Sears Auto vs Firestone Auto

[Tsar]

I need to know which one is less crockish, on average. I need to fix my car soon. Any bad experiences with either one? Which one would you go to?


Go, go, go.

[camaroAL]

from past exp. they both suck! i know thats not the answer u were looking for but that is all i can tell ya.

[BonzoHansen]

It is 99.999% dependent on the personnel in the particular locations involved.

[Tsar]

Ok which one of them is more capable of replacing a starter :lol:

[Tsar]

It is 99.999% dependent on the personnel in the particular locations involved.
yea i figured that much, i was hoping since they were a large chain they were safer route to go - instead of some mom and pop shop (I haven't seen any good shop reviews from around here)

[racerx520]

i'd have to go to sears myself if i were you...my moms van went to firestone for tire rotation and a re-allignment, they made the allignment worse, my father bitched at them, they agreed to re-do it, they just moved the steering wheel to make it look alligned, finally the third time it went there, my father had to bitch and moan at the manager, then call the district manager, then they just told him to supervise the people doing the alignment which was when it finally was done right.

after that i figured i'd never go to firestone, i've delivered parts there too from a local napa that ive worked at....both places were equally crap from my opinion lol, but i just have a strike against firestone from this encounter

[Tsar]

ahh great reviews so far for both places :lol:

[BonzoHansen]

I'd go F/S probably in a pinch. But I'd pay with AMEX Either way.

[LTb1ow]

Do it yourself?

[Tsar]

I'd go F/S probably in a pinch. But I'd pay with AMEX wither way.
I use AMEX 99% of the time, no worries there :nod:
Do it yourself?
Not in the 20ish degree weather with snow laying on the ground, and to add to that I'm not allowed to do so where I live. Plus I'm getting tired of this car, so I have 0 interest in working on it. I was thinking I could donate it for a tax write off, but they only give you 500 bucks...

[LTb1ow]

I use AMEX 99% of the time, no worries there :nod:

Not in the 20ish degree weather with snow laying on the ground, and to add to that I'm not allowed to do so where I live. Plus I'm getting tired of this car, so I have 0 interest in working on it. I was thinking I could donate it for a tax write off, but they only give you 500 bucks...

Right, right.

[JL8Jeff]

I've had no problem with either of them but that was quite a while ago. Go with whichever is the most convenient. I went to Sears more than Firestone because it was in the mall. I had to go back to Sears a couple of times for things they worked on and had no problems with them standing behind the work and fixing it free of charge. Never had to go back to Firestone so I can't compare that.

[Jensend]

In a college town there has to be some reputable garages that service the locals and the college population. As around at school. Call the BBB and get a reommendation or two.

Try to avoid any of the "chain" store garages. Most of them pay minimum wages and consequently get people with equally minimal skills and/or motivation. You won't find many A Techs willing to work for Sears and Firestone wages.

At the very worst, find a heated garage you can rent and do it yourself.

[camaroAL]

In a college town there has to be some reputable garages that service the locals and the college population. As around at school. Call the BBB and get a reommendation or two.

Try to avoid any of the "chain" store garages. Most of them pay minimum wages and consequently get people with equally minimal skills and/or motivation. You won't find many A Techs willing to work for Sears and Firestone wages.

At the very worst, find a heated garage you can rent and do it yourself.

amen to that!!!

[Tsar]

Just checked with BBB and Firestone was the first one to pop up. Sears wasn't on. But I did find a small local place, so I'll check it out, probably on Wednesday and see if I get a douche bag vibe from them :lol:

[BigAls87Z28]

Starter on a small block chevy. We arent talking rocket science.

I assume this is at school and not home.

[miketa95]

firestone did my alignment right before I sold my car and it still wasn't right. Whatever you do don't go to NTB, those guys are complete a-holes.

[Tsar]

Starter on a small block chevy. We arent talking rocket science.

I assume this is at school and not home.

School Indeed, I have a garage that I go to when my car breaks at home, but it has never happened here.

[Saitin]

IMO I've worked at sears auto for almost 6 months now and have yet to see anything fishy or underhanded go down,but then again the stores are ran by different people and probably have different ways of doing things.
a starter at my sears will run you about 300.00 installed.

[Tsar]

IMO I've worked at sears auto for almost 6 months now and have yet to see anything fishy or underhanded go down,but then again the stores are ran by different people and probably have different ways of doing things.
a starter at my sears will run you about 300.00 installed.

I would gladly pay that and be done with the car :lol:

[FBODS4EVER]

i dont like either one. they are just one of them franchise places you goto. and you want 1 thing fixed. then they come back with a list of 20 other things wrong. just so they can make an extra buck.:|

[BigAls87Z28]

I agree fir the most part sears has a very strict way of doing things.

[BonzoHansen]

i dont like either one. they are just one of them franchise places you goto. and you want 1 thing fixed. then they come back with a list of 20 other things wrong. just so they can make an extra buck.:|

I know local garages that are much better at that. So don't think chains have that market covered.

[Tsar]

i dont like either one. they are just one of them franchise places you goto. and you want 1 thing fixed. then they come back with a list of 20 other things wrong. just so they can make an extra buck.:|

See that's not what I'm worried about. Here's a little story. My girlfriends mom had a C230; the brake light came on, so she took it to a "repair" place and told them that the light was on. They said it was no problem and they will fix it. Break job is a pretty easy thing after all right? Few days later she picks it up and everything is fine, woohooo no more light right. Well kinda. She ended up passing the car down to her daughter as she got the new car. Well the car starter squealing like a pig.

First thing I said, it's time to change your break pads, most likely scenario. I've done quite a few pad swaps and usually that solves it. Well she told her mom and mom said that she just had new break pads put in, so that can't be true. Anyways the noise got annoying and she eventually took her car in for a break job.

It turns out that the previous "repair" shop, instead of doing a break job did a little snip job on the sensors... Pardon my electrical system knowledge -> he snipped the sensors and than connected the snipped wires together so that somehow got rid of the light in the car. Once again I'm not good with electrical stuff so I'm not sure how it's done, but it was in fact done.

So now they had to buy the sensors from MB in addtition to all the break parts, yuppiieeee!!

That's what I'm trying to avoid, when looking for a respectable place to take my car. If he gives me a list of repairs, great I'll pass it along to the next owner. As long as they don't F with my car I'll be happy.

Ok that was a little long...

[FBODS4EVER]

I know local garages that are much better at that. So don't think chains have that market covered.


See that's not what I'm worried about. Here's a little story. My girlfriends mom had a C230; the brake light came on, so she took it to a "repair" place and told them that the light was on. They said it was no problem and they will fix it. Break job is a pretty easy thing after all right? Few days later she picks it up and everything is fine, woohooo no more light right. Well kinda. She ended up passing the car down to her daughter as she got the new car. Well the car starter squealing like a pig.

First thing I said, it's time to change your break pads, most likely scenario. I've done quite a few pad swaps and usually that solves it. Well she told her mom and mom said that she just had new break pads put in, so that can't be true. Anyways the noise got annoying and she eventually took her car in for a break job.

It turns out that the previous "repair" shop, instead of doing a break job did a little snip job on the sensors... Pardon my electrical system knowledge -> he snipped the sensors and than connected the snipped wires together so that somehow got rid of the light in the car. Once again I'm not good with electrical stuff so I'm not sure how it's done, but it was in fact done.

So now they had to buy the sensors from MB in addtition to all the break parts, yuppiieeee!!

That's what I'm trying to avoid, when looking for a respectable place to take my car. If he gives me a list of repairs, great I'll pass it along to the next owner. As long as they don't F with my car I'll be happy.

Ok that was a little long...

OK maybe i should have clarified a little better. i have a good mechanical knowledge. i can build motors. and repair my cars. however i work for a utility company. meaning my time is short. i dont have a 8-5 job. i get done when i get done. i cant look forward to weekends. i dont know what they are. so that being said. i know what is wrong. with my car. i dont say "oh this thing is making noise." so time being short. i take it to a garage. not to see whats wrong. but tell them what i want done. i know of the little things. ill get to them when i can. i dont need someone making a extra buck. example: i tuned up my car. changed filter, cap and rotor,etc. i went for a oil change (snow on ground. 15 degrees out) the oil place says " car needs new cap and filter. yeah ok. just change the oil. trust me you can get burned.:mrgreen:

[BigAls87Z28]

OK maybe i should have clarified a little better. i have a good mechanical knowledge. i can build motors. and repair my cars. however i work for a utility company. meaning my time is short. i dont have a 8-5 job. i get done when i get done. i cant look forward to weekends. i dont know what they are. so that being said. i know what is wrong. with my car. i dont say "oh this thing is making noise." so time being short. i take it to a garage. not to see whats wrong. but tell them what i want done. i know of the little things. ill get to them when i can. i dont need someone making a extra buck. example: i tuned up my car. changed filter, cap and rotor,etc. i went for a oil change (snow on ground. 15 degrees out) the oil place says " car needs new cap and filter. yeah ok. just change the oil. trust me you can get burned.:mrgreen:


You know, that pisses me off. Shops are not ****in Burger King or McDonalds.
You can always say "no thank you" when there is suggested service. recomended to your car. They arent always looking for the extra buck, its just business.
90% of the people that go to get thier vehicles service have no idea wtf to do. Key goes in the hole, and they turn it. If there is a light, noise, or a combo of both, they just go get it fixed. People dont follow service scheduals, and its these service writers as professionals are here to inform you of what your vehicle needs to last longer.

[FBODS4EVER]

its an opinion al. relax. you agreed to the most part. in your first post. i see where you are coming from. but face it ITS BUSINESS RIGHT.. im just saying not all the work they say needs to be done. I HAD THAT BAD EXPERIENCE so that gives me that right to have my opinon. the question TSAR asked was everyones opinion was about the service of the two. i gave MINE. everyone doesnt have to agree. they never do. :flower:

[BonzoHansen]

Do you give Burger King trouble when they say "would you like fries with that?" lol

[FBODS4EVER]

Do you give Burger King trouble when they say "would you like fries with that?" lol

no. i dont eat at burger king:mrgreen:

i dont give trouble. i just say no thank you. im not a mean person :wink:

[sweetbmxrider]

i am resisting soooooooooooooo much right now. i'll let al do the barking instead. i would find out about local places from word of mouth. after all, its not sears or firestone doing the job, its a person. also, the sensors on brake pads are designed to be worn down when the pad reaches a certain level. it breaks the connection and kicks the idiot light on. they have to be replaced everytime!

general statement here: people can be so opinionated about car repairs yet many don't know how to fill a tire!!!!! :-x just because you own it doesn't mean you know **** about it! that probably covers many fields but it seems with cars, people will tear your throat out over everything. some places do suck though so WATCH OUT!

[Tsar]

also, the sensors on brake pads are designed to be worn down when the pad reaches a certain level. it breaks the connection and kicks the idiot light on. they have to be replaced everytime!



Thanks genius. I guess that makes it ok to mess with the sensor and than charge for the repair of the brakes that didn't happen. I'll be sure to not to visit the place where you work :lol:

[sweetbmxrider]

Thanks genius. I guess that makes it ok to mess with the sensor and than charge for the repair of the brakes that didn't happen. I'll be sure to not to visit the place where you work :lol:

i never said anything to that effect. you said you had to buy new sensors from mb. well you have to every time. genius! rigging the sensor the way he did is a lawsuit in my book. more genius!

[Tsar]

Well no I didn't buy them, my gf did :lol:


ok back on topic.... actually never mind i guess there's not much more we can talk about :lol:

Question: does one buy only the sensor of some sort, or the whole assembly with wiring?

[sweetbmxrider]

how do you even know the starter is bad?

[Tsar]

how do you even know the starter is bad?
Little fairy told me? :shrug: Or maybe its the fact that this issue happened twice before...

[BigAls87Z28]

Good question.
I would start off small with a battery test.

Brake sensors always need to be replaced. I dont know how you would be able to rig the sensor to where it would turn the light off, but yes you always have to replace the wear sensors when replacing the pads on vehicles equiped with such.

[Mike]

how do you even know the starter is bad?

Little fairy told me? :shrug: Or maybe its the fact that this issue happened twice before...

i would bet the car dosent start even though it has fuel and a charged battery :)

[91chevywt]

I need to know which one is less crockish, on average. I need to fix my car soon. Any bad experiences with either one? Which one would you go to?


Go, go, go.


Its more the technician that works on your car and also the service writer than anything. Sometimes the writers can really screw up the customer experience. There can be some real "star" technicians at both shops, and there can be some shady ones there also. It may be wise to watch the tech incognito while they get your car started, to see how the tech treats your car. It'll be on an individual shop more than anything. If you treat them with respect, the'll likely treat you with respect. If not, you have a right to raise hell about it. My worst experience ever was a warranty repair at a dealership, Haldeman Ford. I will never give them another second of work, or a cent of my money, ever. And I'm pretty easy going.

[Mike]

Its more the technician that works on your car and also the service writer than anything. Sometimes the writers can really screw up the customer experience. There can be some real "star" technicians at both shops, and there can be some shady ones there also. It may be wise to watch the tech incognito while they get your car started, to see how the tech treats your car. It'll be on an individual shop more than anything. If you treat them with respect, the'll likely treat you with respect. If not, you have a right to raise hell about it. My worst experience ever was a warranty repair at a dealership, Haldeman Ford. I will never give them another second of work, or a cent of my money, ever. And I'm pretty easy going.

which one?

[91chevywt]

which one?

The Ford on 33, can't comment on the others.

[Mike]

hmm i have a couple friends that work there, and can vouch for their abilitys, so you must have gotten the short end of the stick when they were grabbing jobs

[91chevywt]

hmm i have a couple friends that work there, and can vouch for their abilitys, so you must have gotten the short end of the stick when they were grabbing jobs


I'm sorry the men I dealt with ruined it for your friends, i'll bet your friends are good techs.


Its sort of a long story, but I feel I need to elaborate. My mom bought a ranger for me to use as a graduation present. Base model, 4 cylinder. I did all the maintenance, because it was easy. Oil changes on a regular basis 3000 miles on the dot, using motorcraft oil and filters. At 15k miles, I do the VISUAL inspection of brakes, as recommended by the owners manual. The transmission began slipping around 20k, so I brought it in for repair. I got a call from the writer, telling me that I adjusted the transmission, and the e-brake was adjusted too tightly, causing the trans to slip. He also mentioned that he knew i had a "lincoln technical institute" parking sticker on the truck from school. What that had to do with anything, I don't know. Even after telling them that the only shop the truck was in was Ford, the writer denied the possiblity that the dealership could have done anything. They "knew" i adjusted the trans because there were "socket or wrench marks" on a bolt. I had no idea how to adjust the trans. So, I asked what was next. The writer said it would be $50 to adjust the e-brakes, and $200 to re-adjust the trans. I said no, thats not right because i didn't even touch it. So i took the truck back the next day, and driving it home it slipped even more. My mom ended up wanting to just take it back to have them do their adjustments, and if it still slipped it was on them. So, the trans still slipped after they "fixed" it. We tried taking it up with the service manager, no luck. We tried taking it up with ford, never got a response back, at all. We ended up taking it back to have them repair it again under warranty, and it does not slip anymore. Still not sure what they did to fix, but after my experience with the writer and service manager, I won't give them the time of day. We decided that it wouldn't be worth the time and money to pursue this issue in court (mainly money). So now I just tell my story.

If men like that keep ruining the reputation of the dealership for your friends, they will be in a bad position.

[Tsar]

i would bet the car dosent start even though it has fuel and a charged battery :)

That + it doesn't turn over :lol:

[WildBillyT]

Had to post this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiaLU0iAwFI

:D

[sweetbmxrider]

man you guys should be mechanics. that fact that the engine doesn't turn over, it has fuel, and a charged battery, its happened twice before, well i'm sold. DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE! who do i give handfulls of money to? i've got big hands....

[Tsar]

man you guys should be mechanics. that fact that the engine doesn't turn over, it has fuel, and a charged battery, its happened twice before, well i'm sold. DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE! who do i give handfulls of money to? i've got big hands....

1. Never claimed to be a mechanic, never even wanted to be one either.
2. I go with the obvious solution, and since it has repeated itself in the past - it is the most obvious solution to me.
3. Frankly, I do NOT care what is wrong with the car - if its <500 bucks to fix it will be fixed regardless of the problem(s). If it's above 1k for repairs it will be going to the junk yard/donation. If it's in between I'll think about it.
4. Last time REAL mechanics had my car at the dealership they couldn't figure out that my MAF was bad... Took them 2 days too, and they wanted to charge me for their time :lol:

How else may I help you today?

[Kojak]

If money isn't much of an issue tow it to a Chevy dealer if their is one in the area. I would trust them more than either a Sears or Firestone auto center.

[Mike]

man you guys should be mechanics. that fact that the engine doesn't turn over, it has fuel, and a charged battery, its happened twice before, well i'm sold. DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE! who do i give handfulls of money to? i've got big hands....


wake up and smell the joke jackass.

btw, at least he dosent blame everything on the opti like all you other lt1 guys

[sweetbmxrider]

1. Never claimed to be a mechanic, never even wanted to be one either.
2. I go with the obvious solution, and since it has repeated itself in the past - it is the most obvious solution to me.
3. Frankly, I do NOT care what is wrong with the car - if its <500 bucks to fix it will be fixed regardless of the problem(s). If it's above 1k for repairs it will be going to the junk yard/donation. If it's in between I'll think about it.
4. Last time REAL mechanics had my car at the dealership they couldn't figure out that my MAF was bad... Took them 2 days too, and they wanted to charge me for their time :lol:

How else may I help you today?

chuckin parts at a car...good luck with that.

wake up and smell the joke jackass.

btw, at least he dosent blame everything on the opti like all you other lt1 guys

wake up and smell the joke jackass.

:wink: though i would check the opti. never know :-?

[Predator86]

Quick Sears story.....

A while back my dad told me a story of his encounter with sears. He had a 79 camaro that he did all his own work on... he rebuilt the front end on it...new ball joints, pitman, idler arm, tie rods and sleeves the whole 9.

So he drops it off at sears to get the alignment done because he dosent have access to a rack. Sears calls him up and says "the front end is loose and we cant do the alignment until we replace some parts". He says "ok i'll be right there"

He goes to the store walks right past the manager into the garage and goes up to his car which still had the sensors mounted on the wheels. Brought the manager over to it said "Now tell me what the f*** is loose on this?!"

needless to say he got a free alignment and stood there the entire time and watched the tech do it

THE END hah

[Tsar]

chuckin parts at a car...good luck with that.





:wink: though i would check the opti. never know :-?
That was a nice and pointless response. You just wanna have the last word, ehh?


Btw, when opti's break the car still turns over fine> Hell it will turn over until you are blue in the face, at least in my experiences.... But hey I'm not a real mechanic :lol: