Business ProfileforCity Tire & Auto Centre

They are *******. In August, I went to this location to get new tires. They gave me a quote of work that "needed to be done". I was told that my brake pads were down to 5% (!!!), my rotors were wearing unevenly, and that one of my calipers seized, among other issues that I was quoted around $1850 for. Lucky for me, I have a friend who's a mechanic. I took my car to him, showed him the quote, and he was willing to look at the items quoted. The parts were taken off and we determined that: 1. Caliper was NOT seized and simply needed to be cleaned. 2. NONE of my rotors showed any type of uneven wear. 3. There was over FIFTY PERCENT of life left on my brake pads. They weren't even close to the wear line. Not one of the items listed were accurate, to the point where I was baffled that an accredited business could so blatantly misrepresent themselves and disgusted that their tactic seems to be fear-based marketing and we took pictures of all of the (COMPLETELY FUNCTIONING) parts that were listed on the quote, dated ~24 hours after the quote I was given. All I could think about was a struggling single mother coming in and having this business try to get $2000 out of her, not because her car needs it to be safe, but because if they scare her with nonsense lies, she'll pay it. Just disgusting.

******** I am sorry to hear about your experience. Pls fwd me your invoice number so I can check on what happened with your quote. Or your plate number and vehicle make and model. Thx ****** ********** ************************ 

********, Thank you taking the time to submit your concerns of services (or a quote of services) provided City Tire & Auto. We are an NL Own & Operated Company and have been in business for 45 years. With a focus on honest and quality automotive service, we take your accusation very, very serious. First, I apologize for the lengthy response. There are a lot of items that need to be detailed as others may read this thread. Please disregard the request for an invoice number as we have found the invoice which details the services provided. I am disappointed that the time of this service is nearly 4 months ago. We welcome opportunities to evaluate the performance of our techs, to ensure they adhere to the company directive, honest and quality automotive service. On August 7th, you purchased a set of 4 ******** tires (including installation). Thank you for your business. When you paid for this service, you were also given some information on the current observed condition of your vehicle. This information was provided free of charge. This is a practice that we have been encouraging companywide. When we service a customer’s vehicle, we have a certified Journeyperson auto mechanic visually inspect some critical components on the vehicle. We then relay this information in the invoice. We are pleased to hear that your seized caliper has been addressed, and that the braking system is operating as it was designed, with 4 functioning calipers. This is exactly the reason why we provide this information. Now, lets get to the details of your complaint. The exact details of the information we provided you on the invoice are as follows: *NOTE* WHEN THE TECH REMOVED THE WHEELS THEY NOTED THE REAR PADS HAVE ROUHLY 5% REMAINING & THE ROTORS HAVE IRREGULAR WEAR. THE RIGHT CALIPER MAY BE SEIZED. THE FRONT STRUTS ARE LEAKED OUT. RECOMMEND REPLACING THE REAR PADS/ROTORS & POSSIBLE RIGHT REAR CALIPER, AS WELL BOTH FRONT STRUTS & LINKS IF NEEDED. Please note, it was mentioned that the right rear caliper MAY be seized, and POSSIBLY need replacement. Prior to replacing a seized caliper, the technician attempts to free it up. We let the customer know that they MAY need to purchase a new caliper in the event that it cannot be serviced. Some customers appreciate the worst-case scenario information. In your detailed complaint, there was no mention of the struts and links. If they have not been serviced, please have your mechanic friend look at these components. You have confirmed that right rear caliper was seized. Typically (almost always), a seized caliper is accompanied by an increased wear in the brake pads and irregular wear in the rotor. You confirmed that there was 50% life in the brake pad, the likelihood is that 50% remained on the left side of the rear brakes. It is NOT a common practice to replace only one side of the brakes (pads & rotors) as this will result in an unbalanced stopping force applied to the vehicle, resulting in the vehicle pulling to one side while stopping. As per your comments “All I could think about was a struggling single mother”. That is exactly why we provide this INFORMATION free of charge, to everyone. They can do what ever they want with the information, we do not hold the vehicle and demand the services be completed. City Tire & Auto feels that it should be a commitment made by all service providers to supply the customer with information of their vehicle. Most customers do NOT have access to visually inspect these systems. And most customers do appreciate this information. What if we never told you this information (or the single mother or father), and that the seized caliper(s) compromised the stopping of their vehicle or further damaged their vehicle due to neglect of the service. I believe your selected word “Gougers” is incredibly inaccurate and unfair. I hope that your mechanic friend did not just replace the pads on one side, or just free up the caliper and keep the pads and rotor un-serviced. I apologize that you are offended by the observed condition of your vehicle, please disregard these comments on your invoice. Best of luck with your next service provider. Customer Care Specialist, City Tire & Auto

So the company sent me a response. It's pasted below. Firstly, I'd like to thank them for their failed and sad attempts at invalidating my legitimate complaints. In their response, they neglected to address the ludicrous inaccuracy of stating that I had 5% left to my brake pads in saying this: "You confirmed that there was 50% life in the brake pad, the likelihood is that 50% remained on the left side of the rear brakes. It is NOT a common practice to replace only one side of the brakes (pads & rotors) as this will result in an unbalanced stopping force applied to the vehicle, resulting in the vehicle pulling to one side while stopping" Fellas, let me clarify something for you. We checked ALL of the pads and rotors. None of my rotors showed any kind of uneven wear, and none of my brake pads were even close to the wear line. They also told me in their response that "you have confirmed that the right rear caliper was seized" in my complaint. In my complaint, it VERY clearly states that my caliper was NOT seized. Their closing statement is just the hilarious cherry on top: "We hope that your mechanic friend did not just replace the pads on one side, or just free up the caliper and keep the pads and rotor un-serviced." Passive aggression is so professional when a customer comes to you with a legitimate complaint! This is their response to my initial complaint: On August 7th, you purchased a set of 4 Westlake tires (including installation). Thank you for your business. When you paid for this service, you were also given some information on the current observed condition of your vehicle. This information was provided free of charge. This is a practice that we have been encouraging companywide. When we service a customer’s vehicle, we have a certified Journeyperson auto mechanic visually inspect some critical components on the vehicle. We then relay this information in the invoice. We are pleased to hear that your seized caliper has been addressed, and that the braking system is operating as it was designed, with 4 functioning calipers. This is exactly the reason why we provide this information. Now, lets get to the details of your complaint. The exact details of the information we provided you on the invoice are as follows: *NOTE* WHEN THE TECH REMOVED THE WHEELS THEY NOTED THE REAR PADS HAVE ROUHLY 5% REMAINING & THE ROTORS HAVE IRREGULAR WEAR. THE RIGHT CALIPER MAY BE SEIZED. THE FRONT STRUTS ARE LEAKED OUT. RECOMMEND REPLACING THE REAR PADS/ROTORS & POSSIBLE RIGHT REAR CALIPER, AS WELL BOTH FRONT STRUTS & LINKS IF NEEDED. Please note, it was mentioned that the right rear caliper MAY be seized, and POSSIBLY need replacement. Prior to replacing a seized caliper, the technician attempts to free it up. We let the customer know that they MAY need to purchase a new caliper in the event that it cannot be serviced. Some customers appreciate the worst-case scenario information. In your detailed complaint, there was no mention of the struts and links. If they have not been serviced, please have your mechanic friend look at these components. You have confirmed that right rear caliper was seized. Typically (almost always), a seized caliper is accompanied by an increased wear in the brake pads and irregular wear in the rotor. You confirmed that there was 50% life in the brake pad, the likelihood is that 50% remained on the left side of the rear brakes. It is NOT a common practice to replace only one side of the brakes (pads & rotors) as this will result in an unbalanced stopping force applied to the vehicle, resulting in the vehicle pulling to one side while stopping. As per your comments “All I could think about was a struggling single mother”. That is exactly why we provide this INFORMATION free of charge, to everyone. They can do what ever they want with the information, we do not hold the vehicle and demand the services be completed. City Tire & Auto feels that it should be a commitment made by all service providers to supply the customer with information of their vehicle. Most customers do NOT have access to visually inspect these systems. And most customers do appreciate this information. What if we never told you this information (or the single mother or father), and that the seized caliper(s) compromised the stopping of their vehicle or further damaged their vehicle due to neglect of the service. I believe your selected word “Gougers” is incredibly inaccurate and unfair. I hope that your mechanic friend did not just replace the pads on one side, or just free up the caliper and keep the pads and rotor un-serviced. I apologize that you are offended by the observed condition of your vehicle, please disregard these comments on your invoice. Best of luck with your next service provider. Customer Care Specialist, City Tire & Auto (And by the way, I did get my struts replaced. By someone who didn't ***** me. :) Thanks for the concern!)