Sears Tire & Auto Centers Reviews

This past weekend I took this same car to Sears for another replacement tire and was again told my car was out of alignment even though it was properly aligned a few months ago. I contend that Sears sets the specs on their courtesy alignment diagnostic machine so high that it reads that an alignment is necessary when in actuality it is not. I am sending this email as a cautionary warning to future Sears’ customers who are told their cars need to be aligned. Sears alignment analyzer determines alignments are necessary when in actuality they may not be.

They told me I was good to drive another 5000 miles. What if I had? The manager had the balls to say, "Sorry. People make mistakes." Well, I don't call this a mistake. This is negligence. It's a crime. I am contacting the media. The community needs to know where NOT to take their cars for repairs.

My car was towed to Sears as battery was still under warranty. After Sears diagnosed the battery, I was told the battery was being drained by my alternator, which needed to be replaced and that I had to replace the alternator in order to qualify for a replacement battery. I consented to replacing the alternator. I told the representative I wanted to keep all parts removed from my car, I was told I had to pay $30.00 to keep my original alternator.

Sears mechanic also found that I needed to replace the existing cable for the alternator, another $30.00, which I will return today for replacement. I thought a consumer could request original parts removed from one's vehicle.

What options do I have? Is this protocol normal?

Thank you.

On 09/13, I noticed that the front left tire was almost flat and didn't appear to be a new tire but the left rear tire appeared to be new. I went back to Sears to find out why. I was told by the manager that the technician remembered my car. He was unable to locate any defect in the left front tire on 09/06 but found a screw in the rear left tire that wasn't repairable. So, that tire was replaced and the front left tire was left alone. I wasn't told about this on 09/06 nor was it documented on the receipt.

On 09/13, the technician was able to locate a small pin hole in the front left tire that was also not repairable. Here's my issue with this. I don't understand why I wasn't told the truth on 09/06. For an entire week, I drove on a tire that still had a defect, which I was unaware of, while I am currently 9 months pregnant. I took my car to Sears believing that I was getting the service I paid for and that the problem I was having with the front left tire was resolved. Instead, I was not told the truth. Now, I have paid for two new tires when I didn't even have a problem with the rear left tire. I feel that I was scammed and taken advantage of.

I can assure you that I will no longer use the services of Sears Auto Center or shop at Sears. I will also make sure to tell my story to whomever will listen about the deceptive experience I had with Sears Auto Center.

The shop manager, Jeff, says they are not authorized to fix the problem because it is too expensive and then, he wanted to argue that the light was on when the car came in.

I returned to Sears on September 6. I showed the service person the problem, and he had a mechanic come out. I explained that what had probably happened was the lifting of the truck on the rack had caused the bolt to come off. I asked if they can, please reinstall it. The mechanic said he would not touch it because it was the aftermarket part. I said, “Well, you guys caused it to come off, and it needs to be replaced.” The mechanic said he would not touch it without a manager’s approval. The service attendant then called, Mike, the service manager on his mobile phone, and I had a conversation with the manager. He said it was fine to put the bolt back on. I handed the phone back to the service attendant; he listened and he manager told him to have the mechanic reinstall the bolt.

The service attendant drove my truck back to the mechanic. In a little bit, the attendant came to me; he said the mechanic refused to reinstall the bolt even though the manager approved it! He told me to come back at 8 AM in the morning, and have the manager approve it in person. At this point, I was quite perturbed on the whole experience! I left the auto center, and called the aftermarket installer, and made an appointment the next morning to get the bolt reinstalled. At that point, I had it with Sears’s service!

The next morning, September 7, 2011, I returned to Truck and Trailer USA, the original installer. They reinstalled the U-Bolt. They also discovered that the Sears mechanic had also knocked a second U-Bolt off the spring on the other side of the vehicle and, they had to reinstall it also! Then, due to the bolts being off and the springs being loose for several days, they had to completely reinstall everything! They said it was quite common for this to happen if the mechanic did not loosen the U-Bolts prior to putting the truck on the rack. I then remembered that when the new tires I purchased at Sears were installed, the mechanic told me that he would have to loosen the bolts at that time to prevent the bolts from coming off. So much for them “not touching” the aftermarket parts!

Truck and Trailer USA Manager, Randy, was amazed that Sears let my truck out of the service bay with the bolts hanging down and loose like they were. He also said they would have had to have known the bolts came off, because the snapping off of the bolts would have sounded like a gunshot and the whole garage would have heard it! The loose spring could have slipped and punctured the gas tank, and the tire could have flipped the truck if they came off at the wrong angle! There were all kinds of damage that these loose springs could have wreaked on my truck. The Truck and Trailer USA reinstallation took about an hour and one half, but because I was a good customer, they only charged me for one hour's work.

The mechanics found that an important part was missing and also found the oil was recently changed at Sears. They suggested to me to ask Sears for the repair expense. The repair expense was around $150, but the guys at the Sears Auto Center refused to do so (after asking their manager who was on vacation according to them), and just told me that there is nothing they can do. I claimed again, focusing that they should check something important after changing oil. Their only reply was that they can provide a free oil change. The problem is that I have to wait for 5 days to order the part so my move is restricted due to lack of transportation. They did not try to provide alternative transportation. Such inconvenience was all because of their fault, but they even didn't say "sorry".

I called and complained to the manager Mike and he said to bring it in first thing in the morning. At 9:00, I went there but he did not come. I had them start to put 2 new tires in the car and the alignment. They promised that I would be the first to get the work done. They said they would put the tires on but they would have to wait for the person that does the alignment to come in. Still waiting, I called and they said they were just bringing it in now.

I will never go back to Sears again. I canceled my credit card also. This was the most unprofessional experience I have ever had with cars. They gave me a discount of $30.00 for inconvenience. Are they kidding me? I took the day off yesterday to get this done. Very, very unprofessional place. No wonder Sears is doing so poorly. It looks like they are just trying to make money by selling other items that I did not ask for. The rotation was to be free.

We spent a total of $1,600 at that store and Chuck was very rude--not to mention the fact that they marked up our truck and won't admit it. It's not real bad. It is just the point that they are trying to deny it. Please respond.

On Monday, I discussed the problem with the manager. He said that this happens once and a while and they would take care of it. I told him that I would be bringing in the car after 4:00 that day. When I arrived, I explained the problem to the service adviser and told them that I had talked to the manager. They had no clue as to what I was talking about. I asked them to call the manager at home, which they did. Then, they said that they would split the cost of new rotors and labor. Why would any one pay to fix a problem that someone else caused? We have never had any brake problems with this car and I will be bringing it to another shop for repairs. I don't trust Sears and would never recommend them for auto repairs again.

I was driving my daughter to college in Iowa. She was to be there by 2:30PM on Friday to check-in. As I was going on the expressway, my tire blew. I just bought these tires at Sears in Chicago Ridge last year. I waited to get a tow truck for over 3 hours. When one came, they towed me to the nearest place to get a new tire. They did not give me what was left of the tire and I was not going to dodge cars on the expressway to pick up the pieces of the old tire. I had to stay over night in Iowa which I was not expecting to do.

When I came home late on Saturday night, I was very upset. My wife went to the auto department on Sunday to get a reimbursement for the tow and the tire with the receipts. They refused to reimburse me because they said that Sears is nationwide and that I should have gone to Sears Auto Store in Iowa. We were stuck at some place near Wolcott, Iowa. I don't think you have a store there. I do expect a full refund. I didn't even ask to be refunded for the night's stay.

I took my car to have the tires rotated and balanced in June 2011 at the Alderwood Mall Sears in Lynnwood, WA and the technician noticed that my tires were wearing "funny" (on the inside edge of the tires) and said that I would need to buy new tires (the tread in the middle of the tires is still okay).

I know that my vehicle has a defect that causes the tires to wear "funny" if I don't stay on top of it. So I have been bringing my vehicle in to have the tires rotated and balanced over the last several years and always have it done every six months. I also have an alignment done every six months as well, usually during the same month as the rotation. The last two times I was in for the rotate/balance, I was told that my tires didn't need it so I trusted the technician and didn't have my tires rotated at that time.

Now my tires on the front are worn "funny" but the rear tires are okay. My concern is the previous two times I was in to have the tires rotated or balanced. I wonder if they really checked my tires thoroughly for wear. I always tell them when I come in that my tires need to be rotated or balanced regularly because of this unusual issue. They always give me the impression that it is not necessary to do the rotation or balance unless there is a problem. In any case, from now on, when I take my vehicle to have the tires rotated and balanced, I will tell them to do it regardless of whether the technician thinks it is necessary or not.”

I got a response from Sears that they would notify the Auto Center Manager where I took my car, but he did not get back to me until I sent another message to the Sears Customer Relations. He then sent me an email stating that he would do anything to make this right—refund the cost of the alignment and tire rotation or balance. When I told him I had a lifetime alignment and tire rotation or balance, I never heard from him again. This is despite the fact that I was emailing him on two other occasions, telling him my initial complaint was just to inform them of a problem with how their service technicians are servicing vehicles, not for compensation. It is apparent that managers are poorly trained in good customer service. I intend to never take my vehicle to Sears again.

Two weeks later, I called ahead this time. A guy told me that they could have me in and out in 45 minutes. I arrived 15 minutes later and was told it would be 40 minutes before they could get me in. I agreed to wait.

I should note that although they were "busy", they had time to put my car on the alignment machine (without my asking them to) and determine that I needed an alignment. They also tried to upsell me on an engine cleaning. I declined both.

After an hour and 20 minutes, the car had still not been touched. I asked when it would be ready and was told that there was still "a ticket" ahead of it and it would be at least an hour before they could even bring it in to the garage.

At this point my young son had had enough of the waiting room, which, incidentally, had no toys and magazines geared entirely toward men. Do they realize that 50% of the population is female and we also drive cars? I took my keys, my car, and my business elsewhere.

How does Sears even stay in business? Do they really think they can expect people to devote an entire day to getting their oil changed? After reading the other posts, I'm feeling very grateful that I didn't let them touch my car! It is one thing to have a location or two with bad customer service, but when it extends to the top corporate levels, it's clear that there's a systemic problem.

I then drove to my trusted mechanic, who told me the brake pads had probably another 10,000 miles on them and the rotors did not need resurfacing. He replaced the broken stud for half of what Sears quoted.

The last occasion at this location, the advisor told me my rear toe settings were set "all the way out." I asked, "Why are you telling me this, is it aligned properly?" He said, "Yes". When I drove onto the highway the steering wheel was still off center and the vehicle pulled to the right. My suspicion was piqued at this point, so I drove it to another location (Burlington) to see if they could discover why it is so hard to align a Subaru properly, given Sears has the newest Hunter "Win" alignment racks.

This location called me into the shop to view the alignment monitor and the technician indicated that the vehicle was grossly out of alignment. He further stated that the rear lateral link cam bolts were considerably over tightened, well beyond the manufacturer's torque spec, thereby crushing the bushings. I called Sears customer service to complain and after a long run around, I finally got the regional clown, I mean supervisor on the phone. I explained the issue and I offered to buy the replacement bushings so long as his technician installed them and aligned the vehicle at Sears' expense. I also asked for rental reimbursement which was denied. In any event, I dropped the car off one day, and they told me they couldn't get the rear lateral links off and the bolts were frozen. They said they needed to order the whole link including the bushing.

The technician advised me that he would need to heat and cut the link off the vehicle. I said, "Do what you need to do, so long as you fix the car." They did the work, aligned the vehicle and after a few months, the alignment was off again. I wrote it off to road conditions, normal wear and tear, and such. In any event, after multiple attempts to realign the car, they said, "My technicians are refusing to touch your car anymore as we cannot get your alignment right. I suggest you take the car to a Subaru Dealer." He put this in the comments section and gave me my money back.

So, I took it to the Subaru dealer to find out that the cam bolt threading on the sub-frame was damaged and elongated. The Subaru technician said that any adjustment made to the rear wheels would not hold. Therefore, this is why they could not align the vehicle properly. Therefore, they attempted to cover up the damage. Sears customer service passed the issue off to their claims contractor/insurer Sedgwick. Sedgwick offered to pay half of the damages. Once you accept their offer in writing, you own that offer. I also wanted reimbursement for premature tire wear and decreased fuel mileage. I have an attorney reviewing the issue before I accept that offer.

Now it's 2011, that makes the tires 7 years old, but I only had them for 3 years and they are separating the tread from the side wall. I asked for a replacement and was told no, that it was legal to sell old tires.

I want my money back. They said no. Now I have to buy new tires again.

However; as I get closer to the vehicle I can see my trunk widely gapped and as I get even closer, I discover that my pull down actuator mechanism had been broken. The only way that kind of damage could have happened is that the technician working on the vehicle didn't realize that my trunk had a hydraulic system that allows you to close the trunk lightly until you here the attachment click, then the trunk will seal to a complete close. I then went in side to tell the customer service rep that I had a problem with my trunk and at that time one of the store managers, George Bonzagni, stepped in and took over the ordeal.

He gave me my keys so that I could open my trunk completely with the car remote. I clicked the car remote to open my trunk all the way and to my dismay, the portion of my trunk lock, from the bottom had been ripped from the wall of the trunk and completely destroyed. I then took some pictures of the damage with my cell phone camera and George took some pictures with a camera as well. I had to then close my trunk with a bungee cord because rain was forecasted and the dark clouds were visible and in the vicinity. When we got back inside the shop I ask George how does he think this happened and he said he talked to the technician and the technician claimed, by the words of George, that; "The trunk was already loose." I proceeded to tell him "that's a lie." My trunk functioned proper and closed tight and snug prior to bringing it to them. George said that "it appeared to him the trunk locking mechanism was loose when we arrived at Sears."

I'm thinking at this point, you're kidding me right! I must be getting punked!! Where are the cameras!! My wife jumped in and stated "How can you make a determination on this situation when, first of all; you didn't even see the car when it came in and now that your technician has broken it, you're backing them and your professional opinion as a supervisor is that we the customers damaged our own trunk." According to George at that time, he had only been on the job for eight days. He claimed to us that; "all he was doing was making an observation." He was acting very unprofessional by making such a claim when he saw nothing but the damage after the fact. At this point I already see a problem and I can tell that they are collaborating their stories and it now appears that the Sears Auto center is not going to take responsibility for the destruction of my trunk lock. Afterward, I went back in to ask the supervisor (George B.) what needs to happen at this point and he said that he needed to talk to the LP (Loss Prevention) department who handle claims and property damage and that we needed to fill out a form describing what happened.

Next we were directed to the office to fill out a form that George said the LP office needed. When I finished the form I ask him for a copy of the form and he said, "Not a problem," however; when he returned he said that it was against policy to give me a copy of a report that I just wrote about! Once again, I'm not feeling any cooperation as a customer but as a perpetrator of a crime or something. Eventually, after several days talking with the LP department they send our claim to the Sedgwick claims management services, Inc. Day one, I'm appointed to Janet and she tells me what could happen if they honor the claim or deny the claim and that all made sense, but even in that conversation there was a pro-Sears tone, to me. A whole month had elapsed and I called numerous times to get a status check on the incident. Within one whole month I received no feedback, even though I left my name, claim number, and telephone number to be contacted numerous times.

On 28 July I receive a letter denying my claim and stating that they could find no liability on the part of Sears, Roebuck and Co. This whole procedure was a goat rope and an absolute waste of time on my part. Everybody involved seemed as if they were ducking and dodging simple request and when it was all done and said; the answers were still vague. Sears had been a substantial organization that many of my family members frequented on a regular basis, nonetheless; after the way they handled this incident and the lack of integrity exhibited, I have concluded that I will never purchase another Item from any stores associated with Sears! I understand everyone can make mistakes, but this incident left me feeling violated and taken advantage of. I just came to get my tires fixed and I left the Sears auto center with an almost $700.00 debt. Never again!! If I can't trust you why deal with you!

I want to see what the attorney general has to say about this one.

I have a 2007 Mercedes E350 (VIN# WDBUF56X67B067670) that needed an alignment. I took it to the Sears Auto Center located at 22560 Town Cir., Moreno Valley, CA 92553 on July 27, 2011 at 11:48 am. My odometer reading was 54,671 miles. I was dealing with Erik ** (a customer service adviser) and he stated that his alignment machine was great; that he can do an alignment for my car for $79.99. I gave him the okay to do the alignment, and when the car was finished he called me to pick it up. I paid the amount using my American Express card.

When I drove the car, I noticed that the car was not aligned. I drove back to Sears, and I told Erik that the problem was still there. He explained that I needed a bolt and that it would be a special order from dealer. I asked him why he didn’t explain that from the beginning. I told him that I was not satisfied and that I want either my money back or have the problem fixed. Erik said that he wouldn't be able to refund the money back or fix the problem due to lack of parts. I asked Erik if I could speak to the manager. The manager, named Darrel (he wouldn't give me his last name), was very rude and didn't care about me as a customer.

On the same day, I left the Sears and went to Walter's Mercedes Benz located at 3213 Adams/ Auto Center Drive, Riverside, CA 92504 at 2:30pm. The dealer did the alignment for my car, and the results were excellent (Invoice# 555953). My odometer reading was 54,695 miles. I was charged about $194.00 for work, and I am completely satisfied.

I took the receipt from the Mercedes dealer back to Sears Auto Center, and I showed it to Darrel, the manager. I explained to Darrel that it wasn't fair to pay twice for the same job. I also explained to him that, if my car needed parts, he should have called me and notify me before doing an incomplete job, and charging me for it. His response was horrible! He said, "Take me to court if you want."

It was obvious that he doesn't care about his customers.

This light was not on nor has it ever came on.I take van back to sears and as i was parking a person who work for sears was in the paking lot looking at another car and i ask him when a tuneup is done is this light to be on.He said no and he took a meter of some kind and turned check engine light off.Jeremy was employ name.I cam back home and my wife heads about 40 miles away to pickup her father and calls me to say this check engine light is back on and it smells like something is burning.They pull over and couldnt find anything on fire.Two days later van starts missing real bad.I take it to Arts and they plug into a computor to tell that the plugs sears put in was not the right ones.Also two of the spark plugs were broke.One was pulled out of the boot and the other was clued back in.

Also paid to have throttle body and injectors cleaned and that had not been done.My oil filter was dripping oil leaving a mess under my van.My winshield wipers were put on wrong bending the arms and breaking the plastic cover below window.Cost me $263.65 at Sears and after i took it to Arts Tune and Lube i spent $1426.02 becase of what Sears had done.I have copys and all the parts Sears put on and pictures.I have reported this to Sears and i have filled a claim with their insurance.No one will talk to me about any of this.

It could be distinctly heard when I applied the brakes and release and then apply again. I called Sears about this issue and was told me to get the car in. I took the car on 5/27/2011. I explained about the ghup ghup sound coming during the stop & go traffic. Waited for 2 hrs. They investigated and found nothing ( clearly told me they hear no noise ).

Then I took the technician for the ride and made him hear the noise. He acknowledge the ghup ghup sound and explained it is the friction noise. I clearly told him, I am too is a mechanical eng. And understand the friction noise and that my other car I have at home or the car which I rented do not make this noise. He argued that all the cars makes this sound. I told this is an unusual sound which you can hear and is irritating. After lot of discussion it was decided that the pads needs to be even out at least for 1000 miles and the sound will go.

After driving for more than 1500 mile the ghup ghup sound is still coming. I took the car back to the store on 7/09/2011. Waited for 2 hours and same drama started, the technician, manager can't hear any noise, everything is ok. I had to take the manager Scott . ( He did not give his business card but gave Francis Teter Auto Center Manager). Scott told me ghup ghup sound is normal and is heard in all the cars. I told him it is irritating noise which draws your attention and is not heard in other car. He will not listen and kept telling the same pitch.

He said to go to different Sears Auto center they would say same thing. I told him the other Sears auto is going to tell me the same pitch and want to take my car to Midas, as second opinion, - I have been working with them for last 10 years and full customer satisfaction I received and want Sears to bear the cost of $20., but he denied. There was another car next to mine which was driven by another Sears auto technician, when asked to perform the same action on the other that did not made any noise. When asked for the explanation, Scott told me it is your old car.

On 6/17/2011, we took my van to a local mechanic to see what was wrong with the front end. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the mechanic asked if I had new brakes or tires put on, anything that would involve the removal of the front tires. Of course, there was the rotation. He said the lug nuts were put on wrong and this was why it sounded like my tire was going to fall off. Now, I personally do not know how lugs can be on wrong, but I know he said that I was very lucky they didn't break. I have two children that ride with me almost daily and this was very upsetting to me.

I called Sears on 6/22 and I asked for the manager. Chris stated the manager, Dale, wasn't there, but he listened to what had happened and apologized, but stated Dale would call me the next day. I haven't heard from him, or anyone there though as of now, 6/27, 12:35 pm. I'd just like to mention, and admit, that I probably should have quit using Sears a long time ago. I actually did for a few years but I foolishly went back for convenience. I have been in there numerous times and had tires put on or rotated and return home only to discover they are not aired properly. Once, my hub was not put on properly and it fell off but I just really never expected such a dangerous error to occur and I think that others should be warned.

I left and went to my vehicle and drove home, again I called to speak to the manager and was advised to call in the morning. The car alarm system does not work. The lights blink but the vehicle does not lock when the remote is pressed to lock. I now have to lock my vehicle manually.

I took the parkway and seen a burst of smoke coming from the back of my car. My check engine light came on along with my leaking oil light. I pulled over to the nearest exit and street. My friend who knows a lot about cars, opened my hood and then checked my oil. There was some oil still left, a decent amount left in the car. I drove it a little bit further and my engine started to rattle and smoke came from my engine. I had to get my car towed to my mechanic, who told me that my oil plug was missing on my car. They told me that they probably hand placed the plug in their without tightening the plug/screw.

My mechanics told me that there was no oil left, and that when they tried to put oil in it, it just leaked everywhere on the floor. (Picture to prove it.) Then my mechanic called Sears Auto where a guy named Mike answered the phone. He denied me even getting the oil change, although my receipt shows different. I then called Sears myself and asked what was the procedure to seal the oil plug after completing an oil change. He told me to hand place it, and to tighten it with a tool like wrench etc. He then goes on to explain something about Subaru's and how it can be different etc.

I then stated to him, "I have been getting oil changes for how long. I have never, had this problem." Long story short, my car has been diagnosed with an engine rod through my engine. I'm out of money for the 112 oil change and etc., 6,000 dollars for a used car I now have no vehicle to get to work, and my old vehicle is sitting at my mechanics because Sears Auto want even take responsibility for their mistakes. They look like. Someone needs to step in and do something to prevent people from having to deal with crooked big companies such as Sears.

He told me that I only needed 2 tires. I asked for 2 new tires to be put on the front,and the older tires to be rotated to the back with balancing and rotation of all 4 tires.I asked for an oil change and a tune-up,although they did not do tune-ups.I asked for a new battery to be placed in my car.I repeated myself and said I want a new battery.I asked them to put 3 new wipers on my car, 2 on the windshield and one for the back wiper. I asked them if they would check my A/C freon level.I said that my A/C gets really cold but that I just want to get the level checked.They do not do this.So I said it is ok because it gets really cold, to the point of freezing you out.I asked them if they could get oil out of my back floorboard and the manager Brian said he bet he could get it out.I informed him that I had rugs and newspaper and litter trying to soak it up.anyway I said just please do not lay the rugs and newspaper " that are on the oil "in my other floorboard" well it was not on other side of floorboard,It was on my back seat!And I waited for a call that my car was ready to pickup.

That day came and when I went in to get it this is the way I found my car. The two new tires was on the back ( my car is a front wheel drive) and so they had not rotated my tires at all.I had to wait for this to be done.And I asked about the battery because I saw the charge for a recharge of battery,I asked them why they had not put a new battery in my car.So I waited for them to put the new battery in the car.I asked them if they had replaced fuses and bulbs as needed they said yes.I asked if they had put 3 wiper blades on my car,they said yes.I arrived there at around 2:30pm and by the time I left that day it was going on 9:00pm.I saw a flyer on the counter speaking of an air treatment that would remove any mold or mildew in the air and I asked them to please do this to my car.This is listed as Odor elimination service multi pt insp. They did do this.$21.19+ $346.90=$368.09

I asked the person again about checking my oil and he said the same thing. I just wanted to confirm that I wasn't hearing things when he told me how they checked oil in cars. My daughter also heard him say this. My question is, where does Sears find these people or is this common practice for Sears so they can make money off of consumers who doesn't know any better.

I had no damages because I knew better than to let them drain my oil to check it, but others may not know that.

I arrived at 10:30, was done and out the door at 3:30. To get the warranty on the tires, the alignment was needed, which was fine with me. Keep in mind that on the Service Ticket, it states that they will provide a before and after alignment report. I went across the street to do some shopping. They said that they would call me if they have any questions or concerns.

They called later and stated that I would need an alignment (at around pm). I told them that that would be fine so go ahead. At around 2 pm, I walked back to the Auto Center and my car was up in the air, with no one working on it. In fact, there were no technicians in sight. I waited, and then asked what was going on with my car. The sales person checked, and they were doing the alignment. About 30 minutes later, I saw a technician working on my car. He went back and forth from the car to the tool box (about 8 times). After around 30 minutes, someone came to help, with his flashlight looking around, tugging and pulling with a large wrench or some tool. Anyway, at around 3, they were done. I went up and stated that it took a very long time.

They were sorry as they got really busy. I paid my bill and when I asked for the alignment report, their printer was not working so they could not provide it. Keep in mind that without the alignment, the warranty on tires is no good. Alignment warranty is good for 6 months or 6000 miles. I did not get notified of that until I was paying my bill. So on a 65,000 mile tire, I get a 6-month warranty on alignment.

Why don't they tell you that up front? My guess is so that they can make sales. So, I went out to my car and there's grease on the driver's seat in about 4 places. The two wheels have been cleaned, and other two wheels have greasy dust all over (on the hub caps).I had them clean the seats to remove the grease and that worked out okay. Sadly, I will never use Sears again. I don't think I will ever shop there for anything.

I dropped the car off at 9:00 AM. The job was promised by 1:00 PM. I checked in on the car at 2:00 PM after not receiving an update or phone call on the job progress. The job was not completed, but was then promised the car by 3:30 PM. I returned to the shop at 5:00 PM after not receiving an update or phone call on the progress yet again. At 5:00 PM the struts were on the car, it was sitting outside the shop but still not being aligned after the strut replacement which is necessary and was part of the quote of $373.00. The worker at the cash register had to remove the cost of the alignment because there was no way to finish it by close of business which was 8:00 PM.

This Sears auto service is a complete failure. I will never shop at this Sears store and would be afraid to ever have any repairs done at this location. The technicians, managers, and counter personnel lack experience and do not display an education that even resembles that of a high school diploma. This store is headed for disaster!

I had my car towed on a flatbed. My car was jumped so I could back it out, and I checked the gas, wipers front and back, AC lights; everything worked and the AC, as always, was very cold as it had always been. After backing it out, the car was placed on the flatbed. I asked the driver of the tow truck if he would look at my tread and tell me how many tires I actually needed. He and I went around the car and he told me that I only needed two tires.

I had four tires and hub caps, even the small ones that said Taurus on them, there were four in total. He took it to Sears Auto Center, and we corresponded via telephone. I told them to be sure and rotate tires and to put the two new tires in front because my car is front wheel drive. I asked them to replace the battery; take the one in there as an amount off the new one, and to put three wiper blades on my car and to do the oil change. I asked the young man named Terry, who I was talking with, if they would check my freon level in my AC to make sure that it was full, top it off as I put it, and they told me that they do not do ACs. I said, oh well, that is okay, it gets really cold so I take it that it has enough freon. He said right, if not enough freon then the air will not be very cold. And we hung up this time.

When I arrived to get my car, Sears had not put a new battery in my car, as I had asked. Instead, they had charged the one I already owned. I told them that I wanted a new battery; do not charge the older one. I was charged $14.99 for the charge and then charged for new battery as I expected that. I asked them if they had rotated my tires as I did not see it on the invoice. They said no.

Now at this point, I was really getting a bit upset. I was charged for the first and second round of tire work. The front, driver's side, tire (new one) went flat (slow leak) by September 28th 2010. I had to have it towed again, and they did a patch job on the stem. I have to wonder if the stem was the problem or not for as of this date, May 14th 2011, it is leaking air again. And to put this in the same area as the tire information, I had only three center hub caps on pickup. The center hub that says Taurus on it was missing on the back left tire. The tow trucker and I and the receipt says nothing about a missing hub. There was none missing. I have this as proof. I know it had all four cause at the time, while up on flatbed, the tow driver and I went around the car looking at the tires and all four caps was on. If one was missing it would have been marked on the tow paper and on the intake paper at Sears. Neither was marked.

Next, my rear wiper was not working. I asked them on the phone to put three blades on my car. They did replace the rear wiper blade with a new one plus two in front, but all of a sudden, the rear wiper was no longer working. So I ask why put one on if it does not work. It was working fine when I turned it on the day of the first tow on April 19th 2010, the same day they received my car. Now when I went to get my car, the wiper would not turn on. I had a test done on it at Smeltz Repair Service for autos and when he grounded the rear wiper, it would work but not by my button inside as it had worked on April 19th 2010 with the inside button. I informed Sears and asked them what they have done to my wiper. Maybe when they pulled that wiper arm out, a wire came loose, the wire that connected to the button up front.

So as I waited for the other work to be done right, I saw a paper on the counter speaking of a mold mildew and air quality treatment that I could purchase. I had a fiancé that did an oil change a few years back and the left over oil in bottle was capped and put bottom first under the driver's seat from back side of seat. The cap was not put on correct and the oil leaked into my driver's side back floor and due to this (that I had tried to get out and finally had to put litter newspaper and rugs on top of the oiled saturated rug), I figured that this air quality treatment would be a good thing to have done, so they did the treatment.

I was asked to turn my system on either just AC or vent or fan, as I was driving home, and so I turned on the AC and at first it was cold but within seconds, the cold turned to warm. Sears at this time was closing (9:00pm), so I had to call them the next day. They said that they did not fool with the AC and they did not do it. I told them that someone had punctured my hose or something and my freon was now in the air outside. At one point, I called Brian, the manager of the Auto Service Center, and he offered me a $50.00 charged Sears card if I would consider it a closed case. Now I ask you why would he offer me this if there was no one there responsible for these things.

I have always had a great AC in this car. I used a patch for pain and I am required to have AC at home and in the car, due to the patch will release too much pain medicine into my system if I am hot and this can cause my breathing to cease and or put me to sleep. My car could use a good paint job and a few dents at back door due to a hit and run, but it did not matter to me because I had a great AC and the seats are very comfortable and it is a great car on gas but the AC being as good as it was, prior to Sears, that was the most important for me.

I have many people who know that my car's AC worked well and was very cold. If I need to have these people to stand up for me and my AC, they will. Total of my car service is $346.90 + $21.19. I want to be treated fairly and Sears has ripped me off. I hope someone will help me.

This could be a matter of life or death. I am 100% disabled and to fix something (much less something someone else had caused) really is a hardship. To save enough money to fix anything takes time to save up. I am not nor is my car the reason for these things to happen; when these things worked prior to and so many things, then that need to be fixed upon receiving my car from Sears. Well, it just doesn't seem possible to have these things happen naturally, yet all happening in the time period they had my car. The AC test showed no R-12 freon in system. They will need to convert the system to R-134A then putting dye in system to check for leaks. This is a very expensive cost Sears has cost me. I have not had work done yet and the cost of repairing the rear wiper to work with button again, the hub cap replacement and the tire replacement.

A man asked for a case of oil. They had 8 bottles. The auto part of this store is at least 2000 square foot not including the work bay. What do they store in there? Another customer was turned away. I could not hear what he asked for and there were only two mechanics on duty on a Saturday morning when many people are off. This is lousy management but it cannot be totally at the local level. Corporate must know the stock of each store they are running. Another American company into the ground. If you shop at Sears and you get screwed, then it's your own fault. They do not even have an e-mail address for complaints. I called customer service and was transferred to some off the wall company not even associated with Sears. I tried again and a recording stated they would get back to me in an hour. After three hours, I still have yet to receive a call and no mention of a customer complaint department on the directory call options, so screw Sears. I am done. I think I will send back their card but being on a fixed income, I cannot afford to throw away a life raft even if it is lousy.

A couple of weeks ago, I brought my car to the Sears in Fort Myers for a tire rotation and balance. When it was done, the mechanic discussed with me a litany of thing that were wrong with my vehicle. I told him the truth that I had just had it at Honda the day before for an oil change, and they completed a full inspection where they found one issue. I had them repair the problem, and there were no other issues including any that he had on his list.

I left the next day for a road trip to Orlando and the minute I got to the speed limit of 70 MPH, the car started to vibrate severely; something it was not doing when I brought it in there. I lowered my speed and it was better. When I returned home a week later, the car again was vibrating significantly. The next day, I took it to Honda. I did not tell them that the tires had been rotated and balanced by Sears so that I could get an unbiased assessment. $200 later, Honda fixed the problem. The tires were so out of balance that they had to take them all off and basically start over. Additionally, they told me that I was lucky that none of the tires blew, and that this was an accident waiting to happen.

Thankfully, there was no damage to my car or any of its components. I haven't contacted Sears; from what I can tell from other posts, it will do me no good. However, I will never darken their door again, and will tell everyone I know of what happened.

The repair shop is Firestone on Yucaipa Blvd. Initially, the service person (Luis) indicated that the problem was that the bearings were worn out and they needed to be replaced. After they began pulling the brakes/bearings apart for replacement, the Firestone mechanic found out that the thread where some screws go in was damaged. I asked how this happened and the Firestone mechanic explained that this problem (damaged thread) was the result of improper installation before. I contacted Sears and presented the problem. After phone calls to corporate, he agreed to visit Firestone to inspect my van since the vehicle was non-drivable.

The Sears manager called to indicate that they could fix it in their shop, but I had to tow it to them. I called Firestone to review after Sears' visit to their shop and they indicated that indeed Sears is willing to fix "part of the problem" and just to put some bolts to tie the nuts/bolts where the thread was damaged, which for me is not a safe fix because my van is quite a large and very heavy vehicle. In a few words, the thread problem will persist if Sears fixes it as they plan and I worry about the safety for me and my family. I feel that it is Sears' responsibility to pay for the damage they caused to my vehicle (thread damage from improper installation of bearing). So I feel that I should be compensated by Sears for their wrong doing (technically). The compensation I would like from Sears is not pay for the complete repairs of my vehicle but it would cover for what it relates to the bearings installed by Sears' staff.

They called her back to replace the stud, and hub with aftermarket parts. My wife confirmed with VW is this was ok. VW stated that this would void her warranty. Sears said that was ridiculous, they do not use OEM parts. That is against their policy. Since VW would not accept the aftermarket parts Sears then proceeded to force the new aftermarket lug over the damaged bolt and hub assembly. Told my wife it is not their problem and said for us to do what we have to do. We took the vehicle back to VW and they said that the wheel is still damaged and they cannot replace just the lug nut. So VW gave us the piece in a bag. The total bill for replacing the parts, $700.00 and an attitude from Sears!

I take my truck frequently, so they can do rotation on 8-21-10. They told me that they were going to call me to see what they were going to do with the tires. They have not called me. If they saw that the tires were not working, why did they not change them? This is wrong because I could have had an accident or my tires can pop. I also have evidence that I took the truck to get checked because of the tires, but it can also be the rim or the tire.

First, I was put on hold for fifteen minutes with no response, so I called back. The staff member said that he was off property. I called back around 4:00PM and I was told that the manager has gone home for the day and would not be in until 11:00AM the following day Wednesday, 1/26/2011. I called on Wednesday to talk to the manager and was told that he was not available, but within a half hour I received a call from a claims adjuster from Sedgwick CMS. He explained the claims process. After explaining the claim process to me, I explained to him that I was a real estate sales agent and was in need of a vehicle, and could arrangements be made for a car rental. My wish was granted and I was set up with a rental car through Enterprise rentals.

When I picked up the car, Enterprise informed me that Sedgwick would pick up the daily rental charge but I would have to pay for insurance despite having full cover insurance for my SUV. So I have had to pay $18 per day for the last twelve days. I must turn the car in today because I can no longer afford the rental. I had not heard anything from the claims adjuster by Friday afternoon 1/28/2011, so I called the Auto Center to talk to the manager. I was told that he was not available, but the SUV had been taken to an automotive repair shop to be appraised. Right after I finished talking to the auto center, I received a call from the adjuster and was informed that I was only to communicate with him.

The cost of repair was estimated to be $6,500.00 and that he just had to have it approved, get a check cut and have the auto center manager and myself sign the check. I gave the auto body repair shop permission to repair the vehicle. I was told by the claims adjuster that he would be back in touch with me by Wednesday, 2/2/2011. When I did not receive any communication by Wednesday afternoon, I called and received a voice message that due to the weather several offices were closed. I called on Thursday and received a voice message that if a message was left Wednesday, do not leave a second message on Thursday as claims are being addressed and he would be calling everyone with updates.

I did not receive any communication on Friday, 2/4/2011, so I called on Monday, 2/7/2011. I was informed by the claims adjuster for Sedgwick CMS, Carlton **, that he is waiting for approval from his superiors and would be in touch within the next couple of business days. Tomorrow will make two weeks since the day of the accident and there has been no approval to even cut a check. Bottom line, this has been an emotional roller coaster ride for me. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to take my vehicle to have it checked out for starter trouble and end up with a wrecked vehicle, be out of $250 for insurance for a rental car and now be without a vehicle because I can no longer afford to pay for car rental insurance. I also cannot do my job as a real estate agent because I do not have a vehicle.

I was so mad I could not speak for the fear of the lines of profanities I would spew at them! I hopped in my car and said I could get one at Auto Zone where I went and had the right battery installed by polite, honest and courteous employees. I should have gone there in the first place!

After I got them replaced, I went to do some last minute shopping around town. I got home after an hour. I was getting ready to visit my sister's home when my younger sister told me to come outside and that my rear driver side tire was completely flat. I looked at the rest of the tires and the rear passenger side tire was running too low on air. I was very upset and could not figure out how this was happening. I looked everywhere to find any damage and could not find any punctures anywhere in all four tires. It was already too late to call Sears. I took pictures of all four tires at that moment. I could not go anywhere that evening or on Christmas day because the following morning, both my rear tires were completely flat to the rim. I was extremely upset and left without a car. I also took pictures that morning.

On December 26, 2010, I called Sears to demand an explanation as to what kind of work was done to my vehicle. The manager was not in, so I called again later that day. Marty, the manager of Sears Auto Center, told me that he couldn't do anything about the situation, and that it was on me to take my vehicle to the shop to look at my tires and decide if there was any damage to the tires caused by me. The manager also insinuated that I may have caused the damage by driving onto rough terrain. I was upset at the fact that on top of ruining my plans on Christmas, that I had to pay for a way to get my car to the shop to get it seen. I had to call my insurance company to pay for a tow and take my car there.

On December 26, 2010, I took my car to the shop. They took my tires and inflated them again. They examined them in water to see where the air was leaking from. My rear driver side tire had air leakage from in between the rim and tire rubber but mainly from the valve stem. The rear passenger tire had leakages from the valve stem as well. My two front tires were too low at 35psi of air when the manufacturer's recommendation is 44psi of air. Their quick explanation from the manager to me was that both rear tires valve stems rubber washer was probably corroded or rusted. I am not that stupid. If they were corroded, I would have noticed the air leakage forming on my old tires. I do not want to be taken advantage of. I cannot stand it when people think that just because I am a girl, they can make up stories to cover up their errors and mistakes.

I asked to get the original valve stems rubber washer and see for myself if they were corroded of damaged. There is no corrosion or damage like they said. Before they gave them to me, they took pictures and then gave them to me. Hopefully the same ones. The manager said he could do much for me. I did not want anything else but my old tires replaced and my money back. He said that because there was no damage to the tires that all he could do is replace the valve stems rubber washers on all tires and offered to pay for the towing, or a $25 gift certificate, which I didn't want. They said that they will refund me the towing when I brought them a receipt for the towing.

After I left the shop, I was still getting the tire warning light on my instrument panel. I went around the parking lot and returned to the shop letting them know that I was still getting the warning light. The same employee that put on my tires told me that it should go away as soon as my tires started rolling. Even after I got home, the warning light was still lit, which again explained his lack of training because my tires were still low at about 35psi when the recommended pressure is 44psi. I could have taken off sooner than planned to my road trip and gotten into an accident because of their poor training, judgment and lack of interest in doing a good job. I will absolutely tell all my family and acquaintances about my experience at the Sears Auto Center in Yuma, AZ and their poor professionalism and lack of training. I will make sure not to ever go to Sears Auto Center again.

He went back on Saturday and was informed the tire was not in. He was promised by Mr. ** that it would be there on Monday the 22nd. Still no concern that he did not have a spare. When he returned on the 22nd, the tire was still not there. So he went to another tire company and had to spend $127.64 for a new tire. This is not acceptable. We have been a Sears customer for years and over the years have noticed how the customer service level had dropped. We feel we should be reimbursed the money that we had to put out for a new tire.

I spent about $800 on tires that are useless to me. I have 2 children and just lost my job and can't afford to buy 4 new tires at this time and I should not have to based on what I was told by the sales/manage at Sears.

As I'm waiting for him to come back, there were three more people waiting for me to get done so they can get their cars that they had left in the morning. He came back after 5 minutes and told me they won't be able to work on my car. I'll have to come back some other day. So I thought they must be busy or short staffed so I said okay. I also asked to speak to the manager and I was told that she's not in today. I went to the garage where my car was parked. I looked around I saw no one. As I exited the garage, I saw four workers standing outside having their cigarette break and chitchatting. That really made me upset. It seemed like they were all having a good time instead of working. None of them were helping in the front or working in the garage. That is just bad customer service. I'm very angry with the attitude of the staff and the service of Sears Auto Center. Sears executives should fire everyone at that service center including the manager with the exception of the person I dealt with, Ibrahim. I'm sure there are other people who will do a better job with a great attitude.

At any rate, when the lug and wrench broke, he essentially told my wife that there was nothing they could do and she would have to go to a Lexus dealer to get this straightened out. Not even an apology, but instead a reprimand for keeping the lug key in the trunk and allowing it to rust. His point was this was clearly all her fault. When she conveyed the story to me, it was clear she felt they had taken advantage of her because she is female. The next day I made arrangements for the local dealer to try to take care of the situation. I'm not sure what this will cost me in the end. I also returned to the Sears store to speak to the manager, Mr. Gary **.

Gary proceeded to explain to me how this was really my fault for allowing the key to rust and Sears certainly had no responsibility with any of this. I was completely taken aback. I expected some recognition of the customer service aspects of the situation. An apology that it happened, an offer of a future discount, anything, but instead I was berated for not taking responsibility for my vehicle and the damage they had caused. When I asked for his card, he also insisted he gets a copy of the work order, which I agreed to and waited while he went and made the copy.

Upon his return, he continued to tell me how this was my responsibility and he really had a problem with people like me that think "they are better than everyone else." I presume this is because I had earlier mentioned that I work for a large local company and the report of this level of service would be farther reaching that just me not returning to their store.

I could go on, but I think the point is clear. There was simply no concept at all of customer service. Actually, quite the opposite when the manager raises his voice to the customer and continues to berate them about their lack of responsibility. I can't imagine there is anything Sears can do at this point to rectify the situation. I've taken my time to let the company know about the situation, which is far more than most consumers would do.

I could not believe that they were telling me this after the fact! A huge company ripping people off like this should be made public. We need to let the public know that Sears cannot be trusted, but will take your money. After complaining, they never offered me anything, so I told them I wanted a refund. They gave me my money back. I then asked for the manager's phone number. Her name is Amy and she offered me a $25.00 gift card for the 3 hours they had my car. I think the public should be made aware of companies like this. Please help me do this. Thank you and your response would be greatly appreciated. I will also be notifying other networks as well.

He made such a big scene all the other sales assistant had to come out to the shop. I explained to him that he cannot talk to a consumer in this manner and tone of voice. His behavior was so aggressive and rude I had to leave the Sears Auto Center, call the district manger and file a complaint.

Finally, within 20 minutes of closing, they looked at the tire and found out that it was a sealing problem within the tire. This was something that should have been addressed yesterday when they put the new tires in. They charged us for tire performance and stability, and failed to seal it properly. In the end, they neither accepted their mistake or refunded us the money for towing the vehicle there. It was a truly horrendous experience.

The assistant manager called me to explain that in fact it was the oil pump. He continued to say that they do not deal with things like this because they do not have experience in mechanical work. He did offer to then change the exterior oil pump, however given the circumstances, a lack of experience, I said, "No, I would like to find a mechanic." I made a few calls and most dealers and mechanics said I probably have engine damage due to them driving it without oil getting to the motor. I was sick. Sears towed the car to a garage for me and as it stands, I now have engine damage and my car is out of commission until a new motor can be installed. I called Sears' insurance company to report a claim as told by the assistant manager and they made an offer that would not even come close to one of the three estimates. I later called corporate and one lady tried very hard to ask their insurance company to renegotiate and pay for the engine. They denied her plea. Imagine that, a denial to cooperate.

After one month of waiting, we decided it was not getting us anywhere so we went to small claims and met with a mediator. Sears offered $700 more than what they offered the first time leaving me with a balance of still several thousand dollars left to pay to replace the engine with a rebuilt. I asked if they would include the brand new tires that I just bought from them a week prior to the oil change. I asked that they add price of the tires to the amount offered. They flat out said no. Well, it turns out that I am now without a car and in the process of going to school to be a paramedic. I have four drivers in my family and a husband getting laid off in December. I am presently without a job. I cannot afford to lease a car or even buy one and I cannot afford an attorney. We are all going back to court to seek help from the judge. I am going with an open mind and the fact that I may lose. I am very upset this had to happen, a big company like this that can do this to a family. How can they sleep at night? All I can say is shame on you Sears.

Now the second problem, just this week 11/5, 2.5 months later after the first vehicle, my Sonata that had the oil change the same day, well guess what, the car was ticking and thank God, I was next to a gas station. Upon inspection, the mechanic said the oil was dirty, almost gone and sludgy and the filter was dry. He asked me, "Uh, when was the last time you had an oil change?" I told him and he just looked at me. So after a new oil change and filter not even 1000 miles later, I may have problems. I have the filter and their statement. Let’s see, what is the chance of that? Hmm, two cars with the same issues? Now, I am told to listen for roughness and ticking sounds and watch out for more issues that may happen with the car.

I have done much research and went to several garages for their opinions and statements, and I have learned a great deal. It is unfortunate for this to have happened because Sears has been a great establishment of mine. When all is said and done, and if the judge declines to find in my favor, I will be crushed and this will be a great loss to my family and me. However, if this be the case, it will be my respectful opinion as a consumer and a mother to make the public aware through the TV, the media and my mouth of certain situations that can occur when a vehicle is serviced by those who call themselves professionals.

On the spec sheet range, it should be 0.0 degrees to 1.0 degrees for the camber. The left front is now -0.5 degrees and the right front is within limits at 0.0 degrees. I was then told to make it right, it would cost an additional $150.00 plus the cost of another alignment. The mechanic worked very hard to get it in spec; however, I feel the price I was charged is outrageous. Had I known the actual price beforehand, I would have put the ball joints on myself and then brought it back for alignment.

I told him that "I came in to fix the problem with the brake indicator light coming on and they did not fix the problem". I also said "The brake system is a closed system and it didn't make sense for them to change the brake pads for low brake fluid, but he didn't agree". He told me that they will check what the problem was. He came back and said that my brake master cylinder needed to be replaced. I told him that "I already spent over 2 hundred dollars and was that for nothing? " He told me that the brakes needed to be replaced because they were thin and cracked and he will not charge me for labor for changing the brake master cylinder. The replacement brake master cylinder cost me $219.23 (Ref. Num. **).

I drove my truck for several weeks and noticed that a thumping sound when I press the brakes was getting more frequent. When I was driving one night, a pedestrian was crossing the street which I did not see until last minute. I slammed on my brakes and my truck slowed down, but did not stop. Luckily, the pedestrian stopped crossing the street. I brought my Toyota Tacoma back to Sears Automotive on 10/18/10 and this time they told me that I needed to change my brake booster because brake fluid was leaking internally which cost me $482.72 (Ref. Num. **). I feel like I've been forced to pay for the first 2 repairs that were not needed or wasn't the cause of the indicator light being on if they diagnosed the problem correctly in the first place. It could be the low fluid in the brake cylinder caused by the brake booster leaking internally, which in turn caused the brake light indicator on the dash to come on.

I went back today because I paid them for nothing and asked the heavy set rude guy at the register how long the wait would be today to fix my alignment for the third time. He did not make eye contact with me one time and shook his head entering data in the computer, saying, "Oh, we're swamped. We're just swamped. It'll be at least 6 hours.” He was red in the face and was also rude to the gentleman before me and apologized to him before he left. He did not look up from his computer one time to speak to me until I asked him if that is how he treats every customer in here, and when Sears is going to fix my alignment that is still pulling to the left and the steering is looser than ever.

This rude person did not say one word and continued typing and I walked out of the shop. I have never come across anyone so unprofessional as this person. Maybe it's because I am an educated woman. This happened Saturday, October 16th. I want to know how I can get my money back. I want my car fixed right by professionals that know what they are doing. Thank you for your reply.

I had the car in the garage for inspection and tire rotation and so on to get ready for winter. The owner of the garage that I dealt with called me and said, "Kristy, we can't rotate your tires. They are all bald." I was angry knowing what I had already gone through before with Sears and the garage owner told me to go back to Sears and demand they do their job right for once, instead of just trying to scam me and sell me the most expensive tire they can.

So I went to Sears after I picked my car up from the garage and I spoke to a sales clerk and he more or less told me, "Too bad, lady, we aren't doing anything for you." I stated to him the problems I had with the last sales clerk and he informed me that he was fired. I showed him all my warranty papers to him, that this was the second set of tires in a 16-month time period. He told me, "Well, your car is out of alignment," and I told him that they were the ones who aligned it. Then he went on and on contradicting everything he said to me and called me a ** and told me that he can't do anything, maybe give me a discount on one tire and I was fuming. He told me that the guy that sold me the previous tires should have known not to sell me them because they were known for cupping on my type of car and he told me he was fired for too many errors.

I have witnesses on how he treated me and I also have all my paperwork and a garage to back me up on this mess, two sets of brand new tires from Sears in a 16-month period is ridiculous! Now I'm stuck with four bad tires again and out all that money. What can I do?

The Centennial Co. mechanic had failed to tighten the bolts holding the calipers. One was lost and the other quite loose as to have fallen off leaving us vulnerable to no brakes on an interstate. When we returned to Colo., I felt it necessary to tell the Col. Sears of our episode and was treated with indifference. I would have expected concern and perhaps a little more courtesy. The bottom line is, we will not return for any future auto repairs and will tell folks how we were treated.

This unit should never have had a 50 amp service position! For service beyond 10-20 amps, a better choice for metering would have been an external shunt (where heat is generated) and this shunt being "tapped" at a portion of its physical length to enable use of a meter with actual milliamp movement, but calibrated to read the supplied amps. Heat buildup within meter from its carrying actual current higher than 10-20 amps is not desirable from a reliability standpoint. In passing, for this market niche, one designs for utmost economy of construction but very cheap shunts can easily be fabricated. Very cheap, good milliammeters are available to use with any external shunt.

We twice took our car into the Chevy dealer to learn why we were experiencing shaking and tire wear. On the last time in the dealer, they told us that there was a problem with the alignment. So, I took the car back to Sears to have them fix the problem. The car now has 35,060 miles (less than 12,000 miles since the last alignment and tires were installed). Sears installed 2 more tires, another wheel alignment (because, the mechanic informed me, that the alignment was so far out that it was "off-the-scale" apparently, some parts were not tightened-down properly), new valve stems, Road Hazard Agreement and $300 later I left very dissatisfied.

I called back and was informed (by Asst. Mgr. Bobby) that there was nothing he could do. So, my husband called the 800-795-5030 "Sears" Customer Complaint Line. After being on hold for 10 minutes, this "Crystal" person informed my husband that they/she could do nothing to cause the Sears facility to make good on their gross negligence and that there was no law which would force them to act on this cause!

We tried to call the Corporate Office but we were continually redirected/routed to this third-party call-center. I guess our 25(+) years of customer loyalty to this non-compassionate Corporation has been to no avail. My husband is a first year law student but is not sure what course of action he might take.

Is there a (current) class action law-suit in place or what might we do to pursue action (on this end)? What can you do to assist us, and the countless 100's (maybe thousands) of others having same or similar problems with these insouciant wolves? $900 is a lot of money to most of us: plus all the frustration associated with trying to make these persons aware of how they should not treat people: especially customers who have spent countless thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands (+) dollars to help keep their Corporation alive. Not to mention that these same rude Mgrs. and "Customer Care" representatives are employed, only, due to our money having paid for products and services, which in this case are both defective.

Donna was just leaving when I got there with the tow truck. She apologized and when I called Sears this morning, she had already called to tell them what happened. She is wonderful. However, I spoke with Mike this a.m. and he showed no concern at all. He said Donna had called and they would call me. He said nothing else to make me feel better. I asked if they had a different mechanic and he just said yes. He was so uncaring that I don't know if I want to come back to Sears again. He showed absolutely no concern for the fact that his service had jeopardized my safety or the fact that this was such a horrible mess. If he is supposed to have any public relation skills at all, check again.

I have encountered one other person of his nature at another service dealer and that service has gone out of business. I wonder why? Donna is the kind of employee to have, not Mike. I also know Joshua and he is terrific too!

They did something when they installed the belt and other equipment because on my repair ticket it says, "Courtesy visual inspection performed in combination with other services may include the inspection of both under the hood and under car items depending on the other services performed." If this was the case and it's a fact that the belt runs the AC, then why did they turn the car loose with the AC blowing hot air? I want this very bad service corrected, because they want another $322.21.

The representative said the manager would need to authorize an exception and no manager was available the rest of the afternoon. So I had to leave with the understanding she'd let me know what he said. The next morning she called me first thing and informed me it would be completely covered. When I went in that afternoon they not only honored the warranty but didn't even prorate the tires. She gave me the full $400 or so back that I'd initially spent. I bought a new set of Michelins on sale that even included a $70 rebate. It was a very good deal and I was very pleased with the way they took care of things. Even though it was inconvenient to have to come back again they more than made up for it. I had read many bad reports on this and other sites and feel that the organization does want to do the right thing and provide good service.

The tech came back and proceeded to to take the bolts off the studs. The tech said, "All of the threads are stripped or must be damaged," because he could not get them off all the way with his power torque gun. He broke one of the stud bolts and claimed that the nut was stripped/cross-threaded. He then said that the nuts must have been applied improperly at one time. There was no evidence of this. The service manager backed him up. I asked the service worker to step aside and took the hand torque wrench supplied with the vehicle and removed the remaining four nuts very easily! I then reapplied them very easily.

The service manager argued with me saying that the bolt that his employee broke was due to a cross threaded nut and that he saw it himself. They both then started the talk of having to replace all of the stud bolts (money). I couldn't afford to do that and I told the service manager upfront. He then said, "You can drive safely with the original four." The order writer, Mr. ** would later agree with this. The order writer attempted to sell me an alignment which I also could not afford right now. He also asked me about purchasing a tire warranty.

I explained to him that I could only pay for a wheel and a tire installed with balancing and stems. I repeated, "I cannot pay for a wheel alignment or new studs or other products." The order writer said that he can have a new wheel from the Sears supplier on Tuesday, Sept 7, 2010. At this point, it looked like they were attempting to sell me extras over and above a wheel and tire to make more money. Mr. **, the order writer walked out to the vehicle with me and repeated the same action as the tech but with the vehicle hand torque wrench. He also said that by the use of his hand, the bolts didn't come off easily enough when loosened. I then demonstrated to him how easily I was able to remove and then re torque all of the bolts on the sample wheel.

Mr. ** maintained his position. He then said that he'll tell me where things stand on this on Tuesday when he calls me. I repeated to him, "I cannot pay you for new bolts." At this point I feel that I must watch them very closely to see what the results will be this Tuesday, September 7, 2010. Sear Auto Centers are well documented in law cases for overselling products to consumers across the country. To be continued...

I did not believe that the wheel bearing was bad due to the fact that the dealer had just replaced both wheel bearings at 40,000 miles due to a recall. My truck had 82,322 miles on it at the time of Sears inspection. I took my truck to another ASC-certified mechanic. He confirmed that the ball joint was bad but both wheel hub/bearings were fine. In his professional opinion, the ball joint did not go bad in the past month. I feel that Sears did not do a proper inspection of the truck at the time of the tire install. A proper alignment could not be done with a bad ball joint.

I contacted the Sears Auto Center manager (Marcus) and explained my situation. He was understanding but unwilling to accept any fault in the initial alignment being done. He had no comment about the wheel hub/bearing being misdiagnosed. I asked if I have the ball joint replaced if he would take care of the alignment and he said no, only if I had his mechanics replace the ball joint. Due to my past experience with his mechanics and the fact that they diagnosed the wheel hub/bearing wrong, I was not going to let them replace any major components on my truck.

I called back several days later to speak with Marcus again but Cindy, the other manager, was on duty this time. She also was not helpful and in fact told me that I was looking for something for nothing like my lug nuts, another ordeal that I had been dealing with. She told me that I was a complainer and was looking for free things. I have been going to Sears since I was 16 years old. That means I have been giving Sears my loyal business for 22 years. Sears has been the only company that I have bought tires from for over the past 15 years and the same for my wife's vehicle. I have had all my oil changes done there. I have given Sears lots of my business. When I had purchased my previous set of tires from Sears, they had damaged several of the chrome lug nuts. They rounded the edges. I confronted the manager about this and he sent to speak with his head mechanic.

I had to go into the shop and actually confront the mechanic. He said that he used his 19 mm socket to remove the lug nuts. But according to the dealer that I spoke with earlier, the lug nut size was 7/8. The mechanic disagreed with me but the manager did offer to replace the lug nuts. On two more occasions my lug nuts were damaged during recommended tire rotations. During the last new tire install, they completely destroyed the chrome cap on the lug nut. Because of this, their mechanics' inability to remove lug nuts, I have been labeled a complainer by the management. I will never use any of Sears department stores or auto centers again if this is how their stores are run - poor management and poor mechanics.

Upon their inspection they reported to me that I had a couple of exhaust leaks but failed to tell me that my tail pipe was out of the bracket and dragging so low that it was creating the exhaust to leak. I wonder why? hoping that I would fall for their exhaust leak inspection. So needless to say, I won't be returning to that shop in the near future and Ill make sure that all people I come in contact with is aware of the unprofessional conduct the manager is so proud of. Well, I have my muffler wired up with a coat hanger right now, and in the am i plan on getting an estimate from a legitimate business and get the problem resolved.

We told this to the store employee, and we provided our warranty paperwork in hopes that we could potentially receive a small credit towards a new battery. Instead of selling us a new battery, the employee argued with us about the purchase date and the conditions of our warranty. He raised his voice and was combative and argumentative. When it became clear that this employee was not interested in honoring the warranty, my dad asked the employee for the price of a new battery. At first, the employee would not give us a price and instead told us that he would need to test our battery and charge it for 45 minutes. We agreed to have it tested, and he claimed the battery was in working condition and suggested that the problem was with the electrical circuitry in our car.

The car had previously been tested and no problems were found; in fact, the battery had been drained due to the car door not having been shut properly and the dome light had been on for two days. After explaining to the employee that we were short on time and just needed a new battery, he told us that he could not return our old battery because it was in the back of the store being tested. He refused to bring the battery back to us and forced my dad to carry it from the back of the store by himself. We still needed a battery and my dad clearly and simply asked for the price of a new one. We were given a price of $89.99 plus tax, and when asked again, the employee gave a different price of $109.99 plus tax. He could not/would not explain why the price had changed $20 during the half minute that had elapsed between our inquiries.

At this point, we were furious and asked the employee for his name. He refused to identify himself or give us his manager's name or even a contact phone number. He proceeded to yell at us, threatening to call Security because we asked for his name and we would not leave without contact information, and he said he was not obligated to identify himself because he was the Customer Service Manager and he had worked there for five years. I would like to think that after working five years as customer service manager that he would know it is customary to wear a name tag (which he did not have) or at least to give customers the name of the employee they are dealing with. He reluctantly gave us a 1-800 number of a "higher up" that we could contact, although he only gave us the first name of this individual and no job title.

We walked into Sears Auto Center with every intention of buying a new battery, and instead we walked out receiving horrible treatment, conflicting information on a simple price check, and we weren't even given the courtesy of knowing who we dealt with. We took our service elsewhere. We got exactly the product we needed at a much reasonable price that didn't fluctuate $20 for no given reason. Through some investigation, we found out that the employee we dealt with, the "Customer Service Manager" is named James and he has a horrible reputation for this kind of behavior.

On Sunday, 18 July 10, I headed out of El Paso to Albuquerque, NM. About 70-80 miles west of Albuquerque on I-40, my van began to overheat and pegged. It was so hot that it would barely move. I was driving on the side of the highway at only 30-40 mph. Engine check-light came on. I made it to a Shell station on I-40, opened the hood and water, antifreeze were sprayed all over. I knew I had a leak. A police gave me info for an auto repair place in the town of Milan. I filled the radiator and got back on I-40 and only few minutes for temp to peg again. This time I was only driving 25-30 mph on the side of the road; it would not go faster.

I made it to the town of Milan. Mechanic said that the radiator hose was installed wrong because it had been cut by the fan belt near the alternator. He said he could get a new hose by Monday. On Monday morning, he said it would be Monday afternoon, maybe Tuesday before he could get the hose from Albuquerque. We decided to try to make it to Grants, NM. By this time, I was also losing air in a rear tire, so I had to stop and keep adding air to it. At Grants, I found a Ford dealer. They said they could fix the hose, but have to go 100 miles to Albuquerque to get hose. My van was repaired at about 3:30 pm; it cost $294.92 just for hose and anti-freeze. The Service Manager and the Mechanic also told me that the hose was in the wrong place, installed wrong and that was why it had been cut by the fan belt.

I drove straight through to Las Vegas, arriving after midnight. We lost the first night's room price. I went to a local tire place to get the tire fixed. They said a piece of metal was in the side wall, not repairable. This was apparently caused by driving on the side of the highway, just road junk. I had to buy a new tire, $182.47. I called the Sears store on 27July. The Auto Service Manager said to bring him all the receipts for my expense on Wednesday, 28th. On Wednesday, the mechanic was not working and Joe did not look at any paper I had. He said he would talk to the mechanic on Thursday and get back to me. He never called back until Saturday, 31st July, until after I called the store manager. Store Manager has not returned my call after Joe denied any responsibility.

Nick then apologized and said that I would have to buy a new tire. I asked why, when he told me over the phone that it would be replaced at no cost. He said that they would only fix for free, and that he never said that to me. The manager then called his staff a bunch of pansies because they could not remove the nail, and had an attitude. Then, he said he'd replace tire, but that I would have to get an alignment and pay for the warranty again. I said that I could do that.

Apparently, I did not have any other choice. It took them another 1 ½ hours to put on tire and do alignment. I found out after the fact that it was never done in the 1st place, back when I was told it would be done. I asked how my other tires were. I was told that they were fine, and that they didn't have any of the tires in stock. The one they had put on my car was the last one anyway. I went to get my car inspected and was rejected. I was told that my tires (2 front) were bald, and that he couldn't believe Sears let me leave without suggesting that I replace!

I called the store back and spoke with Nick again. He said that Brett was going to be in later that day, but that he would let him know. I called and they said that they would be replaced (my tires). But still, they had none in stock. I didn't hear back from Brett for a day. I was nervous to be driving my car with bald tires. When I called, Brett said that he told the guys that I did need new tires, and that he didn't know why they didn't tell me. He didn't appear to be all that concerned though. I told him I would now be calling corporate, and that I was not an idiot. I then hung up and called corporate. I was told that they would e-mail Brett. I said no, that would take 3 days and I wanted this handled. I didn't have $300.00 to replace tires and they were under warranty. And I said that I had been told that when I was in the store! So, the woman called the store and talked with Brad. Then, she came back to me and said that Brad told her that I no longer had my coverage at all! I called the Hanover location and received Mr. L's number from Catherine in HR. I explained to her what had happened.

She was horrified and wished me the best. She told me to call back if I needed her help further. Mr. L. is the district manager. When I spoke with him, he was rude. He had no interest in listening to me, continued to cut me off, and said that I should have read my contract. When I told him I thought he was rude and unprofessional, he called me stupid, and was very condescending. Then, he laughed and told me to stop wasting his time. When I asked who his manager was, he said he didn't have one. He told me to have a nice day and hung up on me. I then called Catherine back and told her what happened. She said that she was not surprised. She then gave me his supervisor's name, the regional vice president. I called him. I don't have his name now. But when I called him, on his cell, he said, "I'm on vacation.”

I apologized and he said, "How the hell did you get my cell number?" I said the store gave it to me. He said, “I will call the store and get back with you.” He never did. When I called corporate, they set up a case for me with Jason **. And I explained all over again what the issue was. He said that he would get back with me, but that it was the store's decision. And he said that they offered me $50.00 towards a new set for my so-called "inconvenience". I said that I wanted my tires replaced at no charge as I had been told. He said that he would call me back that day. He did and said he'd follow up with me that Friday. He did not. I had to call 2 weeks later to find out what happened. I was told the case was closed. When I inquired as to why, I was told he would not release that info. I have a right to know! He put me on hold for 5 minutes, came back, and said that the vice president said because I kept hanging up on people.

I decided to go have my tires done at Sullivan, but needed to know what type they were. I didn't want to call the Kingston location. Hanover told me that I still had my warranty, and that they would replace my tires. I said that no, I don't want to go there and have someone tell me that I didn't have it, as they have been giving me the run-around since May. She was confused and still insisted that I had the warranty, but gave me the brand. I went to Sullivan to put them on, and was given a receipt. I called Kingston to get the address to see where I should send the bill to. I called HR and spoke to the woman there. She told me she didn't know, and I said that I would be fine with a phone number of the regional manager. She said she would call me back with it.

When she called me back, she said that she would not give me a number. She said that I could not speak with anyone else, because they were going to do nothing for me! I said that I have been leaving messages, and people say they would call back but they never do. And I said that I feel like I have been calling 62 times! She started to scream at me, and I terminated the call. Then, I called Hyannis location and spoke with a very nice man, Lou **. He couldn't believe how I was treated, and said to call corporate back and open a new case. He said that Sears isn't known for treating their customers like that and guaranteed that someone would call me back on this. And he told me to call if I needed him again. He even said that I was still covered, and that my tires should have been replaced! I called corporate and Brenden said that because the initial alignment had not been done, I had no warranty left! They were compensated for doing the alignment. So, they owe me. He was rude, and said that he didn't care what the tech said. I asked to speak with his manager. I was put on hold again! 5 minutes after, I hung up.

I received a call from the Kingston Police Officer Loring. He advised me that because I called the location "62" times, Sears has a right to press charges against me for harassment, so just wanted me to know. I explained what happened and said that I never called them 62 times. The officer advised me to get a lawyer and contact the Attorney General over $300.00 worth of tires. I understand this is how they work. Anyway, I called corporate to get a print out of my receipts. I was told by Keira that I had a restraining order against me for coming onto property! They also told me that I would have to put in writing my request for a copy of my records.

The tires cost $605. If they give me new wheels, it will cost (at their price) $700 plus. This is the 2nd time I have gone to the automotive department at Sears and will never go back! I will spread this word. They can do the math.

We live 50 miles away and asked that we be compensated in some way if we had to come back. No one could make a decision on this. I feel that a manager or person in charge should be there from the time the operation is open till closed. We really lost faith in Sears and if they can't please their customers... Maybe they will just lose a customer of 30 years.

I notified my bank and they said they couldn't do anything until the charge on the card cleared. They also said that the only way to stop the check from going through was to "stop payment" on the check before it clears. I asked Lionel what he was going to do and what I should do. He said that he could not stop payment on his end and that I needed to stop payment on the check on my end. I stopped payment the next day after checking with my bank to make sure it hadn't cleared. He begged me to not have Moritz Mini fix the car because they would blame everything that is wrong with the car on Sears' mechanics.

I had my vehicle towed to the Mini dealer where they fixed my car. At the Moritz Mini dealership, Matt said that beyond the issues of the engine overheating, he was not sure if the brakes had been flushed and said the brake fluid that was replaced, was the wrong viscosity. He also stated that the brake sensors were never replaced. While the vehicle was getting fixed, I spoke to Lionel on numerous occasions about what had occurred. Lionel was appearing to back up on his assurances that my vehicle would be taken care of.

I called Sears Corporate and was put with Sears Executive Customer Service case manager, Erin **. She assured me she was going to take care of the issues. Erin promised to send me a $100 gift certificate back and also send me a $75 check from Sears, since that had just cleared my bank. Erin said that when the people from the collection side get a hold of me about the $352.60 check that I stopped, I was supposed to give her a call so she could tell them that the transaction had been cancelled and she would close this all out. I received the $100 gift card and the $75 check. When I got the letter from TRS recovery Services, Inc. demanding payment of the $352.60, I called and turned this info over to Erin as she had advised me to do.

Erin once again promised me that she would "call off the dogs" and have this dropped. Erin called me back late the next evening and left a message on my voice mail stating that she could no longer help me and that any further assistance would have to come from TRS Recovery Services. Erin called me the next day and asked if I had received the message. I said I had but was confused as to why she was not holding to her end of the agreement. She stated that she was advised to not help me anymore and turn me over to TRS. I thought in Texas a verbal contract was as binding as a written contract?

Three weeks and 600 miles later, coming down Horseshoe Bend Hill at 60 miles an hour the front of my car started screeching for about two seconds and then the front wheel started wobbling and I eased the car to the side of the road. I very nearly lost control of it with my kids in the back stranded on a 95 degree day 25 miles from home. I had it towed back to Sears and they said that the outer wheel bearings had been overtightened and crushed. I asked how that happened and the service manager told me it must have been the shop who replaced them before ( a year and a half ago ).

I told him that I drive it 14 miles a day on the freeway and check the play in the wheel bearing every oil change, on a VW that is every 1500 miles because it has no oil filter, and haven't had a problem until they did the wheel bearing adjustment.

The service Manager said it couldn't be their fault because they torque them to spec. I said that they need to be properly adjusted instead of torqued to spec. They were unwilling to fix their mess but would replace the outer bearings and seals for $136 for outer wheel bearings and seals. I checked with the parts store and they wanted $26 plus tax for the inner and outer bearings and seals. You gotta be kidding me. We are fighting over an hour's work and $30 in parts! I said I would pick up the car and fix it myself. My wife was not satisfied and called the store director.

She described the problem and symptoms and he remarked that she seamed pretty knowledgeable about the car-- she should be, she helped me build it-- and he would look into it. He called back and said that his tech explained that you can't possibly install and setup wheel bearings improperly and it must be due to high mileage. These are the same people who told me they were over tightened and crushed. I like how the story changes and what does 142000 miles on the car have to do with bearings replaced a year and a half ago.

I have since tore down the front of my car to find that they were going to replace only half of the damaged parts in their $136 quote, the inner bearings are also damaged and the adjuster nuts were installed backwards, machined face was facing out and not against the thrust washer. They still deny any responsibility and after finding the VW manuals procedure for setting up the front hubs, the store director refuses to answer my calls. I have a $161 tow bill $30 in parts $10 in machine shop work and I lost about three days use of my car and have to spend about two hours repairing the mess.

I decided to go to another shop that I found out an acquaintance worked at. It turns out that I only need the brake pads for the back. And guess how much it's going to be? - Under 150 dollars. So if I would have stayed with Sears and given in to that guy insisting to leave my car right then, I would have thrown away over 650 dollars. He told me I could pay with my Sears card but I told him that I was nearing the limit so no. So he said that I could use my card for some of it and come up with some cash for the rest. He was pretty insisting. I'm guessing they get commission, right? Goodbye Sears.

So on the 29th of June, I got a call said the tires were in. I went to get the tires put on because I'm going on vacation. Well the guy check me in. Can you believe they order the wrong tires again?! I have been waiting a total of ten days just to get tires. The bad thing the manager was in the shop did not bother to check to see what the problem was. He just was trying to go home.

Now, today is 5th of July and my tires are not here. This is this the kind of service Sears gives to people. I am a retired command Sgt Major, no threat. May be I need to take this on post to fort hood senior command team to let them know how Sears does to our soldiers.

My wife, not sure what to do called me. I told her to not let them touch the rear brakes and just get the front ones done. She went back and told the service advisor this, who proceeded to tell my wife that they couldn't do just the front brakes, because it would be an extreme safety hazard. Which is kind of ironic, since my wife told them to forget the whole thing and had them put the tires back on, then left without any brakes done at all!

We then contacted a friend who told us to go to his mechanic. When my wife got there, she told him what we wanted done and related the story from the Sears Auto. The mechanic, just for the heck of it, took of the rear wheel and inspected the rear brakes. While it was still on the lift, he called my wife back to look at them. It turns out that not only was there no leak whatsoever, but the rear pads had like 75% or more left on them. We gladly paid what this mechanic charged, which was a mere fraction of what Sears wanted. We'll never go anywhere near that place again.

In March of 2010, I took my car into a mechanic for a checkup and oil change and he found some cause for concern. He asked me to return in two weeks so he could check the oil. I did, and he discovered that my car had run through an entire quart of oil in the two-week period. I contacted Sears immediately and Miguel told me he'd be happy to take care of the issue and asked me to have our mechanic send him a quote for repairs. I immediately took the car in and our mechanic faxed over a comprehensive quote to Miguel. A week passed and we never heard anything back. I called Miguel; he said he was looking into it and he'd call back. Another week passed and still there was nothing. I called several times with no returned calls.

I then reached him two weeks ago and he was belligerent, rude and completely irrational and I found myself having to calm him down in order to try to resolve the issue. He promised me he'd call me back with an answer in two days, and again, failed to do so. I made multiple attempts in the past week and a half to get in touch with him. I have left messages with his assistant managers, shop workers and even with Sears store management and have received nothing back at all. My car, a 2007, is running like a car that was built in 1987 and I just want them to handle the repairs so I can drive my car without the risk of further damage.

In June 2008, I took my truck in for an oil change and tire rotation. A lug nut was broken and I had to pay to have that fixed. They claimed it was like that when I dropped it off. In November 2008, I again took the truck in to have an oil change and tire rotation. When picking up my vehicle, I checked the center caps. I routinely do this because they usually break them taking them off. The left front was broken and just sitting there. I confronted the mechanic and he stated he did not break it. I addressed this with management and they agreed to replace it.

It took two weeks for them to finally get one from the Nissan dealership. This incident with my radiator convinces me that this company has some real shady practices and we, the public, need to report them and hopefully get an investigation going. I have had three dealings and three incidents of damages to my vehicle. All costing me significantly more than their estimated price. I have two brothers who work for Nissan and they are also convinced this company and its mechanics will "create more work and labor costs in this terrible economy".

When we opened the hood and checked the coolant, the cap was loose. I'm surprised it hadn't fallen off. The coolant had completely evaporated, it was bone dry. The washer fluid cap was completely off, hanging from the ring. I bought a bottle of coolant at the gas station, filled it up, and shortly thereafter was on my way, very glad that I didn't break down on the highway before I was able to pull off. I called the store and spoke to the assistant manager and explained what had happened. Their technician didn't put the caps back on properly after checking the fluids, which resulted in them evaporating completely and overheating my engine.

She said I could bring it back in and they would "top off" my fluids as they should have done during the oil change. I explained I don't need anything topped off. It was completely empty. I couldn't drive the car, so I had to fill it back up already. I just want them to admit that they made a mistake and refund my oil change. Obviously, this was too complicated for her to understand. The manager is supposed to call me back sometime today. I'm not sure yet if running the car at that temperature for approximately 15 minutes did any damage. So far it's only cost me $10 in coolant and made me late for work. Needless to say I will never use Sears Auto again.

Once we came back home, we noticed next day that the hub cap for left front Tyre is missing. I called Sears auto center and asked if they know anything about it, they bluntly refused and said they never touched the tires if a car is there for oil change. I am sure the hub disappeared when my car was in Sears auto center. Now I have to buy new hub which will cost me ~30 bucks and rude response from the Sears rep over phone make not go there ever.

My son told me later on that it wasn't a big deal with the caps, but while he was out in the bay, he asked the tech to put both new tires on the front. The tech said no problem and did what my son asked. Well the car was done at 7:57PM. We checked out and drove off. On Thursday, June 10, 2010, just 3 days later, my son was driving his car on a side street and his front left tire fell off. He skidded about 30 feet on his rotor! Thank God he was on a side street and that he was okay. Both of his friends were okay.

The police were called and I had to have it towed back to Sears. Now my son is without a car and also he can't get a rental because he is only 18. I talked to the manager at Sears and got nowhere. He stated to me, "It is out of our hand now," because they turned it over to their claims department. I spoke to them after trying to reach them for 2 days. All they did was take down my statement and say to me that they will start the investigation. They almost killed my son and this is all they can say!

She replied, "I was wondering why you all were waiting. No one told me why or what you were waiting for." She said that the truck had arrived and that she would get our battery. A few more minutes later, she came and told us that the battery we needed didn't come and that she would do what she could to help us out. She came back few minutes later and said, "Well, the store in Longview, TX has two batteries. I will call them in the morning and asked them to send us one, or I will talk to our manager in the morning and see which course he wants us to take, either have the Longview store ship (UPS) or let one of the employee use a personal car and go to Longview, TX and pick the battery up from them and bring to Tyler in the morning. Or, you can go to Longview and buy a battery from them."

We were furious and asked for our old battery back and they said the truck that brought the new batteries took all the old batteries. So we were left without a new or old battery, and had to wait and see what they are going to do about a battery for my car. I've dealt with Sears for many years and for them to do me this way has really hurt me. I'm sure I will continue dealing with them, but I certainly will be more cautious of what I hand over to them before I receive any products. I am so sad and hurt.

So, then I went back to Sears for the jack and rod and one of the consumer service rep. said that she checked around and called me back in 30 minutes. She never called so I called around 6 pm and talked with someone else in the auto dept. and they took my name and number. So I called her about the problem and he said that he will connect. The manager is in the auto compartment and she will call me back tomorrow.

Concerned, I immediately ran outside to witness the two individuals doing "donuts" in my car in the side parking lot, coming within feet of objects such as light poles and other cars. As I was running and yelling at the two to stop what they were doing, they sped off doing approximately 60-70mph and were immediately pulled over by a Montgomery County Police Officer. This cop followed my car back into the garage, where the two individuals ran into the back office to hide from the officer. He retrieved Bradley ** and demanded to see his ID. But after talking with him, decided there was nothing more he could do. The officer then told me to deal with Sears directly if I wanted anything to be done about the situation. All of the previously mentioned events were caught on security tapes (confirmed by Sears and MCPD).

As I took the officer's advice, Sears refused to give me any information about the incident and seemed to not even be concerned about such blatant abuse of a customer's car and trust. The manager of Sears has yet to contact me (incident was one week previous to when this was written) and I have spoken to about 10 individuals within Sears, including the GM Shannon, who could not care less about the mistreatment and abuse my car received. Sears has only told me that they are launching their own investigation and they will let me know when it is complete, and they have no other information for me. I have asked repeatedly what they were going to do to make the situation right. They refused to even acknowledge my question.

Shannon, Sears Gaithersburg General Manager, told me that they were following Sears' corporate policy with the incident. I somehow doubt that Sears' corporate policy involves shunning customers and protecting criminals. I only want the potential damage to my car to be covered by Sears and for the individuals responsible to be held accountable for their actions. On 4/28/2010, I contacted the Gaithersburg District of the Montgomery County Police and they launched an investigation on the incident which confirmed that Bradley ** was the driver of my car. The officer in charge of the investigation told me that it would be tough to pursue criminal charges since the two individuals didn't have intent to permanently deprive me of my car. He also told me that the only action I could feasibly take would be to sue Sears for the damages rendered to my car. All I want is for this situation to be made right by Sears, covering the damages, which may have been caused by their blatant abuse of my car.

Two hours later, he called and I agreed to new pads at $79.00 each. He then said it would be another hour. I arrived at 11:30, paperwork was put through at twelve and they rang me after four, but I did not get my car until 4:30. They were to check the fluids in my car, which I am not sure that they did. My labor on my bill went from $48 to $284.

To install two brake pads and turn them. No regrinding done. This I was not told to me and I had all I could do to hold my temper and pure disgust with Sears to pay the bill and leave. They did give me a free oil change. Do you really think I would use it? I did not receive the coupon to mail in for my $75 and I have no record of a signature on my six copies of my receipt. A new store manger told me my transaction number was **. I did not have that either. I am still waiting for my coupon to arrive in the mail before the sale expires. Boy did I get taken for a ride!

We left to get lunch and when we returned, they had not even started on the car. When we finally asked what the problem was (about 2 hours later), they told us that they were shorthanded and would get to it as soon as possible. We were there for about 4 hours and we finally told them that we just wanted the tires put on the Kia and forget the alignment. They were also suppose to keep the old tires and give them to us the following day when we got the tires on the pickup so we wouldn't have to pay the disposal fee. I had to be in Illinois for a business trip the next day. I got a call while I was in IL and was told that the tires for my boyfriend's pick up would not be in for at least a week.

I was very upset and called the automotive center and told them to cancel the tires. We found out that they had already disposed of the Kia tires. Needless to say, I was very disappointed in the service we received. Since this has happened, I have made several calls to Sears. The bill I received has still included the Dodge tires. They took them off the bill when I originally complained but have since put this charge back on my bill.

I have lost my job (January 29th) and have been told I was sent a "dispute" letter from Sears and did not respond. I have moved to Colorado to find work. My boyfriend had been in an accident and is in the hospital. And now, I have to deal with these charges for tires I never received and they will not listen to me regarding the fact that we did not receive this merchandise when I actually called the store the day, after this happened to cancel the sale.

We purchased tires for the Dodge at Tires Plus with no problem but since I have just moved to Colorado and less than a week after the move, I am spending my time in the hospital with my boyfriend. I am not in a position to get the information and fight this as needed right now.

Please let me know what I can do for this bogus charge. I will not pay for things I did not receive. My balance was $449.26 before I paid $30.00, which I sent in the mail today. Now they have added all the charges back on this card. I will never buy from Sears again.

I am broke and I own a Kia Rio. That is all I have to my name and now I am stressed beyond belief trying to spend my time at the hospital with my boyfriend (he is in St. Anthony Hospital Central). He just got out of the ICU a few days ago and had a final surgery to go hopefully this weekend. I cannot deal with the stress of a bogus charge by incompetent workers at the Sears Automotive store.

I have all the information and paperwork but since we have not even gotten all unpacked, yet and I have been spending all my time at the hospital. I do not have it readily available to me at this time. I am very upset that I have to deal with this issue again that I was already thorough to begin with.

Please tell me my rights regarding this bogus charge on my account.

Well sadly, it was prejudice. This is a very rural, conservative town, and me and my buddy were speaking in our native tongue. They thought I was stupid and wouldn't check to see if the nail was there or not after being charged for it. Plus when I asked at the beginning that they do not repeat the same mistake they did last year, that must have decided to treat me like this. He didn't give me any clear info and valid reason why they wouldn't fix my tire. He just kept saying "my mechanic worked on it, and he just doesn't want to work on it again". "Is this an excuse?" I asked. He kept repeating.

When I asked for general manager's name, he gave me but he wasn't in and he did not give any clear answer to why they wouldn't work on it again, nor did he apologize for cheating me in the first place. The nail was there. His excuse was that the guy fixed another nail. Guess what? They couldn't show the supposedly fixed other nail to me either. I neither care about that $25 nor about the hours I spent and the trust I had for sears, but I care for the respect that lacked, the way I was treated and refused to be given service or fixed their error. His answer was just take your money!

They should have (1) apologized, (2) talk to the guy and find out why he lied about taking the nail off even though the guy saw that (with his own eyes) it wasn't, (3) fix it right, and (4) never ever say "simply because my mechanic does not want to work on it!"

I am ashamed that I trusted them. I am hurt that my buddy witnesses how I was treated. I am so down that not only was I conned, treated badly, but not even given a valid reason for refusing to serve me. What does a minority man have to do in this stupid state to get some respect, and honest work? He had no right to treat me like this. And I know me not going back to Sears ever will hurt him, but nothing will be done for this wrong behavior either.. I called Sears' 800 number twice. Guess what, both times put on hold and got the phone hung up on me.

Needless to say, after wasting almost an hour, I drove off with no help and went to another place instead which took me right away. In this economy, I don't understand why outfits such as Sears are not interested in keeping customers. I'll never go back.

I will take this to small claims court, as I am a 78-year-old widow with a very limited income and feel that inferior product was sold to me, as I was brought up to trust Sears. As consequence, I have a "dry rot" on tires with 60,000-mile warranty and 14,508 on two and 8,319 on the other two.

I found out later when I brought my car in that the road hazard I bought with Sears was only good for 30 days and you had to buy an additional "real" road hazard like the one everyone else sells (life of tire) for $13 more. The advertising of the package above is so misleading. I have never seen a Road hazard warranty that was just for 30 days!

However, he didn't have a 50,000 mile tire, but he did have a 60,000 mile Cooper tire that he would give me for that price. I told him that I would be in that evening. He said that he wouldn't be there, but Amber would be there to help. I got there around 6:45. Amber first told me that they didn't have the tires I needed. After looking for about 10 minutes, she found that they did have them in stock. Then she insisted that I told Mark that I had 220 tires, which I did not. I explained to her that he must have misunderstood me.

After she spoke with Mark on the phone she said that they would still honor the price I was quoted over the phone. I decided to also get an oil change that they offered for $19.95. After shopping around for 1 hour, I was paged over the intercom. I was given a total of $405.00. When I questioned the total, I was told that the alignment was not included and was $69.99 more. The tires should have only been $305.86 + 19.95 for the oil change = $325.81. I made a complaint with Angie, the electronics manager that said she would pass the information on to Michelle, the store manager. I got in my car and discovered that the alignment was not done. The car goes to the left as soon as you let go of the wheel.

The oil change was not done either. The oil still looked dark when I checked it the next day. They didn't change the sticker (you know the one that tells you when your next oil change is due) nor did they top off any of my fluids! This was all done on Tuesday, March 9th. I waited until Sunday, March 14th, before going back into the store. Michelle claimed that she never received the message and would have the district manager call me. On Monday evening, I received a call from Mark (the automotive manager I initially spoke with). I called him back Tuesday and was told he wasn't available, so I left a message. I did not hear back from him, so I called on Wednesday afternoon and was told again that he wasn't available, so I left another message. This time Amber called back. I decided not to call her back because she was the one that originally waited on me that would not help me.

My fiancee and I decided to go back in on Sunday, March 21st. Mark was not in, but Amber was there. There was a customer ahead of us, but we stood there for over 10 minutes without having her even acknowledge our existence. By this time, 3 other customers came up behind us. Then she had the nerve to ask who was next. My fiancee spoke for me and explained to her that I was charged for an alignment that I actually did not receive as well as an oil change. She argued with us in front of all those customers. She claimed that she gave me the oil change for free (which they did not). She said, “Well, if it has a Sears filter on it, then it was changed.”

I explained that just because they put a new filter on it, doesn't mean that it was actually changed. Then she continued to argue with me about the tires. She told me I was lying about the quote I received from Davis Tires. I told her that I refuse to stand there and argue with her in front of all those customers and I refuse to have her stand there and lie to my face. Finally, she gave me back the $69.99 for alignment but refused to refund me for the oil change they did not do. She also refused to give me the number to their district office. I will never step a foot back into a Sears store. I've never received such horrible, unprofessional customer service in my life.

So it goes like this. Before, my car had the four Bridgestone tires. They installed 2 new Goodyears in the back. Now, why one of the front tires is a KUMHO? That is really strange because the rim of the wheel is the same. Does someone want to explain me where my other Bridgestone went? And this is a really worn out KUMHO tire. What if I get a flat tire on the freeway at 65 mph? I did not worry checking all the tires because is not the first time I take my car to this place and I really trust them before.

I did some research and found that the 'Michelin' brand tires were made by another company for Sears. I asked for a price on a genuine Michelin set of tires and was given a price about 440 per tire more. I think I was deceived into thinking that I bought a genuine Michelin set of tires originally. I have run many sets of Michelin tires before and never have they worn out before the warranty expired. At this time, I am very disappointed in the service at this store and the deceptive way they sold me the tires, thinking I was getting genuine Michelin tires.

The people I spoke with at AAMCO stated that upon opening the hood, any qualified tech should have immediately noticed the issues with the radiator. Sears may not work on "no heat", but they do replace radiators; and had they done this, the car would have had heat and the engine would not have overheated, causing the warped manifold gasket. It amazes me that the tech at Sears was able to find other things wrong but neglected to notice the radiator. I called to speak with the manager, "Chris”, I believe, several times - he was not there. I finally spoke with him in person on 12/28/09. I explained the situation. He totally denied any negligence on the part of Sears and was rather abrupt, rude, and obviously angry, when he opened the hood of the car and pointed out a piece of plastic at the far left end that had been left there by “Goodyear”, the station that replaced my air compressor. Incidentally, I was told by Goodyear that had I waited any longer to replace the compressor, it would have caused significant damage.

In the end, the rotors weren't cut well and I was told that they would make a knocking sound when I stopped until I got new rotors. I ended up paying $200.56 for that combined service. Almost immediately, my front brakes began making a metal on metal grinding sound. There was almost a screeching sound coming from under my hood whenever I started my car or left it to idle. It varies between sounding like a horse whinnying to a screaming banshee and gets worse every day. A little more than a week later, I walked around the front of my car and noticed that Sears didn't bother to lock my hood when they serviced my car! It had been shut but not all the way so if I had struck something or been bumped, my hood probably would have flown up at me when I was driving!

I went out on a Saturday to get gas from Costco and then I was going to get the rest of my brake work done. As I left Costco, I noticed the smell of radiator fluid and then as I stopped at a light, smoke began billowing from under my hood! Long story short, I got my car to a Firestone on that street and was told my water hose had separated and I noticed one of the mini hoses (forgive the lack of technical knowledge) that had been attached to the water hose had been separated from its source as well. I had that repaired to the tune of $188, thanks to a customer handing me a coupon. It was suggested to me that my water hose may have been violated when Sears put in my serpentine belt.

I called Sears and told them about my belt screaming, the water hose separating, them not closing my hood and my front brakes sounding far worse than they did before they did their check. I spoke to Xavier who denied them doing anything wrong to the water hose even though I was told there was a reason people changed belts and hoses at the same time to avoid the old hoses getting manhandled. He blew off the issue with the brakes stating they didn't do anything wrong there either and said there is only one way to put on the brake pads and shoes so it's not like they put the brakes back on wrong (which is what I suggested). He did say to bring my car back in for them to tighten my serpentine belt but I don't think I want them to touch my car again.

So he went back in and saw two boys, asked where manager can be found. The boys said, "Why? What car is yours.?" He told them the year and model my car is. The one boy stepped forward and said that I have a small oil leak somewhere and other one said, "You should just trade your car in; it's a piece of crap." We asked, "Why is there no oil showing?" They said, "Your leak," and that's it.

So I just paid over 30 dollars to have my oil changed. I took my car to a mechanic who fixed the issue; it was the oil sending unit. Now I am in no way saying this is Sears' fault. What I am writing you for is, should they themselves not let me leave or pay for this service with no oil left in my car? And the mechanic himself said that they could have hit it when putting the oil filter in. He said that there is no way for there to be almost 3 quarts in before oil change and come out with no oil left after the change. It makes no sense.

Well, I really hope someone looks into this. I really feel like the employees at this place could use better training so that this does not happen in the future and cause harm to someone. It is dangerous to have someone work on your car who doesn't even have the care to let you know what is going on with it. If we hadn't asked, I would have never known about the so-called oil leak. I am not sure if any wrongdoing was done here but someone needs to know. Please be careful when taking your vehicle in for any work at this place!

The car had just been inspected and serviced 1 month prior at a Subaru dealer, including a replacement of the front sway bar links. Despite the fact that the tires stopped rubbing after the head technician re-seated them, the car was brought to the Subaru dealer again who said the suspension was fine and that the tires were no longer in a position to rub. They assumed that the original technician at Sears had seated them incorrectly given the damage to the rims. The manager at Sears did nothing to explore the situation with the technician and, when I said I was going to take it up with Sears' main office; he said, "Go ahead, you'll just be dealing with me again."

My insurance company appraised the damage at $736 and I submitted a complaint with Sears. I was bounced around for weeks until it landed with their claims division. They sat on the case for a month despite several calls to the officer who actually replied that she hadn’t "even looked at the information". I give her points for honesty, but she was still very unprofessional. She eventually offered 50% of the appraised value and I submitted a complaint with the BBB. The person from Sears who responded wrote the following incorrect/dishonest statements: 1) The car had over 200,000 miles (it was just over 100,000), 2) the suspension was faulty (inspected before and after tire installation and found normal), 3) an alignment was declined (the salesman told me it wasn't necessary given the recent service) and 4) the wheels' damage was thoroughly inspected before being declared oxidative (recording times less than 7 seconds from leaving the building to the mangers first statement).

The BBB eventually ruled the complaint unresolved given the fact that Sears' claims division is separate and suggested small claims court. However, given that the company is in Illinois and I'm in RI, this didn’t make much sense for me. So, I'm left getting 50% of the damages and venting on this site. I have since found other postings from people who had the exact same damage and I just hope enough people read this that it doesn't happen to more people. It seems very clear that Sears has no plans of making an effort to prevent it at their level.

I called and was delayed several times. I went to Sears and waited for the manager to show. The manager informed me that his supervisor declined to take any action on the damage due to the length of time that had pass since the damage occurred. I registered my complaint with the BBB, they submitted my claim to Sears and they still refuse to take any corrective action to repair a vehicle that their mechanic damaged. Later, I found out that the mechanic who did the work was not familiar with the jacking points on a 1994 Corvette.

Because of their lack of knowledge, I am stuck with a vehicle damaged by Sears Automotive Center. Since you are not allowed, as per insurance regulation, in the shop, consumers are at their mercy, not being able to see problems/damages to your product until after the fact.

My tires are checked regularly by a certified technician at an authorized Ford dealership. Their reply to that: can't trust them. Not only would they not honor my warranty, but the manager was extremely discourteous and arrogant. Another part of their justification for not honoring is they would not get anything back for the tires. They should not carry a product for a company which will not honor their warranty, their dealers or the customer. To date, they still haven't replaced tires. But rest assured I will never buy another tire or any product from Sears. I am also going to contact manufacturer about this matter. I bought because of warranty and cost. I’m waiting to replace because of cost. Limiting use of car until tires can be replaced.

I drove to a nearby Sears auto center in Staten Island, NY at the mall. I was told that the battery I needed would be $169.00 installed. At that point, I paid for the battery and waited for the tech to install. When the tech was working on my car, I noticed he took the battery out several times turning it around. I was watching him because he kept laying the battery on the side of the car to turn it, and I was worried about scratches. At that point, I and my friend Lisa walked over to him to see what was going on. I asked him if everything was ok and he said yes. He asked me to start the car after he tightened the cables, but it didn’t start. I was in the car waiting for him to tell me when to try and start it again. I was watching him fiddling with the cables.

He then asked me again to start and at that point it started, but everything started going on and off. The high beams were on. I couldn’t shut them off, the lights on the dash (SRS, brake light); the message center kept flashing 4 message, then 2, then 4 again. The windshield solution was coming out. I said to him, “What is going on?” He said, "Turn the car off." The key was locked in at first and then the key came out and the car was still running without the key. I said to him, “What is going on?” He said, “I don’t know. Try putting the key back in to see if it will turn off.” I went back in the car and the key worked that time, so the car turned off. He proceeded to opening up a compartment that had wires in it (on the right-hand side). Then he messed with the cables again and asked me to try and start it again. I went back in the car and started it, but all of the above was still happening. He then said he was getting the manager (Ron) to come over and look at it.

Ron came over with a cup of coffee in his hand with two other young men and he looked in the hood and said, “Close it up. There is nothing we can do. Bring it to Mercedes.” I told Ron, “This never happened to my car before. I didn’t bring my car in with these problems. Obviously, something happened here.” He proceeded to walk away. I had no signals. No gauges were working. No speedometer. No heat. The windows didn’t open or close. I was so afraid to drive the car. I didn’t know what to do. The tech proceeded to close everything up and then he said, “Let me check to see if there is a short.” He did that by putting something in the cig lighter and he said, “There is a short showing, but I don’t know where it is.”

He tried to help me, but he didn’t know what to do. This kid tried to help and he did go to his manager to help him. The tech felt badly for me, and he was trying his hardest to fix things. He checked the brake fluid because I asked him to, only because the light was on and I was afraid to drive the car like that. Everything was on. The dash was lit. The high beams stayed on. The signals didn’t work. The windows didn’t operate. The gas gage didn’t show any readings nor did the temp gage. The young man said there was nothing else he can do for me, so I left.

I parked the car by my sister’s home and left it overnight - I was afraid to drive home. In the morning, I tried to start the car but there was nothing. The key didn’t move. I called AAA again to come to see if they could jump-start me so that I could go to work. The same guy came to the house. He said, “What happened?” I told him that I went to Sears and got a battery installed, and then he opened the hood. He said the cable on the battery was melted and the cable was not on correctly - it was half on. He said something definitely isn’t right here and Sears is at fault. He then showed me the cable where it was melted. He then put the jumpers on the battery and it started, but what was happening the day before was happening then.

I said, “Was my car like this yesterday?” He said no. I said, “You checked the battery and the alternator. Did you find anything wrong yesterday?” He said no. He then took the jumpers off and the car stalled. He said, “You have a bad short here and I believe Sears did something wrong.” He said, "It looks like he probably put the cables on wrong, causing a short or something." I asked if he would vouch for me if needed. He said yes. I then called Sears and explained to Mark (another manager) what had happened, so he told me to have the car towed there for them to look at it. I told Mark I can’t go to work without a car and he said, “Don’t worry. If there is a problem that we caused, I will rent you a car.”

I waited that whole day for him to call; I called several times to find out what was going on. Finally Mark said he was on the phone with Mercedes Benz and they told him it may be a blown fuse and that he ordered it. I told him I needed a car to go to work and he said, "Well, there is nothing he can do for me at this point." I had to borrow a car to go to work the next day. I just started working for my company a month ago, and I didn’t want to be out again. That day I called Mark several times again. He promised me the day before he would get back to me by 3pm to let me know what was going on. He told me he would rent me a car if they didn’t fix it.

At 5pm, I called him again. He told me that the fuse didn’t come in and that it would be in the next morning. I told him I needed a car and had to explain the whole story to him all over again as to what had happened. He said, “Okay, you’ve been through enough. I will call Enterprise and get them to come here and pick you up. We will pay for the rental.” He said, “Give them your credit card and we will reimburse you.” I got there at 5:30 and met Mark in person. He said, “I’m sorry for all of this. I promise you we will fix your car.” He said, “After you told me what had happened, I am firing that kid. He makes so many mistakes.” I said to him, “Why are you firing him? He did go to his manager.” And he said, “No. He makes too many mistakes. He’s getting fired when he comes in tomorrow.”

Today, I called a mechanic friend and I told him what had happened, so he called Mark to tell him that if the battery cables were installed wrong, that would cause the car’s computer to malfunction (he called it the body), meaning the operating system such as the heat, lights, etc., would not work. He said he had to short circuit the computer. I told him to please call Mark and explain what he had said to me. Mark told him that the car was towed in to him that way; he didn’t tell him it happened the day before. Mark called me at 5 and told me that the fuse didn’t work and for me to have the car towed to Mercedes. I told him that he should have it towed there.

He promised he would fix my car. He is responsible for what has happened to my car. I wouldn’t bring a Mercedes Benz to a Sears auto center for any kind of malfunctioning circuit or computer. Sears is a place you bring your car in for a battery or tires. He was very nasty to me. I told him, “Yesterday you told me you were firing the kid because you know he screwed up.” And he said, “Yes, he does.” But I don’t know if it was his fault. I’m very sick and drained over this. I then decided to go to corporate and then to the Better Business Bureau and next to my attorney. I will not take that car out of that shop until it is giving back to me the way I brought it in. I called the bank that holds the title and told them exactly as I’m telling you and they said to fight it. “They are at fault. You didn’t bring your car in that way.”

Go into car facts. My car never had such a problem. I used my car payment money to pay for the car rental. They required $350.00 and will be asking for more this Friday. I just got a job. I have no money to pay my car and I need a car to go to work. I’ve been through so much in the last 2 years. Finally my life is getting better and this has to happen to me. I’m a single woman with no support from anyone. I cannot lose my job. Please help with this situation; I don’t want to go any further than this. The tech is obviously liable for what has happened to the car. I do not have any money to bring it to anywhere at this point.

I am furious! Had I listened to the salesman in Sears, I would have been spending money that I could not afford to lose. I am aged 66 and on social security. What a rotten thing to do. I will tell you that my story is not one I will keep to myself. I am a local person with a very big mouth and will tell my story over and over. Never will I trust the name of Sears again. Oh, by the way, I spoke to a former employee who said that no matter what, Sears will push for ball joint replacements regardless of the need. What a fine commentary. I do not expect anything will change, but I got it off my chest. The date I took the Envoy to Sears was Friday, January 22, 2010. Please consider what is happening next to criminal.

At that point,I was told the reason the job was taking so long was that whoever did my last oil change used the wrong size plug, which was consequently stripped, and they had to replace the plug. However, they had to use an aftermarket plug because they did not have the proper size on hand. I was also told to bring the vehicle to the VW dealership for my next oil change so they could rectify this issue. The receipt/documentation I was given reflects this conversation: "Comments/Requests or Alternative Contacts: Oil change, drain plug was stripped replaced with oversized drain plug; should take back to dealer next oil change." Based on this, I drove the vehicle to work for the next three days (approximately 100 miles total). On the third day, we noticed large amounts of oil leaking from the vehicle and brought it to the VW dealership right away.

Upon inspection by the VW dealership, the drain plug installed by Sears Auto was too large, causing the drain hole in the oil pan to be damaged to the point where a new drain plug of any kind could not be reinstalled and work properly. The oil pan and the gasket had to be replaced at this point, for a total of $429.60.

When we apprised Sears Auto Center of the situation, not only did they assume no culpability, they changed their story about my service to the point of falsehood. The sales staff and manager insisted they told me the drain pan was already stripped and that they only patched up the problem so I could get the vehicle to the VW dealership immediately to avoid having to have it towed. First, they never mentioned damage to the drain pan, only the issue with the drain plug. If there was damage to the drain pan when I brought it to them, why is only the drain plug mentioned in my documentation? Also, why isn't the severity and immediacy of the situation documented in my paperwork? My paperwork stating "take back to dealer next oil change" is a far cry from being told to take the vehicle to the dealership asap and their claim that installing the wrong size drain plug was to save me the expense of having the car towed. If this were communicated to me in any way, I would not have continued to drive the vehicle for three days. I would have dealt with the issue immediately.

The other falsehood that is extremely disturbing is that the manager claims his staff acquired my approval to insert the wrong size drain plug (which ultimately caused the damage to my drain pan). Nobody from Sears Auto contacted me to get this approval. I was in the Meriden Square Mall the entire length of the car's service; they had my cell phone number. My cell phone records will indicate that they never called me. The fact that this work was done to my car without my approval is unacceptable. The fact that they are now lying and claiming they did get my approval is even more unacceptable. If they did apprise me of the situation, I would have contacted my husband and the VW dealership to determine the next steps before approving anything to be done to my vehicle.

After much time on the phone with the manager, my husband and I received no apology, only claims that they verbally apprised me of the damaged drain pan and the urgency of the issue when I picked up the vehicle. They say they told me to get the car to the VW dealership immediately, which they never did. They also claim that their internal documentation (yellow sheet) contains this information. If this is the case, why wasn't this provided to us?

All that was given to us in writing was "Oil change, drain plug was stripped, replaced with oversized drain plug, should take back to dealer next oil change" and this, in fact, reflects the exact conversation I had with the sales associate. In the end, the manager agreed to reimburse us only for the labor charges incurred by the repair of the oil pan and the gasket ($142.50 of almost $430). Again, no wrongdoing was acknowledged on the part of Sears and they continue to deny reimbursing us for the actual oil pan because they claim they did not damage it and it was damaged when I brought the car in (despite the fact they only mention the drain plug in my documentation). However, we feel they should reimburse us for the total cost of the repairs of $429.60. We will continue to keep our documentation as proof of our position. Subtracting the reimbursement $142.50, we are still "out" approximately $280 for the cost of parts to repair the issue.

The same thing happened again; we went right back. My husband asked them again about the belt. They said nothing was wrong with it. They told us my starter was bad. They also told us that my alternator was bad, and we need to get new ones; they told us to come back on Saturday. We decided to go to Advanced Auto and have my alternator and start check there. They did. Kevin said nothing was wrong with any of it. They told us our belt was put on wrong and was not running everything. I called Sears right away and told them. They told us to bring it back in. We did and they fixed it, but they did not even offer to refund any of our money or anything. They have very poor service.

We spent 6 hours there the first time to do oil change and coolant, 3 hours the next time and 5 hours for them to put the belt on wrong the 3rd time. I feel we should be entitled to a refund of most of our money for the time and wrong job that they did. We drove my truck with the belt on for 2 days, and they always came up with something else wrong rather than checking the belt. We spent $605.42. When we went in the last time, they thought it was all funny and no big deal. There was no offer for anything, for what they did wrong. We’re very disappointed and dissatisfied. We will never go back.

Two visits and no problem was found. One more time and I'm leaving it overnight, so they can feel the square tire first thing in the morning. Regardless, they padded their repair measurements. Just look at time in and time promised, and ask your self, "Was I really promised that time?" I was told an hour to an hour and a half. But it's two and a half hours when they called me! My tires are wearing on one side or the other. I drove into Boston daily and can't just leave my car without a ride, so I have to leave it on weekends.

As I was trying to explain it to the rep helping me, another rep comes by and asked me "what is the problem? " He (Jon R.) said "he was a manager in training and that he has never heard of the price matching and that they would only price match based on few dollars of difference". I asked him "are you certain" and he said he was the manager in training and that was how he was taught. I don't know who his trainer is but he just insulted his superior as well as clearly lied to my face. I went back to the office and asked the Assistant manager (Jenny) and she clearly quoted that was not the case and Jon was not manager in training and that he should not have said the things to me. She also said she would talk to him. From that moment, all I could see was this Jon guy trying to get rid of me and disrespected me as customer, an Asian and also being a woman.

I make a 6 figure income. I was at the auto center to pick up my credit card receipt that they forgot to give me the day before. I asked about the 10 percent because that is what any normal shopper who price checks before spending over $1000 on brand new tires. I feel I have been mistreated based on all 3 reasons that I mentioned above.

Sears should train their employees to respect the paying customers. I do not need to be treated like a second class citizen in a service oriented industry. I am more than disappointed that Jon ** lied clearly to my face and that he probably does the same to others. I hardly doubt that Sears Auto Center will do anything about it! I am just one of their many unhappy customers!

Anthony is the salesclerk who helped me. The first impression I received was of a man with dreadlocks (which is not the problem), his pants hanging off his rear, and complaining about wanting to go home. I felt as though I was a bother and that he really didn't want to help me. It was definitely not a good first impression for Sears. After about 1.5 hrs, I was told that it was the alternator - not the battery that was bad, and that it would cost over $300 w/ installation. I insisted it was the battery and not the alternator and asked if the battery was checked and told him that my sister's mechanic said it was the battery. I was told that the battery was not checked, because once a problem is diagnosed, the machine stops and they don't go any further.

I asked if they would check it anyway and he insisted that he couldn't. I called my mechanic in Savannah, GA who had just serviced my van a few days before my trip and told him the symptoms and asked if he noticed any problems with the alternator. He said it sounds like the battery and not the alternator and that if it was the alternator, a light would be lit on the dashboard - and there wasn't. I was so fed up by this time; I told Anthony he was trying to take advantage of me and that I would drive all the way back to Savannah with a bad battery and take it to my mechanic whom I trusted. Anthony did not seem to have a problem with a woman and three kids driving 6 hours with a bad battery.

I did not receive a printout of the test showing that I had a bad alternator and didn't think to ask, but was told by my mechanic that I should have received one. The next day my sister insisted I take it to the Sears in Hixson and said they were honest there. I took it in and reported my complaint to the General Manager - Tim. After a few hours, we returned to find that they had confirmed that the battery was bad and that there was nothing wrong with the alternator. They gave me a brand new battery and apologized for my experience at the other Sears. Since the team at the Hixson Sears had a completely opposite diagnosis than the team at Hamilton Place, one of them was lying; and since I have the printout from the diagnostic test from the Hixson Sears, I'm inclined to believe it was the team at Hamilton Place that was trying to take advantage of me.

I am writing to make sure that no other woman, or any man for that matter, will have to go through what I have had to endure. It is appalling that there are those who would try to take advantage of a woman and her kids - whose husband is deployed, fighting for our freedoms - especially in hard economic times as these. That experience has definitely warped my view of Sears and I will make sure I tell everyone I know, of my experience. Since my husband commands about 5,000 soldiers and their families, many people will hear about my experience. And since word of mouth is the best advertiser, I don't think the service I received from Anthony and his crew is the service you want your customers to receive, or hear about. Thank you for time and effort in making sure this doesn't happen to anyone again.

So they offered to do that, which we had already paid for in 2005, except now the tie rods had to be replaced and the other front end suspension stuff amounting to a new total of $775.00. In addition on this job in 2009, the mechanic called for a strut-mate kit for both struts to the tune of an additional $210.00. These parts were not installed on the car when the one strut was replaced in 2005 nor were they indicated as a part that would be necessary when replacing the struts, of which only one was replaced and two were paid for in 2005. At that time, in 2005, we also paid for a wheel alignment for a car that was only partially fixed; though it was our understanding that the entire front end had been repaired.

The first statement I would like to make is thank God nothing happened to my son while driving what was, I am sure, an unsafe vehicle. The car has been making clanging and clunking noises in the front end. Of course, we thought the problem had been fixed and figured it was just part of a car's noise. I am convinced that had Sears done the proper job in 2005, we would not have needed the additional repairs we had to pay for yesterday that were now required on the front suspension of the car. In addition, we had to pay an additional $69.99 yesterday for another alignment because they are required - of course, after someone works on your front end. In addition, when the car was worked on in 2005, the labor we paid for both struts to be replaced in which only one strut was replaced was $100.00. Yesterday when they wrote the bill up for the free (but not really free since we had already paid for the service), the labor charge was listed as $80.00. So we already overpaid $20 for a job that wasn't done.

I am furious with the way Sears handled their obvious deception. They tried to act like they were doing us a huge favor by doing the job for free that we had already paid for, then adding another $775.00 additionally to the "free" job. What a huge ripoff. I believe that the total job should have been free as the car may possibly never have needed the work that was done yesterday had they done the job correctly the first time in 2005. Also, the struts are guaranteed for life so no matter what, they will always be replaced for free. I would like someone to address me being ripped off by Sears both in 2005 and yesterday (when my husband first asked the question and the mechanic told my husband, "No way, both had been replaced"). He was lying again, just like someone lied to us and cheated us in 2005.

I could not believe it, but I was watching them at work. I spoke to the manager, Corey, who later told me I could take my car with one lug nut missing from each wheel. I told him it was not safe for me to drive with a missing lug nut on each wheel, especially since I came in with a complete set of 5 on each wheel. He told me I would have to purchase another set of lug nuts at $39 if I wanted to have the wheels secured. In addition, I would have to wait another 1.5 hours for the replacements to arrive. Total time was 3+ hours for 2 tires!

There was also a misrepresentation concerning an alignment. It is difficult to believe how incompetent and indifferent the staff, handling my purchase, is. This officially ends my 23+ year relationship with Sears Tire.

Thirty seconds later, I am approved for a $3,000 limit. Crazy. So I asked him if this will fix the problem. He guaranteed me it will and I decided to have shocks put on as well while they are there. They had a free install on shocks promo. I got the truck back and the wheel is still not straight, but now all the techs have gone home and told to bring it back tomorrow. The next day, I went back and they said it will be a few minutes. Three hours later, they said it’s done and perfect. I went 20 feet and it's not fixed. I can't take more time off from work right away so I went back two weeks later. I told the guy what’s going on and he looked it up and said no problem, all the work is guaranteed.

To make a long story short (because it would take too long for me to tell you), the service manager told me a lie because he didn't know what he was doing, and when I called him on it, he said if I didn't keep my mouth shut, he would have me thrown out of the store. On top of that, he went to show me the report from the alignment machine and they have four-wheel drive truck listed and not my two-wheel drive. So they went and redid it and it's the slightest bit better. So I asked him what we’re going to try next and he told me I can have my money back for the alignment and I should take my truck elsewhere. So I asked him why I spent money on wheel bearings and an upper control arm if that wasn't the problem.

I could see him thinking about a reply. It took a few moments of silence and he told me that I more than likely would have needed to have those items replaced anyways and that there must be another problem that they can't find. So now, I am out $500+ and my truck is no better than when I brought it to them, not to mention all the lost money and time waiting for my truck. It's actually $700 but I am not counting the shocks as I asked for them. Then on top of it, Mazda dealer told me they would prefer I take it back to Sears as I might end up paying for new parts as they cannot guarantee the work was done correctly without taking it back apart. The tech mentioned it could take twice as long to go back and fix someone else’s mistake than if it had been done right in the first place. They weren't there to see what Sears had monkeyed with.

I observed all of the reservoirs and other filler openings in the engine area. My wife showed me which one the mechanic tried to get opened. By its location, it looked like the power steering pump. It only had a symbol on the cap, but it was driver's side of the engine, over the wheel well, with a little tank of maybe a pint or two - power steering! I could tell it wasn't the brake cylinder because I identified that, too, where it usually is - driver's side, up against or near to the firewall. The washer fluid had a wiper icon. I tried the P/S pump cap too, for the heck of it, and I, too, could not loosen it, but that didn't matter.

The oil filler was right where it should be - above a cylinder head. It was labeled in German, but if you turned your head, you could see it was also labeled in English ("Engine Oil - use only” blah blah blah). It opened just fine. I put in the two quarts of oil she bought at Sears and checked the oil - within the orange tabs. We're good. We took the car to our regular mechanic (we didn't realize an oil change was too complicated for Sears) who informed us there are three quarts of oil below the end of the dipstick in this particular car ('02 VW Passat 6 Cylinders) and that it has a higher oil capacity than most cars.

I checked the stems on all my Sears tires and found they were all of the lot that was recalled. I went back to Sears to have all of these stems replaced as they were recalled. I was told too much time had passed, they were out of warranty (90 days) but they would replace them for $20 to $24 per tire depending on the size. I had them replaced at another shop. I filed a complaint with my state's Consumer protection agency and that is pending.

This past week, I went back to my mechanic and once again, he said that the car was structurally fine but that the tire belts were bad. I took the car down to Sears on Friday, 11 Dec 2009 and they claimed that the tires were fine - just not the right style for my car. I explained to them the problems I was having in driving the car - being all over the road not being able to break, couldn't drive in the snow without wandering, etc., and they claim that the tires were in perfect condition. The style was just wrong. I'm sorry but I don't believe that excuse. They did offer to credit me some money towards getting new tires, but I would still have to pay $157.34 for the new tires and front end alignment. It was their initial mistake, so why did I have to pay anything? I demand a refund since it was an issue with the tires and service.

While I was there with the tech looking at the alignment on my car, the asst. manager named Willie came over and was asking if my situation had been the same as another driver who had experienced the same problem - wandering all over the road only to find out that the cause were the tires. We both had the same Michelin Weatherwise 2 tires and had the same mishap - but his was because of the bad tires and mine were fine. It makes you wonder who is telling the truth.

The next day, the same tire was totally flat when I drove home. It was worse than before. It lost the air so quickly that the tire was damaged. I did not suspect it was the tire. I knew the other three were fine and the one Sears just looked at was fixed. AAA came and changed the tire to spare for me so I could drive to Sears and leave my car there. They called and told me that the tire could not be repaired and I need to get a new one. I told them I would not pay for anything. They told me the tire was good on Sunday and they fixed whatever the problem it had.

After several phone calls (I got trapped at home because no car), they now blamed the manufacturer for the problem and they were going to replace the tire. Even I am naive about car and tires, I knew when tires need to be replaced, it goes as a pair. I would not go to Sears for anything. I just felt that I was lucky that I did not have accident driving the car with the tire that Sears claimed it was good.

I returned home with no tires frustrated. Upon checking my e-mail, I found out Sears had cancelled my order online 20 hours after I paid for it. They said there were not enough tires. Remember the manager, Mike, said they had 8 of the tires I wanted. I only ordered 4. After my experience I'm afraid Sears Automotive has and will in the future not have my business. I just want to warn others to avoid using Sears Online Auto Service. It is completely mismanaged and frankly, their online system doesn't work. Read the other complaints if you think my experience is isolated.

We made an appointment with Steve's Auto Repair. When we picked up our Ford truck, we were told that all systems checked out fine but the battery was definitely bad. Steve's also stated that the Sears battery in the truck was not the correct battery. I have the original receipt dated January 10th, 2007 from Sears Auto Center for the purchase of the original battery. It's possible being the wrong battery was part of the reason the battery did not meet its life expectancy. We are very disappointed with our service at Sears and the fact that we had an unnecessary expense of an electrical system check. Also we had to pay a core charge to Steve's Auto for the old battery so we could return it to Sears.

We feel some compensation should be made for inconvenience and extra expenses we incurred.

Meantime, four people were waiting, and although the hours of operation are from 7am-7pm and the workers do have 8 hour shifts, there was only one mechanic on duty besides the sales associate at 5pm! The four customers had been waiting for approximately 2 hours. One of them was told "there needs to be a part ordered". He was irate and went to call to rent a car, stating that the rental would be deducted from his repair! ** became rather surly and responded, “You can do what you want, sir. But the car cannot be operated without this part, and we'll get it on Thursday!” He told me the same thing for the tire, but added that if I wanted, I could go to Neshaminy Mall Sears to get the tire.

I often wonder what was being done to my car and to the other gentleman's car for 2+ hours. I drove my car one more day and this afternoon, went to the auto center at the Neshaminy Mall. It was a complete difference! ** was the manager. He first looked up the tire and within 45 minutes, I was done!

I went in today and told them that my tires are under warranty and that they need to be replaced. They told me there are certain restrictions and that they must first inspect my vehicle for the cause of the wear. 10 minutes later, they brought me into the shop and explained that my suspension is in mildly bad shape and that I have had my tires overinflated so that my warranty is void. According to the warranty details in the fine print along the back of the receipt, if they are defective within 25% of their lifetime, they would be fully replaced. Mine are barely over 30% wear. I was not given any replacement tires nor did they prorate pricing on new tires. I was told that I would be having to pay full price for another set of tires.

I asked the technician if the part had arrived; I was told no. I asked the technician to contact Auto Zone and find out where the part was. Three (3) hours later, the part had still not arrived. I asked the technician to contact Auto Zone again; this time the part was sent. The technician installed the part, started the car and realized that he installed the wrong part. The part was removed and reinstalled in spite of this knowledge just to make sure the mechanic had not made an error in the installation processes. The part installed was severely damaged when an attempt to run the motor chewed through the housing assembly of the incorrect part. A new part was ordered, this time, the correct one and installed. This repair took seven (7) hours. Time in was 08:30 am and time out was 03:23 pm.

There is this interesting part of the invoice. It states time in at 10-08-09 1:04 pm, time out 10-08-09 1:39 pm. This shows an order and installation time of 35 minutes total. Please note there is the obscure time line estimate of promised time, 02:38 pm. At no time did anyone have a written estimate signed by me or a written work order. All of the information placed on the billing sheet was placed there by the closing technician. This technician stated that because we had waited so long, there should be a discounted adjustment placed automatically through the computer billing the receipt. When this did not happen, the technician tried to locate the manager to make the necessary adjustment. However, he was out to lunch. As seven (7) hours had already passed, I asked the technician to please have the manager make the adjustment and credit our account and call me on my cell and leave a message that the credit had been applied. It is 10-09-09 and I still have not received a call.

Thursday, I had the wife drop off the truck at 8:30 for tires and alignment, took two hours at lunch. I picked the truck up at home to see how it drove. As soon as I left the drive to turn on the road, I noticed that the steering wheel was still turned to the left as usual which should have been corrected after alignment, but still it handled fine with no problems. I called the wife on the phone to ask if they did the alignment. So she called Sears to find out they didn't do the alignment. They said we didn't pay for it.

My wife calls Sears online to find we did pay to have the truck aligned so Sears online calls the local store to talk to Al to get things straight and tell him he's made a mistake. (Wow) Then the wife calls to see if she can get the truck back in for the alignment today. Al says yes, bring it back in at 1:00 so she called my dad to pick up the truck to take back to Sears service center. The problem taken care of; not likely, this is where it gets good.

After arriving at Sears, they put the truck on the rack to do alignment. The tech started the process of aligning the truck. After a while, the tech was seen trying to adjust the tie rod but was using a large pry bar trying to adjust the sleeve. After a bit, he was seen throwing tools and cussing. My dad asked the other tech what's up with this guy and the response was this guy is not the guy who does alignment, but the tech who does this is out. So after a few more **, my dad told the tech to just tighten the suspension back up.

The other tech told my dad he could bring it back Monday, 4 days later with new tires and no alignment. My dad dropped the truck back off at work explained what happened and then I drove the truck home to find the front end was shaking up and down and while braking the wheels was chopping bad. I made it home, started looking under the truck at the tie rod sleeves and found the tech’s pry marks on both sleeves around the threads of the tie rods. The guy didn't even use penetration fluid on the rusted parts but tried prying them loose, causing the tie rod sockets to become very loose on both ends.

I called Al and told him I would take it to a local alignment shop and have them replace the damaged parts and bill them back. Al said they would look at it Friday and if they damaged the parts, they would repair it. Al also said he couldn't get it in until 2:00, because he had other customers scheduled. I told him that’s not okay. I told him I was also a customer and that the job should've been done right the first time and not schedule alignment with someone who does not know what the hell he’s doing! Al made a few phone calls to get me in at 7:00 Friday. What a sweet heart, he just might make employee of the year. We’ll see.

7 hours later, we got a call stating that they broke the lug bolt, taking off the spare due to it being so tight so it must be replaced (I took the flat tire off and put the spare on using my own strength). 6PM I got a call stating "Your car's ready, we close at 8." I went to put up the car and asked why we had to pay for something they did. They replied that the bolt was put on incorrectly.

Upon arriving at the Sears location, Mr. ** recalculated the purchase for some reason and advised me that I owed him around $1,100.00. When I asked why the price difference, he advised that he wasn't really sure but offered three possible solutions:

3) The price for the tires that I received online was simply a quote and did not indicate the actual price of the tires, even though I had paid in full for them previously.

Not only did he recalculate the total bill, he also wanted me to pay the full $1,100 right then and there, not even taking into consideration that I had already paid the $881.25.

Initially, I gave Mr. ** the benefit of the doubt, assuming that we would be able to work it out. I agreed to pay an extra $69.99 for the alignment as I couldn't readily assert from my online confirmation where I had in fact been charged for the work, because the confirmation email was not itemized in any fashion. But I got very frustrated when Mr. ** and another of the Sears mechanics tried to tack on more money for the tires I had already purchased.

They insisted that my vehicle required high pressure valve stems since they apparently had my truck listed as a GMC Sierra 2500 on the online confirmation. It would require the costly valve stems due to the extra weight of the vehicle. However, my vehicle is in fact not a GMC Sierra 2500; it is a GMC Sierra 1500 which does not require high pressure valve stems. At this point (45 minutes into the transaction), I pleaded with Mr. ** to simply cancel my order and refund my purchase price so that I could take my business elsewhere.

At this point, Mr. ** insisted that he would have to charge me a 15% restocking fee for shipping the tires to the store (which would amount to around $135) regardless of the reason for the refund. He said that they have to make some money on the deal because they paid to ship the tires to this store for me. So even more frustrated, I advised Mr. ** that I would deal directly with Sears online in this regard to see if they could straighten this out and left the store.

That evening, I drafted an email to Sears online customer service which then prompted a phone call from Mr. ** on 9/5/2009. During this conversation, Mr. ** advised me that they had discovered the glitch in the computer system and that he was not sure what had gone wrong. However, they had seen where I paid for my install and alignment, and that they were now able to see the correct price for the tires and agreed that I did not owe them any more money outside of the $881.25 that I had already paid in full. Mr. ** asked me to come down and drop off my truck on Sunday, 9/6/2009, for the work to be completed.

Upon arriving at the Sears location again, Mr. ** claimed that Sears.com had in fact overcharged me by about $50.00 and that I was due a credit to my American Express card for the oversight. I advised him that I was not interested in the refund and that I simply wanted my tires and alignment done. Around 12:00, my wife and I dropped of my vehicle and went to lunch while we waited for the work to be completed. Around 12:30, Mr. ** called my mobile phone and advised that they had ordered the wrong tires, and that the tires they received would not fit my truck at all. I told Mr. ** that it wasn't a problem, if they could just order the correct tires for install at a later date, and that I would just come and pick up my truck in the meantime.

Upon arriving at the Sears location again, Mr. ** advised me that Sears did not even carry tires that would fit my truck in Hankook tires. He would have to contact Hankook directly to see if they could sell him some tires but the price would be considerably more than what I had already paid. In fact, Mr. ** told me that they would be much more expensive. He just couldn't tell me how much more because Hankook was closed for the holidays and the earliest he could get them ordered would be Wednesday, 9/9/2009 - which would not work, because at this point, I need tires badly. Mr. ** simply kept pointing at the Sears.com item number on the invoice as to insinuate that I had somehow ordered the wrong size tires.

Frustrated, I again pleaded with Mr. ** to process a full refund so that I could take my business elsewhere, to which, he automatically replied that he would have to charge me the 15% restocking fee and that he would not consider waiving it regardless of whose fault the errors were. Mr. ** also advised that it was never a good idea to order tires from Sears.com, and that if I wanted tires, I should have come to him in person to get them. He also advised that this was the first time he had done any business with the online people and that he wasn't surprised it had gone wrong.

So, for the second time, I left the store angry and went home to contact the online customer satisfaction line. Upon contacting the online forum, I was instructed to wait two business days to give the manager of the store an opportunity to resolve the issue. I wrote back to the online forum and advised of my entire ordeal and advised that I had waited much longer than two days, to which they again instructed me to wait two business days.

To date, customer satisfaction now refuses to contact me directly via phone. They refuse to escalate the matter and insist that I provide the store manager from the Sears location an opportunity to deal with this issue, even though he has failed to do so thus far.

On 8/25/09, I called the shop to complain that my problem still had not been solved. The manager could only say, "I'm sorry" in a very condescending manner. He did not offer to remedy the problem or make any suggestion on what I should do. Now, I have to pay another facility to do the work I asked them to do. I still have to pay for work that was performed which did not solve my problem. I will not use Sears for repairs again. I have had a Sears card since 1981. In all those years, I have never been treated in such an unprofessional manner.

I told them no on the warranty business and to not do the alignment until I had seen the numbers. We were then told it would be one hour to an hour and a half tops until completion. Fine. Naturally we were in a mall, so we could "kill" an hour. So at 1 hour and 45 minutes, we returned to the auto department to find our vehicle had just been put on the lift. We were told "they are working on it now," and when asked how much longer it would be, we were told it depended on what they found. Mind you, with having two tires replaced, I wouldn't think they would be looking for anything!

Anyway, to make a long story short, they tried their darndest to charge me for the alignment, which I didn't need. And it took yet another hour and 10 minutes. Total time was over 3 hours to get 2 tires changed! Then they told us "Well, we are short-handed." That is all well and good, but tell me upfront; don't try to make it seem like nothing is wrong. We ended watching them through the gallery windows, and I must say that both of them (only had 2 guys working) really seemed to know what was going on. It would have been nice if they had just been upfront, and I would not have had a problem - not assume I wanted a warranty or assume I would want the alignment. They would have made another $110.00 from me, had I not been paying attention.

While checking out, he printed out a new invoice of what I paid for; and when I signed for it, I had to press him for a copy of the one I signed! I then asked his name, the name of his supervisor, and when he would be in. This poor boy was visibly shaking by the time I left, and I never had to raise my voice. It will be the last time I deal with Sears Automotive. Be very aware, and make sure you get a breakdown of services they are trying to do. Look at other consumer reports. I wish I had prior to going there.

I wish I never went in to this place. I told them to just put the tires back the way they were. I wanted to get out of there so bad. It was now after 7:00 pm. The noise from the back is somewhat better and the front tire still squeals . I got in my car crying, while the assistant manager, Heather ** was smiling the whole time. Now, I have to take my car elsewhere to have it checked or trade it in as a clunker because it sure sounds like one. How can something so simple go so wrong? I want answers.

I waited the 2 hours and went back to Sears for my car, and Mr. Lucas was excited to tell me my tire was unrepairable and dangerous. Mr. Lucas, along with the employee who worked on the tire, told me there were 2 holes in the tire at a diagonal direction and that the tire was destroyed. Mr. Lucas aggressively demanded I purchase a tire at that time. I told Mr. Lucas I was not purchasing a tire from him and I wanted my tire put back on my car. The employee did put my tire back on the car, and I left and intended to have my tire looked at by another professional the next day.

When I entered my car, the smell of body odor and sweat was unbearable. I pulled my car over and opened all my windows, doors, and the moon roof; and I got out of my car for 30+ minutes. The smell was unbelievable. We are in Arizona, and people who work outside all day sweat and stink after 8+ hours a day in 115-degree heat. Doesn't Sears have a policy to care for their customers' property? What about covering my sheep skin seats with plastic like my car dealer does when I take my car in for any and all services.

The next day, 8/14/2009, I took my car to Costco Automotive and had them look at my tire. Guess what. There's no hole in the tire; the tire was in perfect condition - no plug needed. The employee told me "the nail was barely in the tread and there was no damage to the tire at all." I was in and out of there in 20 minutes. I have a receipt from Costco Automotive with the diagnosis.

This upsets me. I did not need a new tire, and I feel the Sears employee, Mr. Lucas, tried to intimidate me and scare me into buying a new tire I did not need by stating my tire was destroyed and dangerous to drive. Mr. Lucas was unprofessional, inexperienced, intimidating, and arrogant; and I do not appreciate the sickening body odor smell left in my car by their employees.

On May 10, 2009, I took my car to get an oil change because I had to go out of town to Laredo, Texas to a funeral. They said it would take about one hour or so, so I said okay. It took them almost three hours and then they lost the paperwork and never found it. They did not put any windshield cleaner or check the air on the tires. I had to do that. Then on Jan. 23, 2009, our daughter took her car to get the oil changed. Well, they did not put any windshield cleaner either or check the air on the tires. Then on July 18, 2009, she took it in to get the oil change and two new tires. They took four hours and did not put in windshield cleaner and then she told us, my husband and I, that her car was driving funny and that the engine light would come on. So her dad asked her if she had checked the water and she said no, so her boyfriend did and he put water in it.

Then the next day, it came on again and it did not have any water. We had to be putting water in it pretty often. I then asked her boyfriend if he would turn the car on and pour the water in and I would check to see where it was leaking at, if it was the radiator or the hose. And then I saw the fan was not turning. This was on 08/05/2009. Then I saw that there was a screwdriver that was keeping the fan from turning so I told him to turn it off. I called Sears and told them what was happening. I talked to Eric, the assistant store manager, and he said he would call me right back but never did. So my daughter called him back and he told her that he got busy and also needed to talk to his manager and would call her right back, which he did. He told her that we would have to get it towed, which we would have to pay for, and they would have to see if it was their screwdriver.

So I called to talk to Rustin, the store manager, and they said they would get him. I waited on the phone for 8 minutes but he never came to the phone. So my daughter and I went to talk to him and we waited for 10 minutes and he showed up. He said we had to tow it and they had to check to see if it was their screwdriver. I told him that no one else has touched that car. They were the last ones to work on it. It has been overheating and smelling like burnt. One of her friends was with her and she said her car smells funny. We took pictures of it and the screwdriver is still in there and the car has not been moved or seen. I have been driving my daughter around to work and wherever else she needs to go, so I had to miss two days of work.

I returned the next morning and spoke to the service manager about how displeased I was already from the night before, which he did not care one bit. I left my car, it took 2 hours to install the new tires. Since then, my tire sensor light will not go off. I have tried repeatedly to reset the gauge. I have now learned that my tires have been mounted incorrectly, my wheels were rotated incorrectly, my tire sensors were either knocked off or damaged and two of my rims have been chewed up from the impact wrench they used. I do not drive the car very much.

Today, when this all came to light, I tried contacting Sears. I asked to speak to the manager (they were unable to find him, but they would take a message). I never received a call back. I drove to the Sears service center, which is 90 miles R.T. from my home. The manager wasn't in. I was greeted by a fellow (yeah, what's up?) Ryan and told him my story and that if I do not receive a callback by 10AM Friday, I'll be putting a dispute through my cc! Replacement for each rim is approximately $300. The sensors are approximately $225 per piece, plus the fact that the tires need to be removed, mounted correctly and rebalanced and installed again. The total out of pocket expense could be as much as $600 to correct the problem.

On the next workday, I was fired for leaving the spill on the floor. I tried explaining to the general manager that my manager told me to go home. He refused to listen to me. There was not a bandage in sight when I cut my finger. I did not want it to become infected while cleaning up a hazardous spill. My manager (Allan) was aware that there was a spill on the floor and told me to go home anyway. Also, I was never provided any gloves or safety equipment while putting away those acid-filled batteries.

Also, I was harassed every day by both of my managers constantly. I was called a queer because I wore earrings. There is plenty more. I also have proof of other employees deliberately breaking many safety rules, such as not using a torque wrench after the wheels had been put on the cars. This is very serious and some might be killed because of it. I have many more stories to tell and proof for all that both of my managers are aware of the policies being broken. They themselves disregard them. Please contact me for further questions.

My husband and I showed him the damage to the lug nuts and the rim. He took pictures and said he would let me know whether they (Sears Automotive) would be taking care of this or taking the liability of the damage to the rim, but would reimburse me for the lug nuts. After not hearing from Kevin (manager), I called Sears and he advised me that they would take care of the rim and the lug nuts and to email pictures of the damaged rim and they would order a rim for. Now 3 months later and after many phone calls and sending emails of the pictures of the rim and damage to the lug nuts, I am still waiting. I spoke to the assistant manager who thought his manager Kevin was handling this. I asked Willie if he got my numerous messages and emails and why he did not return my calls. He didn't have a valid reason, so this was his resolution.

Willie from Sears Automotive instructed me to fax the receipt for the lug nuts and a pricing quote for the rim on Saturday, July 18, 2009. I faxed my paid receipt for the lug nuts and I got pricing of a new rim from Branhaven Chrysler as Sears was unable to get the rim from their supplier. I am still waiting for some action. I was told by assistant manager Willie that he would get back to me on Monday, July 20, 2009. I called the store on Saturday, July 25, 2009, and left a message for Willie as I still have heard nothing. I also called the dealer to find out if Sears contacted them and had purchased the rim. The rim had not been purchased and I am still waiting for resolve. I still have not been able to get the tires and I am driving around knowing if I have a flat tire, I will not be able to change my tire.

Also, I was told that the technician who did the damage to my rim and lug nuts has been fired by Sears! I am hoping you can help me and also for all my frustration and time and energy, my tires should be discounted heavily for this awful experience. I will not do business with Sears once these tires are installed. Please help and advise!

When I picked my car up and left, the car was driving extremely weird and I thought it had to do with the new tires. I live in Brooklyn, NY and work in NJ so I was heading home. As I drove, I noticed the car was not driving well and making noise from the front suspension. The car was uncomfortable to drive, the steering wheel was not straight and the car would shake under braking. I figured they messed up the alignment, so I brought it back on (07-10-09) and after I had already called twice to say I was coming and that I didn't have too much time, the Sears Auto employee told me it would be 2 hours in a very rude way. After an hour, they called me and told me that I bent a control arm. I asked why they had let me drive out the first time without telling me. The employee made excuses and told me to contact the manager the following day.

Lets us say I did not make my road trip, which I do not even want to explain the trouble that caused. My experience dealing with the employees at this branch has been so bad I want nothing to do with it. They were rude, they often complained about helping costumers, they didn't explain what the charges were for. At one point, they left me standing in the service for 15 minutes while I was just trying to get the first tire balanced. So I am intending on emailing this to customer service, the highest executive I find at Sears and possibly Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau.

My car is currently at my car dealership having repairs done that Sears either caused or at least failed to recognize while working on my car. But when I drove my car to Sears Auto that day for new tires, it was not driving bad and when I picked it up, it was driving worse than when I dropped it off. I also believe there may be ground for a lawsuit here due to the unsafe conditions that my car was returned to me. I do not know what Sears intends to do about this matter, but other than just losing me as customer, I will take my time to make sure as many people know about this as possible. I will be submitting my bill of repairs from my car dealership to Sears. Please let me know where to send it. Either refund the cost of the tires and alignment or pay the cost of the repairs to my damaged car.

I took the car back to Sears and they replaced the rotors and left the same pads. Therefore my car has not had smooth contact from the rotors and the brakes. Therefore, the job was still not properly done. I continued to hear the noise and took the car back and the gentlemen stated the replacement parts were not completely changed first time I received the car back with the same noise. I took the car back to Just Brakes and they stated the front brakes had grooves and the back pads I just purchased were cracked and dangerous. I took the car back to Sears and they replaced the back and charged me for the front. The car is still making a noise which is the 7th time my car has been to Sears for the same job.

Now they are saying the noise is the tires. So I took it to another Sears and they state it is the struts and the constant pulling of the bearings and the strain from the improper work could have caused the strut to either break from the part needed or the screw to come out. I have e-mailed and called Sears and no one from corporate has called back or returned the email regarding the concern. Please help. I can send all needed documents.

Now, this is where it got crazy. The salesman said to me he could not sell me the rims or the tires until Monday because he was not sure the rims would fit and he had to call the headquarters that sold the rims and ensure it was okay. Remember, these are SUV/Light Truck Rims. So, I asked him if that price would be the same Monday as it was today, Saturday. He told me no, that was not going to happen because the sale was ending today, which was a lie. So, I was becoming very, very frustrated by now. My wife was livid and expressed this statement "I can not believe we are begging these people to take our money and they are refusing to allow us to buy their product." I asked the salesman again to make sure I understood him, "I can not buy these rims and tires today (cash)." And again he said to me that if I wanted the tires and rims I would have to come back Monday. My wife and I left and when we got home we called the customer service department and expressed our frustration concerning the incident at the automotive department.

This gentlemen put us on hold like five minutes and then hung up. This went on for approximately 30 minutes. Each time we called the customer service department, the same thing happen. Finally, after 11 attempts of calling, the rep informed us that shift change was going on, 4 pm. Okay, what now? Well, after being on hold this time for about 10 minutes, this woman come on line and tells us, "If you come in Monday, we'll order the rims and tires and if the manager give us the okay, we will give you the sale price." The sale went through Sunday.

As of today, I still don't have the rims or tires for my truck. We refused to go back to that store after this incident. The economic damage would be an additional $1200-1500 more than the product we wanted to purchase if we purchased the same product at another store or tire shop. I was totally humiliated at the way the salesperson responded to my request. I feel this was a personal attack on me because I am black and my spouse is not. That is not playing the race card, that is just the bottom line. There was no reason the same people could not sell me those items. I was not rude in any manner. My wife was not rude but very frustrated that in 2009, this type of activity still exists.

Today my wife was diving my car and a tire blew out. I went to change the tire with the spare, original correct size, but could not drive the car because it immediately made odd sounds. I called a mechanic who said do not drive the car because it is all wheel drive and it would damage the transmission. So I had the car towed by flatbed some 50+ miles to Sears to replace the tire because of the road hazard warranty that I have with Sears.

He also proceeded to tell me to replace my tire, I had to pay a prorated amount for the replacement tire, which had more than likely failed due to the faulty or cheap valve stems put on the rims

As I drove off the car now, I had a pull to the right which it didn't have before. Funny that after they had tried to sell me an alignment. Coincidence? Then I realized they had replaced the tire and rotated them incorrectly. They had put left side tires on the right side which you cannot do with radials for risk of a blow out. The actions of this Sears service center has put me and my family at risk with not a single care.

My husband called me and said he was going to have the Tahoe towed to the mechanic shop. He thought the noise was related to the rear end problem. The tow truck took the Tahoe to the mechanic. The shop called me an hour later and asked why I thought the problem was the rear end. I told them what Sears had told me. At that point the shop owner said, when they started it up they immediately shut it off, pulled the dipstick and found there was no oil in it. The noise my husband heard and the stalling/dying was the engine seizing up. He said the engine was blown due to no oil. I told him that wasn't possible as Sears had just changed the oil yesterday. He said he and the mechanic verified there was no oil in the engine.

I called Sears and asked for the manager after two days of back and forth (Sears finally called the mechanic shop), the manager said they had checked all their "paperwork" and everything was signed off, and so they didn't cause the problem. He said "maybe the oil leaked out". I asked him "wouldn't you have noticed the oil on your garage floor since the vehicle sat there overnight". He said maybe it leaked out when we were driving it. I informed him I had a statement from the tow truck driver that there was no oil leak.

I had a statement from the mechanic that there was no oil on the underside of the vehicle. The manager said he didn't know who this Jupiter Auto was and maybe they were wrong. I advised him that Sears could pay to have the Tahoe towed back to their shop and they could check it for themselves. He said no. He then stated as far as he and Sears were concerned this matter was closed. Sears did nothing wrong and they were satisfied that they had put oil in the vehicle. I asked for Sears’s insurance company information so I could file a claim and have an independent third party perform an investigation. He said he could not give that information. I asked for the number for Sears corporate so I could escalate this issue to someone higher up, he said he couldn't give me that information. It now appears I will have to hire an attorney to get Sears to pay for the damage they caused to my engine and to pay for a replacement engine. In the meantime I have no vehicle and have to pay for a rental car myself. This has resulted to: blown engine for $5,000, attorney's fees (unknown at this time), rental car ($90 so far, but it will be more), and $63 for oil change that was never done.

Then they said that they could change out the battery for $50, but there would be no warranty associated with that new battery. I told them “that was not fair and not right.” Wes, the store manager, did not care. I told him to put my battery back in my car and I would have to go elsewhere. I had AAA come out and give me a new battery (they have a new battery service program). It comes with a 6 year warranty, and they come to my house if I have a problem. Also, the AAA tech showed me that Sears had actually sold me the wrong type of battery for my car. My car is a 6 cylinder and I had a battery from Sears for a 4 cylinder. And to top it off, the AAA tech showed me that the Sears battery only had 9% life left to it. Sears' techs are either stupid or crooks! Sears did not make this right!

Furthermore, they tried to charge me double the amount for parts and wanted to charge me for labor to fix the tie rods. The manager said he was not sure if it was his guy who broke it or if the car was old, but he can't replace it for free. By this time, I was stuck in Lihue which is twenty miles from home without a ride. He was not willing to budge at all. So I told him I would pay for the parts but not the labor. I told him that is only fair. I also said I would buy the parts from the store and bring it to him because he wanted to charge me way too much for the parts. It turns out one of the representatives told me that they have to charge extra for parts to make some money. This made me so furious that I am writing this letter.