My 1999 Chrysler Cirrhus had been making a mild squeaking noise rarely over the past few years... My mom took it regularly to the dealership for upkeep and they told her the squeak was of no concern... When she passed away last year, I purchased the car... It had just over 40K miles... I never had heard the squeak and I drove her car alot before I bought it, driving her to different places... Then one day I heard it... Was like a suspension type noise... The car now has 58K miles... But the sound goes away and you don't hear for a long time... No mechanics have felt it needed anything done... Just a noise... Something to do with the heat here in FL...
Well the other day the squeak became louder... And then another noise accompanied it... Sounded and felt like grinding brakes... I parked it... Until I could get it to a mechanic... The Tires Plus was within walking distance... I dropped it off and they looked at it the next day... I get a call at work (on a busy day) with a long list of repairs totalling $2400 (actually $2600 with taxes)... I was devastated!!! Brakes front ($130) and back (included with calipers), calipers front ($352) and back ($392), rotors back ($100), serpentine belts ($136), air filter ($14), brake flush ($67), ball joints ($800), alignment ($120), battery ($100), 4 tires ($340)...
NOW YOU TELL ME, IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE THAT I NEEDED ALL THAT WORK DONE WITH ONLY ONE DAY OF HEARING THE "GRINDING" NOISE??? I had only the "supposedly" necessary work done which was the brakes and belts (oh and the air filter)... Since I was at their mercy!!!
I needed it for my work and my daughter's work... I am an RN and work long days... No time to run it around getting quotes... Thought you were supposed to be able to trust businesses...
I had signed a request to see my old parts... That never happened... I forgot after the stress of the day and they never offered... I realized later that evening that they never showed me... He told me to come back another day and he would show me what needed done... WHAT WAS WRONG WITH RIGHT THERE, RIGHT NOW? He couldn't WAIT to get me out that door... He was nervous and seemed to sense that I may have talked with someone (like a man who would have known better!!!)...
I was in shock... When I picked it up and the service guy tells me that I really need to get the battery and the tires done... Not ONE mention of the "ball joints" which was the most expensive listed... WHY??? Because it really wasn't necessary... And since then I have talked with several men and women who know cars... Most feel the calipers did not need done... And the rotors could have been flipped... He tried to do calipers on the front stating the pads wore uneven so it neded done also... From what I hear that's not unusual for pads to wear uneven and that doesn't mean you need calipers...
My Mom took excellent care of this car... Taking it to the dealership like clock work. So there you go another complaint about TIRES PLUS... PS this is the second time they tried to sell me things I didn't need... Just a different location... So seems to be common practice with them... This time I will never go back to another one!
I handled it all calmly without losing my temper. Though I was boiling inside. And you know what? It didn't matter how I handled it cause I STILL got RIPPED OFF... I read the blog with "Glenn" and yes he lost his temper... But his beef was legitimate... It was all about customer service and he got NONE... You don't scream at customers... You handle them calmly... If I screamed at patients like that they'd fire me on the spot... And sick people can be pretty nasty at times... We just grin and bear it... That's customer "service"... And I can't believe people that would BACK that type of behavior... SHAME ON YOU (you know who you are!!!)
Amy
Melbourne, Florida
U.S.A.
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