario Salas did not greet me upon arrival. Instead, he rushed me into what service I wanted and seemed like he hates his job. All I asked for was to replace 1 tire, but I guess that was too much work for him as there were NO customers and the lot was empty. Mario said "well we will need some time to work on it so you can just drop it off." When calling for authorization through the phone, he got upset and said "i dont know why this guy called you, i still dont have a quote for him." His sour attitude and body language obviously told me he was having a bad day and taking it out on me. I will be taking this up to the district manager and let them know Mario's bad attitude with customers is unacceptable. Thank you Mario, from now on we will take our business to another company. read more

First off I go here for oil changes, coupon with semi-synthetic for $35. Recently every time I go there's always a story or a condition with my car that needs fixing. Lol, my car has 250,000 miles on it and it's a Honda Civic it's going to have a leak here and there also the check engine light is always on and that problem has never been brought to my attention, questioned and they never even ran codes on it but they bring up my car that just got new tires a month prior need 2 new tires and they can't rotate them because of the ware, they measured at an 8. Than we bought 4 new tires for my wife's car from there and when we took in for an oil change 3,000 miles later the guy told us we needed a new tire but little did he know we got the tire from them,, he was trying to sneak in a tire sale but than tried backing up on his story that we needed a tire after he has to own it. The place is 100% shady and I say this after years of going there, I mainly go there for a laugh because it's a joke when they come back with some dishonest Inspection.. Ready for this one.... after my wife got the 4 new tires I wanted her car aligned and the alignment tech told me he did the alignment but could only align 3 of the tires??? WHAT! Hahaha, than why call it an alignment, doesn't defeat the whole definition. They tried charging me for it and there was another laugh. My oil sensor was bad and they wanted to charge me $130, so I went to the parts counter bought it for $7 and than asked them to install it and he said they can only install their parts but before this I asked him what the labor was and he said if I bought the part he would 'take care of me' and do it for free. So here I stand with the part bought from pep boys and now him saying it was goin to be $90 labor. Hmmmm what else,,,, when they changed out my wife's tire that they said was bad they didn't want to give me the old tire and I know why... it's was a brand new tire and they wanted it but I wanted it as a spare and than they charged me for a tire recycle fee after also charging me a mount and balance fee when the tire was under 'mount and balance warranty' of 90 days. Of course I let him charge me for it so I can sit on it for a day and bring it up to the district manger tomorrow, it's seems that they try and pull fast ones on my or my wife every time and I feel sorry for any elderly person or some that has trust in everyone because business's like this is what makes people not trust mechanics or shall I say labors, there not mechanic, there not ASC certified. That's another thing I asked one of the workers there if he was ASC certified and he maybe looked 25 at the oldest and he said he was but he it's been expired for a couple years... so how long does that certification stay good for??? I asked him,, crickets..... If you make an appointment you'll never be on time or even close and the excuse EVERY SINGLE TIME is 'I just had 2 guys call out sick. No joke it's always the same '2 guys story'. Here another one my wife's oil canisters cracked and that's why it leaks oil, every single other oil change place has pin pointed the problem but never came up there radar, never brought up that our check engine lights are on, always forgets to top off the fluids, brand new tires always need replacing, dishonest repairs and quotes. I even got a different receipt for my wife's tire and faulty alignment than they had on file. I guess they fired the woman that tried charging us for a 3 tire alignment and falsifying the receipt to reflect different notes and warranty than the one I had, our receipts didn't match, same day, same time just different notes, should of caught to before I signed it but the guy was speechless that was also after he was speechless when I opens his mouth about the tire and than realized they were the ones that are eating the cost. Also go ahead and let the 'buy 3 tires and get the 4th one free' sales pitch work on you,, do the math and you'll realize your well paying for that 4th tire if not a little more,,, they price match which is way better of a deal, the reason we got my wife's car done there is because they quoted me $520 for the same tires service discount tire quoted me $312, I told them if they can beat that price you can keep my car up on the rack and do the tires which did need to be done and they scrambled and huffed and tried making excuses but ended up doing it for $297. Ok you get the jist, don't send your wife, yours kids or any uneducated gullible friends here.. PERIOD! read more

I picked this store from eBay, where I bought my tires. This was not my first time going there. The previous times I was overall happy with service. I have prepaid for the tire installation on eBay but service manager Mario was not willing to honor that. I ended up paying out of pocket and requesting refund from eBay. After installation I have noticed vibration at highway speeds, which prompted me to call back since the balancing is warranted for 90 days and there was no vibration with old tires. On top of that they have reported 160k miles on my vehicle to carfax and I only had 130k. I was not welcomed when I came back. Mario proceeded to tell me that we don't drive 80mph and that my tires where cheap and I should have expected issues. Even thought nothing was brought up to me when I originally picked up my vehicle. They did check my tires and came to conclusion that they where out of round, I wish I was told that before they where installed. The carfax report still shows 160k and was not fixed. I myself work in the customer service industry and I would describe Mario's customers skills as poor. read more

But hubcaps only to find out from the service manager they wouldn't work on my car but he was kind enough to switch out the bad one with the good one really great customer service going to be my new auto Store from now on read more

Kevin replaced the battery in my car last minute and saved our family's day.. Great staff team effort, we'll be back for sure.. Big Mahalo .. read more

Pep Boys Santee always provides the best service! I've taken several cars there and Mario the manager always takes great care of my husband and I! He's honest and always tries to get you the best pricing on parts. If you need your car serviced take it to Pep Boys Santee and ask for Mario! read more

Mario rocks ! I would say give this man a promotion but nah, that would mean he would leave this place. The Santee location is far superior to the one in Lakeside, this is from experience. Shocks, struts, tie rods, alignment done on my car about an hour ago, driving off I noticed the difference. Well done! read more

My friends came down from LA and their car stopped working. Pep Boys was one of the very few places that was opened. Chloe was the one who assisted us. Their diagnostics are only $15.99. Not all mechanics are available on Sunday. Which was unfortunate as the issue with my friends vehicle needed a specific mechanic that they would not have until the next day. Chloe was helpful and tried to help out as much as possible. read more