Sears Auto vs Firestone Auto - Page 2 - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

BigAls87Z28 · 02-23-2009, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBODS4EVER

OK maybe i should have clarified a little better. i have a good mechanical knowledge. i can build motors. and repair my cars. however i work for a utility company. meaning my time is short. i dont have a 8-5 job. i get done when i get done. i cant look forward to weekends. i dont know what they are. so that being said. i know what is wrong. with my car. i dont say "oh this thing is making noise." so time being short. i take it to a garage. not to see whats wrong. but tell them what i want done. i know of the little things. ill get to them when i can. i dont need someone making a extra buck. example: i tuned up my car. changed filter, cap and rotor,etc. i went for a oil change (snow on ground. 15 degrees out) the oil place says " car needs new cap and filter. yeah ok. just change the oil. trust me you can get burned.

You know, that pisses me off. Shops are not ****in Burger King or McDonalds.
You can always say "no thank you" when there is suggested service. recomended to your car. They arent always looking for the extra buck, its just business.
90% of the people that go to get thier vehicles service have no idea wtf to do. Key goes in the hole, and they turn it. If there is a light, noise, or a combo of both, they just go get it fixed. People dont follow service scheduals, and its these service writers as professionals are here to inform you of what your vehicle needs to last longer.

FBODS4EVER · 02-23-2009, 05:28 PM

its an opinion al. relax. you agreed to the most part. in your first post. i see where you are coming from. but face it ITS BUSINESS RIGHT.. im just saying not all the work they say needs to be done. I HAD THAT BAD EXPERIENCE so that gives me that right to have my opinon. the question TSAR asked was everyones opinion was about the service of the two. i gave MINE. everyone doesnt have to agree. they never do.

BonzoHansen · 02-23-2009, 05:37 PM

Do you give Burger King trouble when they say "would you like fries with that?" lol

FBODS4EVER · 02-23-2009, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonzoHansen

Do you give Burger King trouble when they say "would you like fries with that?" lol

no. i dont eat at burger king

i dont give trouble. i just say no thank you. im not a mean person

sweetbmxrider · 02-23-2009, 09:18 PM

i am resisting soooooooooooooo much right now. i'll let al do the barking instead. i would find out about local places from word of mouth. after all, its not sears or firestone doing the job, its a person. also, the sensors on brake pads are designed to be worn down when the pad reaches a certain level. it breaks the connection and kicks the idiot light on. they have to be replaced everytime!

general statement here: people can be so opinionated about car repairs yet many don't know how to fill a tire!!!!!

just because you own it doesn't mean you know **** about it! that probably covers many fields but it seems with cars, people will tear your throat out over everything. some places do suck though so WATCH OUT!

Tsar · 02-23-2009, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

also, the sensors on brake pads are designed to be worn down when the pad reaches a certain level. it breaks the connection and kicks the idiot light on. they have to be replaced everytime!

Thanks genius. I guess that makes it ok to mess with the sensor and than charge for the repair of the brakes that didn't happen. I'll be sure to not to visit the place where you work

sweetbmxrider · 02-23-2009, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsar

Thanks genius. I guess that makes it ok to mess with the sensor and than charge for the repair of the brakes that didn't happen. I'll be sure to not to visit the place where you work

i never said anything to that effect. you said you had to buy new sensors from mb. well you have to every time. genius! rigging the sensor the way he did is a lawsuit in my book. more genius!

Tsar · 02-23-2009, 09:39 PM

Well no I didn't buy them, my gf did

ok back on topic.... actually never mind i guess there's not much more we can talk about

Question: does one buy only the sensor of some sort, or the whole assembly with wiring?

sweetbmxrider · 02-23-2009, 09:41 PM

how do you even know the starter is bad?

Tsar · 02-23-2009, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

how do you even know the starter is bad?

Little fairy told me?

Or maybe its the fact that this issue happened twice before...

BigAls87Z28 · 02-23-2009, 11:27 PM

Good question.
I would start off small with a battery test.

Brake sensors always need to be replaced. I dont know how you would be able to rig the sensor to where it would turn the light off, but yes you always have to replace the wear sensors when replacing the pads on vehicles equiped with such.

Mike · 02-24-2009, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

how do you even know the starter is bad?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsar

Little fairy told me?

Or maybe its the fact that this issue happened twice before...

i would bet the car dosent start even though it has fuel and a charged battery

91chevywt · 02-24-2009, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsar

I need to know which one is less crockish, on average. I need to fix my car soon. Any bad experiences with either one? Which one would you go to?

Go, go, go.

Its more the technician that works on your car and also the service writer than anything. Sometimes the writers can really screw up the customer experience. There can be some real "star" technicians at both shops, and there can be some shady ones there also. It may be wise to watch the tech incognito while they get your car started, to see how the tech treats your car. It'll be on an individual shop more than anything. If you treat them with respect, the'll likely treat you with respect. If not, you have a right to raise hell about it. My worst experience ever was a warranty repair at a dealership, Haldeman Ford. I will never give them another second of work, or a cent of my money, ever. And I'm pretty easy going.

Mike · 02-24-2009, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 91chevywt

Its more the technician that works on your car and also the service writer than anything. Sometimes the writers can really screw up the customer experience. There can be some real "star" technicians at both shops, and there can be some shady ones there also. It may be wise to watch the tech incognito while they get your car started, to see how the tech treats your car. It'll be on an individual shop more than anything. If you treat them with respect, the'll likely treat you with respect. If not, you have a right to raise hell about it. My worst experience ever was a warranty repair at a dealership, Haldeman Ford. I will never give them another second of work, or a cent of my money, ever. And I'm pretty easy going.

which one?

91chevywt · 02-24-2009, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrrmike

which one?

The Ford on 33, can't comment on the others.

Mike · 02-24-2009, 01:53 AM

hmm i have a couple friends that work there, and can vouch for their abilitys, so you must have gotten the short end of the stick when they were grabbing jobs

91chevywt · 02-24-2009, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrrmike

hmm i have a couple friends that work there, and can vouch for their abilitys, so you must have gotten the short end of the stick when they were grabbing jobs

I'm sorry the men I dealt with ruined it for your friends, i'll bet your friends are good techs.

Its sort of a long story, but I feel I need to elaborate. My mom bought a ranger for me to use as a graduation present. Base model, 4 cylinder. I did all the maintenance, because it was easy. Oil changes on a regular basis 3000 miles on the dot, using motorcraft oil and filters. At 15k miles, I do the VISUAL inspection of brakes, as recommended by the owners manual. The transmission began slipping around 20k, so I brought it in for repair. I got a call from the writer, telling me that I adjusted the transmission, and the e-brake was adjusted too tightly, causing the trans to slip. He also mentioned that he knew i had a "lincoln technical institute" parking sticker on the truck from school. What that had to do with anything, I don't know. Even after telling them that the only shop the truck was in was Ford, the writer denied the possiblity that the dealership could have done anything. They "knew" i adjusted the trans because there were "socket or wrench marks" on a bolt. I had no idea how to adjust the trans. So, I asked what was next. The writer said it would be $50 to adjust the e-brakes, and $200 to re-adjust the trans. I said no, thats not right because i didn't even touch it. So i took the truck back the next day, and driving it home it slipped even more. My mom ended up wanting to just take it back to have them do their adjustments, and if it still slipped it was on them. So, the trans still slipped after they "fixed" it. We tried taking it up with the service manager, no luck. We tried taking it up with ford, never got a response back, at all. We ended up taking it back to have them repair it again under warranty, and it does not slip anymore. Still not sure what they did to fix, but after my experience with the writer and service manager, I won't give them the time of day. We decided that it wouldn't be worth the time and money to pursue this issue in court (mainly money). So now I just tell my story.

If men like that keep ruining the reputation of the dealership for your friends, they will be in a bad position.

Tsar · 02-24-2009, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrrmike

i would bet the car dosent start even though it has fuel and a charged battery

That + it doesn't turn over

WildBillyT · 02-24-2009, 09:19 PM

Had to post this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiaLU0iAwFI

sweetbmxrider · 02-24-2009, 09:42 PM

man you guys should be mechanics. that fact that the engine doesn't turn over, it has fuel, and a charged battery, its happened twice before, well i'm sold. DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE! who do i give handfulls of money to? i've got big hands....

Tsar · 02-24-2009, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

man you guys should be mechanics. that fact that the engine doesn't turn over, it has fuel, and a charged battery, its happened twice before, well i'm sold. DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE! who do i give handfulls of money to? i've got big hands....

1. Never claimed to be a mechanic, never even wanted to be one either.
2. I go with the obvious solution, and since it has repeated itself in the past - it is the most obvious solution to me.
3. Frankly, I do NOT care what is wrong with the car - if its <500 bucks to fix it will be fixed regardless of the problem(s). If it's above 1k for repairs it will be going to the junk yard/donation. If it's in between I'll think about it.
4. Last time REAL mechanics had my car at the dealership they couldn't figure out that my MAF was bad... Took them 2 days too, and they wanted to charge me for their time

How else may I help you today?

Kojak · 02-24-2009, 11:22 PM

If money isn't much of an issue tow it to a Chevy dealer if their is one in the area. I would trust them more than either a Sears or Firestone auto center.

Mike · 02-24-2009, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

man you guys should be mechanics. that fact that the engine doesn't turn over, it has fuel, and a charged battery, its happened twice before, well i'm sold. DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE! who do i give handfulls of money to? i've got big hands....

wake up and smell the joke jackass.

btw, at least he dosent blame everything on the opti like all you other lt1 guys

sweetbmxrider · 02-25-2009, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsar

1. Never claimed to be a mechanic, never even wanted to be one either.
2. I go with the obvious solution, and since it has repeated itself in the past - it is the most obvious solution to me.
3. Frankly, I do NOT care what is wrong with the car - if its <500 bucks to fix it will be fixed regardless of the problem(s). If it's above 1k for repairs it will be going to the junk yard/donation. If it's in between I'll think about it.
4. Last time REAL mechanics had my car at the dealership they couldn't figure out that my MAF was bad... Took them 2 days too, and they wanted to charge me for their time

How else may I help you today?

chuckin parts at a car...good luck with that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrrmike

wake up and smell the joke jackass.

btw, at least he dosent blame everything on the opti like all you other lt1 guys

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbrrmike

wake up and smell the joke jackass.

though i would check the opti. never know

Predator86 · 02-25-2009, 06:08 PM

Quick Sears story.....

A while back my dad told me a story of his encounter with sears. He had a 79 camaro that he did all his own work on... he rebuilt the front end on it...new ball joints, pitman, idler arm, tie rods and sleeves the whole 9.

So he drops it off at sears to get the alignment done because he dosent have access to a rack. Sears calls him up and says "the front end is loose and we cant do the alignment until we replace some parts". He says "ok i'll be right there"

He goes to the store walks right past the manager into the garage and goes up to his car which still had the sensors mounted on the wheels. Brought the manager over to it said "Now tell me what the f*** is loose on this?!"

needless to say he got a free alignment and stood there the entire time and watched the tech do it

THE END hah