jvanbrecht

edit: Update is in post #13, all has been made well again.

Boy was that a mistake.

First off, they use the same Hunter Roadforce balance system as most other shops. Price wise, they are dirt cheap compared to some of the other places, and mist importantly to me, they are very close to me and could get me in without leaving my car since I was a little rushed.

So, after waiting for 3 hours, they "squeezed" me in, first sign I should have just left

After they start to remove my wheels, the pair the rear tires to the fronts. I corrected him quickly

After all is said and done, they inform me they broke the TPMS sensor which they will replace at their own cost.

I go out to dinner and meet my wife at the restaurant. I get out about an hour later to find my driver side rear flat....

Argggggggg

Anyways, I decided to use my emergency tire fix a flat can over the spare. I will be stopping in first thing and making them clean out the tire, fix the install they screwed up, and replacing the tire if damaged.


Moral of the story, you get what you pay for and don't be in a rush.

Strafe1

Is it critically important to have the wheels/tires road force balanced? Sorry to hear about your trouble!

NorseWagon

Uh..You go to Sears with a 2009 C63

jvanbrecht

The reality....

Poor planning on my part, I was expecting the tires on Saturday,but did not get them till today. My tires are super bald, and my daily commute is 50 miles each way. The only place that could fit me in on an hours notice was sears...

That aside, if you believe the certificates on the walls, ASE techs, and the same equipment use at other shops, so in theory, they should have been fine... like I said, big mistake.. live and learn

bhamg

I use two Discount Tire locations. At each, I take care of the manager that takes care of me. I ask to speak to the tech who is working on my car...because I've already told the manager that no air gun can be used to mount or dismount. When he takes me into the shop I take a twenty dollar bill and stick it into the tech's shirt pocket. I thank him in advance for doing a great job. Every time, they've done a great job. The wheel rims are flawless on both cars. The last time I needed emergency service they sent a runner out to get some TPMS, removed the wheels, dismounted the tires, installed the TPMS, remounted and rebalanced the wheels, and installed them by hand. And they charged me only for the TPMS, beating the Tire Rack price for them.

Cylinder Head

iTrader: (1)

My brother took his Escalade to Sears for an oil change. They filled up his washer reservoir for free, with ****.

Even Money

You get what you pay for, honestly was shocked to see the thread title, and knew it would only go downhill from there. I wouldn't take it to any of these tire shop chains unless you knew the tech personally.

Mikegpr03

Lol wow I can't belive how careless some shops can be. Thank god my uncle owns a shop and let's me work on my own car. The tire machine isn't a road force but it's so well calibrated its never given me any issues.

jvanbrecht

Sometimes options are limited. When it comes to tires, most places are the same, from indie shops to massive chains.

This could have happened at any one of them. What will set the shops apart is how they handle the situation. I do not have high hopes.

As for using sears, well like I said, limited options, and its tires. I would not use them for anything else (except hand tool purchases, they still do lifetime warranties on non powered tools)

hyperion667

well, at least you tried it, like you said.....and also props for coming here and admiting it......
I have not given a dime to sears ever since my wife and I tried to register there for our wedding......and the people were just complete ****' holes...it was insane.....I'll never shop there ever..........that was almost ten years ago too.........

thanx for sharing the story........and a huge plus one for discount tire......
I totally trust those guys with my 550 and my AMG......yeah, they do it get them a little dirty sometimes, but that's a small price to pay.....

AMG3.2

I hate tire shops. I've yet to go to a good one. Sorry for your troubles and good luck!

jvanbrecht

Well, finances are tight for everyone everywhere (especially with a newborn around..), so one does what one must, sometimes, that works out, sometimes it does not.

I have never really had an issue with sears as prior to this attempt, I had never purchased anything except hand tools (they no longer offer lifetime warranty on power tools so I get those from specialty stores like Woodcraft and what not), and never used them for any services.

I'm about to post an update below, but the manager made things right.

jvanbrecht

So, I went in first thing this morning and spoke with the manager (who took over the shop around 2 weeks ago). There was a completely different crew there, I am guessing the morning shift.

The manager noted a few things that the service rep missed when they filled out the paperwork, most notably the VIN, when they put that into the system, it drops specs onto the worksheet, most notably the torque specs and what to do when bolting the wheel back on.

While the service rep did tell me they broke one of the TPMS sensors and they would replace it, it was not noted in the system, and more to the point, it was not noted to me that instead of replacing the broken sensor with a regular valve stem while they ordered the part, they just used the same broken sensor, which had a leak, this is what caused the flat tire.

The morning tech who worked on my car however did a great job, they pulled the tire (I had put the spare back on this morning), cleaned out all the fix a flat crap, put in a rubber valve stem, rebalanced and mounted the wheel. I will be heading to the dealer to get the new sensor installed, Sears will be paying for it (I have it in writing). He removed all the bolts and put them back in and torqued them by hand, no impact wrench this time.

The morning tech (who I watched some of the time), was careful, explained the problem to me when they figured it out rather then try to hide it (I have been to some shops in the past on previous vehicles that would try to hide or place blame elsewhere).

I was quick to jump on Sears (as I am when it comes to many large chains and Big Box type stores). Sometimes it is deserved, sometimes not, in this case, a little of both, but they made things right, and I will probably use them again, well this particular mechanic only, for tires. It should also be noted that my car was the last one of the day, there past closing time.... always go when the mechanics are fresh... in the morning, people get sloppy (no matter what the industry) when it gets close to closing time.

nizzle

Sears is not the quality brand of old as it once was. I am happy to hear they took care of you though. I would recommend discount tire as other members already have. They always do the final torque down on the lugs by hand, they are always ready to "squeeze" someone in, and they are a big enough company for me to go "ape chit" if they screw something up....... But they haven't yet as far as i know. I understand your situation and I don't really blame you for giving it a try, but don't go back. Give discount a try, even when in a hurry.

jvanbrecht

We do not have Discount Tire in MD. I have NTB/Merchants (which I have used before, and also broke the TPMS sensor), the dealer (again, also busted a sensor.. seriously.. are these things made of tissue paper...)

The business is very incestuous, the tech who worked on my car has previously worked at NTB. It is most likely hit and miss. There are dozens or so gas stations with repair shops, but the 2 shells nearest me employ the same group of kids (okay, might be adults, but whenever I get gas, it appears to be teens working in the shop, and the own of one of them is a douche who messed up my friends Jeep)

I have Chaney tire, I hear good things and they are rated well on Tirerack, but they are extremely busy (and the recent storm and power outages that affected the DC area did not help).

Whether I go back or not, who knows, but as someone else said, I have honestly yet to find a tire place that I am happy with..

Guilty

Try yelp.com

CoolBDPhenom03

Where are you located?

bigben320e

My experience with Sears? Back a few years ago my wife took it over to get the tires rotated, big mistake. The damn garage door dropped on the trunk,
fortunately she saw it happen and Sears had to foot the bill to fix it.

Never again for Sears. Stay away from Pep Boys, etc, too.

Now Discount Tire is awesome with tires and prices. Their balancing leaves some to be desired, I usually have to take it to Butler Tire for a high speed balance to really smooth it out.

emericr

I am sure it depends on the shop but I had no problem with Sears. I bought 1 year and half ago a set of Michelin AS+ and I had no issues with the install. They cannot perform the alignment (per their systems, it requires special bolts which was later confirmed by my SA).
Last month, the rears were shot, I replaced them with PSS and Sears warrantied my rears with no complaint.

2012C63AMG

Shocked after Ron White sears tire guy story they are still in business... Dare I ask what kind of tires you got at sears? I know it takes a day or two to get any quality tire in the correct size for the AMG at discount.

solekeeper

Everyone makes mistakes. It's all about fixing it, and making the customer happy in the end.

bhamg

It doesn't have to be Discount Tire. I could do what I do anywhere, at any shop, at any time. Money (and being a good type of customer) makes the world go 'round. In the distant past I've had wheels damaged and been compensated for the repair. That notwithstanding, the wheel is never the same again. It doesn't look the same and the finish doesn't hold up the same. Now, I avoid that scenario...just call the tip "insurance."

Z63amg

Why don't you just have your tires done at MB?

emericr

You do not get them done at the dealer because they will charge you more than anywhere else. My SA told me a set of PSS would run me $2.5K.
Find a chop that you can trust. Get them to install the tires and get them balanced at the MB dealer.

Pickles

Here in Oz, the same problems exist, & occur.
Chnging tyres/wheels/balancing should be relatively easy.....but going by the experiences many have, including me.....it isn't easy.....to find a place that will do the job with care.......even placing the car on a jack/hoist can do substantial damage to chassis lift points, spoilers/skirts etc, if not done properly.
I am "paranoid" about this sort of stuff, I sure don't like to see any damage to my car, nor do I like the drama of getting it fixed.
But, I have certainly found the right shop, in Melbourne.
When I had my HSV GTO (19" wheels), I was looking for some work to be done, & so I searched around on a few Forums, & I kept coming up with Protek Tyres, owned by John Souvas.....I was told....John is a top bloke...."he will treat your rims like his own".
So I went there for a tyre rotation & balance. Car was carefully jacked up, all rims were carefully removed (hand wrench...no rattle gun) and then, prior to any of the tyres being removed from the rim, John checked the rims, & showed me a few marks on them that had been caused by stones etc.....so as to show me that the marks were existing, & not caused by his crew.
Tyres were then removed/rotated/balanced as required, & replaced on the GTO....John insisted that I was alongside the car when the work was being done.
"Treat my rims like his own"?....ABSOLUTELY TRUE.
The consequence of all this is that I am now totally relaxed when I need any tyre work done, & that I wouldn't even think about going anywhere else....the C63 will certainly be going there, when I need tyre work....which won't be too long....if I have the same tyre wear as some others on here.
Cheers, Pickles.