" Why I hate letting anyone else work on my vehicles"
I had a slow leak in one of the tires on my bird that was really p#ss#ng me off ( a real p.i.t.a having to fire up the compresser just to drive to the store) so I went in to "Crappy tire" to get it repaired (hey,it's a tire they ought to be able to do that right) .... so I make the app't get the car in right away (a miracle......shoulda known they would f@ck something up) and "buddy" repair's the leak and put's it back in the lot, 28 buck's later!!! I go to get in my car to leave and happen to look at the door and there is three perfect hand sized grease stain's on it (under handle,on handle, on glass) i'm p'd but hey what can you do, I get in and look and theres a grease on the door handle (of course grey handle for nice visibility) there's grease on the console lid,shifter handle,stearing wheel and to top it off on the freakin' rear view mirror( glass,what kinda MORON put's his finger's on the glass??) Oh yah did I mention that when I got in the car I pretty much ruined any chance of ever fathering children 'cause this P#ckerwood had moved the seat all the way forward(to move the freakin' car 30').So I go in to get a rag to clean it and the sum#@$%& get's mad at me.........ARGH!!!..SR

 

Sorry guy's ,Just really needed to rant.......I'm MUCH better now lol......SR

 

crappy tire is a ripoff when it comes to working on your car. i blew a tire at 120 on the 401 in toronto and after calling all sorts of shops, crappy tire was the only place with the right sized tire. not only did i get ripped off, but they also cracked the centre caps on my rims and then when i told the manager he said something like "no one is ever happy". i appreciate my cousins tire shop even more now. they have great deals and actually know what they are doing.

 

Yes.... I never go to Crappy Tire... I wouldn't ask for a **** job there if the hottest chick in the worls worked there... they are sooo stupid

 

I have many CDN Tire horror stories. I have learned that if you want ping pong *****, car wax or light bulbs then goto CDN Tire otherwise...

N E V E R

E V E R

let them near your car.

Now I wouldn't let them even look at my car from across the street. Previously I have had repairs go bad with those guys that took over two years to straighten out. I don't have that kind of time to waste and neither do you. To me CDN Tire is knid of like anthrax for cars...

RP.

 

You're lucky if that's all they did. But after all, they have a well deserved reputation. Believe it or not, I know someone who takes their Viper to get serviced by them. I can't make that one up!



Barbie

 

Never ever take a car into CT.My neighbour is a "mechanic" there and I use the word very loosely when it comes to him. He's a pansy that couldn't even change his mind, let alone my oil. I took a 1978 Dodge Aspen in for an alignment, and they came back with an estimate of over $500. When I took the car back to where I bought it from, it needed half of what they said.On the brighter side, they have lots of car stuff to browse through.
Hey Barbie, are you from the K-W area? That is a sweet ride you have. I think I would remember if I saw it around.

 

despite the ****ty work they do on cars, they do have good prices on stuff, including some speed parts. the ycan get anything you want and sometimes their prices are better than any speed shop in my area. i ordered my headers there for 169.99, everywhere else qouted me at least 200. also they have hooker aerochamber mufflers (2.5" in/out) for 99.99, other places sell them for well over 100, one place gave me a quote of 140.

 

In regards to Canadian Tire Auto Service (forget parts for now):

I've had my share of CT horror stories, but:

Their "service advisors" get a commission component for the volume they push in general, and extra bonuses for 'special' stuff (i.e. the 'big' money makers for CT). The obvious conclusion to be drawn as a result: They will push repairs that are quite possibly unnecessary or at the very least, debatably needed.

These "service advisors" on weekends and weeknights tend to be highschool-aged kids whose actual knowledge of mechanics is very very limited most of the time. As a result, many of the 'rates' you get quoted may not be applicable to your vehicle but one with a more time-consuming procedure that costs you more $$$. I.e. they take the 'safe' choice (the higher dollar option) when they are unsure instead of asking questions (hey- maybe there's no one around they can ask- I don't know). A good example of this is rear shocks- on 3 separate occasions I had to argue with 'advisors' that I had a 1984 REAR WHEEL DRIVE vehicle, not a 1984 Front Wheel Drive, and therefore getting into the interior and removing panelling/seats/etc. was not necessary as all shock mounts are on the underbody of the car. Difference in price? At the time $50.00 vs. $150.00


The quality of the work done at CT Auto Service tends to be very debatable. Why? Full-fledged Class 'A' or 'E' mechanics don't want to work evenings or weekends- so the 'mechanics' during these time periods are all apprentices- rarely with an actual mechanic around to supervise their work. If you look at the typical CT auto service staff layout- let's say 12 people who actually 'work' on vehicles, there may be as many as 4 actual licensed mechanics and the rest are apprentices. However, there is a 'ratio' of licensed mechanics to apprentices that must be maintained under the Ontario Apprenticeship Act- which I believe used to be 1:1 (one mechanic, one apprentice- NOT 1 mechanic 3 apprentices). They would get around the provincial restrictions by having extraneous licensed mechanics listed on the shop's paperwork (i.e. Bob who retired 5 years ago is still listed on the paperwork, or Fred the auto service manager who hasn't actually picked up a wrench for 10+ years is also called a 'working' mechanic, or Larry whose been off on disability for 2 years). The reason the province mandates a 'ratio' is so that the apprentice, at least in theory, learns new things continously with an appropriate instructor, and does not spend 5 years doing the same job over and over again (i.e. brakes or oil changes).


I can't speak for right now- but the things I've listed above were the way CT Auto Service was run (at least in the GTA) as recently as 5 years ago.

Actually, in the last 5 years I was forced to stop at a CT store in London, Ontario to have a suspension problem fixed (I knew what I wanted- there was no debate on this) and no one attempted to 'rip me off' and the guy working on my car seemed knowledgable enough- but this was certainly the exception to all my other experiences at CT auto service in the last 12-15 years.


And my favorite CT auto service commentary when you catch them trying to pull your pants down:

"This is what the computer says"

usually coupled with

"The head office puts the information in the computer- all we do is call up this information- we are not responsible for inaccuracies/omissions/inflated timeframes/etc."

 

Hey Barbie... you have G-Force T/A's on that beast?

 

I have bad experiances with crappy tire too , i took my fiero GT in there for an emition's test , the guy comes outside and tells me he needs to drive it around the building to see if the car's hot enough??? i was like ok? , he turns the corner and i hear him gun it across the parking lot WTF!!!!!!! ,he came back like nothing happend, i don't usually freak out on people nor do i give them **** , but this guy was takeing it too far , anyway i thought , ahh the hell with it , he back the car up onto the dyno thing starts the emmition's test , he revs real high and he stops , turned out he had the car in 2nd gear and not drive "dumbass" , Im watching my rpm gauge from the window and he has the car up to 4000!!! , isint the limit like 2? , anway i failed the test on a car that just had a new exaust , o2 sensor, oil, plugs you name it!
All because this dip**** decided he was to lazy to do the job right, i spoke to the manager and i told him i was not paying .... I took the car next door to Active Green and Ross the car past with flying colors.

Go figure.

 

Let's just say I'm really close. And nblanchard, I'm running BFG G Force KD's, 315 and 275 combo. Fabulous competition tires but not that great for daily drivers. I see you like em too.

Barbie

 

Gee..I think I hit a nerve when I mentioned it was C.T that did the tire service on my Car. I agree with ALL of you regarding having any actual Mechanical work done. My main complaint was the fact that the "SLIME OOZING MIDGET DIPSTICK " wouldn't take the time to wash his hand's any time in the last 2 year's and I have to think this was more the "technicion's " problem then any ingrained C.T problem some "people(INBRED SLIME OOZING MIDGET DIPSTICK)" just have no respect...................SR

 

Hey Barbie.... yeah, I like those tires, they look mean But I could only get the KDW's, because my rims are 16"