GM Truck Club Forum banner

Firestone.. What a rip off.

10K views 24 replies 18 participants last post by  dogred 
#1 · (Edited)
I stopped by Firestone today to have my rotors turned after I noticed some hopping while trying to slow down on hills. After an hour and a half of waiting with my truck up on the rack, I was informed my rotors cannot be turned and i need new ones. Alright, I can buy that. Then i was told my idler and pitman arm need replaced as well.. Sure, I'll take their word for it. Then i was shown a bill for almost 1500 dollars! 400 bucks for rotors alone another 400 for the idler and pitman arm as well as 700 for labor. I responded with "Put the wheels back on the truck, I gotta go home."

Just a rant but anybody else had problems with them? Looked around and found all the parts listed for a grand total of 200 bucks
 
#2 ·
Holy Crap!! That is a rip off. I work at a shop and our rate is $80 an hour which is on the cheap side in this area. I could see your rotors needing replaced if they cut too much off the first time and now they are too thin to cut again. If your truck came into my shop id bet I could have that job done in around 2 hours and like you said about $200 in parts. So id say between $400 to $500 total
 
#3 ·
The worst part is, there is probably nothing wrong with the rotors, idler or pitman arms. I was told the rotor story on my Bronco II at a Goodyear store when I went in for a $15 oil change. When they wanted a fortune to do the work, I went home and did the job myself. Funny, the pads were not grinding into the rotors like they said they were........ Rotor did not have to be replaced. Hell, I don't think I even turned them since they were pretty smooth! Lying bastards!
 
#4 ·
We get these kind of things all the time from Les Schwab Tires. People will go in for a rotate or new tires and they will try to sell them the farm with a whole new front end or all new brakes. Then the people bring their car to us to look at and we usually find nothing wrong. Or they might need one item out of the ten they were quoted
 
#5 · (Edited)
Yep, bad reviews of shoody work and ripoffs by Firestone on BBB, messed up the cooling system on my Monte Carlo . Filed a complaint with the BBB and after a phone call with the district mgr got a refund

---------- Post added at 08:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 PM ----------

Hey there neighbor! Firestone big ripoff in this area
 
#7 ·
Smart move to walk out.
Just as a heads up from working behind the counter of a big auto parts chain, most of the repair companies get the parts cheaper than you can get them over the counter and then charge almost double what they paid for the parts.
 
#8 ·
I've had my fair share of run-ins with Firestone myself.. it seems that the need to rip people off is company-wide. Their reputation will soon haunt them if i had to make a guess haha.
 
#9 ·
Guys it's been said on here before STAYAWAY FROM Firestone,Sears,Goodyear and many other Nat'ls chains.. They hire Back yard A -Holes who don't know what they are doing and are trained to MAKE money for the Co NOT repair your car.. 20/20 and many other News Ch's have said the same...
 
#10 ·
It's really sad how many of these places do this type of thing notoriously. That's one of the biggest things I miss about living in Southern California. There were shops my family has been going to since before I was born and always treated us well. In Washington, I don't have the same confidence anywhere yet.
 
#11 ·
All shops are starting to "upswell" in order to make bigger tickets, and most of the time the service writer is selling you stuff before your truck ever gets up on a lift.
 
#12 ·
This is why there's only a handful of places that I will allow to touch my vehicles. Nice thing when I was on Active Duty was I always had access to the Autocraft shop on post so I was able to do almost everything myself. Kinda wish I had stayed within 30 miles or so of a base but oh well. If I have time while I'm at Fort Knox for two weeks I plan on using their autocraft shop to do an oil change and a tuneup, in addition to checking over my transmission (which I had replaced in the town I went to HS in cause I know them and they know they're not gonna pull the wool over my eyes).
 
#13 ·
That's why I HATE posting on my iPad or Android... SOMETHING is ALWAYS misspelled (or auto-corrected).

the mentality of the new owner of the shop my buddy works at is that the customer feels confident in dealing with a shop that finds problems and fixes them before they are problems. The customer is completely unaware that the shop is taking advantage of them. The shop uses terms like "144 point inspection", giving the customer the idea that they are doing a good service and watching out for them. If the shop were to re-work it to something like "144 things we look at in an effort to upsell you", they wouldn't be so happy about it.

My buddy says that the shop owner finds at LEAST 3 things to sell the customer whether they need it or not. He told me that a car came in for inspection and it had oil stains on the power steering line. The shop owner failed it and would not pass the inspection until the customer agreed to have new power steering lines installed. He told me that the lines weren't even wet or dripping... That it could have been from a spill when filling the fluid.

Shops can't make it on inspections and oil changes alone. I get that, but to sell customers crap they don't need is bad, but most shops have started in in this sales tactic.

Side note: Customer goes into the shop for an oil change. Owner tells him that he needs a brake fluid flush. Customer thinks about it for a minute and says "Wait, you did that 3 weeks ago when I was in here." A look into the vehicle history revealed that it had indeed been sold 3 weeks before to him on the same car. OOPS!

I have actually heard a "service writer" use the term "Starter Belt" in a sales pitch to a customer. You gotta be careful what you let them do. Most of the time they are suggesting stuff you don't need!
 
#14 ·
Yeah its a sad state of affairs when things like this happen, but it dose happen everywhere, we do 99% of our own work on all our vehicles except for the Sask safety inspections for our commercial trucks,..... and it always amuses me when the service tech phones us to tell us what needs to be done as we have all the specs, rules, and have done our home work before the vehicle goes in,, so we know in advance, if any or at least most of the work needed to pass the inspection. But since we are not a certified shop, or have a certified mechanic on staff we are not allowed to certify vehicles. Now when i say certified I only mean certified by Sask gov insurance,,,, its always been a scam, as for the shops as you speak of "Firestone or others like it most of the people that work there I wouldn't let in my shop to sweep up..... many days I do that to, at least i know I will have a clean shop in the morning and i don't need to buy a new broom......
 
#15 ·
It's always better to find a good mechanic that works out of his own business. You can always ask around through friends and family to find one that is reputable. Most of the big box or chain auto repair shops are coached to sell the bill of goods because they work off of commission. You end up spending money on a list of things that aren't necessary but it their job to convince you that you need it or you will have problems. In reality most of it is them selling you SNAKE OIL.
 
#16 ·
We have a trusted mechanic we used to go to church with. I usually go to him but then again I didnt know I would need to take out a loan to get some rotors turned at firestone. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered a Moog idler arm and pitman arm just in case. And I'll let him decided whether or not I need new rotors. Glad to see others share my opinion of the "trusted" automotive maintenance chains.
 
#17 ·
Even tho I havent dealt with Firestone..the mechanic/service writers give all of us mechanics/technicians a bad name..granted I work as a tech for a semi-truck dealership but it pisses me off when places do that just to make a buck..gives us all a bad name...on the flip side..while shopping for tires the last place I called was the dealer I bought my truck from and they were also the lowest price...go figure.


JC
 
#18 ·
a few years back i did a 100% rebuild of my entire front end. everything but the frame was replaced. i even upgraded the hubs on my 94 to 96 hubs. everything cost me about $1300 for parts. but thats for literally everything on the entire front end.

the rotors already pointed to be a rat in the wood pile. it takes about 20 seconds to check those. depending on your rims sometimes you dont even have to remove the wheels to check the rotors.

$700 for labor is flat out retarded. for the items you listed even a high school drop out can work in about 2 hours max.

like the other guy said, they hire people right off of the street. the typical shop will have 4-9 people that truly do not know what they are doing with 1 certified tech floating around wasting time to supposedly supervise the work being done. if you cant work on your own stuff then look for the hole in the wall nobody shop. they stay open by word of mouth. they depend on good work to hopefully get more customers.
 
#19 ·
I've had my fair share of run-ins with Firestone myself.. it seems that the need to rip people off is company-wide. Their reputation will soon haunt them if i had to make a guess haha.
Firestone tires have had a poor reputation in my opinion since the Firestone 500 of years past. Then there is their tire oft associated with the Explorer issues. . Admittedly, Ford and Firestone engaged in a finger pointing exercise as to who was at fault. Irregardless, I do not consider Firestone a quality tire. If their main product line is average at best, I can't imagine their service centers would be any better.

Just about every town across america has a local tire store that offers better service and a wide range of tire brands to suit your needs and budget. I prefer Bolton James Tire Company in Spartanburg. Honest, fair and dependable. They don't fix what aint broke.
 
#20 ·
Firestone tires have had a poor reputation in my opinion since the Firestone 500 of years past. Then there is their tire oft associated with the Explorer issues. . Admittedly, Ford and Firestone engaged in a finger pointing exercise as to who was at fault. Irregardless, I do not consider Firestone a quality tire. If their main product line is average at best, I can't imagine their service centers would be any better.

Just about every town across america has a local tire store that offers better service and a wide range of tire brands to suit your needs and budget. I prefer Bolton James Tire Company in Spartanburg. Honest, fair and dependable. They don't fix what aint broke.
I grew up hearing and seeing all kinds of deceptive sales techniques. And Firestone, Sears and other big box stores all need there employees to upsell, at least thats what they think.
My father was amanager for the old Standard Oil service stations and he took me to work on occassion. He taught me about servicing vehicles but most importantly about servicing customers so they would return.
My father told me how some attendants would check your oil with dirty oil on their finger and then transfer to a short stroke dip stick and sell you an oil change. There was the sharpened nail in the hand to sell a radiator hose, the razor to sell a fan belt, the spilling fluid on the alternator/generator housing, and don't forget the spraying the shock absorber with oil so you could show the customer the shock was leaking and needed replacing.
After teaching me all these techniques my father sat me down and told me if he ever caught me doing such nonsense he would kick my ...., He also taught me how he made such a good living by being honest.
Later as a station attendant for AMOCO I found out how honesty pays dividends. My boss had quoted a job but then left town before the customer decided. The customer came to me and said do the work. I gladly took the job on , only to find out half the quote was un needed. I called the customer and had him stop by so we could go over the quote. I explained and then showed him that his fan belts were very good and his valve cover bolts had been loosened , etc etc. I then showed him a few items I thought needed attention and explained very carefully what I would do and how it would save him dollars. Needless to say I got the customers confidence and did all service we agreed needed attention.
The very next day that customers buddy brought his truck to me to check out. I did and again showed what I would do if it were my truck. He showed me a quote from a competitor and said half the stufff I showed him didnt need replacement. Even though he didnt need tires right then he bought a full set. I did the tune up and misc. repairs and the next day he brought his wifes car in for the same . Well while I worked there I was busy from there on out. As I had them lined up for all manner of work.
Oh I failed to mention the first guy was a Utah State Highway Patrol officer who had clout. Our station became one of very select to sell all fuels to the UHP and all those officers brought their vehicles to me for inspection, and repairs when and if necessary.
Not only did I make good money I made several friends and I felt good about treating people the way I would prefer to be treated.
Oh I did lose a few dollars on occasion as I refused to do repairs that were unnecessary, like when I worked for the JC Penney automotive Center. Yes I lost my job as I would not install parts on vehicles that weren't needed. But I slept well . Oh and That auto center is long gone and now an Olive garden.
 
#21 ·
I'm glad we don't have a firestone store around here. I stick with a fairly small chain Tire Rama. I think they have like 40 some odd stores across the north west, and the guys know me by name now that I go to them exclusively. I do have to drive an extra 10 miles, but their service is well worth it, and they will actually take you out to the shop and show you and explain what is wrong and what they will do to correct the problem. And if you have a problem with their service, they actually own up to it and will make amends. I have to use Les Schwab for work, and while the guys I deal with are fine, I have used them on personal rigs in the past and will not ever again.
 
#22 ·
never been to firestone, and never will, I stay far far away from those places. I do it myself, or pay a dealer to, i realize that I may pay a little more, but its worth it, cause i know its done right. ( to a point, i realize dealers can screw you over as well)

havnt found a place in VB i trust enough with my car and truck.

Alex
 
#24 ·
Interesting and very informative read from the very begining. I certainly learned from this discussion. As an after thought, you may want to consider lodging a complaint about this dealer with the local Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, and/or Angie's List.
i think angie's list is about the only thing that can hurt them of those 3. the bbb and cc are powerless. the unions seen to that. its not much different than in the navy or corp, if some sh_t bag higher up in the ranks is messing with you, well suck it up because no1 will help you. so pretty much complaining to most anything or one will do nothing. getting on forums, Angie's list, and facebook is just about todays best way to hurt Firestone or any other crap shack shop.
 
#25 ·
[MENTION=48417]Coach24[/MENTION], I dealt with alot of people coming into the parts store complaining about shops and how they were ripped off. I would only suggest people to a few local shops that I knew the reputation of. I also had a bad dealing with one of the commercial customer from my shop. I went over and asked them to change the oil in my truck, they said it would cost $100 for 4 quarts of synthetic oil and a Wix filter. I asked them if I provided the oil and filter what the charge would be, there response was $100. They would only use the oil and filter they purchased, which was from the same place I was getting the oil and filter. The same parts store I worked at! One of the workers told me that the owner does this so he can mark up the prices on the oil and filter. Every time someone mentioned they were taking their car there I talked them out of it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top