Merchant's Tire

unknown

This was my first experience ordering tires through Tire Rack, and Merchant's was the place closest to me that could install the run flat tires I wanted. I called Merchant's and ran the process by them. They were very friendly, said they'd call me when the tires arrived from Tire Rack, and said it would be about $50 to mount and balance the rear tires. They called promptly when the tires arrived, and I spent less than an hour waiting while they serviced the car. At the end, the total was about $40, a little less than they'd quoted me over the phone. They were very friendly and professional and I will definitely go there again!

When I went to Merchants for my other car in March 2013 I swore they just created a loyal customer in me. They were polite, helpful, friendly. They helped me prioritize repairs and suggested coupons. Seemed very honest, knowledgeable and I could not sing their praises enough. However, at my most recent visit when I was called with the estimate the amount was $200 more than I had been told back in March (neither they nor I could find the original estimate so they did a new one). When I asked for the breakdown of the cost things I had not asked for were in there (engine cleaning, oil change, etc). When I asked why that was being included in an estimate when I had only needed brake replacement and asked for nothing else to be looked at, I was told it was just a good idea to get these things and how it would keep the engine running. Since I have an older car I was a bit alarmed and asked if the engine had problems, was there something that made them look at the engine. After a lot of going around I was finally told the engine was not looked at, these were just services they usually recommend. I did not have those things done (I had most of that done at the dealer in February anyway), but I am really angry that had I not asked MANY questions an additional $200 of work that was not needed or asked for would have been slid in there. It felt really dishonest. Since the first and second experiences were so dramatically different I will likely give them one more try to see which was the fluke - the honest, helpful, cost-lowering service or the dishonest, gouging service. All I can say for now is they tend to be fairly quick and the work seem good, but if you go ask a lot of questions and make sure you understand what they are doing to your car, and know what your car has already had done in the past.

Merchant's Tire had a special, you could pay like $85 and you can get 2 free oil changes, you pay for 2 and you get 2 for free. I had 2 oil changes so far and it's gone fine. I think the service went fine. They appear professional and they seem to know what they were doing and I think the price was fair. They also do tire rotation for me.