The Pep Boys

April 26th: I woke up to take my truck to Pep Boys so they could see what the problem was with my truck over heating. I went outside and looked under the truck to see if any fluid may have leaked from the truck to give me some indication to whether or not there was a problem. Upon inspection there were no signs of fluid on the ground; I started up the truck and drove it to Pep Boys (4155 S. Jones Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89103 (702) 362- 3833). I was met by Quinton, I explained to him the situation and he said that he would have one of his service guys check it out. I saw a gentleman working on it and doing different test (he had a blonde flat top) he then told me it was the water pump. I went back and spoke to Quinton and said they would go ahead and change it out and would be ready that evening.

I went back to Pep Boys between 5 and 6pm that night and they told me that the water pump they had put on was defective and that they needed to get another and would work on it Sunday the 27th of April.

April 27th: I called up to Pep Boys to find out the status of my truck; I spoke with a lady by the name of Michelle who told me she sees the ticket and will start working on it as soon as the workers clock in. I went up there about 9 am and spoke to a worker who informed me that the original guy who was working on my truck called in sick and that he would work on it. He told me he was putting in a water pump and that's all the paper work stated to him. About 430 pm I got a call that my truck was ready for pick up. I went to get my truck and then took it across the street to the car wash. Stayed there for about 40 minutes and then head towards the house to pack up the truck and head back to Los Angeles.

As I headed down Jones to the 215 I notice the needle starting to go up, so I drove a little further to see if it would level out. I called Pep Boys and spoke to Michelle and explained to her that the temperature was going up and I thought you guys fixed it? She said they did but she doesn't know why it would be going up. I told her that I needed to bring it back so they can fix it; I got off the freeway to let it cool down and got back on to head back to Pep Boys. I got back on the freeway and the temperature gauge was on the red and shot back to the middle; when that happened I lost power to the engine, the rpms started to drop so I pulled to the shoulder and opened the hood. After opening hood I saw that coolant and water was all over the place, I looked down at the radiator and saw that the lower radiator hose had come off. I then called Pep Boys and explained to Michelle what the situation was and what needed to be done. She explained to me that they were about to close and that they could not wait around and receive my truck. She gave me a number to their tow service; and they came within 30 minutes. He looked under the hood and said it looked like they didn't tighten the hose back up which caused the problem

We towed the truck back to Pep Boys and when we got there Michelle and some of the other workers were just coming out. I asked could we put it in the bay and she explained that they were closed and could not accommodate me at that time and that I would need to leave it in the parking lot.

April 28th: I went to Pep Boys that morning (missing a day of work) and explained the situation to the manager Bill Cherry; he said he would have his guys look at it and see what they can do. I sat there for 2 hours and looked in the bay and my truck was not there so I asked him were they finished and he said that they had misdiagnosed my truck and that it was not the water pump. I asked him so what did they intend to do to right there wrong; I explained to him that it was drivable when I brought it to them and now that they worked on it, it is bad. He said that my engine was made by Mercedes and he is not sure his workers could work on it or even had the tools to work on it. I told him that they needed to correct the problem and all he said was that he could give me back my money and for me to work it out.

He gave me back my money and I asked him to have my truck towed to the nearest Dodge dealer. Got to Dodge and spoke with the service manager Jim Hagar and explained to him the situation. He said he would take a look at it and see what the problem was.

April 29th: Frank called me and told me that the engine was gone and that it needed to be replaced. He also said by Pep Boys working on it and causing damage they had voided my power train warranty. He told me that the cost of such a repair would be $8400.00 and that I would have to pay it.

May 1st: Robin Saunders, area manager from Pep Boys called me to find out what happened; I explained to him the situation and gave him the contact names of the people at Dodge.

May 2nd: Robin Saunders called me back and said that he spoke with the service manager at Dodge and said Pep Boys is not at fault. I thought that was a poor investigation, so I called Jim Hagar and ask if he spoke with a Robin Saunders and he said yes. I asked what did they talk about and how long did they speak? He said, we spoke for about 5-10 minutes and Robin Saunders wanted to know if an 8 cylinder truck could run on 4. I said, is that it? and he said. Yes, that's it. I called Robin Saunders back and it kept going to voice mail and still to this day no call back.

May 12th: Frank from Dodge called me and said he had a little bit of good news. He said they put the engine in and test drove it and the temperature started to go up again so they switched out the thermostat. After doing so they test drove it again and the temperature started to go up so they brought it back and changed out the water pump. They test drove it and everything was fine. He said theY inspected the Pep Boys water pump and found that the impeller on the back side of the pump was damaged. That is what keeps it cool and water flowing. I asked him was that the result of the engine failure, and he said yes. I then called to Pep Boys cooperate to reopen this case.

May 14th: Called Pep Boys today and the situation is not resolved. They said it would escalate it to the Vice President of the district.