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Sears Tire & Auto Centers

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Every city and town across America is jam-packed with independent auto service centers. It doesn't take much shopping around to find one that is competent, honest, reliable and courteous. Or you could just abandon your car to Sears Auto & Tire Centers and hope for the best.

Kathey of Columbus, GA June 2, 2008

On Friday the 30th. of May my husband and It took our Endeavor to have the tires balanced and rotated. on an extended warranty policy. we arrived about 1:30pm. We were acknowledged about 45 minutes later. The man said Sears don't what to pay for more help so we are short staffed ( he was the only one working) It took about an hour to work on the car twenty minutes to get the key there was a long line and again one person to busy to just give us the key till my husband got upset and he gave it to us.

On the way home we went on a half circle entrance to a highway. I noticed the car was shaking so I pulled over. My husband looked around the car and so no problem. We started back on the highway again and I heard a loud pop than another. At that time we turned the car around to take it back not understanding what was wrong. When we got off the highway a man in the car next to us said the wheel was about to fall off so we stopped the car.

We tried to call on both of our cell phones for a good ten minutes no one answered (I noticed when we were there no one answered the phone). The road we were stopped on is two Lanes of very heavy traffic and no disabled car lane. My husband directed traffic around our car till someone stopped to help I got a ride with him back to Sears. It took me another 15 minutes to get a manager to talk with me. Forty five minutes later a tow truck that they called showed up to get our car and bring it back. Three of the Five Lug nuts were sheared off.

At 7:45 P.M. we had our car back. A new rim has been ordered and and a new tire. There was 800.00 dollars worth of damage to the car not counting the rim and tire. We were very angry about the whole deal. A couple of more miles on the highway could have been a disaster. While we were there the second time two mechanics were laughing about another botched job. who dies before this issue is resolved?

Henry of Milwaukee, WI May 12, 2008

i purchased four tires that was warranted for 75.000 miles. a month after purchase one of the tires was flat. the same tire was repaired on four different times finally i was tiol the tire couldn`t be repaired.i had road hazara warranity in additional to the warranity on tire the tires has 20.000 miles on each of them.i was told that i needed an alignment after the tire was repaired four times.when the car was taken in for an oil change on 4/30/2008 the tires was ok according to the service sheet by the service tech.

eleven days later after the tire needed repaired a fifth time i needed an alignment.the manager at sears could`t tell me when the tire was made he was rude refused to answer any questions walked away he became agitated i`am the one that bought the tires there and the roadhazzard couverage. the tires was rotated and balanced and if an alignment was needed i would have been notified sooner.

i had to replace tire at full price although i had road hazzard warrinty and the tire had 6/32 of an inch treads over all of the tire except the area where the plug was installed that is the only area where wear can be seen.the tires was checked only eleven days prior to being taken to sears on 5/11/2008 and for five of those days the car wasn`t driven.of the remaining days it was driven to sears for repair of the tire on 5/11/2008.

Sheldon of No. Ft. Myers, FL May 4, 2008

this letter was sent to Sears here in Ft. Myers and they did not reply. Drove to Sears Auto on Cleveland Avenue to purchase four (4) Michelin 245-75-16E tires. Kelsey (Asst Mgr) wrote up our order. I asked him if these tires had a good manufacture date, he assured me that Michelin tires came in on Fridays and went out as fast as they received them? Four (4) tires were installed, at the cost of 834.52 and we drove home. For some reason I looked at a front tire to make sure that they were Load Range E? (10 ply). They were, but I read the month and date. They are June 2006 ..almost two years old. Drove back to Sears, Kelsey looked at the four tires and said Yes, 2006?,

I told him two year old tires are unacceptable, he gave me a note stating they would replace them. Several days passed . Received a call from John? , I explained to him what happened. He said he would talk to the department manager. John called back and told me the manager said we would get up to date tires. Again several days passed and then Kelsey called to say they can not get me newer tires, thats the way we order them?.

Called Michelin (spoke with Jackie) several times, they can not explain how Sears is stocking old tires. Enclosed is a copy of our invoice March 4, 2008, also our invoice for the set of tires we replaced in the Orlando Sears on March 13, 2002 (six years ago) as well as Kelseys note saying these tires will be replaced. The Michelin tires we purchased at Orlando Sears developed hairline cracks on the sidewalls at the end of six years. .rubber does not improve with age , but gets hard and cracks

I will not start the next six years with tires already two years old. Sheldon Waterman Sheldon is my husband and he is just letting things go better than I do!! I was thrilled yesterday when we took our car to Sams and had four Michelin tires installed. the dates on their tires were for the seventh week of '08.............

Gerri of Arcadia, FL April 25, 2008

we purchased 4 tires and an alignment on 5/4/07 and we took the car back in october 07 to have the tires rotated-nothing was said that our tires were wearing or that we needed another alignment. Recently my husband noticed that his tires were wearing-so we took the car back to sears on 4/23/08 and the person there first said that the tires were not wore-then he said that they were-he wanted us to buy new tires without even wanting to replace the ones we had-after going back and forth with him-he gave us a discount and said that they would check the alignment-and that we would walk out of there for 255.00-we never signed the authorization for work-he was suppose to call us before they did any work-

I had someelse look at the alignment and they told me that the wear on the tires were not from the alignment-because the car was not really out of alignment-when we pick up our car-we were told it was 330.00. Actually we probably really did not even need tires-we probably could have rotated them again or maybe do another alignment instead of the tires. the manager was suppose to call me yesterday and refund the money for the alignment-but has not-he was also very rude. We thought they would at least exchange the tires since they only had about 13000 miles. we have not put out about 800.00 in less than one year.

this is really way to much to pay for tires that are just about one year old with only about 13000 miles. we would just like to be refunded for the tires -we believe that the person that waited on us-just wanted to go home-because he did make mention of it.

Maria of San Jose, CA April 7, 2008

I have purchased every tire since i bought my car at Sears Auto Center, 5 total. Last Saturday on the freeway I swerved out of the way of a big metal object exactly like the car in front of me did, he went on his way and I spun out of control from the left side of the freeway to the right and landed in a ditch. Miraculously I did not hit any other cars and walked away with minor injuries, my car was towed to a nearby auto center (not sears) and the mechanic immediately noticed that my tires were too small for the size of my rim and that Sears had installed hub-cap size tires on my rims. He said had I had the correct size, based on my speed and driving conditions I would not have spun out because the correct size would have given me 2 more rubber on the ground per tire avoiding the entire thing.

The resulting damage on my car is a couple thousand dollars in repairs, as well as back and neck injuries to my passenger and myself.

Myra of Chino, CA April 4, 2008

On January 9, 2008 I took my car to sears to have it serviced. They did an alignment and installed four new tires. About 3 weeks later, I notice a dent in the framing of my car on the passenger side. I took my car to a body shop for an estimate, not knowing how the damage had occured. I explained to the body shop that I had a dent, which I had no idea how it got there. The individual asked me if I had taken my car to get serviced. I responded by asking why? He explained he had seen this damage before and it occurs when a car is lifted incorrectly. I immediately new it was Sears because, I had not taken my car anywhere else.

The following day me and my boyfriend went to sears and spoke with a supervisor. He had security come out to take report. Security took a writen report and pictures of the damaage. He explained they were going to look at the video survilence to see if the damage was done by one of their workers. I estimate two weeks later I called to follow up on the status. He advised me to contact their insurance company and he gave me a claim number. He also told me that from the video they could not get a clear view.

I contacted the insurance company who were not helpful at all. I then spoke to Alex the manager at Sears who told me the damage was not done by them. I attempted to make a complaint to the corporate office of sears three times. On my third time calling I spoke with stephanie who called Alex while I was on hold. She then told me that it would not be covered because Alex stated it did not happen there. He believes this damaage is from a curb.

Stephanine stated my only option is to email the CEO of Sears, which I will be doing after this.  I have obtained two estimates that range from 600.00-700.00. 

Cable of Palm Beach Gardens, FL March 30, 2008

Twice in the last year I have brought cars into Sears -- one a Mercedes, one a Lexus -- for new tires. Both times I experienced poor performance with the tires, so eventually brought the cars back. And, believe it or now, Sears both times admitted putting the wrong size tires on my cars. A miracle, one employee said, as if this seldom happens. But it happened two of the three times I have had Sears Auto put tires on my cars. Amazing. The aggravations and wasted time brought only one word of apology from the mostly dismissive staff: Sorry. Unacceptable, IMO.

Car will be seen next week by Sears to determine if any damage was caused by tires rubbing inside of wheel wells in my new Lexus.

Robert of Benton, KY March 6, 2008

On sat. 3/1/08 I contacted the auto dept. by phone about tires, then drove 35 miles per hr to get to the store because of blowout on right rear i.s. tire. At 5:00 the auto mgr made out work ticket, and I told him that if he needed to call me, I would be in the mall, and gave him my #, knowing that they closed at 7:00. I knew that I would have plenty of time to get back to my home terminal in Benton, KY, BEFORE I ran out of driving hrs. for the week. I am a commercial driver, dot regulated. When I returned to Sears, they had my truck 1 hour and 45min, and had not put the tires on truck yet. The tech was sweeping up the shop to go home. The manager of auto told me their big jack was broken, and I reminded him that I had told him in the beginning that if their jack would not raise the truck, that I had one in back that would. "I just found out," he replied. By the way, Sears sells the same size jacks in their store; if the auto shop needs one...I could figure out the problem myself....

I went out into the main store and requested a store mgr. They finally found one after 12 min. I asked them where they were going to put me up for the night, because I would be out of hours before they or anyone else could put tires on the truck. He said, "I'll tell you right now, we are not going to put you up anywhere. He then proceeded to ask the auto manager about why my tires were not installed. The auto mgr. said their jack was broke, and I reiterated that I had offered a jack. The store manager said they can't use my jack in their shop. I added...because of liability issues, and next you are going to tell me I cannot use my jack in your shop for same reason; he affirmed such. So I asked if I pull the truck outside, and take the wheels off myself, did they think they could manage to mount the tires? The store manager said they would and told the auto mgr to tell the tech he had to stay and mount/balance tires for me.

I ended up having to pull the track back into their shop because their air hoses necessary to do the work did not reach outside. I did all this, the work myself. Should they decide to dispute this, I took a picture of position of my truck, if Sear's liability insurance company would like a copy. The auto mgr said he would give 10% discount for all my trouble. As I was signing the credit card receipt, the auto manager tried to give me only 23.50 for the tires costing 289.73. I pointed out that this is not 10%. He said it was. I showed him the error in his math, and he said, "Well, you're right, but I can't discount the labor." I was livid and asked, "You are surely not paying your tech for for removing the wheels, then reinstalling them after putting the tires on, are you?" He said no, embarassed, and offered to give me a 20.00 gift card.

After all was said and done, I was still out the expense of a motel room because I did not have any in-service hours left for the week. I got a room at a motel using my 10,000 Choice Rewards points because I did not have money for room. I earn 10 points for every dollar spent, so the math says I had spent 1000.00 to earn those points. So for my inconvienence, for Sears ineptness, and for their lack of concern for the situation they put me in on my hrs, and for their self-contradicting on me working on the truck in their shop after they said I could not, Sears owes me for having to get my own motel room!

I feel that sears owes me at least 100.00, that is ten percent of the 1000.00 spent to earn those 10,000 points. As I was leaving the store that night at 8:10 p.m., the auto mgr says, "I sure hope this doesn't spoil you on not coming back to shop here again." This will be determined by Sears, as well as the number of the public I relate this problem to.

Don of Hanover, PA January 28, 2008

On Friday 01/18/2008, I went to the Hanover, PA Sears Automotive Store. I had them remove four rain tires (purchased previously at Sears) from the rims, and put my four winter tires (not purchased at Sears--didn't sell this model) on the rims. Then I had them mount and balance these tires. On Sunday (01/20/2008) morning we woke to a mainly flat tire in the left rear position (10psi.) It was a slow leak, probably valve stem was cross threaded. I checked the other three tires at this time and found pressures of 21 psi. All low. Normal pressure is 30 psi. This is the first time I have had ANY problems with improper inflation pressures after having this procedure done. My wife checked her tire pressures twice a day for the next three days. Three tires held their pressures. The left rear tire had to be re-inflated EVERY time it was checked. The valve stems were all GOOD when we took it to Sears in the first place. We drove the car there...with air in the tires! Their technicians had to unscrew the valve stem cores and remove them from the stems to deflate the original tires. When this particular valve was re-installed, it was cross threaded by the technician. THAT is the reason the valve stems are normally replaced (as a precaution) each time the tire is. Not because they're in danger of failure, but because it eliminates customer complaints about shoddy workmanship by the technicians. The valve stems do NOT spontaneously fail on their own when they're less than a year old.

On Thursday 01/24/2008, we finally had time to go back to Sears to have the tire checked. We had to wait 20 minutes after the opening time to just be acknowledged. There was only one person on duty, and he was unloading a truck full of tires. Apparently the rest of the people aren't required to show up for work when the business opens these days! THIS time, we were told that the valve stems hadn't been replaced because they weren't Sears tires, and were charged 21.20 for one valve stem because it was bad. (I told them it was the valve stem when I walked through the door.) There was no troubleshooting involved on their part. Valve stems don't cost that much. I shouldn't have been charged for a flat repair caused by one of their technician's obvious mistakes. What's happened to customer service? If YOU break something, YOU fix it, at no charge to the customer. The whole chain has lost my business!

21.20 flat repair charge by Sears. 20.00 (+,-) and bicycle pump. No REAL physical damage. Had to drive on flat tire to service station to re-inflate on 1st day noticed. Just caused sidewall scuffing. Purchased bicycle pump to prevent repeat performance.

Patricia of Litchfield Park, AZ January 13, 2008

We purchased 2 tires with road hazard insurance for my husband's car a year or two ago. We purchased them in Stockton CA. no problems there! About 3 weeks ago on his way to work, my husband ran over something and destroyed on of the tires. I happened to have saved one of the tires we took off the car just in case something happened, we could put it back on the car until we could get it in for replacements. My husband works a lot and is hard for him to get away. I got the tire to him and he had a local tire shop put the old tire back on the rim. He saved the blown out tire but left it at work. When I told him to bring the tire home so we could go to Sears he went to get it and it was gone. There were OSHA inspections at the plant he works during the week and it was thrown out by mistake.

Last week, after calling the store we purchased them at, they told us to go to a local Sears and tell them what happened and it shouldn't be a problem, we still had the one tire on the car and after all, we'd have to buy another tire as well. My husband went to Sears, explained to the manager what happened who denied honoring the road hazard insurance. After that, one of the mechanics said you should have told him that it was shredded up and laying on the hwy, he'd have covered it then. Now someone please tell me what the difference is here. The tire was destroyed either way, if they would honor it one way, why not our way? We should have lied in this case? Apparently so! On top of that, while waiting for over an hour for only 2 tires to be put on the car, the mechanic pulls his car in and proceeds to do an oil change before he finished the work on our car. My husband even complained to the manager who dismissed it and said they need to finish up a bunch of stuff before the garage gets painted. I guess it didn't matter to Sears that we were the paying customer and they let their employee's work on their own cars while on the time clock! UNBELIEVEABLE service! Where is their so called satisfaction guaratee? I dont see it!!

We had road hazard insurance on the tires we purchased from Sears and they won't honor it. Which resulted us in buying 2 new tires when we should have only had to buy one.

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