And this is why I hate mechanics...

My step-son Matthew has a 2010 Hyundai Accent that he bought on my recommendation after putting 100k+ on my old '07 I used to own. 

His car was a bit past due for a timing belt replacement and it was making a noise at startup that google said was due to a failing tensioner. I'd changed the belt twice on mine, but Matthew works nights and his only days off are Tue/Wed so our schedules didn't really align for me to fix it for him. He's also doing ok on cash, so the $750 Firestone quoted him for the belt/tensioner/water pump wasn't a problem. 

We dropped the car off 2 weeks ago, they called me about an hour later & said the 3 accessory belts also needed replaced...for $235. I politely declined. They called back a few minutes later - "My manager said I made a mistake & shouldn't have listed labor since we're already in there. The total is actually $100 for parts." Well 1.) that's a bullE36 M3 price you just pulled out of your ass, and 2.) I know Accent belts don't cost that much. I declined a second time. 

They called back about an hour & a half later and said the car was ready. When we picked up I popped the hood to check how bad the belts were, and the tech walked out & said "Have fun changing those."

Due to our schedules, I just tonight had time to replace his accessory belts. The first thing I noticed was 2 of the plastic engine cover bolts were loose in their holes. Then I crawled underneath to find:

That's the alternator mounting nut, barely held on. Ok, so that's some sloppy mechanic work.

I finish pulling the alternator belt and find this:

The crank pulleys for the alt and a/c are held on with "thoughts & prayers" and 4 very loose bolts. 

At this point I realize this is more than sloppy mechanic work, this is vindictive. So I start looking a little closer...

How about 3 timing cover bolts completely missing, and the 4th barely threaded in? Oh, and the top 2 bolts should have held brackets that the engine cover bolted to...

Then I noticed the oil pan was wet, and after checking the oil it was a quart low. Now they didn't change it, so I won't say they tried to sabotage his car, but they sure the berkeley aren't living up to their "Complete Auto Care" slogan at this point!

I also discovered the coolant was well below the "Low" mark, and since they changed the water pump, that certainly is their fault.  

Does anyone know if Firestone Complete Auto Care stores are independently owned or are they all corporate? I'll be making some calls tomorrow regardless...

The Firestone in Milwaukee hammered steel wheel rim weights onto a set of brand new aluminum rims I brought to them to have tires mounted. Yes, they damaged the finish. Yes, they fell right off. 

When I went back to complain, I was told it was my fault for not asking specifically for peel and stick weights and that those are an extra $10 per wheel. When I asked for the manager, the guy said "I am the manager, berk off". No joke.

I still think that is the only negative review I have left on the internet in my life.

In reply to Robbie :

Ugh!

I've had this place mount several sets of tires without problem, and they did a decent job aligning the Suburban, but I won't be giving them any more business  

The main reason I've used them is they're close, have great hours, and I haven't found anyplace better. Yet. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Sure seems to be a "Button it up and get it out of here" deal to me.  Plus, a lot of these places have less than stellar mechanics.  They also may have guys doing piece work, connecting repairs to sales.  Just BS.   Place a call in to Corporate.

In reply to Dirtydog :

It feels to me like "You just screwed me out of flat-rate for an easy belt swap, so berkeley you."

Definitely make the call, but don't expect anything to come of it. 

wow. they have a lot of bad stories floating around.

I actually can add one more as of last weekend.

I was 2.5 hours out of town last weekend when  my manual trans started leaking pretty decent every time the car was driven. there is only 1.5 quarts of fluid in it and I didn't have a lift to put fluid in myself. being late on a saturday not many shops were open. firestone was the only one with a open time slot. they quoted me 172 dollars just to check the fluid level and top it up. I started to walk out and they said wait we will take off the price of materials......... 155$ now. yeah i left and went to sears the next day. who happily did the work for 45$

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Amen to that brother.

In reply to Floating Doc :

True, but it might make you feel better after the rant.  Never know, but a follow up to the owner or Manager of the store may help.  Then you post here on the the Rant thread.

In reply to Daeldalus :

It's a shame, that when people think they have you by the short hairs, they can pounce.

Just sayin....may want to take that timing cover and make sure that they actually replaced the timing belt and didn't just spray it with some belt dressing to make it look new and then bolt it back up......

I had a firestone place change my brake master cylinder. Bad luck it went bad almost to the office and they were across the street so they could do it without any towing or nonsense. They called me three hours later to say it was ready.... and before I pick it up would I like them to bleed the brakes for another 100 buck? Really? How do you replace a brake master without bleeding brakes? After 30 minutes with no relief from that stupidity I finally caved so I could go home. The place went out of business last month. Good riddance.

I have been a line tech for 25 years (berkeley me) and I have been interviewed a few times by Firestone, they don't pay E36 M3. I doubt any tech is making more than $15 a flat hour.

And have you ever seen someone try to "grease" the bleeder screw on a brake caliper. LOL

Just to be fair to the thousands of men and women out there trying to do an honest day's work in tough conditions, maybe the mods could change the title of this thread to put quotes around "mechanics."

That said, those clowns at Firestone are evidently trying to kill somebody, and need to be stopped.

'Tis why I am glad I am not a mechanic.  I'm a technician.

In reply to Pete Gossett :

You're much better than me.  My inter redneck would have gotten me in jail for the night.

Stealthtercel said:That said, those clowns at Firestone are evidently trying to kill somebody, and need to be stopped.

The local Firestone forced one of our occasional customers to have new springs installed in his (solid axle) cute-ute because one was broken and "we aren't allowed to release vehicles that are unsafe."

A.  A broken coil spring in a solid axle truck won't be unsafe.

B.  There is no statute in our state that permits anyone to do that.  When I heard about how they did that, I had half a mind to take a car to them with an obvious problem like that, just they could try that on me, so I could call the police on them for auto theft.  Which, legally, is what it is when someone refuses to release your car to you after paying for services requested.

(yes, it still pisses me off. fark those guys at Firestone sideways with a broom)

In reply to irish44j :

I peeked inside the loose cover, but honestly couldn't tell the age of the timing belt. The outside of it had a weird grooving to it, almost like a record(but way less deep), however I didn't see any shavings nor did it really look like contact marks. 

(seriously, fark those guys.)

In reply to Stampie :

Well to their benefit they were already closed for the night. If you don't hear from me for a couple days though would you mind contacting Jim & letting him know a I need a good attorney?

Pete Gossett said:

In reply to Stampie :

Well to their benefit they were already closed for the night. If you don't hear from me for a couple days though would you mind contacting Jim & letting him know a I need a good attorney?

(Tyler Durden-esque retaliation deleted)

In reply to Pete Gossett :

I'm free Saturday.  Want me to follow up with Firestone so Jim can get us both out at once?  I'll split the attorney 12 pack fee with you.

There is an amazing amount of incompetent people working on cars out there. I would say it pretty much crosses all strata you can imagine to divide them by. Every place is a crapshoot unless you can look at some prior work done by the EXACT SAME PERSON who's about to work on your car, or at least know that the person in charge will make your situation right regardless of what his employees foist on you. Tall orders. 

Repeat after me-“I will only ever do my own automotive maintenance”. 

Ive never found a CHEAP, GOOD mechanic shop. It’s one OR the other. I’m sure good ones are out there, but I’ve certainly never met them. I will always do my own E36 M3. 

Screw me over all you want, just don't ever let me catch you doing it.