Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Jan. 31, 2023, I had my Brake rotors, pad, and calipers replaced by them. At the time I was working close by and able to leave my car all day so I didn't realize how long they would take. In September I called them because ** tire said the shake was caused by my warped rotors. The manager told me I would have to leave it all day which is NOT an option. I need to work and only have one car. I earn a living driving my car. No car, no income. I am half an hour from the store and work every day so it wasn't until December that I was able to bring the car in. I sat there for hours only to be told they would have to order the part. I told them on the phone I knew the issue was confirmed by 2 stores (Midas and BJs) and I expect it to be fixed that day. That didn't happen. He brought me out to show me my pads looked fine. I said, of course, they do, I had to put new ones on in October because there was almost nothing left of the right one. I replaced both though so they would be even. These should have been covered under warranty as well. He then tried to blame a rock...really, on both sides. Then he kept saying, you know you have 2 years....I had to say over and over...or a certain mileage which I was a lot closer than 2 years to. All of this was in hopes I would be stupid and say, oh well, then just let me pay you again for new ones. Trying to evade a warranty claim. I left very upset. More than a month went by and I realized I just didn't have the time to go all the way up there and sit all day, which is most likely how long it would take. I believe I was there for 3 or 4 hours the time mentioned earlier. I sent an email to request a refund which is an option under warranty terms. Gave it a week, I believe and then called. I was told the manager would call me the next day. That hasn't happened. I want my refund under the terms of the warranty please. I will do it locally and under an hour.

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  First off, I would like to appologize for the experience. We try to take care of each and every customer in a timly manner. We understand that any time spent without a vehicle can be tough. That being said, a lot of the complaint above seems ot stem from ****************** schedule, which provides no down time for her vehicle, as well as her opinions as to why one of our team members may have said certain things to her. Regardless, our job is to fix vehicles and honor warranties when parts are found defective. In this particular case, due to availability, parts had to come from a vendor that only makes 2 deliveried to us per day and unfortunalty we aren't allowed to pick up from this vendor. We have had replacement parts for ****************** vehicle at our shop since December 8 2023, the day of her original return mentioned above. We attemted to reach ****************** multiple times over a two week period, between Dec. 8 and Dec. 22, and once we were able to get in contact with her were told she was headed out of town for Christmas and would reach out upon her return. We have since heard nothing from her, until this complaint. If ****************** would like to schedule time to have these parts replaced, she should reach out to the store*************. With the parts being here, in house, and having a scheduled appointment, we should be able to make the corrections within a few hours time. If we do not hear from ****************** prior to 4/1/2024, we will assume she does not want her brakes fixed under warranty, and will return the parts. A remedy is readily available for ****************** so we will not be issuing a refund in this case.  

  Customer response

  03/11/2024

   
  I am rejecting this response because:

  First of all, they did not make multiple attempts to reach me. 

  Secondly, I called and emailed without receiving a response.  I know they got the email as she said, "i will print this off for the manager and he will call you tomorrow".  Which he did not. I had to call them to get this response.

  Thirdly, I attached to this complaint that a refund was an option.  It was circled and an arrow pointing at it.  

  I do not want to do further business with them.  I do not trust them AND it is far away, which if they would do things in a timely manner, i wouldn't mind as much.

  To confirm, the biggest reason is that I have the option for a refund.  Which is what I requested in email and on phone.  Never received a response.

   

  ****

  
  

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  If you read the terms of the warranty, it clearly states that there are three remedies to a warranty issue. It clearly states under the "warranty agreement - all services for retail customers" that "the Tire Pros Facility has the option to perform remedial service work at no charge to you, replace the defective warranty part(s) without charge to you, OR refund the entire charge for the warranted repairs, minus any previous refunds." Nowhere does it say that the customer may demand that a warranty be handled in a specific manor. As mentioned before, we have had the parts to repair your vehicle since the day you last visited us, and are prepared to replace your pads and rotors completely free of charge to you. If you decide not to take advantage of our warranty, that is completely your choice, but Griffin Tire & Auto is in no way opligated to refund you for a good or service in this case as we have a remedy that is ready and available to you. If you would have read the complete warranty you would also understand that our warranty can be used at a number of retailers nationwide. If you intend to seek out another facility to complete the warranty, please be prepared for them to do their own assessment of the issue before just throwing new pads and rotors on your vehicle. They will also have to confirm through our third party warranty company that their costs will be coverd. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had my car towed to the shop The car is a suv. The car was not driving for a month. The tow man jumped the car and was able to get the car drivable. The car was taken to the shop. I called the shop. The female front desk said that the car was able to run based on the towing company but the car was driving rough. She asked what was wrong with the car. I said I need a diagnostic test and I didnt go to a mechanic school to provide an answer. They would complete a diagnostic test to see what the other issues are. The test would be $ hundred and something dollars. I called back after a couple days. The location had an old number for me. I updated the number with the location. No calls to me. The location said that I would need an alternator to resolve the problems with my car. The total price was ******. I called once again to check on my car. The black front desk female and the male man. said that they had been calling me and leaving messages. I have no call ever from them based on my phone records. No vm because my vm box has been full since the beginning of the year. The front desk female said that they only drove the car in the parking lot to confirm that it was ready. they didnt know what was making the car jerk after saying that the alternator could fix all issues The location said that the car was ready to pick up. I picked it up on a Thursday. By Friday evening the exact same issues with the car. Brought the car back Tuesday. They denied ever stating that the car was driving rough and said that I would need to pay for a new diagnostic test. I declined and they said its nothing that they can do per the location manager. The car was was picked up and drive terrible even cuts off will driven. Still jerking repeatedly. I have spoken with the location man. which was no help at all. He said that I was asking for free things. I was asking for things to be completed as they were paid for. Its unsafe to ride in the car. Refund please

  Business response

  01/30/2024

  I apologize for just getting back to you. Typically, we receive any BBB complaint via direct email, but we never received anything in this case.
  
  I just saw this, so Im still in the process of gathering info. Generally speaking, the only time we dont road test vehicles is when the License plates are expired, or the vehicle is deemed unsafe to drive on the roads. I believe in this case the tags had expired, as the customer states that the vehicle has been sitting for some time.
  
  Regarding the diagnostic and repair, the alternator was found not to be charging, and in need of replacement. In a lot of cases, low voltage can cause drivability issues similar to those ************************* is experiencing. When the repair was completed, the low voltage codes were cleared from the system and the vehicle was operated in our parking lot and seemed to run as it should, at that time. Seemingly the next day it reverted back to not driving well.  We apologize for the inconvenience caused to *************************, and would be happy to further diagnose her car free of charge to check into the drivability issues that she is seemingly still having. I have also spoken to our team about Mrs. *********** return trip, where it appears that she had other issues with her car beyond those which she was in for the previous week. This prompted our team to request additional diagnostic time. Upon further checking, these issues could have stemmed from the original drivability  issues that were brought to our attention on her first visit, therefore we are happy to either diagnose the vehicle again, free of charge to her, or refund her the $129.67 diagnostic charge from her visit on 10/27/23.
  
  Please let us know how we can help.
  
  Thanks,

  Customer response

  02/02/2024

   
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Please review the phone calls, if they were recorded about my concerns. No new issues brought the car to the the shop, which was not driven for roughly 4-6 weeks as stated. The car was dropped off with an issue started it was repaired, picked up less than 48 hours worst concerns. Same exact issue with the car. The car is not drivable or safe. I dont want any service from that shop. I had conversations with the manager and he showed that he did care about my concerns about the car. Almost 800$ was spent. Imagine going to the dentist for some dentures and only receiving 2 teeth instead of a full row of teeth. My exact feeling. 

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  As mentioned in the prior response, the alternator was found to be defective, which keeps the vehicle from being able to be test driven, at all, to determine/confirm any further drivability issues. We replaced the alternator then test drove the vehicle multiple times, in and around our facility, to confirm **************************** complaint of "riding extremely rough" and "jerking when accelerating."  We test drove **************************** vehicle 3 sepearate times, finding only a faint vibration felt in one instance, which would not be deemed "unsafe or undrivable." Obviously after *********************** left our facility, the conditions worsened. As mentioned in her response, our manager "did care about my concerns," which is absolutely true. We are still happy to further diagnose her drivability concerns free of charge to her, but she seems to have decided not to return to our facility to give us that opportunity. In regards to the proof of payment that ************************ provided with this response, that charge included a new alternator, labor to install that alternator, as well as the necessary testing and diagnostic time spent in attempt to confirm the complaints given at the time **************************** vehicle was left with us. Again, we are happy to either further diagnose **************************** complaint or refund her the diagnostic charge that was a part of her original invoice.

• Initial Complaint

  04/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Replaced parts I asked not to replace and they called to say car was ready for pickup. Paid got in the car and parts from car in front seat. Then they say I have to wait for the rest of the parts to come from across town. Will never refer or use them again. Paid a lot of money to wait another hour for parts to arrive All was said was sorry for your inconvenience. Thats it for a half@&$ job

  Business response

  05/18/2023

  To whom it may concern,

   

  We at Griffin Tire & Auto, much like everyone else these days, are struggling to fully staff our locations. In order to keep our customers satisfied and minimize time for repairs, we have been transporting some vehicles to our ********** location, where our best and longest tenured technician is located.

   

  In this particular case, a technician at our **************. location had begun the diagnostic process, and removed the grill to access components of the A/C system. Over the following weekend, an incident occurred that kept this technician out of work for an extended period of time, and the decision was made with the approval of ************, to transport the vehicle to our ********** location in order to complete the repairs in a timely manner. Upon completion of the repairs, the technician at our ********** location put the vehicle back the way it had been brought to him. When ************ came to pick up his vehicle, it was brought to the ********** Blvd. store managers attention that the grill had not been reinstalled, and it was determined that the clips to secure the grill into the vehicle had been left at the *********** Rd. location. When this was realized, we immediately dispatched an employee to retrieve the clips and re-install the grill. This entire process took about ***** minutes as there is only about 6 miles between our locations. We truly apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused ************. Regarding the replacement of un-approved parts, it is our policy to get approval for every repair that is completed. In fact, there were also parts declined on Mr. ***** repair order which could only have been declined based on communication with ************, himself.

   

   

  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do.

   

  Thanks,

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩