Firestone claims to be able to provide total automotive care. They say they can afford a great deal and have convenient hours. It seems like a no brainer. If your car breaks down on a Sunday morning, most mechanics and service centers aren’t open, but Firestone is. You call them and they say you can get the car at the end of the day. Why are you waiting for Monday? Even if you take the car to the repair shop and leave the key in the drop box, you still have to wait until about your car. Firestone seems like a good choice. Rather, it can be your worst dream.
Firestone has a bad habit of “finding” accessories that are wrong with your car. This is especially dangerous for women who bring gifts without a husband. You can go into how to change oil and the next thing you know you have almost $600 in the suggested savings. I once took the car in for a tune up, and they told me I needed close to $500 in broken work. I took my car to another mechanic and he did $75 in repairs. While some of the things found in the “comity check” may be helpful, others may question what they recommend.
Another issue with Firestone is that they insist on making installations. In my mind, if I make an appointment to have the new graphics installed at 11:00, my car will be in the bay by 11:20 at the latest. Instead 12:00 came around and my car was not looked at. Apparently they all saw the walk ins before they looked at my car. Instead of respecting my appointment, they treated me as if I had walked in the street. What to establish?
Customer Service is another area that Fireston is lacking in. If you say you’ll get a car within a certain time, and that doesn’t happen, Firestone will call and let you know about the delay. You better call them and try to get some information. The last time I took my car there, they had the car for three and a half days. At that time there was nothing else but what they would say as a villain. One night they called me. But the guy who called me wasn’t the rep I’d talked to before, or the mechanic who worked on my car. Both were abandoned. They had some random employee who knew nothing about my car tell me it wasn’t done yet.
Finally, can they really fix the problem? The last time I took my car there, those things took forever. First technical scheme car “in sick” assigned to my car “called in sick” and not having anyone else who could look at it that day. Then they said they found the problem, but the seller had given them the wrong part. Finally, they told me that it couldn’t be fixed at all. The fire stone advised me to have a car dealership at the nearest dealership. When the mechanic at the dealership looked at the car, they found the problem. Much to my surprise, the problem itself was not what Firestone said it was. The dealer had to fix the thing himself and undo all the damage Firestone had done. I ended up being without a car for a week, and what should have been an easy fix ended up costing me close to $300.
What started as a “no brainer” turned into a “what I’m thinking” moment. It was insomnia, and others have known similar experiences. Is all the hassle worth the convenience Firestone claims?
