Tire shop experience

[bzb882]

lemme guess, monro or firestone shop?

NTB,

 

[noogies]

They did, but both front tires showed slightly more wear on the inside and outside tread indicating a slightly underinflated condition, not an alignment problem,

Had you been rotating them?

 

[cgutz]

I also drive so little that my tires "age" out more than "wear out." Therefore I buy tires rated for modest mileage (50k) and replace them when tread gets low. Even though I rotate/balance regularly, I find that once tires get down to the last 1/3 or so of their life, they don't do as well in snow, are a bit noiser, they start to have sidewall cracks, and I don't trust them for road hazards as much. The last thing I want is to have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere...which is most of the area around where I live

 

[Judas Priest]

I had my brake fluid chnaged today at the same shop that did my tires last week. I usually do stuff like this myself, but for €38, it was a no brainer My time is worth that; life is short.....

 

[MTalley]

We always hear about getting cheated, but often don't hear it when a mechanic is honest...

I have a similar recent story. My wife and I are out in California (we live in Florida) with our son helping him move into a new house. We're out here with our Ford diesel pickup and RV. A few weeks ago I was driving down the highway and the message center indicated low fuel pressure. It ran just long enough to roll of the next exit, turn the corner and stop on the side road.

I called roadside assistance and they said they'd send a tow truck my way. Meanwhile, they said to make sure I could get the local Ford dealer (only one in a 75 mile radius) to take my truck in for service. I called and called and called and was put on indefinite hold every time. The girl answering the phone at the front desk even ran a note back to the service desks with my number and a note that I'm sitting on the side of the road with a non-running vehicle. Did I mention we're in the Mojave, CA area and it was 108 degrees that day?

Anyway, rollback arrives, pulls my truck up on the bed and I hop in. I told him to just drop the truck at the Ford dealer and I'll deal with them directly. He mentioned that he "knows a guy" that might be able to work on it fairly quickly. Most local shops, including the dealers, have a backlog of repairs weeks long. Since that is our only vehicle, we'd have to rent a car to drive around in while we waited for repairs (at around $100 a day). I said let's give him a shot (he was just a few blocks from the dealer).

The truck started up and was able to be driven off the rollback. The mechanic said he could probably work on it if we left it. We were leaving in a day or two to fly up and visit family for two weeks, so he could work on the truck while we were away. He found a cardboard circle from a diesel fuel additive bottle that I remembered disappearing some time back. It was sucked up in the fuel pickup in the tank. He dropped the tank, cleaned everything up, put in new fuel filters and buttoned it up all within a week and for about $400 (I know filters are around $75).

 

[Judas Priest]

You were very lucky to find a competent, fair mechanic. I don´t know the engine, but some diesels have several VERY expensive pumps. Lots of mechanics would just say "No fuel? The pump(s) need to be replaced."