Pep Boys To Provide Service / Maintenance

[DeereMan]

Just my 2 cents from a Service Manger's perspective. We sell large "Green" golf and sports turf machines that have recently undergone a major revamping of the platform for this size equipment which included the dreaded Tier 4 requirements. Until Deere had all the pieces in place, we could not even get our technicians trained in the new platform. It was about 2 months before the product release date before we were given any training on the product because all of the training materials and cut away machines and so forth were not in place. Even then, some of what we received was tentative depending on final product specs. We have to wait for the machines to fully assembled, moved to a training facility, operated and evaluated and then the technicians can start to learn in a training environment. As for PEP Boys not knowing abut the Elio at any given location, I have 2 locations within 10 miles of my house and they are building a third right now. I am not sure if their technicians hang around long enough for the management to worry about telling them. If I were looking at being the service provider for an up start company, I would probably wait until I was positive that the whole deal was going to happen before I worried about spreading the word to my facilities. Tim, I agree with your thoughts on this, I have just been on this side of what takes place in this situations. As for me, I will let PEP Boys do whatever warranty work may be needed, but I don't foresee them doing any regular service or rep[air work on anything I will own.

 

[LockMD]

Don't worry about it, guess it was my fault for walking into the pep boys and asking something about a company i invested in and didn't want to start WWIII, will just keep my mouth shut and wait till the end and see what ever happens.

No don't shut your mouth on my account........if you don't know who Wayne Kemp was......then you wouldn't see the humor. Sorry to poke fun at your expense, I just couldn't resist.

 

[tim]

No don't shut your mouth on my account........if you don't know who Wayne Kemp was......then you wouldn't see the humor. Sorry to poke fun at your expense, I just couldn't resist.

is ok, don't worry, i have thick skin, guess i should be glad i am not Wayne Kemp

 

[tim]

Just my 2 cents from a Service Manger's perspective. We sell large "Green" golf and sports turf machines that have recently undergone a major revamping of the platform for this size equipment which included the dreaded Tier 4 requirements. Until Deere had all the pieces in place, we could not even get our technicians trained in the new platform. It was about 2 months before the product release date before we were given any training on the product because all of the training materials and cut away machines and so forth were not in place. Even then, some of what we received was tentative depending on final product specs. We have to wait for the machines to fully assembled, moved to a training facility, operated and evaluated and then the technicians can start to learn in a training environment. As for PEP Boys not knowing abut the Elio at any given location, I have 2 locations within 10 miles of my house and they are building a third right now. I am not sure if their technicians hang around long enough for the management to worry about telling them. If I were looking at being the service provider for an up start company, I would probably wait until I was positive that the whole deal was going to happen before I worried about spreading the word to my facilities. Tim, I agree with your thoughts on this, I have just been on this side of what takes place in this situations. As for me, I will let PEP Boys do whatever warranty work may be needed, but I don't foresee them doing any regular service or rep[air work on anything I will own.

good point of the high turnover with them, some are not too mechanically inclined or do not care, my daughter took her civic there for tires and they left lug nuts loose and wheel came off when she turned into the driveway. went back and was gonna smash somebody's head into the wall and they really didn't care, but they did give me 3 new lugnuts. That is why i worry of Pep boys working on them in the first place. Any competent person can work on them with a service manual anyhow. all you have to do is care and have common sense. When i get mine (notice i said when) i will only go there for what is needed and rest i will do myself.

 

[Anion]

I think I might just take mine into my local Harley Davidson Dealer... they seem to work on anything I give them as long as I pay out the WAZOO... But hey, they don't care if they never heard of it and it always gets fixed right!!!

 

[cortsdad2]

Please let us know of your experience and mention the Elio to see if your local PB has awareness of the PB partnership and/or the Elio.

As a matter of fact, there were no problems with the tire purchase... at the store anyway but the online experience trying to order the tires was frustrating and less than a great experience.

I did ask if they knew what an "Elio" was and the first guy had no idea but the second guy behind the counter did know of it, knew it was a three wheeler and he knew Pep Boys was going to be Elio's service reps. He said they were going to be getting training but didn't know when... he seemed to think training was going to start soon and I got the impression that he thought these things were already on the road!. I told him that production wasn't even going to start until next fall, which was news to him. It was nice to hear that a Pep Boys employee had at least heard a whisper about our beloved little vehicles.

 

[eddie66]

is ok, don't worry, i have thick skin, guess i should be glad i am not Wayne Kemp

Good to hear you have thick skin Tim. It's hard to tell when people are kidding when it is in text but it's all in good fun as we all wait for the same answers. If you type Pep Boys into the search box, you would find 200 posts on the subject, and another 350 under Pep Boys to provide service and maint. You would have gotten the same response if you had restarted the Elgin dash or which side the gas tank fill tube is on, thread. We really do enjoy your input.

 

[grampi]

I think even up here in Maine Pep Boys will be getting plenty of business as a result of servicing Elio's.

EM has a great business model and product, especially after watching the NBC news last night which had a story about the new Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen powered car which will go for the tidy sum of $57,000.... I'm all for alternative energy, however most traditional auto makers don't seem to understand we need bridge vehicles like Elio to get us thinking differently and begin to wean us off petroleum and with the understanding not everyone wants or needs big cars with big prices. If Pep Boys is at the front of a sea change in American driving/buy habits along with Elio, they'll probably do really, really well.

Elio is doing something no one else has done...produce a vehicle that achieves super high MPGs while keeping vehicle costs very reasonable...seems like any time one of the automakers comes out with something new, no matter what it is, or how big or small it is, it's outrageously expensive. Sorry, but I refuse to pay 50 grand for this Toyota, the Volt, or the Leaf. These technologies are great and necessary, but they've got to figure out how to get the prices down...and I mean WAY down! I refuse to buy a vehicle that costs half as much as a house!

 

[cortsdad2]

Okay, guys. First, it will still be about a year for the first production Elio to come off the line. Until the vehicle is totally completed, a service manual cannot be produced. Wiring schematics, engine and transmission diagrams, technical notes, etc., etc., cannot be imagined. It's a realtime project.
That said, NOTHING in the Elio is new technology. It's a simple overhead cam engine with cam setting varied by oil pressure, simple front-wheel drive with ordinary CV joints and axles, that back wheel will have a wheel bearing in it much like others we've all pulled and repacked or it will be a sealed bearing never needing servicing, etc.
I was a telephone technician for 20 years, working in carriers, microwave towers, digital office equipment, etc. I was trained to be a technician. That means I learned how to read circuit descriptions, circuit diagrams and repair manuals, and to use test equipment. With that training I could repair ANYTHING a phone company had.
A good mechanic of today knows how to attach a computer analyzer up to a car, and knows how to repair all those things that make up a modern car. The most difficult repairs are linked to engineers that simply MUST add modern digital electronic components to everything automotive.
In short, any decent mechanic should be able to repair an Elio, so the biggest requirement I see ahead will be making sure PB stocks parts for Elios so that repairs don't require waiting for parts. And, if common parts are used, that won't even be a big deal.

Since Elio is using common parts... PEP Boys may already be stocking some of our Elio parts! What more could anybody ask for??? LOL!

 

[ElioDigger]

Their employee turn over is probable high