What a day :-(...this is long, sorry

[halistan]

Sorry guys, but I have to vent a little bit and I’m a writer so pardon me if this gets a little long. I just can’t believe that today was so nice and I had to spend a vast majority of it at NTB.

See, this started a few weeks ago when I needed new tires. I decided (after reading a lot of positive things here, thanks guys ) to get the Continental Extreme Contacts. I went to NTB and they said that they would price match tirerack.com (Tirerack wanted $87 where NTB wanted $179) and also price match wal-marts $7 lifetime rotation and balance (since I told them that I wouldn’t be getting their lifetime balance and rotation). After hearing all that I was sold and told them to go ahead and sign me up :-) *sweetness*

When they got the tires and were ready to start working on it I asked them not to use the air impact wrench on my car or they were going to break a stud (if not more). The guy at the counter says ok and blew me off. So I go to the waiting room and started looking out the window at them working on my car. Sure enough they use the air wrench and break 2 studs. They proceed to come out and say that 2 studs were broken and that it would be $5/ea for the stud, $15/ea for new lug nuts from Subaru and $45/ea in labor for a grand total of $130+tax.

I tell him he must be out of his damn mind if he thinks I am going to pay them for breaking my car. I don’t think so. Well interestingly enough he just says that he’ll get his manager and slinks away. The manager comes out and tells me that they have to charge me because it wasn’t their fault. I proceed to ask how it wasn’t their fault. I clearly told them not to use an air gun and they did anyway. He says that it’s because the nuts were put on by someone else. Well, a few words were said (omitted to as to not infringe on this family atmosphere of this site) and at the end they agreed to replace the studs and lug nuts for free. Only thing was that Subaru didn’t have any in stock so they had to order them. I would be without 2 lug nuts for a few days. No big deal really. I've lived without worse, and it was just a couple of days.

I get a call yesterday saying that the lug nuts were in and I could come in and have them installed. I got off work really early today so I drove over to NTB to have them put on. My car also had been having a little bit of a vibration to it on the highway too so I asked them to rebalance the tires. Again, I tell them not to use an air wrench and the guy says that he’ll tell the mechanic.

Well, I needed a haircut as well so I tell them that I am going next door to get one and leave. When I come back my car is still on the rack with the tires off. I go up to the service guy and ask what’s taking so long.

He says that when putting one of the wheels back on the car he broke 2 more studs. I asked if he was told not to use the air wrench and he said no. “Oh well” I think to myself. I go tell the manager to order me some more studs and lug nuts. Well they do that and I go back to the waiting room and start watching TV till the parts get here. I lost track of time slightly (think I dozed off a bit since it was taking so long) but when I woke up I went out to the work area and they had already taken the caliper and rotor off and were putting the new studs on.

It seemed to be going well so it was cool till I looked down and saw my cross-drilled rotor. It was beaten to death!!!! I’m not exaggerating (I shall take pictures soon to show you all). All along the edge were ripples from it being hit with a hammer and dents on the pad surface and all over the raised area that the studs go through. I was like “What in the world did you do to my rotor?!?!?!”
The 2 techs that were working on it now just sat there quietly not saying a word.

I picked it up and took it to the manager’s office and asked him to explain what was up with that. He looked at it (and I’m not kidding you) looked up at me with the straightest face and told me that it must be hitting the inside of the wheel because the rotor is too big. At this point I honestly feel like picking up the rotor and hitting him with it. Instead I just ask him that if that is true to show me on the inside of my wheel what would cause those kinds of dents in my rotor. He followed me out and I turned the wheel up and around so we can see it and sure enough WAH LA!!, no marks whatsoever inside my wheel. It was very clear that the marks were made by a steel hammer. I asked if any of them had ever heard of a freaking rubber mallet?!? They all just stand there for a minute before the manager apologized.

I asked the techs to move out of my way so I could see if they broke anything else and sure enough, the “tone ring” was broken too. It was still in one piece but there was a very clean break in it all the way through. One of the techs started saying that there is no way that they could have done that and I told him that there was if he was hitting it with a steel hammer! The manager says that they would replace that too.

Well tweedle dee and tweedle dumb manage to get everything back together and while they were at it I had them take off all the other wheels and put them back on with the torque wrench just to make sure they didn’t mess up any others. After it was all said and done it was 6pm (yes, I was there for 5 hours…to get my tires rotated)

Since at this point I was still missing 2 lug nuts (this time from a front wheel) I had them take one lug nut off each of the back wheels to make an even 5 on the front driver side. They are ordering me 5 studs (the ones they owe me plus some extra in case they screw it up again when I come back), 5 lug nuts, a new front toner ring and a new set (yes set) of front cross drilled rotors from raceconcepts.com (where I got the first ones from) and I will have to take it in next week when the parts get here.

All in all it was a very exhausting day. Anyone out there that actually knows me knows that I am an incredibly understanding guy. I understand that things happen and that this is an 11 year old car. Things break, that’s life. I don’t mind that at all. Its just that at every turn when something went wrong they (all 3 including the manager of the store) first tried to blame it on me rather than just admitting that they messed up and trying to just remedy the situation.

Instead they made me get all pissed at them so in the end I had to get mad, they had to still take ownership of the damage and pay to fix it and on top of that made themselves just look like incompetent liars. If they would have just said they were sorry (and of course not hit my rotor with a steel hammer) and assured me that they would buy new parts and put them on for me, most of the yelling could have been avoided.

Another thing that got me is that while the techs were working on the car again (after I pointed out that they destroyed my rotor) the manager was telling me that all their techs go through extensive training and would never hit a rotor with a hammer like that, despite what it looked like. Well just before that they brought in a Suburban that was having all 4 rotors turned and as the manager was telling me how they never use a hammer on rotors the tech that was taking the rotors off the Suburban was hitting the rear rotor real hard with guess what…a steel hammer! I pointed it out to the manager who rushed over to yell at the tech before going back to his office.

I just don’t get it nowadays. Is there no pride in ones work anymore? I’ll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for letting me rant everyone. It was very therapeutic :-) May you all have better luck with your cars than I do at those places?

~Ray

[ensteele]

Ray - how do you really feel about the whole experience?

Now you know why some of us take our cars to a shop only when we have to. No, most people don't take pride in their work, and will do it the fastest way they can. It is unfortunate, but that seems to be the way now.

[Bwana]

That got me mad just reading it. You had every right to lose it on them! I'm sure people of less "stability" would have hit the guys, and burned down the store!

Atleast you get new rotors out of it?

[Mr. Pockets]

Jeez, Ray, what an ordeal. You're not around too often these days, so here's a problem I had with the local Subaru dealer here in Champaign last Fall:

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/show...threadid=13883

Not nearly as impressive as your story, but there it is. I skipped a lot of it when I typed it out because I had retold the story so many times over the phone while trying to figure it all out with other people (Doug, Randy, my fathr in law, coworkers).

I hope it all works out for you, man...

[drivemusicnow]

You should ask for some compensation for your time and the frustration. I don't know if they'll give you anything, but you deserve it... I'm a little confused by the broken studs, I've used an air wrench on my car lots of times with out any adverse affects. The only time that (a shop I hung out at) used a hammer on the rotors was when we were replacing them... then it was fun to vent some frustration on the damn things, otherwise, it was a ton of "really good s***" penetrating oil (i swear thats the name on the can) and a fun time with a rubber mallet and pulling on it really hard.

[halistan]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
[B]Jeez, Ray, what an ordeal. You're not around too often these days, so here's a problem I had with the local Subaru dealer here in Champaign last Fall:

I've been linguering around more than i had for the last year or so. Things are going better now so i am trying to keep up a little more . Its nice to see that a lot of my old favs are still around here, you, Aredubjay, Gavin, LarryIII, etc. I'll try and post more often, its just not often i have something good to contribute so i just read the posts late at night. Keep in touch

~Ray

[Alycone]

That's amazing incompetence, I expect you'll be breathing down the back of their necks as they repair their damage.

[Landshark]

sorry to hear about your ordeal - i am amazed at your incredible amount of patience and restraint.

that's why, as Earl mentioned, i try to repair as much stuff as i can myself. as you found out, even the simplest things (tire rotation, oil change, etc.) can end up being a world of grief.

BTW, my friend brought his Audi in to NTB, and they tore up the underside putting it up on the lift.

i think NTB stands for No Training, Boys.

[Subafreak]

I'm so glad I work at a garage so I never have to let anyone else ever work on my car, ever!

But I do have to let them put it on the lift and pull the wheels off when I get it inspected

Like was said, so people have no respect for others cars. Some don't even have respect for any cars, you wonder why they even work on them?

Places like NTB and Walmart and Jiffy lube just hire people that should be working at McDonalds. Chances are you never see the same guys working there 3 times in a row.

[SHISVX]

yelling?? that is all you did??

wow, i gotta shake your hand!

i would have freaked

Kelli

[Beav]

So that's why McDonalds screws up my order most of the time...

[Bobb]

Hi everyone, As soon as I saw "NTB" I new this thread was going to be about some disaster. I think "SEARS", which owns "NTB" . There have been posts concerning both in the past. Some times the lowest price is not the best price. Of course "NTB" wants you to get ticked off and leave and never come back so they WIN. Get everything they owe you and THEN never come back. Take care, BOBB

[halistan]

Originally posted by Bobb
Hi everyone, As soon as I saw "NTB" I new this thread was going to be about some disaster. I think "SEARS", which owns "NTB" . There have been posts concerning both in the past. Some times the lowest price is not the best price. Of course "NTB" wants you to get ticked off and leave and never come back so they WIN. Get everything they owe you and THEN never come back. Take care, BOBB

Well I generally fix most mechanical things myself. Tire things such as balancing I just can't do so I take it somewhere. You would think that a place that does nothing but tires all day would be able to do it well. Oh well, i'm getting new rotors out of it, and a new toner ring. Granted my rotors are only like 8 months old but oh well. New ones are cool still.

One of these days if I ever buy a house with a garage i'll buy a balancing machine lol. Thanks for letting me vent guys and gals . Its most appreciated lol.

~Ray

PS. Sears and NTB parted ways about a month ago. Sears no longer owns them...not that it makes any difference, just an FYI.

[Landshark]

i did get four decent looking 5-spoke wheels from NTB for $99 on a closeout sale. nice for snow tires. dragged them home and put them on the car myself, of course.

[Aredubjay]