Pep Boys

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. One morning, a delivery driver pulled up to Pep Boys with an unusual package. As he walked in, he noticed something odd on the counter—a tiny, handwritten sign that read ‘Free Oil Change if Founder’s Ghost Approves.’ Curious, he glanced around and saw another note taped to the wall: ‘He haunts our garage every Tuesday night.’ The delivery driver shrugged and decided to give it a try. That evening, after fixing cars until midnight, he sneaked into the empty garage, lit a candle, and whispered, 'Mr. Pep Boys, I’ve fixed your engines today—approve my oil change?' To his surprise, the engine of his truck purred like never before. He got his free oil change—and ever since then, everyone jokes that old Mr. Pep Boys still keeps watch over his beloved garage.

2. Late one night, a neighbor drove into Pep Boys' parking lot and noticed something odd on the garage door: ‘Emergency Mechanic Available—Ask for Joe.’ Curious customers started stopping by, only to discover no one named Joe worked there. Finally, after weeks of asking around, someone suggested calling an old mechanic named Frank who lived down the street. When he arrived, he casually walked up to the door and said, 'Oh, that’s just their little joke. They’ve been doing it since Bob retired last year.' Turns out, every time anyone asked for Joe, they’d get a free oil change from a regular customer who enjoyed seeing people smile.

3. Late one night, a neighbor drove into Pep Boys’ parking lot and wondered aloud: ‘Why is there a neon sign for “Open” when it’s clearly closed?’ Suddenly, an old mechanic appeared from behind the garage door with a sleepy smile. 'Ah,' he said, rubbing his eyes, 'that's just our new automatic sign. Works on battery power.' The neighbor blinked, then laughed. 'Guess I’ll take my car somewhere else tomorrow!'

4. One morning, as mechanics were settling in for their shift, someone over the intercom announced: ‘Attention, everyone—we’ve got a new customer policy: if your car’s not fixed today, it’ll be here tomorrow!’ Soon enough, every mechanic started racing each other to finish jobs faster. A regular came in with an old rustbucket and left after just half an hour—his car hadn’t even been touched yet! Meanwhile, a delivery driver complained his truck was fixed too quickly, so they had to redo everything twice. The next day, when everyone gathered around the water cooler, one wisecracking neighbor quipped, 'Guess that means our cars are now fixed before we even get here!'