A simple paid tire diagnosis turned into a $2000+ estimate. Greedy, Unscrupulous business, run by crooks who will lie and deceive to take your money.
This review is For TiresPlus, (Store# 046400) at 10105 Southern Blvd, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411- intersection of SR-7 (441) and Route-80
One fine evening, our vehicle suddenly started experiencing excessive steering vibration which was more pronounced at speeds less than 15mph. Despite alignment and balancing, the vibration persisted. I suspected a broken belt but due to my imminent travel and the vehicle being my wife's daily drive, asked her to take it to a tire shop for confirmation.
She ended up going to this TiresPlus location and paid the shop to diagnose the vibration issue. Within the hour she was looking at a shop estimate of $2000+, on a vehicle that is still under manufacturer's extended warranty until 2020. In shock, she sent me the pictures of the TiresPlus estimate, asking for next steps.
One look at the estimate and I immediately called her to get the vehicle out of the shop, and run, not looking back.
They confirmed that one tire was bad (shifted belt) BUT recommended replacing three (3) tires, indicating that the other two were below the wear bars. The vehicle has 17" regular sized tires on all wheels but TiresPlus recommended REPLACING ONLHY THREE with OVERSIZED TIRES (18") and of course a different tread pattern than the fourth.
Other TOTALLY UNNEEDED recommended Services
- ONE brake LOCKED UP/ NOT MOVING. Recommended replacing TWO calipers and brake hoses
- Leaking Engine oil. Recommended a valve cover gasket replacement
- Synthetic oil change
Al in all, a total of $2000+ for parts & labor
Now I am pretty handy with autos and do most of the routine vehicle maintenance myself. As I had personally replaced the rear brake pads (OEM) a couple of weeks ago and the oil was changed approx a month before that, I knew for a fact that the shop was trying to take advantage of a female customer.
After my wife declared her intent to take the vehicle back home, they started to stall and scare her by saying the vehicle was unsafe, was not driveable (locked brakes) and that she would surely crash it and would be responsible for it. Basically lied through their teeth in order to prevent her from leaving. She however persisted and left, returned home and parked the car until my return. Remember, this was on a vehicle with LOCKED BRAKES
On my return, I rechecked everything again that was listed on the shop estimate.
The two rear tires on the vehicle were replaced last year (were at 5/32), out of which one was bad (belt issue) and the front ones were over 3/32 with no immediate need for replacement.
The purported engine oil leak was an old oil film deposit from an oil spill, a couple of oil changes ago, which had occurred when pouring oil during a refill. It was fairly obvious as it was old dusty dried oil film not fresh oil anywhere around the valve cover.
Removed the tires and checked the brakes and found nothing wrong with the calipers. The wheels spun just fine and calipers moved as expected. Brake fluid was good and at required level. Took it out for a spin and no issues whatsoever other than the annoying steering vibration
Ended up getting the bad tire replaced for free under warranty and $20 later (mounting/balance), everything on the vehicle is good. Also noticed that the buggers did not put the engine cover back. It was just left on top of the engine, fixed that too
This TiresPlus location is being run by some very unscrupulous individuals who will go to any extent to exploit a customer, more so if they perceive the customer to be uninformed and technically non-savvy, more likely if you are a female
I do not recommend this shop. Crooks & thieves here who will lie and scam you for your money. If you have an auto breakdown, this shop should not even be on your list, this is how bad these folks are. read more