Posted on 06/30/2016 9:12:13 PM PDT by Bullish
Firestone Complete Auto Care centers in Riverside, San Bernardino and Upland are among 22 locations accused of fraud by the California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repair after an undercover sting operation.
Undercover Consumer Affairs investigators who went into the three Inland auto care centers to purchase new tires on May 12, 2015, were billed for parts that were not replaced and services that were not rendered, according to a 64-page complaint against Bridgestone Americas, Firestone’s parent company.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailybulletin.com ...
Nice to see they busted these guys and I hope the parent company Firestone feels the hurt in their wallets. They should be policing their own stores instead of allowing them to run wild cheating people.
Ooops I said Firestone when it’s Bridgstone... My bad.
ping
That’s OK. Firestone is owned by Bridgestone.
I was just about to say “Is Firestone still producing tires?
Wow. I recall seeing their ads back in Detroit 40 years ago!”
This is what killed Sears auto center.
This is what killed Sears auto center.
It only takes one unscrupulous greedy manger and the whole shop goes into ripoff mode. I know this from the experience of knowing some people who used to do this crap back in the 70s.
It used to be far more common and it was the reason people who could, worked on their own cars. Because we knew better than to take our cars to those shops who would scalp you.
Not just Sears:
Driving X country, 1 year old Chevy K2500HD, needed oil change in FL, went to Chevy dealer. They put 6 qts oil in 5 qt engine. (found out when I read the bill)
...”Service Mgr/writer”. We’ll credit you for the one qt. {had them drain and re-do]
Needed oil change (forget which state), went to WalMart (local recommended). Saw them hosing down engine compartment afterward... HEY, you’re watering down the electronics in there!
... “Service Mgr”/writer: they spilled a little, how else to get the oil off?
Went back to grovelling on the ground like a reptile and changed my own for most of my trip.
I had a shop insist that a 2007 Corolla was badly in need of a four wheel alignment once. Tried to argue with me about it. That Corolla did not have an independent rear suspension, which is the only kind that requires alignment. They then claimed I had misunderstood, that they meant the rear suspension needed to be shimmed, which cost even more. I asked how they determined that, since there was no noticeable uneven wear or anything unusual about the tires being rotated. I finally told them to finish what was authorized and take it off the rack. I’ve never gone back to that shop.
Two of the worst are Pep Boys and Walmart. They seem to hire complete morons who’ve never worked on a car in their lives.
True story, I watched a Pep Boys ‘mechanic’ try to change a couple tires once. He busted his ass trying to undo the lugnuts for about 3 or 4 min. I was amused as I watched him struggle until I had to tell him “hey, just try turning the other way” He was tightening the lugs instead of loosening and just couldn’t figure it out.
I went elsewhere for tires from then on.
The alignment scam is an age old one. If your car is pulling check the air pressure. The scammer mechanics will never tell you that and always try to sell you expensive ‘alignment’ which really only consists of filling your tires to the proper PSI.
These guys prey on the people that they think are morons about cars. Selling them expensive repairs that are not even needed, as this story clearly shows. Stings like this make it easy to catch these thieves because these guys are used to everyone just rolling over for them. When the UC cops try a sting all they have to do is act like they know nothing about mechanics and voila, they try to rip the UC cops off. They should do a lot more of these stings.
If you find an honest reliable auto shop, stick with them.
Stick axles in the rear can also require alignment, but it is rare. Usually seen when someone puts on a lift or does something to bend the suspension. :P
The 07 Corolla... well, you might want to read this: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/132-9th-gen-corolla-1st-gen-matrix-2003-2008/295252-no-adjustment-rear-alignment-07-corolla.html
Just because the rear suspension is designed to not be adjusted doesn’t mean that the need will not arise.
I routinely got 50K out of a set of tires on that car, so there was no problem with toe or camber with the rear torsion bar suspension. They were full of it.
“back in the day”, 60’s, it was common to meet up with like minded kids (as I and they were) at speed shops. (it might be against social justice law to now call them rim and tire shops)(but there are tech shops, so won’t go into that, it’s beyond me, happy with stock).
I did meet up with one who worked at a Sears. He had a full Craftsman double, top and bottom and was building his own Nova at home.
He had to bring his own tools to the place and only did oil, lube and tires. He actually learned something there, for about 7 months and quit. (acknowledge that most mechanics bring their own tools, but he could have brought a hand carry for his work)
By the by, I should also add that most of the places that I had my oil changed at didn’t know how to reset the “next oil change is due” function.
Just for the heck of it, I’ll add that a superb paint was done on a friends El Camino at a ‘fast, drive through’ paint shop (I only did body work then). Forget the name of the shop... it wasn’t Earl’s place though.
Good memories, thanks
Not saying they weren’t, just saying that you should know that sometimes alignment is needed on ‘no alignment’ suspensions.
I took my 89 D150 in for some new tires (Pep Boys) and the SM told me I should do an alignment at the same time. A FOUR Wheel alignment. I asked him “hhmmm....how are you going to ‘align’ rear wheels FIXED to a solid axle and differential?”...... I told him “you only do that on front wheel drives.”
He then gave me some BS that “well, truck alignments cost more so there’s no price difference.”
I told them to keep their tires.
“The complaint calls for a hearing to be held to suspend or revoke automotive repair dealer registration numbers for the facilities that were found in violation.”
These guys pulling off the stings have some serious clout if they can revoke the operating license of these facilities. Typically, all government does is hit up violators for a small fine. It will be interesting what happens here, although it probably won’t be reported.
I knew a guy who worked at Sears. He said every battery was a bad battery at Sears.
Crooks.
I’ve been going to the same local mechanic for 30 years. This is why.
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