PEP Boys,,turning into a "Toy's-R-US"???

[69smach]

Just wondering if those of you that have pep-boys auto parts stores(and i use that term "parts" loosely) in your area have the same changes going on as here in Louisville.I have a friend that is "in the know" with thier parts people,,and I do have a commercial account with one store here too,and within the last 3 weeks or so,,the store on Breckenridge Lane (thier main hub here),has turned into a toy and candy store as soon as you walk in the front doors.I'm not talking about eye-candy either,,,i mean whole racks of candy bars,gum,etc. Not to mention all the China made crap,,like the 40 scooters lined up at the front aisles,,cheap tool boxes,rags,and the list goes on and on.The availability of rattle can paint has diminshed to the point of pointless(seems the location in Indianapolis stocks plenty),,they moved the small rubber hose rack to the back out of sight due to it bieng "ugly",,it formerly sat next to the still-filthy battery testing station that remains out front. Then while questioning all these obvious wrong decisions they are making,,,the friend shows me a memo from thier home office up north,,it states that while thier base salaries in commercial parts and service "may" remain safe for awhile,,,the commisions of them and the outside salesmen are bieng drastically "adjusted" to increase the profitability of each division,,and in the whole,,everyone "should" be making more money in the end. Yeah,,right,,,here we go AGAIN. Now,,i should explain that the friend of mine there is one hell of an ace when it comes to pulling a rabbit from the hat,,he knows what crosses over,,doesn't matter if it's late model junk,,,or stuff for our vintage cars,,,the guy is just born with the tallent,,and is a rare find these days at a place like that.Deal is,,,Pep-Boys refuses to stock much anymore,,,and he and I both know that the stuff is out there to be had,,not just for them,,but for ALL the chains that want to stock the parts. AutoZone sure as hell does.They have come a LONG way just in the past few years of upgrading thier inventory and quick-find system.To me,,,at least where i am here in Louisville,,the writing is definatly on the wall for Pep-Boys,,,I,m not advocating Autozone by any means,,I still cringe when i have to walk in one of thier stores and deal with mister zero-personality behind the counter,,,but it is very clear in this market who will be the major "player" within a couple of years. Pep-Boys HAD a decent parts store,,and i do know the markup on a good percentage of their parts,,they had to be making money,,but some higher up paper-punk has decided to go a different direction and not only ruin it for customers,,but for the many dedicated "associates" that work for them.I know they make a killing on those tool boxes,sodas and rags and candy too,,but if thats the way they want it,,so be it,,just change the name on the front of the building to "Accesories,Tires,,and TOYS". Hope some of you across the U.S. can reply to this thread and let us know what else is going on.I don't even know if "Manny,Moe or Larry" from pepboys still exists ( or whoever the hell they were),,but maybe someone should make the phone call. Might save a few jobs.

[JTCope]

Been that way for years here in CO. I won't even go in there unless it's to dump off used oil since my NAPA store doesn't have a oil recycle service.

[79cobraII]

news outta New York:

in regards to pepboys, some things are the same, They started selling little scooters and bikes and R/C cars in the front of the store, so it has turned into toys R US when you walk in.

Our paint section is actually quite large, but good luck finding the manager with the key to it. Must be why they have so much paint stock since you can't open the door to access it.

They have attempted to greatly increase there hardware section, however they are not maintaining it.
They just re-outfitted the hardware section with nice neat drawers having ever fastener available. This is very similar to how lowe's or Homedepot handles nuts and bolts. Except with in one month there is nothing left in the drawers and nobody is restocking them. making them worthless.

The Help section has been the same since the beginning of time i don't think anyone have ever bought anything from that area of the store since 1985.

They are always out of various engine and transmission fluid, Its pretty funny walking to the back of the store and just seeing an Empty rack under the mobile/valvoline signs. But they have plenty of windshield wiper fluid.

the have an old i would call V8 section at the front of the store, basically no stock , left over chevy 305 and 350 bolt ons that nobody uses, everything is covered in dust. I once found an old school accel coil in there for 10$ and i snatched it up.

HUGE section for truck accessories, HUGE ricer section neon lights, led bulbs, and all manner of junk.

Parts department only stocks newer cars, and just the basics, everything else is special order. they have 2 guys that seem to know what they are doing, but never have anything.

they have a full service department in the back with about 15 Bays built in everything from oil changes to radio installs. I've never seen anyone in there and they bays are always closed when i pull in.

Basically i use them for Small quick items, and hit them up for the car detailing materials.
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So basically I've noted they turned into a toy store also. They never restock anything, and are always out of most basic things. As far as my neck of the woods when it involves my old Ford, everything is mail order now. When you have a 16 year old kid telling you they may have points over by light bulbs its time to cut and run.
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My town basically caters to Trucks and Vans, lot of general contractors in my neck of the woods.
Anytime i need plumbing fittings for fuel or brakes, you have to go to Mom and pop shops because that is really all they ever have. everything is always covered in dust, and the only reason they have brass fittings is because nobody stepped in he door for 15 years. its sad but they never have anything else for fords. its always chevy van parts.

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The NAPA we have I've labeled the worst NAPA in the universe and i try to avoid it as much as possible even if its a block away. that store has a new owner each week. has no stock and basically has bins of Close out items for 5$ which makes up the entire store. I know they do business with the local lawncare and diesel trucks. but the place is always closed when i drive by and the weekend hours appear to be from 12pm - 1pm. So F them.
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I've always had pretty good luck at AutoBarn. The staff is made up of nasty old retired people that talk down to you. but the store is pretty well stocked.
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The autozones around here, simply consist of car detailing, and Ricer kits and thats all. they never have staff that know anything about cars in the parts department. Huge rows of Boxes and nobody knows whats inside them, Like the end of "Indiana Jones" in the goverment warehouse.

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in my area its either mail order or your driving all day looking for something.

Last week i went to 5 auto stores and 2 sears and lowes and home depot looking for 10-24 theaded bolts and a set of 6 Point sockets. and I ended up getting it all from Mail order anyway

unfortunately the 3rd party service industry continues to fall away and you end up with more and more toys to sell.

Heck go into any Radio Shack today(they renamed it "THE SHACK" and try to find electronic chips and diodes. you will find they are basically a Cell phone and TV store now.

[John_Del]

Just another symptom of WalMart syndrome. WalMart (and stores of their ilk) sell everything, including autoparts and accessories. Specialty stores (like auto parts) sell high profit items that don't appear to fit their business models, but do it anyway. Can't blame them, and it's harmless unless it affects their core businesses.

John

[guruatbol]

I stopped using Pep-Boys before I moved to an area that doesn't have one because I didn't speak enough spanish to get what I needed! Oh, and I speak enough spanish to get pretty much what ever I need in Mexico.

The place turned into a crap store with crap parts and staff that were rude!

The last stuff I got from them was in Buena Park, CA across the street from Knott's and I just needed fuses and some cleaning supplies....The cashier was just a witch with a capital B!

Mel

[DRAGPAK428]

The Pep Boys in northern illinois is still an excellent place to get what you need, they are in big time competition with autozone and advance auto parts down the road. We are pretty spoiled out here, we also have the largest Napa in the midwest supposedly.

[pdupler]

More and more I am shopping on the internet. Not just because of convenience, but because I can't ever seem to find anything I want locally anyway (and its not like I live in a small town). Not just auto parts, but damn near everything except groceries. I can't get clothes that fit. Can't even get air conditioning filters the right size at Home Depot or Lowes. Can't get tools other than common wrenches and sockets. Certainly can't get anything of high quality. Car parts I gave up getting locally about ten years ago. I only use the local auto parts stores for fluids, cleaning products and mabe a can of spray paint now and again.

[aslan]

If they had a really good sale I wouldn't step foot in one! They SUCK! A bunch of minimum wagers who couldn't give you advice on your red wagon! And now, here's what I really think. . .
(This review is for the local one in San Leandro, CA. only) LOL
Stan

[sixteenpushrods]

We have autozone (toys are us), advance (the parts who*es) and oreilly who is basically copying the other two. NAPA is fine, but they always have to order early Mustang parts. Carquest is going out of business or being bought by advance. I'm not sure which.

[obsidianspider]

It's been like that for years near me. For most of my parts I deal with the Ford dealer or an independent shop. Some things like wiper blades I'll get from AutoZone or Advanced.

[69smach]

From what info he has told me,,thier HQ offices i think are in Philly.Not gospel about that though.It's just a damn shame that these places come in,,put family bussinesses out,and screw up because of some geek decision.I can see they are trying to increase the "bottom line",,here we go again,,,but in this market here,,they will be gone within 2 years if not sooner.I was looking this morning at the fittings and stuff you guys were talking about on the replies,,yep,,thier there all right,,,right next to a huge carded see-through display of acorn nuts and cheap China "guaranteed-to-rust-tommorow chrome fasteners.Thing that blew my mind this morning,,,get this,,,,2 chrome acorn nuts,1/4-20 threads,,2 in the blister pack,,,,,,8.99 !,,I couldn't belive what iwas looking at.Louisville is already financially broke,,due to all the good jobs gone,,how in the hell do these people at thier headquarters think they will sell this junk for that kind of money?? It just amazes me at the decrepit decisions bieng made still,,,,that they haven't learned from previous mistakes and failures.That building used to have a Zayre's store in it,,,,maybe we need to re-invent Zayre's name and start selling car parts too.Zayre's was another great store in this area that went belly-up when it was bought out in the 1980's. Woolco,,woolworths,Grant's,Arlans,winn-Dixie,Stewarts,Shillitoe's,western Auto,Toohey's auto supply,and the list goes on and on of stores that have gone due to bad decisions.

[FordDude]

Sorry I have not been into a peepboys in years. I had a German Shepherd that I would take with me everywhere. She was highly trained. My SWMBO worked at CHOC (childrens hospital of orange county) and did volunteer work in the pet therapy program. Our Shepherd was the pilot dog in the program. So to say that she was well mannered was an understatement. I would always look for the sign at the entrance with the dog and a diagonal line through it, meaning no pets inside. They did not have one. I had been in there many times before with her. I was buying something, and had it in my hand, but still looking around. Some female manager come up to me and said that I cannot have my dog in the store. I said fine, put what I had down right there and left the store and not been back since. fd

[sigtauenus]

I shop at Autozone regularly, they seem to have the most stuff on hand. For anything that has to be ordered I just buy online.

Noticed the Pep Boys here in VA Beach merging with ToysRUs a few years ago.

[EastCoastClassic]

I look at Auto parts stores the same way I look at Home Improvement stores,If you walk into one needing help/advice,You're Fu@ked.

That Said I don't have many of the big ones near me.I actually prefer them because of their websites,I figure with the age of my cars no matter what I need ,It will have to be ordered anyway so I like a website that allows me to look up the parts,walk into the store with a printout and order what I need.Mom and Pop stores used to be cool until I started getting hit with the "Our books don't go back past 1978" Bit.When I tried to look up stuff creatively it would seem like I was ruining their day.Anyhow I found some great stuff through Autozone a few years back and I got grand fathered in on some phenominal Lifetime warranties(fuel pumps,water pumps,alternators, Kelsey Hayes Four piston Calipers @$45 each),so I'm happy about that.I also dig the loan a tool programs that they have.

The last time I asked someone at a store to look something up(I kind of did it because I was bored and needed a laugh) it was something to do with a dual exhaust for a 66 Mustang .The guy looked at his computer and said "Ford never made a Mustang with a Dual exhaust until 1972" .I looked at him and asked if he knew anything about Mustangs? He said oh yea I own a 96 G.T. I said then I assume you've heard of a 69 or 70 Boss 429? He was like Hell yea. I said ok so you're telling me that those left the factory,with a single exhaust? He saw my point.My closing comment was don't believe everything you read on that computer.

[Intruder196]

Originally Posted by 79cobraII

Parts department only stocks newer cars, and just the basics, everything else is special order. they have 2 guys that seem to know what they are doing, but never have anything.

That reminds me of the TV commercial Pep Boys was running several years ago. It was the one where some guy returns to the parts counter multiple times to ask for obscure parts for cars nobody owns anymore (like the AMC Pacer). Everytime the parts counter guy would say "got it". That commercial used to realy tick me off because at the time my main ride was a BMW 320i. And I knew from experience they did NOT stock parts for mine, maybe air and oil filters, but that was about it.
That commercial didnt last long. I wonder if it had anything to do with truth in advertising.

But it sounds like Pep Boys is turning into Western Auto. I recall they sold stuff other than purely car related stuff. That didnt seem to work out for Western as all the stores in my local area have long since closed down.