O.K. I need some help here. Has anyone taken their car or truck to a Sears Auto Center for any type of work only to find out or witness an employee of their's taking YOUR vehicle out for a "JoyRide" or "Beat-Ride"? This happened to my good friend and he's not very thrilled. I don't want to disclose many details about where and when because it's all still under investigation. I'm just doing my part in helping him with some fact finding. If anyone has any info on how to get someone within Sears upper eschelon to listen to the claim of horrible customer service, or a similar experience with a Sears Auto Center, please post here or PM me. Mods: If I posted this in the wrong spot, please feel free to move it.

I caught a place joy riding my fixed up Tahoe one time. Let's just say....I had a few "words" with the driver, as I saw him doing it, and waited for him to get out, and stopped to talk to him....BUSTED!

Another reason I don't allow shops to touch my car. I prefer to pay friends if needed, instead of a shop. I cringe at inspection time every year....

That happened to me once....just once!

It sounds like you have a nice little lawsuit on your hands. Goodluck maybe your friend can buy a nicer car.

JMD83-
I know this may not be settling to hear, I work at a Toyota/Nissan/Chevy dealer...and more than a few times have I seen 'vettes, celicas, supras go for a ride..we will say just not for roadtesting. For a peace of mind on your investiment of time, money, and passion for the car...If I have to release the steering wheel from my clutches I do not leave the car anywhere, I wait for the service shop. I TRUST NO ONE!!! Safe to say the company will notice your protection over the car and will not do any funny buisness. Yea I'm that pain in the *** customer but it is not and "everyday" or "average" car by any means

Get a MSD ignition box with a rev limiter.

I had one on my 92. Had it set to 1500 rpms. For what the shop was doing, they only needed to pull it in & back out. No test drive needed.

I get a call about my car, not running right. Question is...What were they doing revving it that high anyways? I just told them they better have not screwed anything up.

Got in, flipped the hidden switch. Revved fine. Left BIG burnout marks in front of them. "Learn to drive....Car seems fine to me!" Smoked my tires outta their parking lot!

If they needed to test drive your car, that's one thing. But there is a difference between a test drive & a joy ride. Go after them!

This happens all over the United States, its more common than what people think. If you have to get it fixed, take it to a shop that you know won't do this or some friends.

Happened to my buddy and his 78 S&B Trans Am. He noticed rubber in his fender wells, and an interesting wear pattern on his tires. When he confronted the teenaged attendant he pretty much told him tough luck. He couldn't press charges because of his reaction, actually, he was lucky he didn't go to prison. I'm not gonna get in too deep, but I'm sure if I tell you he was a good ole' boy, ya'll can figure out his reaction.
I work for a car dealership, and I can tell you IT DOES HAPPEN! My best advice is if you do have to give up the keys: hover. You can't go in the garage (OSHA regs,) but who says you can't stand outside an open door in the summer months, or stand by the service area instead of going to the waiting room? PA state inspection requires a road test, but if you catch an employee abusing your vehicle in a manner not intended in the test, report it. Chances are, the tech will be payin for it. I do all the work on my own cars myself, and am lucky I can get inspections done without having someone I don't know/ don't trust touch the car.

I do it all the time. Its my job. I am a trany/drivablity mech. Alot of things need to be checked or show up at wot open throttle. Of course i do it with in reason. I do not sit there and bake the tires, but occasionally the tires do spin.
To be honest i need to test the car in as real world type of driving as that car is going to see. So if its a tuner car or a hot rod. I have to drive as such and if thats problem then either fix the problem your self or dont cry if you see me drive it like you do.

I will say that i do not drive any differently if the customer comes along on a road test.

I also sometimes take a problem car to the bank or the store or to run other erans. Hey what would you rather have me do? Tell you its fixed and then 20 mins out the door the intermittent problem is still there, or take your car on an real world road test. To confirm that the problem is resolved.

Now if its a tire center, or an oil change place i would ask them why they had to drive you car.

Some thing thats real easy to do. reset the trip meter or write down the odometer when you drop it off.

u dont have to spin tires to find a problem.

I agree that it really really really depends on what the car is in the shop for. Documention of the mileage both at the point of dropping the car off and picking it up is super important when attempting to make a civil claim, thats why most shops have a specific place on the work order invoice for that information to be provided by the customer when dropping it off. Once you sign that invoice giving the shop permission to service your vehicle, you are constained by some very long winded federal,state,sometimes even county rules and laws as to what constitutes permissable behaviors, theft, damage, and warranties. If you don't take the time to both fill the invoice out completly and read any legal notices before signing then you are not going to find very many courts sympathetic to your "CAUSE" case.
Test driving a vehicle is one notice thats usually refered to specifically on most work order invoices. It will usually also inform you that if anything happens to your ride that you or your insurance company will be responsible, including the injury of any one occupiying the vehicle while on an inspection trip.Though that doesn't mean that the mechanic doesn't have certain responsibilities he must live up to also. Using a customers vehicle for personal errands may seem justifiable to some shops, but it is not the best position to be in if something bad were to happen.
Being as this incident occured at a SEARS Auto Center, I would start with filing a complaint online as soon as you return home from the incident. Of course you should have informed a store supervisor as soon as you noticed anything which you feel is not in your best interest, if its the conduct of an employee then thats where you should start and if the supervisor doesn't work with you then go to the website and write down phone numbers to call and send more than one E-mail containing basically the same info as each of them is written. Refer specifically the invoice number, the printed number on the payment reciept, the date, time, and location of the store, and the names or reasonable description of individuals you observed particapating in the incident as well as who you spoke with or have contacted up to this point.
I've worked in motorcycle shops and seen things you wouldn't believe. Nothing makes me cringe more than calling a customer to tell them their bike has been stolen, and sorry but its not covered by our insurance, that's your responsibility. I only have to make "reasonable effort" to protect your belongings from damage.
Just remember that it doesn't matter who's at fault or who's responsible. Once you lose your COOL you will almost always lose your CASE.

The Joyriding was actually witnessed by my buddy. The tech driving wasn't even the tech assigned to his car. There was deliberate over-revving, tire smoking during acceleration, and a very audible supercharger whine going into higher RPMs during what was claimed to have been a "road-test" after an alignment to ensure that it was "going straight"...

When I had my '90 RS I parked at a lot across the street from where I worked. I noticed my car tearing down the block. I called 911 reported the car stolen and pressed charges.

The case went to trial. I do not knoe the outcome becuase I did not have to appear in court; but I do know the guy spent several days in central booking waiting to see the judge and not to mention the expense for a lawyer.

The bottom line is as soon as that guy pulls your car off the lot without your authorization he stole the car...

So you honestly say that you would drive my car to a bank or store and do errands. If I caught you driving my car either grocery shopping or banking even through a drive through ATM, I would have your A$$ on a silver platter. Customer cars are not for your benifit or pleasure!!!!! I have been a engine and tranny tech for many years also. There is no reason to spin anyone's tires. I can understand a moderate WOT test under limited circumstances but that is it.

I think as a tech the 2 places that are the most dangerous and should be avoided if at all possible when in or on a customer vehicle are drive-thru's of any nature and any parking lot that my shop is not considered as the address holder.
I am not suprised that your buddy caught a tech having way more fun than he knew he should have had, but its not uncommon to have a different Tech "inspection drive " a unit under repair than the one turning wrenches. If he sticks to his guns about what he observed and doesn't get mouthy or unreasonable with the shop supervisor, I'm confident that something will happen, but if its to his satisfaction, I dunno, its going to be up to the level of respect that employee has earned with management as to what happens with him, but more likely than not they will probably try to make things right by just appolegizing profusely, and a few coupons to come back. Which is probably more than you'll ever get out of a civil court judge without the car getting wreaked.

A few years ago I had to leave my car at a chain tire store / shop for an alignment. Due to time I could'nt stay with it. When I got it back it still had a pull. I returned to have them re-do it. This time I stayed. The young kid doing it really did not know much. So I helped out and was doing a little teaching I am an older guy so it was friendly father / Son kind of thing. He didn't know about the special camber tool you need to use on the third gens. So he never ajusted that. I was not angry he did his best and I would teach him the rest. He was eager to learn. As we were chatting he says my car is beautiful. So I thank him. Then he adds and it's a f***ing animal too. I paused and said "you think so?" Then he says "OH YEAH.... I almost lost it banging second durning the test drive". Then he quickly says with a big smile it's the fastest car he ever drove. He didn't even realise he said something wrong!!! At that moment the lesson ended. I told him to run and get his manager while his legs still work!! It was quite the scream fest on my part.LOL It appears they beat on the customer's cars so often it's no big thing anymore. The young guys don't even understand it's wrong!! End of the story, I finished it myself in their shop and refunded my money.

I used to work for the local chevy dealer and when corvettes came in they would get the crap beat out of them. The techs that were there the longest took them on road test them come back saying how fast they got it up to. Most were 130+mph on a very small straight street.

this happens at ANY shop.....doesn't matter, you bring a hot car in they are going to beat it

Except for a missed shift or a panic stop, I don't think there is a tech in america that could BEAT ON MY CAR ANY HARDER THAN I DOOOO!!!!!!

I know what everyone is saying. Im an only employee (besides the owner) and we dont beat on the cars. The owner is GM certified, so we see alot GTOs, vettes, f-bodys ETC. Not all techs beat on cars, I know I dont, If the owner sees it, its not worth it, my job puts food on my table, and a roof over my head, I cant afford to loose my job.

yea this kind of thing happens a lot my friend took his corvette in to get wheels and tires put on it and later that day I saw the guy driving it around he wasn't beating on it or anything but he had all his young kids jumping up and down in it.

There is plenty of reasons to spin the tires. I dont do it to get my jollies by having the tires spin, but there are times where a certain noise or problem only appears under heavy accel ( not wot, but wfo) . If the tires happen to spin then they spin oh well.

Your looking at the errands the wrong way, i am doing it for their benifit.
I can either go for a 15-20 min road check on shop time. Which will cost the customer 50-60 bucks, Or i can take it to get lunch 15-20 minutes for free. In the end the trip to the store is a better replication of real world driving.

if u can do your own work to ur car then when inspection time comes find a family memeber who can do it i get my uncle to inspect my car i would never trust my car at some shop unless i was there with it my car is my baby i take care of it i dotn want some fool beat the snot outa my car without me oking it wich i would never do. i mean i dont even let my parents drive my car

had to read that a couple of times to understand!

A freind of mine dropped off his F-150 truck at a shop to have the heater core fixed. They were busy mechanics, and always had a line up of customers. The truck had a straight exhaust with Glasspacks (5.0L engine). It sounded like a tame quiet truck at idle, but above 2k RPM it was very audible. So my buddy drops off his F-150 in the yard, gives the keys at the desk. He walks outside, gets in my car, and we are about to leave, when we hear a HUGE THUNDEROUS sound, see a cloud of smoke. So i stop, and say what was that? We back up, and he goes, THATS MY TRUCK!!!!! SO he got out of the car, stood in front of the tech in the truck, stopped him,

Walked up to the driver window, and said, "give me my keys", he gets out, the tech goes "what did i do?" My buddy goes "you know what you did, nobody drives my truck like that". It was CLEARLY to show all his tech buddies how "impressive" the exhaust was, since all of them were "conveniently" standing in a circle around the truck when my freind walked up to it.

He also went inside, cut in line at the desk, and said pretty loudly "I hope you dont beat on all customer cars like that, you can cancel my appointment"......

Im pretty sure the "busy line" got alot less busy just then. We saw the tech get "a talkin to" as we were leaving.....

A chick driving a third gen...saweeeet

Keep rockin that badass camaro

You stated above you are doing it for the customers benefit. Or are you doing it for your benefit? The benifit of maybe saving $20, and having some touch hole slam a shopping cart into my car.. No Thanks.

The main problem is when the rear tires are being baked off your car ,you risk other problems, IE broken Axles, Gears. And you can do a WOT test at 40 mph ~VS~ 0 mph and still be able to simulate almost all the same problems. If the rear tires are spinning, and the gears are chattering, Brakes are hanging up, you won't be able to hear them. If you are testing for a TPS or engine knock or ping, you can identify them with either a multi-meter or a scope.

I still disagree about taking a car on errands. How much diagnosis can determined while you are shopping or eating a Big Mac in McDonalds while the car is sitting in some parking lot? Let me expain it this way. If you had a $35,000 diamond ring that you needed repaired. Should I fix it and then wear it around in public for personal gains or to impress someone and then just tell the customer that I did it to make sure it doesn't fall off my finger or that the diamonds fall out, and start cutting glass with it just to see if the diamonds are real. Not really because all the work can be done within the shop, right.. I do understand about road testing a car though. This needs to be done. But it a customer brings a car in for oh lets say front pads.. Does a WOT and Tire spin test need to be accomplished?

Where I worked people took customer cars home and on errands all the time. Some problems only arise at certain times and can not be duplicated in the shop.

Well, as a rep for Sears Auto, I find this rather upsetting. I know we also get a lot of nice cars ranging from Vettes and Fbodies to Challenger and 442's, to AMG Benz's and M series BMW. I do know the temptation of playing with these cars, but I have not had a tech rip on a customers car. A lot of the times we chat with the owner about the car and they seem more then happy to feed our needs for a good rev or burn out. Several of my techs own cars that are near and dear to them, from muscle to imports, and understand the feeling that we wouldnt wany anyone to beat on them, so we do show respect.

I dont mean this to be some fluff, this is serious and we take our jobs seriously. As much as we might or might not like our jobs, we show our customer's cars, especially high performance cars, with the respect we show our own. Sorry to hear about your friend's thing, and I hope that the management does right.

if someone did that to my 90s camaros i would want a full refund and also i want the person that did that to my car to be fired if not im sueing the shot out of that store. if that dosnt work out ill just beat the shot out of the guy that did that. i have no problem going back to jail for my baby!

u dont need to treat my car like that cause i dont do that to my car. so the tec or the person thats doing the repairs dont need to take it for a drive or even a test drive, ill do that my self,i dont care if they have to do it, i do it myself peroid!

this kinda of stuff pisses me off.

That is why I never let anyone work on my cars unless I am there

i had this happen to me that used up a WHOLE Fing Bottle of nitrous well i left the bottle connected and the system was off. now i was just getting tires to many burnouts -.- so i im in the waiting room then i hear a engine race then a loud pop and a line of smoke the a$$Hole took my car with new 867.99 of tires and 139 dallor of nitrous on the highway let just say by the time he got back me and my dad was standing in the work area with a crowbar and a nice law sue

Wow, that's pretty bad. They used up an entire bottle of nitrous...
Crazy.
I'm pretty sure this kind of stuff happened to my IROC as well. Another thing is that when I got it it had a yellowtop battery in it. After a transmission rebuild, inspection, and muffler swap I pop the hood and find a generic walmart battery in it. I was pissed.

When I worked for Pepboys as a installer, this was a common site so I am not suprised that it happens at Sears as well. All the mechanics and even the service writers would do burnouts or "joy ride" in the parking lot. On any nice car (corvettes, F-Bodies, Mercedes Benz, BMW, and etc...)

This is going to happen anywhere, and as far as vehicles getting driven after a repair sometimes it is necessary for a all the computers to reset and run the proper tests to make sure that the problem has been properly repaired. As far as joy rides go, thats hard to say whats a joy ride i suppose. At the dealership i work for the customer signs the paper saying they authorize us to do work on the car, so if the car needs to be driven it gets driven. just my .02

Hmm, this kinda reminds me of something, Click Here....

wow ime legitimately supprised i work at discount tire and i remember it was raining one day and i went to pull in an excursion or sumthin and acedentaly barkd the tires bakin up and got a royal bitchn at by my boss lol i think hed gut me if i did anything but drool on all the hot rods i work on lol

You're completely missing his point, he said based on the situation. Of course there's no need to go WOT for a brake job, read his first post again carefully before jumping on him.

I'd rather a shop go drive my car in normal, every day conditions instead of driving it around the block for 10 minutes and me having to come back. I don't know about the spinning wheels part but I can absolutely see driving around in normal conditions to make sure everything is fine.

The same people whining about someone driving the car are the some people that will blast a shop for something being wrong a day later...

Please don't quit your day job and become a lawyer. A road test is part of a lot of repairs that's included in the service. Each situation is different, if a road test is needed for a certain repair then it's needed.

I haven't missed the point at all. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to beat a customers car. I know that testing the customers car is necessary to help diagnose problems that never appear to exist when a customer brings a car in with a complaint. I have been an ASE certified mechanic for almost 18 years and I have never baked the tires off anyone's car or taken their car on a luxury cruise to pick up grocery's or to stop at a bank. Almost 90% of all dianosis can be done in a parking lot.

I'm not trying to justify him barking the tires but you're crucifying him for taking it on a lunch time road test to see if everything is ok.

As long as my car wasn't beat on I could care less if it was taken out for a while, I'd rather make sure all if well before picking up the car. Besides, if something happens to the car it's on their insurance anyway...

remind me to never let you touch my car.

No problem, I don't touch junk motors

I never said "I" would do that did I? I said I see no problem with them taking it out to make sure everything is fine. There's a HUGE difference between taking it out for a test drive and beating the balls off of it. If some people are that uptight about a test drive then learn to do the work yourself.

I am a mechanic myself and I know road tests are necessary to diagnoses problems. But beating the crap doing burnouts and doing errands in the customers car is unprofessional.

I am from Massachusetts everyone is uptight that is why they are called Moonbats!!! Especially when the customer hovers over the bay door and saying: don’t do that to my car, I need to get out of here now.

P.S. My crossfire Runs like a tiger

Ughh, I never condoned techs beating on cars...

UGHH reread my post I agreed with you. that techs should not beat on customers cars.

About Sears, I took my wifes car in, for some front tires, she had their perrilis so she wanted the same tires yada yaday, anyways 350$ later, I get in the car, and start backing up and immediately i felts a wobble, so i got out and check out the tires, first thing i seen "THIS SIDE INWARD" i was like you gotta be joking, Check out the tred patterns, buttbackwards. I go to walk back in the door, its locked. it was like 6:01pm I guess when i walked out they closed. So i hovered, dude walked out that was working on the car, I was like hey man, you put these tires on backwards, he looked and said come back tommarow and they will fix it. I walked to the front of sears, went in, demanded to see the store supervisor, 15 minutes later she shows, up. I explain the situation and that I have family that have worked for sears for 20+ years in the area and such. 45 minutes gone by, dipshit willy shows back up, fixes my tires, not saying a word besides all done, I asked for a discount since they had to dismount the tires and remount them, which can that legaly be done? Thought once a tires was rimed it shoudnt be mounted again. Told store manager that I wont be back since there quality of work is from people such as this fella.


Car feels so touchy now, and like your riding on marbles, cmon state tax return "cali" will i actually get it in the mail or they joking? get a set of 4 new tires, and 2 new rears for myself

OH yea, they forgot to put my locking lugs socket back in my car, and put my locking lugs in the glove box, go back to get my socket, ended up bitching out the manager at the time, and buying a new set of locking lugs

Thats funny! You Go!

me being a tech at sears, i wouldnt be concerned with techs chirpin the tires alittle bit, id be more worried how customers are planning on getting their oil filters and drain plugs off when theyre being torqued down as hard as possible