I hate firestone!

[DARKSCOPE001]

Ok guys heres the deal. I dont have any car tools because of 1 of 2 reasons. Either they are at the hangar locked up or Im an aviation mechanic, and I dont own them. Ill give you an example, I havent gotten around to getting my self a set of ratchets worth having for around the house. Neither have I a jack. So as you can see car maintinance is difficult for me because I dont own the tooling Now as you can see Im kind of restricted when it comes to doing oil changes and other pm. (that and my mom doesent trust me to do work on the cars) Anyways my girlfriend needed an oil change so my mom gave me her firestone card wich gets us a oil change and a "courtesy check" for $20.00 well i get a call back and they say that they found a bunch of major problems with her car. Most of wich i can fix on my own. Firstly They are saying that Her coil over spring is snapped and just sitting broken. Well I dont know my about cars but if this were th case wouldnt the car rest off to one side? and sit crooked? also would the broken spring not make a horrible racket while going through the sus stroke? also they say that she has a "major" power steering leek. Define major? they wanted like 900 bucks for the power steering rack replacement just in parts alone. and like another 1500 for the front struts. ok well im not verry car savy but is there a way to rebuild the power steering rack? and I know work on sus springs can be dangerous because you have to compress them to get them off. Should I attempt this work by myself? also I havent even gotten around to seing if its really broken. Should I inspect it and see if they are lying to me? Also They wanted soemthing stupid for spark plugs and wires like 500 because its "major work" because she has a malibu ls so you need to pull the engine to get to the back side of the block. and then they wanted another 300 to rebuild the throttle body and another 200 for "removing headlight haze" wow Ive never felt so downtalked in my life.

THANKS GUYS
Sean Scott

 

[ghnl]

Contact a local TV station. If they have a 'consumer reporter' they might be interested in investigating the shop...

 

[Tatersalad]

Take the car to a good local independet shop, and see what they tell you. These kind of shops stay in business because of their reputation, and should treat you better than a chain shop. Ask people you know what shop they use, referrals are your best bet!

 

[Fedwrench]

Sounds like the service writer is trying to make his boat/car/tatoo payment or get a bonus. At the minimum, I would get a second opinion from a different non chain type shop. How many miles are on the car? Are ther drips in the driveway? increased steering efffort in the morning when you first start the car? moaning? I would not recommend trying to rebuild the rack yourself. On the other hand, most remanufactured racks ****. Racks aren't cheap though. It's hard to say without seeing the car what it really needs. I don't think engine removal is necessary for plug replacement perhaps tilting it forward maybe though.

 

[tonydanzah]

spark plug tool

http://www.tooltopia.com/thexton-419x.aspx

 

[kornjulio]

You earn money working on airplane stuff; but yet your mom doesn't trust you to change the oil in a car???

 

[Tatersalad]

You do NOT have to pull the engine to do plugs on those cars, you can take the torque mounts loose that attach to the upper radiator support and pull the engine forward for more room, but most times even this is not necessary. Any good tech should be able to do this job in an hour or less.

 

[atari]

sean, we met at sears hardware about o month ago, im chucks brother-in-law. ill help you with your car or send you to a trust worthy shop. Go get her car from those theves and you can bring it to my shop and we will look it over. I might not have time to actually fix it but i can send you somewere that wont **** you dry. -Ben.

 

[TheBanker]

I hate firestone too....they do this all the time. I went to them once, years ago and have never gone back.

 

[IDASHO]

Come on man, it is called UPSELLING

 

[DARKSCOPE001]

Ok thanks everyone for the replys. Thanks tonydanzah Ill give that a look. Sorry to everyone about the confusion. See I have a freind that owns a malibu (inline 4cyl model) and he told me that for everything on that car the motor needs to be pulled so Im just going by word of mouth but it sounds like rolling the engine forward is a quicker easyer less time demanding job. And sorry kornjulio I miss-spoke I am not yet an aviation mechanic I am in school to become one. But chances are I know more than these idiots that firestone employs and sends through "training" and sorry guys I would have sent it to another shop. But the oil change was so cheap and my mom said not to worry about paying her back because my GF is always taking care of our pets. I suppose I need to clarify btw so that i dont sound like some creepy 40 Year old virgin that lives with his mom still. lol Im only 20 and I am going to school full time. I work part time at a retail store (hate my job) and barely scrape bottom with the money I make. anyways Thanks atari I do remember you. i forgot what you said your name was when we talked. No we have the car. They tried to make us leave it and get it fixed but the grand total was going to be over 5000 dollars Presuming "nothing else came up" I want to take it to another shop and atari thanks for the input man Oh and thanks fredwrench. No the car does not groan. unfortunately Her driveway is gravel. But when she is over here I have not noticed anystains or leaks on my driveway. Ill probably crawl under her car sometime soon and see if there is really a leek. I dobut it but when I opened the hood after it being serviced. the power steering fill cap had a big greasy thumb print on it, and some spillage around the cap. So Im not sure if they "serviced it" or what. As I said before guys any Info you guys can give me is always apreciated. So please keep it coming and ill keep you updated.

THANKS GUYS
Sean Scott

 

[mcdtommy23]

Firestone is a rip. A relative took his 200x Dodge Ram in for work. They told him it needed 1 piston and that they would have to bore the block, and the main/rod bearings spun. Put it all back together. 1 f**king piston?!?!?!?!? I seen the engine after the "work" doesn't look like the block was even cleaned. They also claimed that they couldn't get a plug out??? Charged him out the wazzooo for this ****. What machine shop would bore 1 cyl. and not even clean the block?

He brought the truck over last week. White/oilly foam in the air cleaner, smoking, etc. I was thinking blow by, valve seals etc. He pulled the plugs and major oil fouling. I was thinking WTF, why wouldn't a shop that alledgedly pulled a motor for one piston, and bearings have just rebuilt the whole damn thing?

I remember going to them a few years ago in need of a ball joint replacement on my Blazer. The guy ended up borrowing tools from my (with my permission) truck box, as I was getting pissed that it was taking to long.

 

[larry_g]

Firestone is a rip. A relative took his 200x Dodge Ram in for work. They told him it needed 1 piston and that they would have to bore the block, and the main/rod bearings spun. Put it all back together. 1 f**king piston?!?!?!?!? .

I had a used car dealer one time tell me that "this thing is just like new, we just put 3 new pistons in it. (V-8)"

lg
no neat sig line

 

[usa#1]

I wouldn't let Firestone put air in my tire much less work on a car of mine. I've heard too many similar stories to this one from non mechanically inclined friends.

 

[atari]

well if anyone in the c-bus area needs a good shop, google "your toy automotive" the owner/operators name is mike and he is trustworthy. i would take my car to him if i could not work on it myself.

Sean if you want me to look at her car give me a call, i just moved and my shop is trashed but we can look at it if you want. -Ben

 

[filtered]

Just another reason why I won't let anyone else work on my vehicles. We get high mileage Malibus at work to use until they die. None of them have had major issues like they are saying. So unless someone really beat on that car hard i'd said they are making up issues. For the prices they are giving you, that's highway robbery. Now if it was a Grand Am then I could see these issues coming up, along with a nice anti freeze leak.

 

[bmxr4life87]

This type of **** cracks me up. First off if you can't be trusted to change the oil in your car why waste money for schooling to work on aircraft? Second why drop 5grand on a car that isn't worth that much on a good day? Not knocking your car but I don't know why they woulda even tried to get that high of a repair bill approved. Third when I worked for lexus here we had 4 different cars come in knocking where the idiots at firestone had left the drain plugs loose or left the oil filter loose. Why would they need to replace just a piston and how would they know it was a piston before they tore into it? Third for way way less than $200 you can buy a buffer and compounds and polish your headlights way better than those assclowns. I'm sorry but this is why I never let anyone work on my cars unless its one of my buddies helping me because most people just don't care what kind of quality they put out. I'm just glad that my job notices my efforts because the majority of us do quality repair because we don't wanna be responsible for someones death due to laziness

 

[K5blazer83]

Perhaps it's just me, but the Firestone near me has a pretty good name and record around town. I replaced ball joints, tie-rods, sway-bar bushings, and the steering linkage and drove it over to them to do an alignment and they had it back to me in 2 hours and no mention of trying to sell me parts.
It's different everywhere you go I suppose.

 

[DARKSCOPE001]

bmxer its not that I cant be trusted its just my mom doesent want me working on her car because she is afraid that I might not be able to fix the problem and then she would be stuck with no car and a handfull of parts. Im more than able to work out most problems so please dont insult my inteligence.

 

[wreckercologist]

Firestone beat the hell out of my wheels when I had them put tires on my Explorer. Then they claimed they were already like that and their tire machine was damage free. Jerks. They can kiss my shiny metal a$$! Never again.

 

[DARKSCOPE001]

yea this isnt the first time Ive had problems with firestone. But not with this paticular location. Normaly its in out oilchange no problems. As I said before all my tools are at school and i dont have much of a home toolbox built up yet. Working on it tho. Well unfortunately I lack a decent jack, oil pan, and socket wrenches for home. Ill probably just grab the ones out of my toolbox for a night till I can get a decent set. But again as I said before ive had problems with them. I needed new plugs and wires. Mom insisted we go to firestone. (I cant really do a whole lot because its her car) 4 plugs and wires was 250 I priced it out at auto_____ (insert store of choice here) and it was like 60 bucks for me to do the labor. but anyways we get the car back and I Overlook the work they did. and the first thing I notice is a Nice little blue Point spark plug socket laying between the radiator and they front bumper. I have no intentions to return it. Ok now guys I know this part is only cosmetic but the wire cover. yea insead of having 6 bolts in it. Now it has like 2 or 3. Im not mad because its damaged. Im mad because some idiot was dumb enough to lose 3 bolts. Yes I know I shoud do the work myself. Im working on it. Im gona go get a half way decent jack. Some ratchets. And various other odds and ends so I can work on my cars at home

THANKS GUYS
Sean Scott

 

[mrshaun]

firestone makes the guys put that stuff on there. or they get fired.

now some cars do actually need the work.
I take it there for the lifetime alignments and tires thats it. They told me my front right hub was bad. the tech ( good customer ) took me out there and showed me the amount of play the wheel had. no doubt it was bad. 600 bucks to fix he told me to go else where. 200 bucks with the part at one of my shops done in 30 minutes back for the alignment,

but they have been known to take people for a ride,

when I met my wife she told me they had to replace an axle on the front of her rear wheel drive mini van. I laughed. 2 wheel drive. she was told that the wheel and everything just fell right off. she bought it. pun intended. 800 bucks later her daddy ( lawyer ) went down there and threatened them witha lawsuit and asked to see this front axle. needless to say she left with 800 bucks back on her card two free tires and an alignment. and they didnt get sued....

 

[DARKSCOPE001]

Yea thanks mrshaun. If i had it to do again i would have asked them to take me back and see the work. Unfortunately my gf just wanted to go so I didnt get to inspect it myself but im willing to bet that the power steering leak was nothing really but im not going to rule it out compleately. I am interested in seeing the spring thats "broken" im not saying its not i just want to see it. but the whole "having to rebuild the throttle body and headlight thing" kinda made me mad. ugh I wish I had the money to buy all the tooling I need for home

THANKS GUYS
Sean Scott

 

[Todd.Brock]

I have been to two sep. Firestones here in Cincinnati and they both blow. I was headed back to school on Sunday and my brakes were grinding. I took it to them on Saturday. I paid the price, sometimes you just have to. Its not the labor I mind paying, its getting *** ended on parts.. They were only about 10-15% higher than Autozone on parts. Problem came when I got home and realized they didnt flush the brakes like I had just paid for. Went back on Sunday was told they didnt have time... Chewed the mgrs *** and then watched him flush them and refund my money.

I got a coupon for oil change/rotation... I always mark the tires with somthing to see if they rotated them. After two hours, they were finally done. First thing I did was check for new oil and make sure that the tire I marked moved.... The mgr. said the tech didnt think my tires looked like they needed rotated. Again, watched the *** clown refund my money and rotate my tires. I dont go to Firestone anymore or anywhere for that fact.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

I have the same problem; i have all these tools to fix cars, but when my jet breaks down, i'm stuck and have to take it to an airport to get fixed.

 

[tdkkart]

Last time I was in a Firestone shop some guy came in with a leaking rear tire. By the time he left they had him signed up for a new credit card with a $1900 bill on it.

BTW, they hacked the alignment on my truck too.........

 

[gatewaysysop]

Reading this just reaffirms to be that the a vast majority of what I've experienced at a local Firestone is 'business as usual'.

As I've said in another thread, possibly more than one, Firestone is a complete ripoff and the manager working there, at least in the location I'm talking about, is a con-artist of the highest order.

Sure I mentioned this before, but I watched this douche bag up-sell a poor old lady on oxygen with a 20 year old car. He reamed for at least a grand when all she came in for was a damaged rim for hitting a curb. Tried to pull the same **** with me every single time I was in there. Waiting in the lobby, I've also overheard them up-selling every single person that came in there, without exception. Unbelievable.

Stupid bastards had no clue how to set timing on a Ford with EEC-IV and of course they didn't pull the spout connector first. Ran like **** afterward, so I call them on it. Manager tells me "Oh we can't get into that, you need to go somewhere with a dyno or something to get that looked at." Yes, he seriously said that in response to my claim that the timing was off since I brought it in the first time.

Another time, I had my vehicle in there for a dead fuel pump. I'd already verified the fuel pump was the issue, just needed it replaced. Told the manager this, explained the entire process by which I verified this. Tells me they have to do a diagnostic to be sure I'm not wrong. Guy goes out into the parking lot, pops the hood and jumps the relay with a piece of wire to see that the pump still doesn't prime. I'd done this already and told them that. Nevertheless, $89 out the window when he walks back in, "Yup, fuel pump is dead."

I swear to God, those people are the biggest con-artists I have ever had the displeasure of leaving any of my vehicles with and they have no shame whatsoever. I refuse to set foot in that place and I steer everyone I can away from there. They are the epitome of crooked mechanics and judging from this thread, there's obviously something that attracts people like that to Firestone.

 

[Fedwrench]

The rack bellows on the Malibu are probably start to fill with PS fluid and you may not notice the leak if they keep topping off the fluid level until a tech pokes a hole in the bellows with a pick to relieve pressure.
I know you guys hate this but, the techs, writer, manager, store, owner, etc. don't eat unless they sell and upsell work. Granted, work shouldn't be sold unless it's needed but, most places go by mileage and recommend accordingly. Free tire rotations and multipoint inspections are nothing more than sales tools to generate more work. It's up to the individual as to whether he can sleep at night or live with himself at the end of the day. However, most people that work on commision try to get the most from each customer be it an extended service agreement or selling you something else, it's the nature of the beast. You just need to be an informed consumer, ask questions like show me the leak or broken part or why do they need to be replaced? You can always find cheaper parts but, they may not be better parts. Most parts are marked up 40% over cost. Headlight restoration is a popular trend right now. Hell, turn on the TV and you'll likely see a commercial from Meguiars, Mothers, Flitz, or an infomercial about someone else's polishing system for headlights. Some cars need it, others are so bad, it won't help. Firestone isn't the only place trying to milk the customer for all that they can. Be aware anytime money changes hands.

 

[nolatoolguy]

Take the car to a good local independet shop, and see what they tell you. These kind of shops stay in business because of their reputation, and should treat you better than a chain shop. Ask people you know what shop they use, referrals are your best bet!

I agree with him. As the one other user said also call the local tv station. I would be willing to say there just trying to rip you off.

 

[Major Ramifications]

Send your girlfriend over here, I will "change her oil".