I am new to the area so I relied on Yelp and Google ratings to help me... read more I am new to the area so I relied on Yelp and Google ratings to help me find Hank's Tire. It's an "old school" place - been in business since the 50's and it is second generation family owned - a gem of a find. They educated me, didn't pressure me and made me and my car much happier. Thank you guys!
I have never been so insulted in my life. I sent my 20 y/o daughter t... read more I have never been so insulted in my life. I sent my 20 y/o daughter there to get her tire balanced. When she gets there one of the tire guys says she needs 4 new tires and it was going to be over $400. Two tires were put on less than 6 months ago, almost full wear left. She calls me up and I go there to talk to them. I spoke with the guy she talked and showed them that the front tire was 1 mm from the wear marks, but the back was totally fine, the guy said, "Yeah I guess so." I asked him "What the heck were you trying to do, scam my daughter?" He said nope, turned and walked away. I asked where the manager was and he comes over. He looks at the tires and said the front two are ready to be replaced. I told him I didn't appreciate what transpired. Then the manager said "How many daughters do you have?" I said "two", then he said "obviously this one isn't your favorite if you let her drive around like this". I've done business them Hank's tire a few times, and I will never ever step foot in there again. I will make it a point to always tell anyone about this experience for the rest of my life.
You should know a few things about Pep Boys right off the bat. First, ... read more You should know a few things about Pep Boys right off the bat. First, they charge about the same as many dealer mechanics. So, you should basically just take the car to the dealer or an upmarket independent who has more reason to care about your car. In addition, you will wait an awful lot for service with such a markup. Again, if one pays a premium, one expects a certain amount of service. The last thing you should know is that they seem to lack an enforced policy with regard to their work. If you walk in, you are just dealing with Mike, and if Mike does not feel like giving you a refund, that is that. My story is that I took my Buick in to have it checked out since I was going to drive it across country. They charged me $485 for a belt and two radiator hoses. This is somewhat of a premium price and I will discuss that is just a minute. I got my car and drove it for a few days (it was repaired on 6/5/2014). The radiator then blew out in Jackson Hole Wyoming (on 6/13/2014). This is pretty far from where I live and it really created a lot of problems for me. The fluid it leaked was green. It turns out that they put regular pro-line coolant and not Dex-Cool as the manufacturer recommends. This is documented in the receipt and I saw it with my own eyes. Did this cause my blow out? It’s hard to say, but if a surgeon leaves a surgical sponge in the patient and they get sepsis, it’s likely they will blame the surgeon. When I brought my receipts and material to Mike Zdralek the service manager, his opinion was that I needed to prove it was their fault. The funny thing was I was extremely polite and was trying not to point any fingers. Even a simple apology would have been nice. Now I’m out $485 for the repairs which had absolutely no effect in preventing what they were intended to do. I brought the car in to prevent a radiator blow out, and they did the job wrong and it blew out … in the middle of nowhere. The extra repair cost me $471 (plus $200 to have the part driven in from Idaho Falls). So I’m out over a thousand dollars now with nothing to show for it. The interesting thing to note is that a whole new radiator at a standard mechanic costs the same as two hoses and a belt from Pep Boys. This gives you an idea of the markup they charge on work. In the future, I will not bring any business to Pep Boys. I hope that the %20 margin they made was worth it. That’s the last they will see of me and the last dollar I will spend with their store.
