Complaint Review: Dobbs Tire And Auto Centers

For a couple of years, we had decent experiences with Dobbs. Then, two years ago, things changed in a big, bad way and as of today the big, bad change still seems to be in place.

Two years ago, my wife took her new (to her) car in for the required safety inspection. The car had been give to her by her mother -- light use and religious maintenance.

The Dobbs inspector tried to take her for more than $800 in "required" repairs -- more than $200 to replace a cracked headlight enclosure, and about $600 for "required" brake repairs.

I wanted a second opinion, knowing that the car was in nearly pristine condition. A neighbor of ours recommended a shop he used -- not because he doubted there might be brake problems, but because he thought the repair would be cheaper there. THAT shop told us the brakes were in great condition, with hardly any wear, and charged $15 to fix the headlight. My wife drove the car for another two years without any sign of brake problems.

Last week, she got rid of that car and got ANOTHER car, also from her parents (they drive a car for a few years at most before replacing it, and prefer to pass it on to her rather than trade it in).

She took it to the shop we use now (we've purchased multiple NEEDED repairs from them and have always received honest service and a decent price). Passed inspection. No surprise there, the car is seven years old and has never missed a tire rotation or an oil change.

For the state-required EMISSIONS inspection, it had to go somewhere else, though, and that somewhere else was Dobbs. It passed the emissions inspection ... but the salesman (not knowing it had passed its safety inspection elsewhere 20 minutes before) told her there was no way it would pass safety inspection without two new front tires (the tires on it are not new, but they're well within tread wear guidelines).

I don't know if the Dobbs people work on commission, or just under extreme pressure to up-sell, but the bottom line seems to be that if you go in there for something minor, they'll do their best to turn it into something major whether the facts warrant it or not. If you feel that you MUST go to Dobbs for some reason, be sure to get a second opinion after they come back with some wild-eyed claim that you absolutely must spend several hundred dollars to avoid dying in a fiery explosion as soon as you drive off their lot.