My son called me a couple of weeks ago and told me that the "Check Engine"
light was on on his Saturn. I told him to take the car to Advance Auto or Auto
Zone and they would plug in their OBD unit and get a read out as to what was
wrong. He said there was a Pep Boys near where he worked. I told him I
wasn't sure that they did that but he could check.
Well he showed up here with a handwritten list from Pep Boys with about $800
worth of work that they said he needed. That was AFTER charging the boy, who
makes low wages working part-time at a grocery store, $80 TO DO THE DAMNED
TEST!
I looked over the list and they had "Spark Plug Wires" on it--that signaled
to me that it was a scam because it has been just a bit under a year yet that
I replaced the spark plug wires with brand new ones. The list was nothing
but a scam to suck the boy in and steal him blind. I am sure something on the
list may have been a valid problem. One thing that was suspicious was that
they didn't provide a printed list, but a hand-jotted one on a piece of scrap
paper. I would think that for $80 they would have a print-out.
I had no idea Pep Boys was a flim-flam joint. I urge all listers to follow
my lead and stick with known, helpful, service-oriented businesses.
Oh--I pulled his plugs, cleaned and gapped them, and the light has gone out.
He DOES need new plugs and we will do that, but What are we saving? $785?
What scumbags. 8^)
--David C.
|