Tires Plus of Cookeville, TN 10 hours from home and Tires Plus tried to RIP US OFF, said we needed over $900.00 in front end work cookeville Tennessee...
We thought we should bring to your attention the scam that Tires Plus is running. They offer FREE alignment checks and then they stick you with a HIGH quote to get your car fixed.
When we had a certified Ford mechanic look at the truck, we really didn't need what they quoted. Please feel free to contact me and I will send you a copy of the quote. This will also show you how illiterate the mechanic is. This is the letter I have sent.
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with much dismay that I write this letter. We recently had the unfortunate experience of visiting the Tires Plus in Cookeville, Tennessee. My in-laws live in Sparta, not far from Cookeville, and we were visiting them when we purchased a 1992 Ford Explorer from South Carolina. When we purchased the vehicle, we did so under the presumption that it would need some front end work. The truck is rust free and undercoated. My story begins with an appalling illustration of "southern hospitality".
On December 31st, we made an appointment for 1:30 at Tires Plus in Cookeville, TN for an oil change, balancing of the front passenger tire, front end alignment and diagnosis of any other possible front end problems. We told the woman at the counter, up front, that we were from Wisconsin and we had just purchased the vehicle and suspected bad radius arm bushings and that the vehicle needed an alignment. Unfortunately this was our first mistakehonesty. She was very evasive with her answers, right from the start.
At 1:30 we left the vehicle for them to change oil and do the inspection. About an hour later we returned and found they had not even brought the truck in yet. My husband asked when they would get to it and finally they brought it in. After another hour they finally handed us the quote and stated it would be approximately $900.00 to fix everything that was wrong before they would even consider aligning it.
The technician said it would be impossible for them to do an alignment without comber sleeves for the front axel, new ball joints and radius arm bushings. The mechanic even made the comment that the suspension on this Explorer did not look stock, he thought it was modified! (Obviously... The truck has a 2" suspension lift and a 2" body lift with Rancho shocks!) He suggested that the truck would not make it to Wisconsin without it being fixed. My husband could easily do any of this with the right tools and garage, but we were 10 hours from home and any kind of facility that would make it easy for him to do it.
The next day, New Years Day, we took the truck across the street to Wal-Mart to get the tire balanced. They did it without a problem and the shimmy went away. We did purchase the radius arm bushings from Autozone, approximately $15.00 versus the $67.00 they quoted and my husband installed them himself in his parents garage in 45 minutes, with a jack, air compressor and air tools purchased from Wal-Mart, which totaled about how much they were going to charge for labor, $200.00. (Since his parents had just moved to Tennessee, they were happy to purchase some of these tools to have for themselves.) We had the oil changed at a little garage in Sparta with no problems in about 15 minutes.
If you are familiar with Explorers at all, you will know that radius arm bushings are a normal thing to have replaced, and they had been replaced already on this truck. When my husband took them apart, they were questionable, but not bad enough to warrant serious concern.
When we drove the ten hours back to Wisconsin (actually 11 because we had to detour to the Nashville airport to pick someone up) we didn't have any problems. The steering had a slight pull due to the need for an alignment.
Back in Wisconsin we went to our local garage and put the truck on the lift. We purchased the ball joints for replacement, but much to our surprise, the mechanic there said we didn't need them. He tightened up a wheel bearing, gave the truck an alignment, because he found the sleeves that Tires Plus recommended were there and not needed. The truck drives great now, for a little more than $120.00 with an oil change, tire balance, radius arm bushings and wheel alignment.
I understand a business is in business to make money. We own our own business and I work for a specialty retail store. From manufacturer to distributor to retailer and everyone who may want a piece of the pie in between, I understand how prices can go up.in this case, I really think the price was over-inflated, $15.00 versus $67.00 and I know they would get a discount from Autozone or any other parts distributor. I believe that the Cookeville Tires Plus saw us coming.
We were from out of town and they thought they had us over a barrel. Let me tell you, we were very disappointed. We chose Tires Plus because we had bought tires from them in Wisconsin, it was a national chain. We thought we would be safe. This letter will be sent to the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney Generals Office. This was just unbelievable to us and we hope it is to you.
Angie
Williams Bay, Wisconsin
U.S.A.
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