aaquib1992

So ive had the snow tires until now(about 2 months of using them) and today I decide to get the summer tires put back on, and (after an alignment check) firestone tells me my toe is out. I am skeptical cause when they put the snow tires on (2 months ago) they said everything was fine but now they say the 2 front wheels toe's (?) are out.

And they are charging me around $90 to fix it, the car runs straight and true(when I took it to them today for the replacement) and when I gave them the car the guy immediately(when I handed the keys over) suggested I get an alignment (without even looking at the car) so something seems fishy to me. I want some opinions from you guys cause I feel Firestone is taking me for a stupid sap.

Thanks so much MF, I really appreciate your time!

JimC

It does sound suspicious. Is there any unusual wear patterns on the tire that would suggest a problem? If they didn't put it on the machine to check the toe, then how do they know it is out - assuming the tires are worn evenly?

Perhaps with the comment he made before looking at the car - they are having a special on alignments and the tech gets an incentive for selling alignments?

aaquib1992

yeah it does sound even fishier after getting all the details: So I go there to drop off the car and the summer tires and they tell me $100 for the tire replacement- when I bought the tires they specifically (in writing) said it was free rotations(summer/winter) for the first 3 seasons, and after showing it to them they immediately take back their word, then again when I go to pick up the car they stick me with the $100 bill and again I must show them the statement from when I bought the tires!

This is on top of the alignment thing, which by the way, was fine because I took it to Ford and they ran a check in like 10 mins while I munched on donuts. And they (ford) told me it was perfect.

Well I can now safely say that Firestone tires (Castleton, IN) is one of the worse places to take your business! Maybe they saw me and thought "dumb kid, decent car. Lets dupe him." Either way, they have lost my business.

Thanks for the help Jim, I really appreciate it! And yeah, they had a 10 off sale on alignments with (most likely) tech incentives, so maybe that is why they were trying to push all that extra "service" on the bill.

sicride

Hmm... I work for Firestone and I believe it is different for each region of the country, but in the NE Zone, right now, there is a special on rotate balance and alignment that we are promoting. However, promoting and lying to you are two different things. At my location we try very hard to keep an alignment sheet with every ticket which we check the alignment on. They should be able to provide this for you and show you exactly what is out. There is no special promotion for technicians going on and never will be. Something to consider, they did not try to sell you an alignment that you did not need last time you were in, why would they lie to you now?

As for the swapping tires over from snow to summer/all-season tires, if you buy Bridgestone or Firestone snow tires, the installation is free when switching between the two for the change of seasons. However, there is a charge for balancing parts/labor and new valve stems. Should be shy of $100 with taxes in most areas.

I am not going to sit here and pretend like a company with 3600 service locations doesn't have a bad apple here and there. It is possible someone was trying to rip you off. However, dealing with this kind of thing 5-6 days a week it's a customers perception of being ripped off and as long as I'm involved I can gurantee that is never the case. Nothing really sounded fishy to me until you said you took it to Ford and they stated otherwise. I would want to compare the alignment spec sheets both shops should be able to provide you with.

Unfortunately in our industry customers come in thinking they're going to be ripped off or screwed. The truth is you'll find what you want to find if you look hard enough.. Even if it's not there.

JimC

sicride - the thing that triggered the red flag here though was before they even looked at the car they were telling him he needed an alignment. If they would have waited until it was on the lift and then said "you should consider an alignment - look at the wear on these tires" it wouldn't sound fishy.

But without even looking at the car they were trying to sell an alignment?

Peshields

this is why I rotate/balance/mount my own tires at my dads shop

BTW aaquib, whereabouts are you located? I'm in the Fishers area a lot.

aaquib1992

Im actually in the Carmel area! Where is your dads shop? I might need a new shop for the mounting next november. Small world!

@sicride, I mean NO personal offense at all! I just was a bit upset when I was clearly being underestimated by these techs. in my basic/common sense. I mean, they tell me its a free tire replacement for the first 3 seasons b/c I bought firestone winterforce tires. And then they go back on their word, on top of that they "suggest" an overpriced (ford does it for about $60 for the same 2 tires) alignment that I clearly didn't need. But I am really sorry if I came off as overly rude, I did not intend to sound that way.

bobomac

doesn't really apply here but my local firestone dealer here would not even give me a quote for new tires for my 07. i contacted them twice and same thing "we will get back to you with the price". did the same thing to my father 6 months ago looking for new winter tires for his f-150. terrible service.

sicride

aaquib, I take no offense at all. I know I personally didn't do it. Was simply trying to explain the other guys point of view and some insight. I think a lot of the times customers like yourself get upset is over miss-communication. If this guy recommended an alignment before looking at your tires theres 3 possible reason, he looked in your history and saw they had recommended an alignment recently which was not performed (acceptable, but apparently not the case), he offered a free alignment check and explained if it needs an alignment you'll have the option to do it at 79.99 (acceptable, may not have been the case), or he was trying to sell you an alignment just because (not acceptable).

The miss-understanding/communication on the installation thing is explained by the company policy that we install the tires free, balancing parts and valve stems costs 14.98 per tire (here, may not be everywhere). Still that should be closer to $70-75 including shop supplies and taxes than it is to $100. So, I don't know what they were thinking there. Try another Firestone maybe? To my understand swapping winter tires to all-season or summer tires should be free as long as the tires are usable. I believe that is our company policy when you buy our snow tires.

We also recommend alignment checks every 6 months or 6,000 miles as a regular maint. 80% of vehicles out of alignment do not have noticeable driving symptoms like a pull or steering wheel off center. However, being out of alignment without a symptom can still cause tire wear and/or effect gas mileage.

Peshields

My dad's shop is actually up in Dunkirk, IN. about an hour drive away from my apt in Noblesville. Probably be closer to 1.5 from your location. Depending on the route I take to work I go through Carmel down Hazeldell to 116th. You located close to there?