Complaint Review: National Tire & Battery

I drive one of the new VW Beetles & had found it very difficult to find tires without having to go thru the dealer & pay an exhorbitant amount. After a LOT of research, found the perfect tire but only found one location that claimed to have five in stock: NTB in Independence, MO. This place is about an hour's drive from my home and about 45 mins from work. I made an appt.

After keeping me waiting for 2 hrs they told me they could only find 3 of the tires I wanted & to come back the next day. I refused, citing the cost of the travel. They finally found a tire offsite & sent someone to get it. So, after 3 hrs, I finally got my tires for $963. I was charged $11 per tire for balancing & mounting, $8 for disposal of old tires, & $4.40 for shop rags. Yep, that's right, shop rags. Actually the chrg was listed as shop fee but I was told it was for the cost of the shop rags.

You would think that after making me wait 3 hrs for a thirty minute job they would have offered to give me a discount but all they agreed to do was take off the $8 for the disposal fee. Whoo-h*o, that was less than 1% of the bill! And they absolutely refused to take off for the shop rags.

As I'm driving away, I notice a definite vibration. Knowing I had just paid for new, balanced tires, I made an appt at the dealer's thinking it must be a suspension problem. Imagine my surprise when I'm told none of the tires had been balanced! After paying another $45 to balance the tires, I notified Jason, the manager at NTB. At first, he was adamant that the tires had been balanced but finally broke down & said if I could provide the bill, then they would CONSIDER a refund. How nice.

Isn't it wonderful that in this day and age that when you pay for a service that is NOT actually provided, they MIGHT consider giving you a refund??? I strongly suggest avoiding this place unless you have a lot of time & money on your hands. Or unless you just like additional stress.

Linda
Centerview, Missouri
U.S.A.