Stupid muffler place... (chat)

[mtnbike28]

I drove my wife's 98 4rnr after rotating the tires and noticed the wheel shimmy at 55mph. So I make an appointment to take in for an alignment. I tell them the tires have some uneven wear, and I want to fix that before putting on snow tires for the winter. They just called. - They said the tires are the wrong size, vehicle should have 235-75-15, not the 265-70-16 that are on it. I politely (even my wife said I was nice about it) corrected them that it was a stock rim/tire, so they went on and said it needed suspension work. That could be, it has 144,000 miles on the original stuff and then he starts on other suspension stuff, so I asked him, "does that truck have rear leaf springs or coils," just to mess with him.... after a long pause .... wait for this. "Sir, you just have shocks in the rear." OK, thank you I will be by to get my truck shortly..... Jay in NY

 

[taco chaser]

I drove my wife's 98 4rnr after rotating the tires and noticed the wheel shimmy at 55mph. So I make an appointment to take in for an alignment. I tell them the tires have some uneven wear, and I want to fix that before putting on snow tires for the winter. They just called. - They said the tires are the wrong size, vehicle should have 235-75-15, not the 265-70-16 that are on it. I politely (even my wife said I was nice about it) corrected them that it was a stock rim/tire, so they went on and said it needed suspension work. That could be, it has 144,000 miles on the original stuff and then he starts on other suspension stuff, so I asked him, "does that truck have rear leaf springs or coils," just to mess with him.... after a long pause .... wait for this. "Sir, you just have shocks in the rear." OK, thank you I will be by to get my truck shortly..... Jay in NY

Scary, you'd be better off letting my dog work on it !

 

[outsidr]

These are the operations that beat customers up so bad they come into my shop expecting that we know nothing too and are scared to trust us. I must have 30 places around me that are like this. Pay for what you get.....

My favorite thing to do is call the land rover parts, service, or sales department and ask them if the LR comes with locking F&R differentials. The national poll I conduct when I wound up at one is still 50/50 between what is a locking differential and yes, think about that, this is the dealer???

 

[BigAl]

When I bought my 04 F250 it was a leftover. The salesman told me the 05 F250s now had IFS. I asked him to show me and he pointed to the new coil sprung solid front axle. I said that's not IFS, he looked at me like I was an idiot. I said "Okay, how much can you take off for this obsolete suspension on this 04".

 

[The BN Guy]

That is way to frightening. I'd be down there grabbing my truck before they find something else wrong.

I took my wife's Escape in for TIRE ROTATION only. An hour later they tell me the oil needs changing, the power steering fluid needs to be flushed, the air filter needs replacing, fuel injectors need to be cleaned, and the front brake rotors are in need of replacing as well.

Next time I visit NTB I'll tell them to mind their own business...just rotate the tires in twenty minutes or less.:violent-smiley-031:

 

[Martinjmpr]

I've had a couple of bad experiences at Midas to the point now where I refuse to go there. Took my Montero in for a front end alignment and they couldn't get the steering wheel centered - even after I took it back 3 times! IMO those types of places are best for very simple work - new mufflers, new tires, etc. Honestly, I feel more at ease taking the truck into Wal mart for an oil change, at least I know they won't try to sell me something else because they don't have the capacity to do anything more than oil changes and tires.

 

[tacollie]

I took my Honda to a shop for an alignment and they told me I needed about $1200 in repairs. This included the timing belt. They said the belt was dry and cracked. The only way to see it on that car is to basically take the front end off so I asked them why they took the car apart for an aligment. He looked at me like I was an idiot and said if I am so smart why didn't I do the alignment myself. I did the timing belt 20K miles later as prevenative and it was still fine even then. This was from a reputable shop here in colorado Springs. I don't take my vehicles anywhere I don't personally know the mechanics now.

 

[Nullifier]

For the reasons listed above I avoid all chain repair shops, Midas, NTB, Pepboys etc. I usually hunt down small mom & pop shops where the owner is the mechanic not some lackey who just got his drivers license or worse.

 

[buldyourown]

When I went looking at the new Tundra, the salesman was trying to impress on me how big the new truck was. He said, "If it was any longer, you would need a CDL"
I called bull**** on him right there.

 

[The BN Guy]

For the reasons listed above I avoid all chain repair shops, Midas, NTB, Pepboys etc. I usually hunt down small mom & pop shops where the owner is the mechanic not some lackey who just got his drivers license or worse.

And that's exactly what I recently found. Good shop, looks bad but excellent work.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Google "brakes plus" for a real eye opener. There's a reason they offer those low-buck brake specials - it's basically an excuse to get your car in there and tell you it needs $1000+ worth of work. Even if only 1 out of 5 customers falls for it, it's lucrative business for them.

When I had my Subaru, I went onto a couple of Subie forums and found an independent shop that had a good reputation. Being Colorado, the Land of Subarus, there were plenty to choose from. I'm hoping that when/if my Toyota needs major work (it will need a timing belt at around 90k) I can find a reputable shop. IMO dealers are OK for routine maintenance but for expensive repairs I want a second opinion.