Walmart Tire and Lube Express is gone...

[laserguy]

Yes I tend to agree, maybe 5-10% of shops will pull a fast one. I tend to be one of those with bad luck because 80 % of the time I have someone do work for me I can do myself, they either pull a fast one or screw up somehow.

To give an idea of how lucky I am.
Even when I brought my truck for the harness recall, because I had no choice, as soon as I got it, I tested the air, and it had no AC, immediately before I drove off I went to them and they took care of it, they forgot a connector.

[Rickman]

Originally Posted by csimo

I know way tooooo much about dealer tactics and practices.

I agree. I think anybody who goes to the stealership after the waranty is over is being sucked in, and paying way to much.

Find yourself a reliable mechanic and stick with him!

[feetdry]

With my 5 year 120,000 mile Honda Care warranty, I have most of my maintenance done at a Honda dealer. Haven't had any problems but I don't want them to point fingers if there happened to be a problem. I could do most of all the maintenance required but I choose not to.

[laserguy]

Yeah, some people do work and are busy, they just have the dealer take care of things, because they have no time to deal with it. I would at least double check the work just in case.

[rollinhonda]

I agree, again, my local dealer has a sterling rep in our community. I still prefer DIY or using a local mechanic I can watch and BS with. (I learn a lot too). I don't use him for oil changes unless it would happen to be an add on for a bigger job. But for tire/wheel jobs, and any non-warranty issues, he is priceless.

[JRS]

Last week I advised someone to take her car to Wal Mart (Exton, PA) to get a battery installed as I've bought several (on the recommendation of Consumer Reports). I always take mine home and install them myself, or install it in the parking lot.

They told her they couldn't install her battery as something was "frozen" under the hood and they couldn't take the responsibility, in case it broke. We brought the battery home and I installed it in 5 minutes. There was nothing wrong under the hood, at all.

It was probably best that they didn't install it!

[beatleknight]

Originally Posted by rollinhonda

I agree, again, my local dealer has a sterling rep in our community. I still prefer DIY or using a local mechanic I can watch and BS with. (I learn a lot too). I don't use him for oil changes unless it would happen to be an add on for a bigger job. But for tire/wheel jobs, and any non-warranty issues, he is priceless.

North or Clawson? I didn't know they only charged $10 if you provided the oil and filter.

[mtb]

Originally Posted by laserguy

Yes I tend to agree, maybe 5-10% of shops will pull a fast one. I tend to be one of those with bad luck because 80 % of the time I have someone do work for me I can do myself, they either pull a fast one or screw up somehow.

To give an idea of how lucky I am.
Even when I brought my truck for the harness recall, because I had no choice, as soon as I got it, I tested the air, and it had no AC, immediately before I drove off I went to them and they took care of it, they forgot a connector.

I always put a small (magic) mark on the oil filter... and check the color and odor of the oil before taking it in.
I also put dots on each tire (clockwise/counterclock), starting with 1 dot then 2 dots/3dots/4dots . .
All that is needed is to check it before driving away too far.

.

[esimukka]

Originally Posted by Rickman

I agree. I think anybody who goes to the stealership after the waranty is over is being sucked in, and paying way to much.

Find yourself a reliable mechanic and stick with him!

Agreed. We go to the local Honda dealership for oil changes/lubes and warranty work. Have for years and have never had an issue. You can also see the work being done which is nice. For our vehicles that are out of warranty, we have a local mechanic that does our work. Once again, have used him for years and have complete trust in his work. Since I don't do DIY for most services, trust is a huge factor. For me, I would never step foot in Wal Mart for anything, let alone having them touch my vehicle. Just a personal opinion. It's a shame to see people lose their options though, especially for those that have used them and rely on them for what looked to be a decent price.

[rollinhonda]

Originally Posted by beatleknight

North or Clawson? I didn't know they only charged $10 if you provided the oil and filter.

Honda North. When I started going there some 7 or 8 years ago it was 15. Since they moved to their new location on Willow/Herndon it has been 10.
Maybe it depends how often you frequent them. I did buy the truck from them, but our CRV was from a private sale.
Same for Clovis Nissan, the few times I took my G35 there. It seemed to vary between $10-15.