My alternator broke 1 1/2 miles from my daughters house in Raleigh. I had to have it towed to Pep Boys, considering it was the 4th of July and I was from out of town, I was sort of stuck. I called them and told them to do nothing until it was checked and out and what it would cost. We knew the belt was broke but my husband was concerned that the power steering pump had frozen up also and wanted to make sure exactly what was wrong. He didn't want just a new belt if that wasn't the entire problem. They called me back and said yes the belt was broken, and since there were 3 belts that ran the car, it was a good idea to replace all three. That sounded logical and we agreed. The price was !87 quoted to us. Three hours later they call to tell me that my hoses were on, but that my radiator was leaking from the top seam really bad, and it was going to need a new radiator, new thermostat three or four more things and the total was approx $1000.00 . I asked them what was wrong with the radiator since it had not run hot, there was no water or radiator fluid on the ground where it was sitting while waiting for the tow truck. They said well it was leaking when it came in and thats what is wrong and it needs to be fixed it cant be driven. We took my daughters car and went there. We found out when we were there that it is not leaking anywhere near the top it is at the bottom. We then find out that they did a pressure test on the radiator that we didnt authorize, never even spoke about anything wrong with the radiator when they called to tell us about the belts. They put so much pressure on the radiator it blew out the little drain cock at the bottom of the radiator and it is pouring out water. #1. They had no business touching the radiator without calling us first. #2. They were rude as hell and t hought they were dealing with someone who was just going to pull a thousand dollars out of her pocket and give it to them. #3, The manager was absolutely useless, he gave me two or three different versions of why and how the radiator was leaking. #4. I am not sure if they delibrately put so much pressure in it it would blow thinking that as a woman stranded out of town I would have no choice but to fix it at there rip offf establishment. I fully intend to find out who the general manager is and talk to him about This. I expect them to pay to have my radiator replaced and If they don't I intend to take them to court. I am sick and tired of these kind of establishments taking advantage of people while being rude and doing unauthorized things that end up costing me money and time that I would not have to have done if they hadn't screwed my car up. I am disgusting and I will fight this for years if I have too. If they don't pay for the repair they caused, I will write letters to the editor, take them to court and send a complaint to the better business bureau. They are a rip off and should be put out of business. Not one good review has been seen on this page. Gee Wonder why not?
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