Complaint Review: Hill Tire Center

My wife took my Honda Accord to Hill Tire Center of Walterboro in SC in May 2009 to get the brakes fixed. The pressure on the brakes were very loose and had to keep getting pumped to work properly. This didn't happen all the time, but every once in awhile. They talked my wife into getting the rotors replaced, but the brakes still had the same problem. So, I lived with the same problem and the rotors needing to be replaced.

Then, in July 2009. Out of the blue. My car starts making a heavy vibration while in gear. My Father-in-Law listens to it says it sounds like rotors. I tell my wife to take it back to Hill Tire.

They tell us that the right axle has come loose and they can't put it back because it's too short (I didn't understand that). They need to order another one, and to make sure it works, they have to change it out to see. They do this, and tell her it fixed the problem. They ask if she wants this done to the car. Of course, she says yes. But when we went to get the car, they pulled it up to us, my wife paid, and I go to drive away. As soon as I pull out of the parking lot, I make an immediate U turn because it was making the same noise AND now it's making loud grinding on turns.

I return and tell them about the problem. A technician, Jim, comes out and we take a ride together. The car makes the noise and he turns to me and says "so, what's the problem?". I say, "you don't hear that?". He says, it's not as loud as when you brought it in. When he turns, we hear the grinding. I say, "what is that?" He says, "It's the CV joint. That's not what why you brought it in to get fixed".

We get out after he drives on the lift and proceeds to tell me what all was done as he points around the wheels from underneath. He gives me all these techinical terms and jargon and I chime in to ask him how I get the car back with something wrong that wasn't before. He says this happens all the time, different problems arise, it was time for the CV joints to be replaced, etc.

That's when I told him that your company was allowing me to leave the property with my car in worse condition than when I brought it in. Knowingly! A mechanic drove it up to me, while my wife went inside to pay them money! I asked Jim what we could do to resolve this. He told me we will have to get more parts an do more work. I was floored! I asked him to bring my car back down and give me the keys and the receipt. I took off!

My wife went to talk to Jim and the Manager, and the manager gave a bunch of excuses, too. Never did he ask, "How can we make it right?" or anything like that. I really liked his excuse, "the car has over 100,000 miles!"

Delflo
Walterboro, South Carolina
U.S.A.