JCPenney gave up on auto repair sometime in the mid 70s, if I recall correctly. They sold to Firestone, so most of those Firestones you see by the mall were likely once JCPenney Auto Repair shops. There are two such places in Columbus, one of which has actually outlived the JCPenney at that location.


I knew my knowledge of shopping malls would someday come in handy...

 

JCPenney gave up on auto repair sometime in the mid 70s, if I recall correctly. They sold to Firestone, so most of those Firestones you see by the mall were likely once JCPenney Auto Repair shops. There are two such places in Columbus, one of which has actually outlived the JCPenney at that location.


I knew my knowledge of shopping malls would someday come in handy...

I hereby nominate you for the position of GMI Mall Nobel Laureate.
Seconds?

 

There used to be a seperate JC Penney auto service store near the main JCP store
at the Palm Beach Mall in West Palm in the 80s. It is now a Firestone store.

 

`the last car battery you`ll ever need... $45`

In 1974!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZrNsRextok&feature=related

`the last car battery you`ll ever need... $45`

In 1974!

ha a big investment back then...a few years ago car batteries could be bought new for that but they like doubled in price the past few years.

 

The JCP autocenters flipped to Firestone in my area back in the 80s as well.
I worked for Sears at the time, and they were our main competitor in the Mall. Eventually, our oil change racks were rented out to a nationwide chain, the Die Hard warranties were whittled down to 3 year replacement, and the whole thing went on the cheap.

 

Right. That is why it's good to know something about internal combustion engines or find some auto repair shop you can trust. But even good shops can make mistakes. A combo of knowledge + good mechanics will take you a long way vs knowing zilch about autos. Even with these modern nearly inscrutable machines, the basics are still the basics. Glad that turned out good for you.

 

I worked for the JC Penny Auto Center in Utica NY. The center closed in March of 1983. Any center that was attacked to the store like the one I worked at, JC Penney kept for storage. If the center was a detached center they were sold to Firestone.