firestone story

[semtex]

We use that firsestone in the mall to do our car stuff for around two years. My wife likes it for obvious reasons. We receive coupons from that car shop regularly. They change the engine oil ,do the FREE CHECKS and remind us what's further work the car need.

This Sunday, another normal shopping Sunday, drop the car, shopping, then my wife got the call from firestone that the car battery voltage is far below requirement. The price to change a new battery is $119.95. For whatever reason, I know the best battery is around $80 at Autozone. Be happy to be a hangy guy, I decide to save the $40 bucks.

So we stopped by Autozone on the way home. Before to purchased a new battery, just courious, I want to know what kind of bad our original battery is. Turn out, it is a very good battery, nothing wrong with it.

Do you guys have samilar experience?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Sears got in a lot of trouble for stuff like that a few years ago.

My bet is that someone started putting sales quotas on the shops to meet certain minimum sales loads for products and services per month. Thats what got sears into hot water...

[samclem]

I stopped using Firestone after they wouldn't honor a warrantee for work done at another Firestone store. "That was a franchise Firestone store, this is a company-owned Firestone store." I went to Firestone largely because I wanted a nationwide warratee, and I got a bunch of BS instead. So, I don't go there anymore. Sams Club for tires, a good independent mechanic for 90% of the stuff I can't do myself, and the dealer only when everything else fails.

[sgeeeee]

Several years ago I used to go to a Firestone store for my tire needs. The husband of a colleague I worked with worked there. One day I went in with my off-road vehicle that had two tires that were badly worn but two that were in good shape. My friend's husband was not working there (it turns out he had gotten angry with managment and quit). I asked that they move my good tires from front to back and put the new tires on the front.

After waiting for the work, I walked out and found the two badly worn tires on the back and two new tires on the front. I pointed out that they had not put the good tires on the back like I asked. They claimed they had. I asked to see the tires they took off. They claimed they had already been taken away to recylce. I walked through the shop to the back where they had old tires stacked up and found my two good tires. Although they appologized and put the right tires back on my SUV, I never went back.

[Gearhead Jim]

One of the quick lube places (Jiffy Lube?) was the subject of a TV news expose' in California a while ago, many of the shops were committing outright fraud, not just aggressive selling. Multiple cases of work that was billed but not performed, etc.

It seems like any type of shop can be run by crooks, I just keep careful track of what's being done (check my name) and why, seems to be ok so far.

[bssc]

We use the Purcells near the house. They have done a pretty good job for us.