I blew out an expensive Dunlop Signature Sport tire on the freeway. As I had bought two I wanted to match it and went to the same company where I'd bought the others. They said it would be $119, take till Monday to order it in (it was Friday evening) and took a $25 deposit. It came in Monday and they installed it. I didn't look closely at the bill (MISTAKE - you shuld get a written estimate first too; I'm old enough to know better) until I got home. This is what I found:
They added a "ServiceCentral Roadside Hazard" warranty at $15.50 without asking me
They charged me $16.99 for tire installation including balancing - this wasn't mentioned either. I ex-pected there would be a charge but how much should be explained beforehand. I used to work in gas stations for the Stranded Oil Company and we pre-explained charges.
Next time I'm going to call around to all the tire store chains, get complete estimates over the phone for the tire i want preselected from Consumer Reports plus mandatory installation charges, and go for the lowball provided they put the estimate in writing.
Don't let them take you!
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