Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them. Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage, and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.

It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes in fifth.

On 7/13/2016 12:42 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.



Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

On 7/13/2016 9:42 AM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.




sounds to me like you need new tires all around.

wrote:
On 7/13/2016 12:42 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.


Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

At least they didn't charge for fixing the flat. They watched me typing on the phone so that might have made them think I was giving a bad review.

He touched each tire with his thumb and forefinger just to satisfy himself that he checked, then showed me on a chart how worn out my tires are, and why I need new ones.

I have a problem with impulse buying and almost said go ahead, even though it was just last summer I got new tires. The word "new" is appealing. "NEW". Doesn't that work make you feel good?

Oh well, now I need to go out and flush the radiator and put in new coolant. It's been 108 degrees here and running the air conditioner makes the radiator boil over.

On 7/13/2016 1:55 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 7/13/2016 12:42 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.



Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas used to do this to me many years ago. Are they still in business?

On 2016-07-13 3:48 PM, Frank wrote:
On 7/13/2016 1:55 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 7/13/2016 12:42 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.



Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas used to do this to me many years ago. Are they still in business?

They are in Canada, one just up the road from here.

--
Froz....

On 7/13/2016 12:42 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.



I've had problems like this. With AWD tires, you must replace with same
size as others and last time I bought an extended warranty.
Flat on a Sunday and shop was closed so I had repaired elsewhere. Tire
company would not honor warranty so I paid and told the shop that sold
them to me. They repaid me.

Nissan dealer years ago could not find slow leak under warranty but tire
repair shop found a nail in the tire and repaired. Guy I knew that ran
a dealers repair shop says they ignore the small stuff as there is not
enough profit in it.

Other tire dealers would base warranty on depth of tread. If half the
tread was gone, they paid half, even if everybody knows tread wears much
faster when new and slows down later.

On 7/13/2016 3:48 PM, Frank wrote:
On 7/13/2016 1:55 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 7/13/2016 12:42 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.



Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas used to do this to me many years ago. Are they still in business?


We have a winner.

There are still several in my area, though this wasn't the area where it
partook. Regardless, I never recommended them to anyone.

On 7/13/2016 5:23 PM, Meanie wrote:


Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas used to do this to me many years ago. Are they still in business?


We have a winner.

There are still several in my area, though this wasn't the area where it
partook. Regardless, I never recommended them to anyone.

I don't trust any of the chain tire/repair/oil change operations. I'm
sure some are honest and do first class work, but many are looking for
the fast and easy buck. I've heard too many complaints over the years.
Best to find a good local shop.

On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 10:55:39 AM UTC-7, SBH wrote:
On 7/13/2016 12:42 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.



Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas?

On Wed, 13 Jul 2016 11:42:48 -0500, "cowabunga dude"
wrote:

Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them. Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage, and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.

It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes in fifth.

Back when I was working in the trade there was an add for a licenced
automotive technician for a "management position". I answered the ad
and went for an interview. The question that the interviewer kept
coming back to was "can you sell?" I told him I had no problem
explaining what was wrong with a customer's car and selling the
required repairs. Again "Can you sell?" I then told the interviewer in
no uncertain terms that I would NEVER work for a crook who ripped off
every customer that came in the door. I told him I could make a lot
more money seeing every customer the second and third time than by
taking every cent they has the first time round.
A few months later the shop was closed and the owner behind bars
charged with numerous counts of fraud (both customers and suppliers, I
later found out)

The chain tire stores used to be the worst. I had installed new ball
joints and shocks on my '63 Valiant and cranked down the torsion bars
and took it in to Firestone for their "alignment special". Back then I
think it was $9.95. They told me they could not align the front end
because the balljoints were "almost falling out" and it needed (at
that time) several hundred dollars worth of work on the front end.
I told the manager he better fire his mechanic if he couldn't
recognize a set of brand new Moog ball-joints and I took the car
elsewhere for the alignment. At the time the shop I worked for did not
have an alignment machine.

On 7/13/2016 7:18 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 7/13/2016 5:23 PM, Meanie wrote:


Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I
will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal
wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas used to do this to me many years ago. Are they still in business?


We have a winner.

There are still several in my area, though this wasn't the area where it
partook. Regardless, I never recommended them to anyone.

I don't trust any of the chain tire/repair/oil change operations. I'm
sure some are honest and do first class work, but many are looking for
the fast and easy buck. I've heard too many complaints over the years.
Best to find a good local shop.

Agreed. I also prefer to give my money to the independent business man
who relies on a honest days work than a chain with greedy CEO and
corporate administrative personnel.

On 7/13/2016 7:18 PM, Shade Tree Guy wrote:
On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 10:55:39 AM UTC-7, SBH wrote:
On 7/13/2016 12:42 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them.
Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got
the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage,
and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The
price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to
keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It
seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or
not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.
It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I
don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes
in fifth.



Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas?


It's not as much of a secret as I thought.

On Wed, 13 Jul 2016 19:31:04 -0400, wrote:



The chain tire stores used to be the worst. I had installed new ball
joints and shocks on my '63 Valiant and cranked down the torsion bars
and took it in to Firestone for their "alignment special". Back then I
think it was $9.95. They told me they could not align the front end
because the balljoints were "almost falling out" and it needed (at
that time) several hundred dollars worth of work on the front end.
I told the manager he better fire his mechanic if he couldn't
recognize a set of brand new Moog ball-joints and I took the car
elsewhere for the alignment. At the time the shop I worked for did not
have an alignment machine.

I took my '66 F-100 to a Firestone to get 2 new tires and they had an
alignment special going on, so I told them to do that too.
When I paid for the work and picked it up a couple hours later, I
ducked under it and saw they hadn't touched the tie rod ends - the
nuts were still grungy.
I went back inside and told the manager they hadn't done the
alignment. He went to talk to the mechanic, came back and told me
they didn't have the equipment to do the alignment on twin I-beam.
Showed him my invoice where it said clear as day "Alignment $15.00."
Of course he refunded the 15 bucks.
That was the first and last time I was in a Firestone.

On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 4:50:05 PM UTC-7, SBH wrote:
On 7/13/2016 7:18 PM, Shade Tree Guy wrote:

Midas?


It's not as much of a secret as I thought.

(snickering)

On 7/13/2016 6:49 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 7/13/2016 7:18 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 7/13/2016 5:23 PM, Meanie wrote:


Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I
will
withhol

[snip]


There are still several in my area, though this wasn't the area where it
partook. Regardless, I never recommended them to anyone.

I don't trust any of the chain tire/repair/oil change operations. I'm
sure some are honest and do first class work, but many are looking for
the fast and easy buck. I've heard too many complaints over the years.
Best to find a good local shop.

Agreed. I also prefer to give my money to the independent business man
who relies on a honest days work than a chain with greedy CEO and
corporate administrative personnel.

Agreed, but there is a downside. Generally both the small, independent
shop and the "biggies" like Midas, et al. will get the job done. Not
infrequently, you can drive in to either without an appointment, get the
work done and pay through the nose.

OTOH, I've been fortunate to find some truly good one and two man shops
where an appointment is pretty much always necessary for anything other
than an oil change (if you're lucky) and they are usually so backed up
with work that getting an appointment will take you a couple days to a
week. The job gets done very well and quite reasonably with no padding
or screwing around. That's WHY you have to wait to get in the door. g

Strangely, these places generally don't seem to spend a lot of money on
advertising. Word of mouth seems to do them just fine.

On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 12:43:02 PM UTC-4, cowabunga dude wrote:
Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them. Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage, and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.

It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes in fifth.

On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 9:28:41 PM UTC-4, Shade Tree Guy wrote:
On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 4:50:05 PM UTC-7, SBH wrote:
On 7/13/2016 7:18 PM, Shade Tree Guy wrote:

Midas?


It's not as much of a secret as I thought.

(snickering)


midas was a pure ripoff here in pittsburgh. they sold me a nice new unnecessary cv joint.

i appealed and appealed, their customer support number must of been part of the ripoff.

one busy saturday morning i stopped at the store that ripped me off, demaneded a refund, they refused.

i told the waiting room full of customers they have their hand in your pocket andwill steal from you at every opportunity.

the store manager said i am calling the police to have you removed. i said i am leaving since i have now warned them.

within a week the investigative report on car repairs came out. midas and some others were the worst...... most midas closed and never reopened.

sears is just as bad. a friends on selles for sears. his car broke down, sears estimate was 1500 bucks...

i used my AAA card to have his vehicle towed to a indenpendent garage. they fixed his car for under a 100 bucks.

i quit using sears for car repairs...... one day a sears write up guy saw me, and said you dont come here. i first idnt want to explain it, the fellow was persistent.

so i told him its pretty bad when you try to rip off a fellow sears employee. i explained what had occured.. he said oh that explains it.... nothing more.....

On Wed, 13 Jul 2016 20:06:52 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Wed, 13 Jul 2016 19:31:04 -0400, wrote:



The chain tire stores used to be the worst. I had installed new ball
joints and shocks on my '63 Valiant and cranked down the torsion bars
and took it in to Firestone for their "alignment special". Back then I
think it was $9.95. They told me they could not align the front end
because the balljoints were "almost falling out" and it needed (at
that time) several hundred dollars worth of work on the front end.
I told the manager he better fire his mechanic if he couldn't
recognize a set of brand new Moog ball-joints and I took the car
elsewhere for the alignment. At the time the shop I worked for did not
have an alignment machine.

I took my '66 F-100 to a Firestone to get 2 new tires and they had an
alignment special going on, so I told them to do that too.
When I paid for the work and picked it up a couple hours later, I
ducked under it and saw they hadn't touched the tie rod ends - the
nuts were still grungy.
I went back inside and told the manager they hadn't done the
alignment. He went to talk to the mechanic, came back and told me
they didn't have the equipment to do the alignment on twin I-beam.
Showed him my invoice where it said clear as day "Alignment $15.00."
Of course he refunded the 15 bucks.
That was the first and last time I was in a Firestone.




The least the idiots could have done is CHECKED the alignment. That
doesn't take special equipment. If caster and camber were OK they
could then have adjusted the toe - which also does not take special
equipment.

I guess in a Firestone shop the "special equipment" they don't have
extends to what belongs between their ears. Once a Twin I Beam
suspension is properly aligned it takes a LOT of abuse to require
re-aligning the beams. ( they need to be bent or twisted)

On 7/13/2016 7:49 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 7/13/2016 7:18 PM, Shade Tree Guy wrote:
On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 10:55:39 AM UTC-7, SBH wrote:
Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas?


It's not as much of a secret as I thought.

I've talked to other folks. Same experience all around. Midas uses what
I call three level pricing. The phone price, the estimate price, and the
finish price. Each one doubles from there.

On the phone: Oh, sounds like $75.
Estimate: It's going to be $150.
Completed job: Needed more parts than we thought, that will be $300.


--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 7:31:08 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 13 Jul 2016 11:42:48 -0500, "cowabunga dude"
wrote:

Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them. Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage, and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.

It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes in fifth.

Back when I was working in the trade there was an add for a licenced
automotive technician for a "management position". I answered the ad
and went for an interview. The question that the interviewer kept
coming back to was "can you sell?" I told him I had no problem
explaining what was wrong with a customer's car and selling the
required repairs. Again "Can you sell?" I then told the interviewer in
no uncertain terms that I would NEVER work for a crook who ripped off
every customer that came in the door. I told him I could make a lot
more money seeing every customer the second and third time than by
taking every cent they has the first time round.
A few months later the shop was closed and the owner behind bars
charged with numerous counts of fraud (both customers and suppliers, I
later found out)

The chain tire stores used to be the worst. I had installed new ball
joints and shocks on my '63 Valiant and cranked down the torsion bars
and took it in to Firestone for their "alignment special". Back then I
think it was $9.95. They told me they could not align the front end
because the balljoints were "almost falling out" and it needed (at
that time) several hundred dollars worth of work on the front end.
I told the manager he better fire his mechanic if he couldn't
recognize a set of brand new Moog ball-joints and I took the car
elsewhere for the alignment. At the time the shop I worked for did not
have an alignment machine.

I took a car into a chain tire store to have them look at the brakes. I
was pretty sure I had a stuck caliper or caliper pin, but it was mid-
winter and I didn't feel like checking it myself.

I was standing at the counter talking to the manager when the tech came
out and told me that I needed a new caliper, adding "If you do one, you
should do both." When I asked the tech if it could be just the caliper pin,
not the caliper, he said "You can't replace the pins on that vehicle, you
have to replace the whole caliper."

I stared at him silently for a few seconds, then turned to the manager and
politely asked "Is that true?"

Manager: "Ummm...well...errr...you see..."

It was kind of fun to watch him struggling as he tried to figure out how to
deal with the fact that his tech had just lied to my face.

I saved him the trouble by telling him to find *another tech* to put the
car back together and back it out. I pointed to the tech and told the manager
that I did not want *him* touching the car again.

I watched carefully as a different tech reattached the caliper and put the
wheel back on.

On Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 8:53:09 AM UTC-4, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 7/13/2016 7:49 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 7/13/2016 7:18 PM, Shade Tree Guy wrote:
On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 10:55:39 AM UTC-7, SBH wrote:
Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas?


It's not as much of a secret as I thought.

I've talked to other folks. Same experience all around. Midas uses what
I call three level pricing. The phone price, the estimate price, and the
finish price. Each one doubles from there.

On the phone: Oh, sounds like $75.
Estimate: It's going to be $150.
Completed job: Needed more parts than we thought, that will be $300.


My daughter came home from college for a visit and I noticed that the
exhaust system was making noise. I took the car into a Monro Muffler and
Mike determined that the muffler was rotted out. Since it was the original
2005 exhaust system (muffler and main pipe as one unit) Mike quoted me a
price for the muffler and pipe, adding "I'm discounting everything 50%
off list price." Knowing that this is a typical sales tactic, I wasn't
really impressed by the "50% discount" and based my decision to have it
repaired solely on the bottom line price.

They replaced the parts and my daughter drove it back to school the next
day. She called me and told me that the car was fine on the highway, but
whenever she hit a bump while driving in town, she heard a banging from
underneath the car. I told her to go out to the car, grab the tailpipe
(when it was cool) and move it around. Bang...Bang...Bang with any sideways
motion.

There is a Monro Muffler near her school, so I checked with Mike and he
assured me that she could take it to any Monro Muffler for an adjustment.
"Have them call me if there are any questions."

So, my daughter takes the car to the Monro near her school, hands the guy the
receipt and explains the problem. The first thing the guy says is "Wow! You
sure got a good discount at the other shop." Since he wasn't going to make
any money on the adjustment, and wasn't trying to sell her anything, I have
to believe that he was genuinely surprised by the discount that the shop gave
me.

Maybe I was wrong in assuming that 50% is a standard come-on tactic. Other than
wanting the work, I can't see why Mike would have offered such a deep discount.
It could be nothing more than location, location, location. Maybe there's more
competition near me than near my daughter's school. In any case, I'm glad the
job was done here and not there.

On 7/13/16 7:18 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 7/13/2016 5:23 PM, Meanie wrote:


Many many moons ago I worked for a muffler brake shock shop which I
will
withhold the name. This brake shop offered the "free" brake replacement
when the original work was done by the franchise. Whenever a customer
returned for brake replacements, we would inspect to confirm normal
wear
and tear then advise accordingly. My manager told me I had to tell
customers they needed calipers or rotors or other misc parts, which was
causing the brake wear, in order to continue honoring the "free"
warranty. This also partook with other pats such as mufflers. A few of
the other guys were also trained for this practice. Needless to say, I
found other employment as soon as I could. I despise crooked people and
businesses.

Midas used to do this to me many years ago. Are they still in business?


We have a winner.

There are still several in my area, though this wasn't the area where it
partook. Regardless, I never recommended them to anyone.

I don't trust any of the chain tire/repair/oil change operations. I'm
sure some are honest and do first class work, but many are looking for
the fast and easy buck. I've heard too many complaints over the years.
Best to find a good local shop.

Yeah, many years ago I took my wife's Pontiac into the local Goodyear
shop because the air conditioner wasn't blowing cold. They told me
several components in the AC system were bad and quoted me about $850 to
fix.

I told them I needed to ask my wife if she wanted to fix the car as she
was thinking about selling it.

That evening, I mentioned the situation to a neighbor who was a
shade-tree mechanic. He looked at the car and found a loose coupling on
one of the AC lines which he hand-tightened. I bought a couple of cans
of freon and a recharge adapter for under $20, charged the system, and
it worked just fine for the additional year we kept the car...

--
With all this €œgun control€� talk, I havent heard one politician say how
they plan to take guns away from criminals and terrorists€” just from law
abiding citizens€¦

On Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 5:53:09 AM UTC-7, Stormin Mormon wrote:

I've talked to other folks. Same experience all around. Midas uses what
I call three level pricing. The phone price, the estimate price, and the
finish price. Each one doubles from there.

On the phone: Oh, sounds like $75.
Estimate: It's going to be $150.
Completed job: Needed more parts than we thought, that will be $300.


They even charge for their "free estimates"
STG

On 7/14/2016 8:59 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


I took a car into a chain tire store to have them look at the brakes. I
was pretty sure I had a stuck caliper or caliper pin, but it was mid-
winter and I didn't feel like checking it myself.

I was standing at the counter talking to the manager when the tech came
out and told me that I needed a new caliper, adding "If you do one, you
should do both." When I asked the tech if it could be just the caliper pin,
not the caliper, he said "You can't replace the pins on that vehicle, you
have to replace the whole caliper."

I stared at him silently for a few seconds, then turned to the manager and
politely asked "Is that true?"

Manager: "Ummm...well...errr...you see..."

It was kind of fun to watch him struggling as he tried to figure out how to
deal with the fact that his tech had just lied to my face.

I saved him the trouble by telling him to find *another tech* to put the
car back together and back it out. I pointed to the tech and told the manager
that I did not want *him* touching the car again.

I watched carefully as a different tech reattached the caliper and put the
wheel back on.


That is one reason why I do my own work on my own car. If I don't have
the tool(s) to diagnose a more complicated issue, I will have a local
shop look at it as I play stupid to the understanding of vehicles.
Though, I can say that local shop is honest and if I don't have the
tool(s) to fix the repair, they get my business.

On Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 5:33:58 PM UTC-4, SBH wrote:
On 7/14/2016 8:59 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


I took a car into a chain tire store to have them look at the brakes. I
was pretty sure I had a stuck caliper or caliper pin, but it was mid-
winter and I didn't feel like checking it myself.

I was standing at the counter talking to the manager when the tech came
out and told me that I needed a new caliper, adding "If you do one, you
should do both." When I asked the tech if it could be just the caliper pin,
not the caliper, he said "You can't replace the pins on that vehicle, you
have to replace the whole caliper."

I stared at him silently for a few seconds, then turned to the manager and
politely asked "Is that true?"

Manager: "Ummm...well...errr...you see..."

It was kind of fun to watch him struggling as he tried to figure out how to
deal with the fact that his tech had just lied to my face.

I saved him the trouble by telling him to find *another tech* to put the
car back together and back it out. I pointed to the tech and told the manager
that I did not want *him* touching the car again.

I watched carefully as a different tech reattached the caliper and put the
wheel back on.


That is one reason why I do my own work on my own car. If I don't have
the tool(s) to diagnose a more complicated issue, I will have a local
shop look at it as I play stupid to the understanding of vehicles.
Though, I can say that local shop is honest and if I don't have the
tool(s) to fix the repair, they get my business.

Interesting that in all this discussion about taking the car to the
tire place, the guy pinching the tires with his fingers, telling him
that the tires are kaput, that there isn't one mention of how much
tread is left on them. Anyone tells me the tires are shot, that's
the first thing I'd ask them, how much tread is left? and/or why
else do they need to be replaced. With less than 10K miles on them,
something would have to be radically wrong for them to be worn out so
soon, but the amount of tread left is the decisive factor, unless
something else is wrong with the tires.

I repair all brands of roll laminating machines for a living.

there are so many repair places ripping people off, that many customers dont trust anyone thats sad.

I never sell anything that isnt necessary.

GBC general binding corportation is my big competitor. they charge 370 dollars for the first hours labor. now thats just insane.

they have hurt themselves a lot. my labor rate sounds high its over a 100 bucks a hour

On Wed, 13 Jul 2016 11:42:48 -0500, "cowabunga dude"
wrote:

Last summer I got four tires put on, less than 10,000 miles on them. Right rear tire has slow leak. Took it to discount tire, not where I got the tires, didn't want to drive 100 miles to get flat fixed.

Man said he needed to do safety inspection. He checked tires, mileage, and came in telling me I need new tires and he can fix me right up. The price he quoted was lower than what I spent last summer, but I had to keep insisting, I don't need new tires, I just got these last summer. It seemed like he was about to put on new tires whether I wanted them or not. I didn't even want a price quote.

Finally he gave up.

I'm glad you resisted. Some would have caved.

It's crazy the way he was trying to push me to buy new tires when I don't need any and don't want any.

I know he's probably been trained that way, but I don't like it.

Money, money, money, that's all they care about. Customer service comes in fifth.

Years ago I went to a transmission place because I thought they would
read my transmission codes for free, and indeed they said they would,
but it ended up costing me my car.

The day it was clear weather but the guy couldn't find the connector,
so I said I'd find it and come back.

I came back when it was raining, so they put it in a bay, and I didn't
go in. (I had stood next to the car when it was outside.) I kept
looking in the bay through the window in the door from the waiting
room, and then the car was gone!!! They'd taken it for a test drive,
in the rain, without asking me. -- I complained about that later, to
the owner's son.

Wrote me up all kinds of things that they said were wrong with it. I
did need a control arm bushing, iirc, which I did myself, and they
said I needed two motor mounts.

I bought the mounts and took out the right one, but the replacement
woudn't fit. So I put the original back. I tried to take out the
front one and scratched the radiator in the process. I bought a new
radiator but I couldn't get the old one out. I stopped the leak with
stop leaks, and two years later the car overheated and I blew the
engine. It wounldn't have happened if I hadn't scratched a leak in
the radiator.

And I eventually realized I didn't need the motor mounts at all. It
was just a scam.

Oh, yeah, they couldn't find any codes, but later I paid a better
transimission place and they found one, related to my thumping when
decelerating from 60 to 59 and from 6 to 5. But it was almost stupid
of me to check because the repair was almost certain to be more than
it was worth to me, and indeed it was. But a year later the noise
went away and stayed away. The only time a mechanical thing ever
fixed itself IME.

Well, except the noise 5 seconds after I slam my front door. That
went away after 2 years and 200 times.

New Ford 500. At around 40,000 after routing lube/oil. Your poweer steering fluid is dirty, needs changing.

Odd. I didn't have them do it and it was never mentioned again.

About 50K - you need new brakes. That kept on every oil change for a couple years and finally stopped.

Odd as the car is driven very conservatively. I doubt it had more than a couple hard stops in all those miles.

At 70K - You need new brakes.

I took it to Les Schwab tire (great place, no rip-offs) who checked and sais "I _tend_ to agree with them. I had them do it but still suspect he was just 'going along'.

posted for all of us...


The chain tire stores used to be the worst. I had installed new ball
joints and shocks on my '63 Valiant and cranked down the torsion bars
and took it in to Firestone for their "alignment special". Back then I
think it was $9.95. They told me they could not align the front end
because the balljoints were "almost falling out" and it needed (at
that time) several hundred dollars worth of work on the front end.
I told the manager he better fire his mechanic if he couldn't
recognize a set of brand new Moog ball-joints and I took the car
elsewhere for the alignment. At the time the shop I worked for did not
have an alignment machine.


Were these the top screw in type? Oh man the cheater bar was defiantly
required...

--
Tekkie

On Fri, 15 Jul 2016 17:04:46 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

posted for all of us...


The chain tire stores used to be the worst. I had installed new ball
joints and shocks on my '63 Valiant and cranked down the torsion bars
and took it in to Firestone for their "alignment special". Back then I
think it was $9.95. They told me they could not align the front end
because the balljoints were "almost falling out" and it needed (at
that time) several hundred dollars worth of work on the front end.
I told the manager he better fire his mechanic if he couldn't
recognize a set of brand new Moog ball-joints and I took the car
elsewhere for the alignment. At the time the shop I worked for did not
have an alignment machine.


Were these the top screw in type? Oh man the cheater bar was defiantly
required...
It's a long time (1969/70) but I believe they were ALL threaded

wrote:
On Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 5:33:58 PM UTC-4, SBH wrote:
On 7/14/2016 8:59 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:


I took a car into a chain tire store to have them look at the brakes. I
was pretty sure I had a stuck caliper or caliper pin, but it was mid-
winter and I didn't feel like checking it myself.

I was standing at the counter talking to the manager when the tech came
out and told me that I needed a new caliper, adding "If you do one, you
should do both." When I asked the tech if it could be just the caliper pin,
not the caliper, he said "You can't replace the pins on that vehicle, you
have to replace the whole caliper."

I stared at him silently for a few seconds, then turned to the manager and
politely asked "Is that true?"

Manager: "Ummm...well...errr...you see..."

It was kind of fun to watch him struggling as he tried to figure out how to
deal with the fact that his tech had just lied to my face.

I saved him the trouble by telling him to find *another tech* to put the
car back together and back it out. I pointed to the tech and told the manager
that I did not want *him* touching the car again.

I watched carefully as a different tech reattached the caliper and put the
wheel back on.


That is one reason why I do my own work on my own car. If I don't have
the tool(s) to diagnose a more complicated issue, I will have a local
shop look at it as I play stupid to the understanding of vehicles.
Though, I can say that local shop is honest and if I don't have the
tool(s) to fix the repair, they get my business.
Interesting that in all this discussion about taking the car to the
tire place, the guy pinching the tires with his fingers, telling him
that the tires are kaput, that there isn't one mention of how much
tread is left on them. Anyone tells me the tires are shot, that's
the first thing I'd ask them, how much tread is left? and/or why
else do they need to be replaced. With less than 10K miles on them,
something would have to be radically wrong for them to be worn out so
soon, but the amount of tread left is the decisive factor, unless
something else is wrong with the tires.

Those tires aren't worn out, they have plenty of tread on them. The employee was talking out his ass trying to get me to buy new tires I didn't need. He didn't even use a tread gage. Those tires are good for another 20,000 miles, easy.

He just wanted to sell new tires and tried lying his ass off, which has probably worked before, but I just bought those tires July 2015.


--
The only way I'd vote for Hillary is if the plane needed to be lightened, and we needed to choose someone to push out.

On 7/15/2016 2:53 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:


wrote:
On Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 5:33:58 PM UTC-4, SBH wrote:
On 7/14/2016 8:59 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

I took a car into a chain tire store to have them look at the
brakes. I
was pretty sure I had a stuck caliper or caliper pin, but it was mid-
winter and I didn't feel like checking it myself.

I was standing at the counter talking to the manager when the tech
came
out and told me that I needed a new caliper, adding "If you do
one, you
should do both." When I asked the tech if it could be just the
caliper pin,
not the caliper, he said "You can't replace the pins on that
vehicle, you
have to replace the whole caliper."

I stared at him silently for a few seconds, then turned to the
manager and
politely asked "Is that true?"

Manager: "Ummm...well...errr...you see..."

It was kind of fun to watch him struggling as he tried to figure
out how to
deal with the fact that his tech had just lied to my face.

I saved him the trouble by telling him to find *another tech* to
put the
car back together and back it out. I pointed to the tech and told
the manager
that I did not want *him* touching the car again.

I watched carefully as a different tech reattached the caliper and
put the
wheel back on.

That is one reason why I do my own work on my own car. If I don't
have the tool(s) to diagnose a more complicated issue, I will have a
local shop look at it as I play stupid to the understanding of
vehicles. Though, I can say that local shop is honest and if I don't
have the tool(s) to fix the repair, they get my business.
Interesting that in all this discussion about taking the car to the
tire place, the guy pinching the tires with his fingers, telling him
that the tires are kaput, that there isn't one mention of how much
tread is left on them. Anyone tells me the tires are shot, that's
the first thing I'd ask them, how much tread is left? and/or why
else do they need to be replaced. With less than 10K miles on them,
something would have to be radically wrong for them to be worn out so
soon, but the amount of tread left is the decisive factor, unless
something else is wrong with the tires.

Those tires aren't worn out, they have plenty of tread on them. The
employee was talking out his ass trying to get me to buy new tires I
didn't need. He didn't even use a tread gage. Those tires are good for
another 20,000 miles, easy.

He just wanted to sell new tires and tried lying his ass off, which has
probably worked before, but I just bought those tires July 2015.




he needed a good set of used tires for himself.

Taxed and wrote:
On 7/15/2016 2:53 PM, cowabunga dude wrote:


wrote:
On Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 5:33:58 PM UTC-4, SBH wrote:
On 7/14/2016 8:59 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:

I took a car into a chain tire store to have them look at the
brakes. I
was pretty sure I had a stuck caliper or caliper pin, but it was mid-
winter and I didn't feel like checking it myself.

I was standing at the counter talking to the manager when the tech
came
out and told me that I needed a new caliper, adding "If you do
one, you
should do both." When I asked the tech if it could be just the
caliper pin,
not the caliper, he said "You can't replace the pins on that
vehicle, you
have to replace the whole caliper."

I stared at him silently for a few seconds, then turned to the
manager and
politely asked "Is that true?"

Manager: "Ummm...well...errr...you see..."

It was kind of fun to watch him struggling as he tried to figure
out how to
deal with the fact that his tech had just lied to my face.

I saved him the trouble by telling him to find *another tech* to
put the
car back together and back it out. I pointed to the tech and told
the manager
that I did not want *him* touching the car again.

I watched carefully as a different tech reattached the caliper and
put the
wheel back on.

That is one reason why I do my own work on my own car. If I don't
have the tool(s) to diagnose a more complicated issue, I will have a
local shop look at it as I play stupid to the understanding of
vehicles. Though, I can say that local shop is honest and if I don't
have the tool(s) to fix the repair, they get my business.
Interesting that in all this discussion about taking the car to the
tire place, the guy pinching the tires with his fingers, telling him
that the tires are kaput, that there isn't one mention of how much
tread is left on them. Anyone tells me the tires are shot, that's
the first thing I'd ask them, how much tread is left? and/or why
else do they need to be replaced. With less than 10K miles on them,
something would have to be radically wrong for them to be worn out so
soon, but the amount of tread left is the decisive factor, unless
something else is wrong with the tires.

Those tires aren't worn out, they have plenty of tread on them. The
employee was talking out his ass trying to get me to buy new tires I
didn't need. He didn't even use a tread gage. Those tires are good for
another 20,000 miles, easy.

He just wanted to sell new tires and tried lying his ass off, which has
probably worked before, but I just bought those tires July 2015.


he needed a good set of used tires for himself.

Probably, one time I got new tires all around, they kept my good spare and put a wore out tire on for the spare. It's lucky I checked because they went to the trouble to put the wore out spare under the truck, and I might not have known until needed.

They were dejected when I asked for the good tire back.