BIG O TIRES Free brake inspection. If You dont have them fix it YOU GET TOWED???WTF

All those kinda places are the same. its the way they make money.

I'm gonna guess that when you get into the brakes you're gonna find old brakes but not brakes that aren't workable.

I dated a gal once that took her car to a Jiffy lube and when she picked it up they told her that the cap was missing off her power steering pump and how dangerous that was. it was going to cost her 48 bucks to fix it. She wasn't too bright but she was bright enough to call me. I told her to snag a baggy out of the trash and borrow a rubberband from someone then put that over the hole. they told her that the pump was pressurized and that it wouldn't work, that the best she could hope for was that it would blow the bag up and spew oil all over her front brakes etc.

She drove it to my place and we went to the Western Auto and bought a replacement cap for a couple of bucks and put it on.

I don't know about the NW any more but anyplace else they would have given the owner a lot of grief over the fact that he wouldn't release a car that had no money owed.

 

thanks tredboy, I gave'm my two cents worth. Maybe it'll help.
Mike

 

which one was it...did I hear the Renton one from OldBeet?.....I will also send off a email...bad JuJu messing with FEDER......he will pay alot of ways I am sure on this!

 

yeah, that is a very good idea. you know, i have lots of free time at work, and would be more than glad to call that specific location repeatedly...

 

Muffler shops are just the tip of the iceberg, Credit card co's, Gasoline co's, Banks, Mortgage co's. they are all out to get the maximum cash with their hand in your pocket. Can't physically get to them all, just stay away from them if you can.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that brakes that work on the second pump should have been taken care of before it ever got to that point. I think the lesson to be taught is that you should fix your own brakes properly at the first sign of a problem and stay away from chains that are out to get your money.
Expend the energy that you would use fighting, to getting the job done right and teaching how to do the job right and safe, without getting ripped off. You can't drive the car when you are in jail, and it will cost YOU to get out.

 

This is Bullsjit!! I have had nad experiences at Big-O as well on a truck I drove for work. I will never go there again. I went to the website Tredboy provided and added my .02. Hope you get some satisfaction!!

 

That sounds like the Big Joke tires in Sonora. My buddy took his car to get it aligned & it came out of the shop with a 4" scratch in his brand new paint job & greasy hand prints all over it. Plus the car would damn near make a right turn on its own after they had aligned it.

 

good job .thanks for the ady. i'm sure it will be on fire. what you really need is the managers name.

 

A friend of my mothers took her car to Merchants tire for a new battery. They told her she needed her power steering pump flushed. What the ****, when was the last time your power steering needed to be flushed. She didnt know, told them to do it. Cost her $98. Less than 2 months later she got a flat and went there to get a new tire. They told he that she also needed her power steering pump flushed. Then she got su****ious. She told them they just did it, and they told her that because she didnt clean off the outside of the pump, the fluid got dirty. She didnt do it, called me, and of course I told her never to go there again. This was the same shop that put used tires (they have a one week gaurentee, I got tires that someone drove for a week and returned, when your buying $220 Michelins, or anything for that matter, they better be new) on my car, and insisted they were new. The tires had none of the blue/red paint lines or small stubbs a brand new tire has, and the guy basicly told me to leave his store. For all I knew they were used for a month, but regardless, someone put miles on them. I went to NTB, who is the same company, and they took care of me, but these guys are all crooks.

 

There's two sides to every story so who knows. If the pedal pumped up and stayed solid, I'd like to know what made it so dangerous to drive? What did they say the car needed?

On the other hand, if it was really dangerous, than the mgr. did the right thing. Sometimes we have to protect other drivers from the stupidity of 18 year olds. Just because we've all driven cars with bad brakes before doesn't make it OK to do today. I ***ure you that should someone in my family get hurt due to someone driving a car that the driver knows has defects in the brakes, I will clean everyone out including the driver, the shop, the county who employs the cops, etc...

But than again- it could be all BS. What was wrong? Those details were left out.

If BigO felt so strong about it, maybe they ahould have offered to pay for the towing.

 

Wow this post really got alot of replys. Let Me say Yes there are two sides to every story. And Yes it depends what side is tellin it.What I stated above is the truth. Yes the kid probably shouldnt be driving the car with questionable brakes. But He just got a job and an apartment. He aint no college grad with rich parents.THATS why He went to see about a repair that He or His Dad cant do.He first needs to see how much it will cost and how He can pay for these repairs. Him and His dad are NOT I repeat NOT in any way shape or form mechanically minded. I stepped on the brakes with one pump they were up. Now mind You I didnt drive the car nor did Big O tires but Sean told Me there is no grinding noise. Alot of us dont live in a perfect world where all we need is a credit card or cash to go about our merry way.
**** Im 55 yrs old and still drive a 73 Dodge truck to work and back does that mean Im a threat to some ****er with a new one ton dually? Surley He can stop faster than I can. All this should have - would have - could happen **** is the same **** our government uses as a foundation to raise taxes.
Some people just need a reality check and need not to be the Judge and Jury or the world police Force!!!!
Also I have spent My time in Jail for ***ault and had My anger managment cl***es and they PISS ME OFF !!! So kickin the guys *** would have got Me or My nephew anywhere but Jail. And the way I see it THEY WON.
I will today send a nasty E Mail complaining about the incident.
Thanks again all You hambers for the support. The store that did this was
in Renton Wa 10658 SE 180th st.(next to FredMeyer Benton center)
Renton WA. Dont have the Managers Name I think its Peanut the little *****!
Ill let Ya know what kind of response I get. FEDER

 

There's usually THREE sides to every story...side a, side b, and the truth But seriously, you most likely did the best thing possible. I hope it has a good and low cost outcome for your end. I'm over 6'2" and about 240#. I kinda just look at people the "right" way and get what I need. Most time don't even say anything. But mostly for us auto enthusiasts we know what we want and need before we get to it. Sounds like a good time to get your nephew(?) into cars if only to know when he's gettin the shaft. Beyond that, I'd expect that the chain may want to offer to pay for parts, give him a set of tires, or something to show goodwill. Then fire the ****in idiot running the store. It was a store right? Not a state safety center? DMV? Police station? NHTSA research center? You get the idea. Seek satisfaction. Don't just blow off steam. Other than us responders here, who ****in cares what you think? No one gives a **** what I think outside my family, friends, and employer, and even then it's limited. **** em. Seek satisfaction. Be creative. Don't get a lawyer. Do it yourself. Read up on statutes and ****. Then send your notice.

 

A little bit of the following is re-hash of what I think, but...
I forgot to emphaisze, It's my guess that this ain't Big-O policy, but I'm sure they don't forbid it either. Them chain-stores are all alike. Screw the public.

Very few of them will hire good hard working, [honest, (even)], and well experienced, mechanics, unless they will agree to sell, to pad the inspection sheets, and add-on **** the coustomer don't need. I started two of those jobs in my life-time, called 'flat-rate' jobs, and loaded my tool box up in less than a week on both of them. Actually on the last one, I pissed on the shop manager's paperwork on the way out the door for this very thing. He just couldn't comprehend how I couldn't write more work during the pre-inspections........his words were "every customer can come up with a couple of hundred extra, they expect to, my estimate is under-stated, and it's ONLY AN EXTIMATE!"

Back on topic; The service writer was trying to rip off the teenager. He does it all the time. The **** he gave about not letting the car back on the street because it's unsafe? Malarkey! That tactic wouldn't be sanctioned by anybody, except another fukin' crook. Whoever heard of a business that has "public safety authority", except maybe in la-la-land?

It's been common shop practice for reputable shops, for half-a-century, to have the customer sign a release with known discrepancies on the vehicle when taken from the posession of the repair shop. That's a regular block on the service contract form!(of any reputable shop that is concerned with liability)

The cops were right, they can't do anything to resolve a minor property dispute, and shouldn't have been bothered to start with.

The threat by the service manager to call the cops, now, that was a Red-Herring, just another attempt by the guy to make one last effort to sell those brake parts, by diverting attention away from his trying to rip the kid off, because diverting attention is another sign of a real good salesman. The idea is to never let the customer see you sweat, never blink. But, in my world, that kind of talent, that every good salesman develops, should be throttled when abused.

 

I wouldn't want you to take my advice as a directive, for you to believe every thing you read as fact, so I deleted the text....I rehashed it in another post anyhow(see above).....
As far as my advice to my grandkids, it isn't advice to none of yours. To mine, the advice is; do not lay down when somebody tries to screw you, to act when necessary, and not go crying to get somebody to do your dirty work for you. If you feel the need to threaten, just be ready to follow through. That service manager needs his *** kicked. Only another crook would defend him.

In trouble with BBB? wow............that's heavy. I'll bet he's shaking in his boots.

 

OK so what the heck are you doing wasting their time with a free brake inspection if you have no intention of getting it fixed anyways. I would have to concur they acted wrong but get real, nothing is free, They do the inspections hoping to get work.
I worked in a shop where the owner put free brake inspections in one of those radio station promo ticket books. I never got one red cent of business, just a whole ****load of people who wanted something free. I even had several with new cars that were on warranty get it just because it was free.
And for real there is a liability to let a customer leave driving a car that you know is unsafe.
I worked for a man who had to be an expert witness in a lawsuit. The shop had reccomended a full brake job. The customer convinced them to do less. When it went to court the shop lost. The judge said that even though the customer requested a partial job, the shop was responsible because they were supposed to be the professionals. Spose that shop might have been to court before?

 

there is nothing "free" anymore (blanket statement). they use that term to get customer in and find anything, i mean ANYTHING wrong.....or even worse make something wrong. i've worked for many years as a auto tech (read mechanic) and i've seen some REALLY scary vehicles out there but you have NO legal right to hold a car other then non payment for services rendered (and there's still a bunch of laws on how you get the authorization to do the work). i've had customers sign a work order to release me of any liability......it's THEIR car not mine, i can't stop them. i've never, NEVER tried to scare someone into fixing thier car....i have to sleep at night... most people will listen if you tell them what will happen and how much more it will cost if they don't repair it at the present state it's in. if they dont listen to logic and reason that's ok it's thier car......................hmmmm after reading this maybe that is why it hard finding a job around here, i don't pull in enough money and still have my morals intact .

moral of the rant is beware of places offering free inspections because good shops won't need to atract customers that way.

 

i've been there before having the customer try to bargin with you to do less. the best tool a mechanic has is his gut, if you get a bad feeling about someone or they're trying to get you to do half *** work......DON'T do it, turn it down..... you really don't need that type of work, it's better to walk away from a job then paying MORE then you recieved for the job in the first place. another thing i have to say is too all the techs out there, no one is going to cover your *** for you........you need to do it for yourself. if you boss says something ok or a co-worker says it's ok and something goes wrong guess who is the first one to walk away or say "i never said that".

ok second rant over..................

 

from the younger generation -- im a broke 18 yo too-- i want to say thanks for sticking up and giving us-- the young guys a hand-- im not a small guy, and i dont mid arguing and yelling-- especailly over my car, but its always nice to have somebody lend us a hand.

keith

 

i've been on both sides of this kind of work.I worked for a tire chain in which the manager wanted me to "just throw some weights on the dumb *****es bent wheel and tell her its balanced "I informed the customer what was going on as I packed my tools. I had a different shop tell me that they could not align my car after selling me 4 tires because i had a torn universal boot on a halfshaft.I would need 600$ worth of work before they could do the free alignment which came with the purchase.According to them i had to replace the entire half shaft that just a boot replacement was an improper repair.
now as far as this shop you dealt with goes the one place I haven't seen anyone refer you to is the Dealers and Repairers section of your motor vechile department.If your state is like mine any auto repair facility is liscenced through this department they will investagate any complaints of this type including at times sending a "customer "who is actually a dmv inspector.Unless a mechanics lean has been signed by the customer they can't hold the vechile or legaly have it towed away.Be aware that the lein is usualy hidden in the work order sheet that gives them permission to service your car and some crooked dealers will say that you are just giving us permission to check out your car, so look closely at anything that was given to the kid check any paperwork he may have been given then contact BBB the Main office /headquarters of the chain AND DMV if you have a tell channel 3 or some such tell them also .I think you were correct in not taking your complaint quietly outside the place to handle it was at the service desk and infront of other customers they need to know that manager was pulling ****.I wasen't there so I will not comment on how it was handled.In my state threatening is an arrestable offence and cops don't know the law even if you think they do!They can charge you with most anything but it's up to courts to actually decide if you are guilty of breaking the law

 

If big o wanted the car towed they should have paid for it.

 

In some states there is a BAD legal doctrine in play called "joint and several liabilities". Joe Mullet drives his Camaro to the quickie lube, gets a $9.95 oil change. He leaves, goes down the street and when the light turns red, he hits the brakes, which fail. He goes thru the intersection, t-bones another car and injures the driver.

Joe Mullet has no insurance, so the injured driver's attorney goes after anyone with a nexus to the car. The shop that did the oil change has deep pockets, so he convinces a jury that they should have noticed the low brake pedal when they pulled it up on the ramp. And he convinces a jury that the shop should have seen the leaking fluid while they were under the car changing the oil. The lawyer convinces the jury that the shop is partially at fault for not fixing the problem, stopping the car from leaving the shop, or calling the cops.

So the jury sides with the victim under the law and gets a million dollar judgement. Now, since they can distribute blame under this legal doctrine, the jury can allocate damages accordingly. Since 'ol Joe has no insurance and no money, they get 100% of the judgement from the oil change shop for not stopping this clown with bad brakes, and Joe Mullet is off the hook with only a traffic ticket to pay for.

The legal system in this country has lost its mind.......

 

these stories remind me of 2 incidents during my 10 year stint at being a mechanic...

I was fortunate enough to work for honest shops.... the last place, the old man was beyond honest... we had customers who had been comng there for 20+ years!

Anyway, first incident was a VW bug.. can't remember what it was in for now... but it wasn't brakes. The pedal felt funny when I drove it in so I checked it out while it was on the lift... It was missing most of the brake parts! Scary stuff... and the kid had just bought it... no $$$ to fix. We had to have a tow truck remove it from the property... he was pissed..

Next one.... can't even remember what kind of car it was now, some sort of station wagon... put in on the lift and the spindle fell off! Upper ball joint had decided it had done its job for long enough... this was while working for Mr. Honesty Hisself...

Showed the lady and she didn't want it fixed... said her husband could do it. Ok, but you REALLY can't drive it! Thats when I learned in California, you could "black flag" a car... no way they can remove it from the property without repair... lawyers... lotsa calls from the lady... almost had to go to court to tell the lady how stupid she was in front of a judge... all for a $100 repair! My boss even offered to buy the part... I even offered to put the part on for free so no one would die! No way.... we were crooks in her eyes and trying to have her pay for work she didn't need...

We ended up fixing it.... AND she had to pay.

Unfortunately, mechanics have gotten a bad rap for being crooks for years...

my take... if you have to pump the brakes for them to work, somethings wrong... he took it in for the "free" brake inspection for some reason right?!?!

Or did he just think it would be a fun thing to do to waste some time???

 

I agree with pretty much everything in that statement. I just don't think Captain Doubletalk is going to care about idle threats, and actually doing anything to him is only going to get you in real trouble.

I think the best way to hurt this guy would be to try to get him fired by going over his head to the people above him. Some bigwig at the head offices never met this guy, they just see a stream of bad comments coming in and fire the guy, replacing him with whoever's next in line.

 

i sent a complaint to the site listed by tredboy
strength in numbers
maybe they will realize bad news travels fast
i liked the idea of throwing a rotor through the window of the place to bad you dont work at at a gl*** company you could quote em 500 and shut the place down till they replace it cuz you are liable

 

A friend of mine had gotten ****ed by one of these places, and he ended up getting his money back out of them:

He had another car that the damn wheel was stuck on the car. We both beat the wheel (like it owed us money) and it wouldnt come off. We were trying to replace an axle bearing and this wheel was stuck like it was welded on.

He took it to the shop that screwed him before, and it took them 3 hours to get that wheel off for the "free brake inspection", knowing full well the brakes were fine. After multiple guys worked on it, including the manager - they came into the waiting room, covered in sweat, and gave him a $250 estimate to fix the brakes which were fine.

They suggested repairs, he told them to **** off, and put the wheel back on.

(All we needed was the wheel off)

We replaced the bearing later that afternoon.

 

I wonder if the cops who threatened to give out defective vehicle ticket were ready to defend their actions supported only by the opinion of the Big Zero Tires Manager without substantiation from an idependent third party.

Were I the consumer, I'd take the big zero from Big Zero Tires to small claims court and seek res***ution for the expenses incurred in getting the car out of there. Big Zero would bring in their corporate legal staff (why not just pay the ****ing three hundred dollars?) and elevate the case to County Court in an effort to intimidate the the plaintiff. When that happened, I'd refile my case directly with the Judge of the County Court and add the names of the cops who issued the ticket as Defendents - jointly and severely together with Big Zero Tires et al.

The other side of the coin is; The ****ing car may be a death-trap and should not have been allowed back on the road. Big O (or Big Zero) may have been trying to save innocent lives.

 

Wow, upselling through extortion.

Our government's love affair with big business is starting to get out of hand.

It's time we fired all of them and start over.