Drove in to Tire Kingdom with a healthy 97' Nissan Altima to have a hose changed (the top one). The attendant (not a mechanic) had me open the hood to do a visual inspection. She looked at the hose and said it looked like a Nissan mfg. Original. I asked for a price to replace it and she said a cooling system pressure test had to be done in order to rule out other problems. I explained the car runs fine but the top hose has slipped off the radiator three times and after placing it back on and tightening, the car runs months until it happens again. I've been meaning to replace it but never had the time. She refused to give me a price and continued to push the pressure test with a price of $29.99 plus (total was $32.99)
After going back and forth I finally told her to do it. (a dumb decision) I waited almost a half-hour in the waiting room. I sauntered out to the counter and asked how much longer. Her reply was "I'm working on the estimate right now." She never once mentioned what was to come and I was never told of what was going on. A few minutes later she hands me the estimate showing $575.92 total. The items on the page included a Radiator, Thermostat and gasket, upper radiator hose, lower radiator hose, system flush with up to 8 quarts of coolant, radiator flush kit, 13 hours of labor at $8.80 per hour, plus $30.00 shop fees. Reeling from the shock, a mechanic shows up and announces, "If we don't do the work the car has to be towed out of here." Another shock.
After asking what was going on, I was advised the radiator's cracked on top.
They took me into the garage and showed me a huge opening that looked as if somebody used a sledge hammer on it. At this point I blew my top especially when they (3 employees) ganged up on me with a lot of excuses on just how it happened, none of which made sense. At first they tried to convince me the crack was there and I didn't notice it. I argued that I check water and oil every day and transmission fluid while the car's running and have never noticed any steam or water coming from the upper part of the radiator. Besides, I've been driving and never noticed any water leak or steam. Upon hearing this another jumped in to remark that the pressure test caused it to open up the crack. We went back and forth until my wife reminded me of my blood pressure condition. I called my Auto Club and while waiting, to add insult to injury, was handed a bill for the pressure test. With my wife's coaxing, I paid it and asked for the manager. I was told he was out sick. The young lady in charge offered to take off the $32.99 from the estimate, what a nerve! I guess they see two old folks enter and drool on just how much they can take from them.
I called several Tire Kingdom locations and asked if it was possible to do a cooling system pressure test on a 97 Nissan without damaging the radiator. The unanimous reply was "No, never heard of any complications. We've done hundreds with no problems." My suspicions were confirmed, I was ripped-off.
The next day I called and was told the manager arrives around noon. Each time I called he was either out or on the phone and to call back later. I finally got through around six in the afternoon. After explaining everything, he put me on hold for about five minutes then came back with "I'll call you back in fifteen minutes"
That was on December 19th and I'm still waiting for that call.
My car was towed until I can get some money together to fix it. My wife and I are in our seventies and retired. I sure as hell ain't going back to the Kingdom of rip-offs.
0 comments