Woah, don't even go near this place.
Replaced four tires on a classic vehicle. They didn't have a decent classic tire in stock, and apparently couldn't order any, either, so went with a get-by set of tires to get the car back on the road so could search for a better fit.
Whole job was supposed to be set at a quoted price, but when I went to pick up the car there was some "creative math" going on with the latest version of the invoice.
They claimed the tires cost more than originally quoted, and though they "apologized" for the mistake they refused to honor the original quote. When I asked what my options were to get the originally quoted price per tire they said there was none. They could remove the tires and put the olds back on, and charge me a "restocking fee".
Then noticed they charged $10 a piece for valve stems.
Charged? For valve stems? On a four-tire purchase and mount?
Long ago I worked for one of the big-name tire companies. We would have been laughed out of business if we tried to pull stuff like that with our loyal customer base. But I needed to get the car back on the road and so had to swallow the bitter pill.
Then, about six months later, the problems started:
First, one valve stem sprung a leak & the tire went completely flat - fortunately in the driveway. Pulled the tire myself and took it back in. They argued the whole way, and finally agreed to replace the stem at no labor cost. But when I came back they handed me an invoice with a $15 charge for a new stem?!
I had to argue about it with the on-site "manager", who seemed to finally lose his patience and gave me the stem at no cost as well.
A month later two more valve stems went bad. When I took the two new flat tires in this time & explained that these were supposed to be new valve stems, and that they should last much longer, the tech said, "Well, we live out here in a desert" "stuff drys out and rots." I said, "Yeah, that or the old stems were never replaced with new and I paid for nothing." When I went back and was handed the tires I was also handed another invoice which included a labor charge per tire, and a charge of $15 per valve stem.
Started to argue the charges, again, re-explaining my full experience with their "shop" and asking how they could do this to people. Finally gave up, paid their extortion, and never went back.
When the fourth valve stem blew two months later I took the last tire up to their competition, who didn't charge me a dime for labor or for a new stem. Now THEY have my business; and they have access to real tires, too.
Where's the "negative-stars" button when you really need it? read more
