I recently visited Tires Plus in Hudson, WI because I suspected a possible problem in the front end of my 1998 Pontiac Grand Am. I had brought my car there at least once or twice before for an alignment.
A mechanic named Matt did an inspection on my car. The management let me go in the shop so Matt could explain what was up with my car. While he didn't find anything wrong with the front end, he said that I had a minor intake leak which was causing the coolant to slowly leak. He told me that it wasn't anything panic about, as long as made sure my coolant didn't get low. He mentioned that this was a common problem that resulted from Dex-Cool Antifreeze, as well as the 3.1 Liter Pontiac motor. He also mentioned that many people with this problem don't bother to look under the hood, and eventually the car overheats. I explained to him that my car has never overheated, the coolant leak only seemed minor, and the car runs like a watch. Like I mentioned earlier, he didn't figure that I should worry too much about the problem. Matt seemed like a nice guy and I trust the details that he explained to me. While I was talking to Matt, a manager named Joe comes back into the shop and rudely asked Matt if he could get my car off the ramp so they could work on other cars. The front tires were still off the car when he pulled this stunt. Joe seemed like an arrogant little f*ck.
After I went back up front, another manager named Terry asked me if I wanted my intake manifold gasket changed. I told him that Matt told me not to worry about it. He said in a snotty voice that he didn't know why Matt told me that. He showed me an estimate that the job would cost $800. I think this is the reason that he wanted me to go through with it, so he could get me to spend $800. I had a feeling that management must get paid commissions or bonuses for sales, so it must be easy for them to try to coax an expensive repair job out of me.
I wasn't going to think about having any such repair job done on my car until I got opinions from other people I knew. I talked to my fiancee's dad and her two brothers. When I went to visit them, none of the three felt that I had anything to worry about. One of my fiancee's brothers thought that Terry was just trying to f*ck me over. I'm glad that I didn't let Terry talk me into having the intake gasket replaced. I don't think that I can trust Tires Plus anymore, and I don't plan on going back. If I ever had to have the intake gasket replaced, I think I could find another shop that will have a better deal than $800.
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