Sears sales scheme--auto section

[lampe0802]

This may be long so bare with me please. We went in on Friday to get some new tires. They had a promotion going for black friday that if you buy 4 new tires of certain brands then you get a $70 gift card. They gave the gift card to us up front and we asked if we could possibly use it to pay the difference on our tire purchase when we went to pay (expecting her to say no but worth a try). To my surprise, she said we most def could do that! We gave her our cell number to call when they were done. 2 hours later we went back in to check on the progress since we hadn't heard from them. The lady we had talked to wasn't there anymore and the guy said he had tried calling us multiple times. He had been calling our home phone number and was persistent that was the only number he had for us. When I pointed out our cell number, he said, "oh, well that's not where it's suppose to be." I just had to laugh that part off.

He went on to say that they changed our tires but that our inner tie rods are horrible and need to be replaced. We asked how much it was going to be, he looked it up and said it would be...I can't remember the specific price but it was between $400-$450! We told him we don't have the money to do that right now and he decided to go into a whole speal about how if we didn't get them replaced that if we got another snow storm (which we were expecting) or any other type of driving could cause them to snap and we would lose all steering contol. He went on to say how we could cause a major accident if that happened and incinuated that we could role the vehicle, etc. His speal went on for probably about 10-15 minutes making me feel extremely uneasy about even leaving there in our vehicle none the less driving it anywhere else once we got it home but that didn't change the fact that we really, truely do not have the money for it.

Then came the time to pay. My hubby has a sears credit card with a $500 limit. We asked him to put $500 on the credit card and take the remaining (around $35) off the gift card. He swiped the gift card and said he can't split up the payments like that because the computer was going to take all of the $70 off the gift card. As we were asking if he could just put in the $500 for the credit card and then try the gift card for the remainder, he swiped the credit card and said, "oh, that works great! It went through taking it all on your credit card!" That got us really upset considering we had already told him what our credit limit was yet he still put it through for more than what we said. IMO he shouldn't have tried it in the first place. At that point we start getting worried that we were going to now incur overlimit fees, etc because of this. After about 45 minutes of trying to figure out how to reverse/pay down our card to ensure we don't get the extra fees, we finally were able to leave.

I was dwelling on the entire speal about what could happen with the inner tie rods and did not sleep much the entire weekend. We called a shop that has always been pretty good with us to see if they would look at it for free for us. We took it in, they looked at it, said our front end was all tight and there was nothing wrong with our tie rods and they could not believe what we had been told! Yesterday we had to take our van in to get a recall fixed so I had them take a look at it too which they said the same thing...NOTHING is wrong with it. I told them what we were told and they couldn't believe it either. They said even if they were bad, they don't just break like that causing all loss of steering. Leaving there I decided I was going to call and complain about the situation but it was too late to do so last night.

I called the retail customer service number just a little bit ago and got a very impatiently rude lady on the other line. I told her what all happened and she pretty much said that she could note our concern but it's not going to do anything because it's one machanics word against anothers and he did nothing wrong by voicing his opinion on what is best with my vehicle. I told her it's understandable that machanics may have differing opinions but I have taken it to two other places that say there is absolutely nothing wrong, that it seemed like he was just telling us this and elaberating on what 'could happen' in order to get more sales, and that his speal cause me to have panic attacks. She told me that they aren't responsible for my panic attacks. She then went on to ask me if I am an adult and said that I can decide for myself who's opinion I want to take. Then she said thanks for calling sears and hung up on me!

I'm sooo angry I just don't even want to step foot back in another sears again! What, if anything, can I do? This did turn out long. Thanks for reading and any opinions/insight would be greatly appreciated!

[everprincess]

Yep this happens all the time everywhere unfortunely. I had a vehicle serviced one time at a local garage and they told me I needed new cables (can't remember the specifics) and years later I was told the originals were still on the vehicle after I had paid for new ones. Have to get second opinions on everything these days.

[christinamikayla]

This has happened to us also. Not as a Sears but at another well known chain. My husband had it there for just an oil change because it is walking distance from his work and more convenient than the regular place we go. He asked them to also give him a qoute on tires. We wanted to compare them with the place we usually go. He got the estimate back and it was just over $2,600!! The tire estimate was just over $600, the rest was for things that needed replaced or repaired. We decided to wait till it needed another oil change and take it to our regular place. We were floored when we found out that there was absolutely nothing that needed replaced or repaired. This was back in Aug of 2008 and still we have not had any repairs done and this old car is going strong. So for now on we go to the place we trust only...everyone on my side of the family goes there and I've been going there since I was 16. They are very honest. One time my husbands car was making a rattling noise while in park and we thought there may be something major wrong with it. We asked them about it when getting an oil change and the guy at the desk came out to listen and right away said it was a metal plate that could just be removed and the noise would stop. They didn't even charge for removing it. He could of charged us a couple hundred bucks to "repair" something and we would not of known the difference.

And no we never complained, maybe we should have but don't think it would of changed anything. The guys up top probably know it is going on, they porbably promote it.

[hotpostalchick]

DSO says about 10yrs ago or so Sears had to settle a class action lawsuit over stuff like this. He says he wouldn't even let Sears wash his car. Lol! I suppose it can be googled....... Glad you didn't fall prey.

[tmsmalley]

Write a letter to the head of Sears on real paper and mail with a real stamp. Keep it short and sweet and focus on the unnecessary repair issue and forget the rest. Put a copy of your paperwork and the name and number of the two other mechanics that said your car is fine. Let them know that you'll be contacting the local Better Business Bureau about this (whether you do or not). Include your account number and contact info. You'll hear from someone about this and they should do something to offset your inconvenience as well as smack their auto shop. It is a common industry problem to gouge car repair customers but Sears should step in on it.

Tess

[VivaciousJewelz]

t is a common industry problem to gouge car repair customers...

Yes, it is. I went to get an oil change for my van over a week ago and they told me I needed $1200 worth of repairs. Turns out $400 of that was just for TWO tires (I have a local shop I got a good tire WITH a 30 day warrenty for $38, so $400 for two tires is a load of crap), and the rest of the cost was inflated parts cost and labor. Now, I take it to three different places for estimates, find out what parts I need, and buy the parts myself. Sometimes my brother-in-law can install it for me, and if not, I know some local mechanics who won't stiff me on the labor. I need to study more about cars, though, so I know how to not to shafted on the repairs.

[lovemy2girls]

walmart is just as bad. i took my car in for tires (probably about 10 years ago now that I think about it) and when i went to pick it up a guy pulled me over to the side and started telling me (in a very quite voice) that i needed to have the front end alligned and a few other things and would i like him to go ahead and do that. ummm, no thanks. i was only 18ish at the time, and i'm sure it he thought the young dumb female would let fix anything they through was wrong with my car. not only that, but they didnt' put the wheel cover things back on right and i lost one on the way home. they had to buy me a new one.

[Weinergirl]

I'm glad you got a second opinion before having the work done. You should try to take the mechanic's opinions with a grain of salt, and not get worked up to the point you are having panic attacks. Keep in mind who you are dealing with, KWIM?

[greenrays]

My mom recently got tires at sears...it's been a headache ever since.

she had a screw and kept losing air. they said they fixed it and 2 weeks later she was here visiting me (3hrs away) and my dh noticed her tire was low. He checked it and there was a screw in there. Sure enough they prob never fixed it. She took it back when she got home and they kept telling her to buy the warranty. She kept telling them she DID already buy it. they argued with her and it took them 30 min to find it in the system. Never apologized for being rude about it.

ME---I don't even let them change my filter or wipers b/c i know what a joke the car industry is. I just tell them NOPE, I will do it myself from autozone :)

[thecooperhouse]

Off topic - but autozone will put your wipers on for free if you buy them there. Just ask 'em! Lol