On 4-24-03 I made the huge mistake of going to Tires Plus to have some work done on my van.
I knew that my van needed new front tires (wearing on the inside edges really bad), and I was told by a different shop that I also needed both inner tie rods replaced along with an alignment. The other shop (Midas) had previously replaced my brakes/shocks/struts/& outer tie rod ends. I started to hear a "thumping noise" when going over bumps, so I took it to them first since they had replace all these parts (mid to end of 2002). They stated that the inner tie rods were going bad, and they were causing this noise.
I called around from shop to shop getting quotes to have my front tires & inner tie rods replaced along with an alignment. Tires Plus gave me one of the lowest quotes, and I have been there before several times to have tires replaced which went quite smoothly (I used to have several service vans which needed tires quite often due to high miles driven in them).
When I first went in the manager (Barry Jensen) was the person who assisted me. At this time I did not know he was the Manager. I explained to him the above info regarding the inner tie rods, and told him I wanted them to CHECK my van to insure that was what was causing this noise when driving. I also wanted him to find out what was causing the severe wear on the inside edges of my front tires, so that it would not happen to the new ones they were putting on. He even wrote on the estimate in ink "See if needs inner tie rods".
Later in the day the manager called me, and he stated that it was the inner tie rods causing the noise along with the wear on my tires. I told him to go ahead and replace them & call me when it was ready. That evening (near store's closing time) I went in, paid, and picked up my van.
I did notice immediately that the noise was still there plus it was slightly pulling to the right. Due to my work schedule and only having one vehicle for my family, I had to drive it for the next couple weeks without any time to take it back to Tires Plus. Within these two weeks I started hearing a popping noise when turning at from a dead stop, the steering wheel pulled to the right even more (inside, center, & outside lanes on the highway).
I was very leery of even taking it back to them, before I had someone else check it out. I went to 3 different shops in town to have it checked out (never mentioning where I had it serviced). All 3 shops told me that my inner tie rods had never been replaced, but they appeared to have been cleaned & adjusted.
This prompted me to further investigate. I called this store along with a couple other Tires Plus locations (there are 12 in this metro area) to find out which brand of inner tie rods they used for my year/make/model vehicle.
I went to a few auto parts stores, and I photographed the brands which they said they used as replacements. I even went to the Ford dealer and photographed the factory replacements. I then raised my van with a floor jack & jack stands so that I could get several good pictures of the inner tie rods on my van.
I could tell just by looking at them that they are not new, so I compared them all on my computer side by side. The ones on my van are the factory inner tie rods, no question about it at all. The two brands that Tires Plus stated they use are quite different than mine, plus mine look very worn and already rusting.
I researched through several auto repair manuals at the library the exact procedure of replacing these parts, and I found some very interesting information.in order to replace these parts on my van there is a rubber boot on each side of the steering rack that has to be removed to get the inner tie rods out. These rubber boots have a metal clamp which has to be cut in order to remove the boot.
Well not to my surprise, both clamps on my van are the factory clamps, and they are not aftermarket ones at all. I had also photographed "factory clamps" at the dealer, and they are exactly the same as the ones on my van.
I went back to Tires Plus on 5-16-03 (like I said I work a lot & have only one vehicle). My second mistake was explaining this situation (very calmly & politely) to a person who I thought was the manager, and after I was nearly done telling him everything he stated I would have to come back when the Manager was there. This gave him plenty of time to explain my problem to the manager (and possibly the techs) before I came back in.
I went back a few hours later to talk to the manager. At this point I realized that it was the same person who helped me when I brought my van in. I explained the situation to him, and he wanted my van to be put up on a rack so he could look at it. He also stated I told him to replace the inner tie rods, so if it was still making noise that it was my fault for telling them what parts to replace. WHAT? I told him to CHECK for the noise which as I said, he wrote right on the estimate form. He's now saying I have to pay even more money to get it fixed.
With my van up on a rack he looked at the parts I was concerned with, and he stated that the parts on my van were new. He then had two of his techs/mechanics come over which both told me the same thing. One person was telling me that if they were the factory parts that the would not be so clean, and they would be covered in grease. I showed them the worn areas along with the rusted areas, and they still denied. The manager stated if they were the factory parts they would be very rusty, even though one of his techs just stated it would be covered with grease. Had it been covered in grease how could it rust?
I then tried to show him the pictures I took on the screen of my digital camera (I should have printed them out). He only stated that he could order in a hundred of them, and they would all be different. What? Sure, all "mass-produced" items vary slightly. Maybe with furniture, but not auto parts.
I tried to show them that the factory clamps were still my van (as explained earlier), and his only response was that sometimes they can be reused. Heck, it says in every repair manual that you have to cut factory clamps off, plus every mechanic I have talked to (a total of about 15 over the phone) said the factory ones had to be cut, and that they could not be reused.
The manager stated to me he had the receipt in his office for the parts they put on my van. Which even if he did, they obviously did not put these parts on my van. After continually denying my accusation, we went back into his office. He then dug through a file folder and pulled out a receipt which he held up in front of me for about 1 second. I could not even see what parts store it was from let alone any other information.
I then asked to at least see this receipt (or have a copy of it), and he firmly stated "NO, that is my property". I told him that I was already aware that the cost listed on the receipt would be less than the price they charged me, and I knew that all repair shops mark the price up at least a little. He still stated "No!"
He did state he would gladly (not for free) put it back in the shop to find out what was causing the noises and misalignment (after all it was my fault they put new inner tie rods on, NOT!), but he repeatedly told me that they did put new inner tie rods on my van. Like I really want them to do anything else to my van?
I don't know what I was thinking by taking my van back to them. It's not like this manager would actually admit to charging me $335.14 for parts (labor) that were never put on. If that was found out he would probably be fired. Oh well, I have learned quite a few lessons in all of this chaos.
Anyway, I have now emailed or phoned every newstation in town. I have emailed Tires Plus' corporate office, which I doubt I will get any response from. I am posting this statement here so that others can read it. Plus I have contacted a few attorneys which I will use a last resort, although it appears it may be the only resort
Ultimately, I just want my van fixed right, and it will definetly not be going into any Tires Plus shop ANYWHERE. I am not trying to get something for nothing. Heck, I would at least like to get what I paid for, but maybe that is the problem. Although I didn't go to the lowest priced place, it was one of the lower ones.
I have posted one of the pictures on my MSN Community Page website for all to see exactly what I am talking аbout:
Http://groups. Msn.com/RapidResponseAuctions/innertierods. Msnw? Action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=73
Tires Plus... You messed with the wrong person... Your company is a huge RIP-OFF!!
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