Big O Tires

I brought my 2008 Toyota Camry to Big O tire on 11/24/2020, I actually had it towed there. It had gotten hot and I had previous work done here before with no issues so trusted this was a reputable establishment. I called the manager Troy to let him know I had it towed there and asked him to check it out. He gave me a call back afterwards and said the radiator was cracked and that’s why the car overheated. He said it would be around $980 but with the Black Friday deal he could do it for $930. I thought that price was high, but I don't know a lot about cars and had to have the car so told him to go ahead. He said bring it back Friday to make sure nothing else was messed up. My daughter was driving it at the time so I had her run it by Friday and he said everything was good to go.

My daughter continued driving the car and then started having issues again. She took it back to Troy and he said the spark plugs were bad so he reached them all at a cost of $165.00. Daughter keeps driving the car and it starts driving weird again so she takes it back to Big O and Troy said there was an air bubble in the line that he popped and it should be fine and sent her in her way. Later than afternoon I got a call from my daughter and said she was stranded and the car would not start. I told her to call Troy and I was on my way.

I arrived with my daughter and popped the hood and noticed liquid glass splattered all over the engine. I didn’t realize what it was at the time, as I’m not a mechanic, but noticed it didn’t look normal. Troy sent 2 of his employees who plugged something into the car. They got it started and revved the engine for about 5 mins more minutes, white smoke coming from the back. The codes were reading a misfire for spark plugs (we just put all new ones in). The older guy asked if I wanted to drive it back to the shop or did I want him to. Not know a thing about cars I said I didn’t want to drive it. This was the Saturday before Christmas. Had to call Troy Monday to see what was going on and he said he had some stuff he was going to put in my car and hoped that would fix the problem, but never really said what the problem was.

We called him all week long about the car and kept getting the run around and finally Christmas Eve he said it was running and he would leave it out. We go to pick it up and it won’t start so here we are on Christmas Eve and can’t get the car home so had to call a tow. Took it to a referral mechanic who said the head gasket was cracked and the heads blown. He said it should have NEVER been driven when the white smoke was coming out and that the white spots was a clear indication there was a serious problem! He said they put stop leak in my car that made a massive mess and caused more damage to my car (I have the pics). Mechanic said they put enough stop leak in my car that would be for a 8 cylinder vehicle...way too much!! He said they should have never put stop leak in my car yo begin with, the issue NEEDED to be repaired!

I called Troy and all he said was that he could only warranty the parts!!!! I had to redo everything Big O charged me for and pay that labor all over again plus a bunch more work and damage caused by big o. Now I have more than double what it should have cost if the work was done properly and that additive wasn’t put in my car. Still having issues. Going to have to pay $800 to have a heater core put in cause the stop leak ruined it. Big O did a flush but didn’t help it at all. Because of this company I am now over $3200 in repairs in a 2008 Toyota Camry...and still having issues with my car that only had 85,000 miles on it when I took it to Big O!!!

A week later t was still illuminated. Clearly they broke it removing the old tire and didn't want to pay for it. It took another two trips to the store to get them to replace the TPMS and again, they didn't call (as the manager said he would) when the vehicle was ready. When I paid for the tires, I asked if this was six months-no interest. The manager said it was. When I received my first credit card bill, there was interest. I called the credit card issuer and they removed the interest but said I needed to go to the store and have them call to have it "coded" as 6 months-no interest. I went to the store (again) with a copy of the invoice and notes of what needed to be done. The manager said he would call at the end of the day. Next month - same thing - interest charge.

Clearly they are a bait and switch operation or incompetent or BOTH. I didn't mention that when I drive to this store, I gave to pass a Pep Boys and Discount Tire. Three months later, I'm still trying to get this resolved, Big O Corporate is no help, the store is useless, the credit issuer has done what they can do, but can't keep removing the interest when the store won't follow through.

Once I told ERNESTO (the BIG O TIRES’ manager for the Bakersfield Ming location) the issue, they lifted the Jeep up and checked the tires, upon inspection of the tires I was standing there as they checked them and noticed they completely broke 3 studs on my rear driver side wheel and Big O completely ignored it. I told ERNESTO of what I saw and HE NOT ONLY TRIED TO BLAME ME FOR BIG O’s BIG MESS UP, HE EVEN TRIED TO CALL ME A SCAMMER AND SAYS, “How do we know you didn’t bring it broken?” He then asks the Tech that worked on my Jeep if he noticed them broken when he worked on it and the Tech says “I don’t know”, obviously trying to mask their scandalous ways of taking advantage of customers who already paid.

In the end, I had to argue and present my point in order for Ernesto (the manager at BIG O) to do the bare minimum and fix what the shop broke. They ended up only partially fixing the problem and lying about it. There was 3 wheel studs stripped and broken by BIG O TIRES and they only replaced 2 of them just to get it on the road and out of their hair. They lied to me of course and said the whole problem they created was fixed. Of course because they didn’t want to accept fault Ernesto even had the audacity to get belligerently in my face and say they’re gonna fix the problem this one time as a favor to me, as if they didn’t just break it!

I spent 2,000 on new tires with BIG O TIRES so that the management can harass me and make me feel helpless of the situation just because they already had my money, also once they knew of the problem they created it took them 2 days to fix it because they said they had other customers coming in, when it should be first come first serve. When I came early in the morning to pick up my Jeep from the shop I noticed BIG O wasn’t even open yet and they left my Jeep outside in the parking lot overnight with the windows down. If I wasn’t busy with work and it was worth my time I would definitely sue them for damages and suffering. Do not buy tires from BIG O TIRES on Ming Ave in Bakersfield California. Once the manager Ernesto had my money I was no longer of any importance. This is a warning to all.

The Long: Most people (like myself) are not mechanics. We need trustworthy, high-quality, and reliable auto shops to provide care and maintenance for our vehicles in a timely, convenient, and professional manner.

Big O Tires on Fillmore fails on all fronts. My 1-star review shares the same problems in a long line of Fillmore Big O Tires 1-star reviews - namely, poor quality of work, poor customer service, unprofessional staff, and long wait times...

Poor quality of work: I have had to take my vehicle in for the SAME failed flat repair three times... and it is flat again for a fourth time! On my second visit on 10/19/2020, they said the tire wasn't sealed correctly when the initial patch was installed. *The tire started leaking that same night. On my third visit on 10/24/2020, the assistant manager said the initial patch was installed incorrectly by his techs. He even mentioned that the quality of work depends on the techs he has in that day, and that recently he has had a lot of poor techs. (How is a customer supposed to respond to a statement like that!?!?!) *I took the vehicle for the first drive out since the repair two days later only to discover it was completely flat.

Poor Customer Service: I called Fillmore Big O Tires immediately upon discovering the flat tire and asked to speak to the assistant manager. I explained that this was the third failed flat repair attempt by Fillmore Big O Tires. I explained the difficult situation their poor service has put me in (had to cancel multiple meetings, physical therapy, and still have to pick up kids from daycare in the evening in bad snowy weather). He said they would "get it sorted out" if I could bring it in. I asked him to pay for a tow truck. He said "I can't pay $99 for a tow truck. It's a free service." I told him it was poor customer service and he lost a customer that has done business with Fillmore Big O Tires since 2015. I even went so far as to explain the massive hole in his logic: if a fast food chain offered free food that was undercooked and caused food poisoning, 1) who's responsible? and 2) do you think customers will ever buy from their menu? No!

Big O Tires doesn't offer free flat repairs for no reason - they offer it because its good business! They capture more customers when they offer something free. That also means their free services/products must represent their quality of work and integrity as a business. Otherwise, no one will buy. The assistant manager did not demonstrate an understanding that the quality of his free service actually matters. Just because it is free doesn't give the business an excuse to avoid owning their mistakes. Good businesses understand that customer service is highest priority. I do not believe Fillmore Big O Tires understands this principle. The absence of this mentality is what puts businesses out of business. You lose lifelong customers.

Unprofessional staff:

- The assistant manager has a sign by his station saying he has a medical exemption from wearing a mask during Covid. Fair enough. However, two other employees on 10/24/2020 were working in the lobby, helping customers, etc. without wearing a mask. They didn't even have a mask around their necks.

Long Wait Times: Each of the last three visits, I was told my flat tire repair would take 1 hour. Each visit took a minimum of 2 hours. One even took 3.5 hours.

I will be going elsewhere for all vehicle needs moving forward. I also cannot recommend them to anyone. I will even recommend people avoid Fillmore Big O Tires. Auto Shops are a dime a dozen - people deserve business that cares for their vehicles!

The next day when they got it up on the lift I was called back so they could point out some parts that would need to be replaced. In all honesty, I suspected as much and was prepared to have them replaced, I also had an idea of the cost. Unfortunately, their estimate came back way high, $1400 for something I knew would only cost $150 for parts. I asked them to lower the car, that I would do the work myself and when complete I would bring it back for the alignment.

I ordered the parts and in my garage, I took two and a half hours to replace all the parts and some addition parts as well. I took my car back to the Big O for an alignment. The guy at the counter now tells me they don't make appointments, it's first come first serve and the tech starts at 8 am. So I was there early to make sure I was first in line but now the estimate was $149. He said it was because it now has replaced parts and that's the way they have been doing it for 7 years. I would challenge that if he didn't know I replaced the parts would it still be $149. I'm all for company's making money and I understand their overhead is high but I felt this whole pricing shell game was completely dishonest. I personally will find another place to do work on my cars.

The next day 10/08/20 they said they don't think anything is wrong with car. It starts just fine. Maybe the battery is weak. Big O said car is ready. My teenage son picked up his car. They charged me for oil change; made no recommendation for battery. AGAIN, they only did vehicle inspection, but did not charge for it. They DID NOT run the $130 one requested. Today: 10/10/20 car needed jump start. Check engine light "check emissions system" is ON and oil percentage is 60%; and TPMS light is back on...

I had NO check engine light on this car; and no issues starting car; I came for an oil change and tire sensor; I paid $1800 for things they said were needed to have the car running better so my son will have reliable vehicle and now I am scared to drive the car and may have to take time off of work to find out what is wrong with the car/ and/or pay for additional repairs. FYI: I was in there the 09/26 for my car and gave them $1,200 worth of business on my car to make sure it was completely ok; I got an email on 10/08/20 saying that they recommended steering and suspension repairs. WHICH THEY NEVER RECOMMENDED; so I needed additional work on my car and you DON'T TELL THE CUSTOMER??? They don't care to make sure work is done correctly. When I paid BIG money for their services. DON'T GO THERE.