Sears Auto vs Firestone Auto
 

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.

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

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

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

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)

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

ahh great reviews so far for both places :lol:

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

Do it yourself?

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.

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.

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!!!

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:

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

I assume this is at school and not home.

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.

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

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:

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

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: