February 7 my car would not start. After a jump start I headed to the nearest auto center for a diagnosis. As luck would have it the only place within several miles was Express Tire on Black Mountain Road in Rancho Penasquitos. My husband had warned me not to go there because they had charged him for an oil change that they never performed, but I was DESPERATE! Dan, the individual that "helped" me had another technician use a small handheld meter to check the battery. He was very nice but spoke very, very little english so I went back to Dan for an explanation of my problem. I knew the battery was 12 volts and asked him to find out what the meter was displaying on the screen. Dan left the counter to speak with the technician. He returned and said it was reading 10.4 and I needed a new battery. He quoted me $89.99 for a 3 year battery plus $35 for installation. I thought the quoted seemed high and thought, based on my husbands experience, that I should try to find another service center. I realized that my car had been turned off and asked if he would jump the battery to get it going if necessary. He then said, " Sorry lady, we don't have cables. You're on your own." I went out to my car to try and start it and my son, who was in the back seat, told me that Dan... Remember the man who was trying to help me... That Dan had approached the technician, called me a profane name and said that the information I asked for was irrelevant but he'd give it to me anyway! Upon hearing this I jumped out of my car and approached Dan. I asked him to confirm his name and provide me with a customer service number to speak with in the morning. He said he would not give me his name, which was on his jacket, and that I had to leave the ASAP! I marched into the store, took a business card and wrote down the number for the customer service center and left! I wound up at Sears on Mira Mesa where upon a thorough test it turns out my battery is totally fine. The fact that my card would not start is simply unexplainable. I caution people to not go to Express Tire on Black Mountain Road in Rancho Penasquitos. The woman behind me in line this evening when the battery fiasco occured was there because they charged her for rotating four tires when they only did two! These men are the ultimate in scam artists! I have heard from several locals that this store is notorious for overcharging, not performing work etc. I will be reporting them to the BBB, the local newspaper in the form of an editorial and to the CEO of the Corporate Office. (If they have one!) This is sick and wrong and must be stopped before they charge someone for a bogus repair that results in serious injury. JenaSan Diego, California
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