Sears Auto Center

I was having battery/​alternator issues and they were so kind to me. They helped me out incredibly and let me know how much everything would cost. I checked around before deciding to get a new alternator here and the price was the best I could find. I’m satisfied with the customer service and the quick fix to my problem.

Do not go here! They charged me for a part that I had provided to them and used it. I went back and they didn’t seem surprised and tried to play it off. Very disappointing that you can’t trust a company to properly charge you!

Absolutely terrible experience here. Got a quote from an older latino gentleman who was a complete charlatan. I’m not sure if this is a store policy or this individual but it was bad. I had popped a flat and came in to get all 4 tires replaced because it was past due for that anyway. He was helpful and charismatic, but obviously trying to pull the wool over someone younger who doesn’t look like a car expert. The quote was 600 bucks all said and done, and he said it’d take between an hour and an hour and a half. I specifically requested the «least expensive» tires, and he gave me a ones that he said were «good but more economical» and I said it sounded good. I told my father what I was paying and he angrily demanded I go look over the statement. They were planning on giving me an alignment, which I did not request or need, for an extra 100 or so. I looked at the statement again and made him show me all available tires on that size and lo and behold there were tires that were $ 70 instead of $ 100 each. He straight up lied to me when I requested the least expensive tires, and tried to sell me stuff I didn’t need on top of it. I got the price down around 400 because of that.
So now, with less labor involved, my tire replacement took THREE AND A HALF HOURS instead of one and a half, weird how that works. I don’t know if they get commission and he was secretly salty I gave him less money and he told his boys to make my car lower priority or what, but I shouldn’t have upwards of 5 clients after me getting out of there before me. When I paid at the end, I asked what made it take so long and he gave the vague answer of «issues out back», and wouldn’t tell me specifics when I asked what in particular caused the holdup.
Screw that guy, screw this store, never going back there again. No complaints on the tires themselves or the installation, but shouldn’t have taken that long. When going to this store, make the representatives show you exactly what you’re paying for, all available compatible parts, and all costs on the statement. A shame they treat customers like shit and don’t willingly do this already.

Found a coupon on the sears website for 14.99 do it was 19.18 with tax for oil change. What a deal. Took an hour or so. Has a decent bathroom and waiting area. Good neighborhood. Loses points for suggesting I needed a coolant flush when I had just done that a month ago. Nice try. They probably do that with everyone.

Avoid!!! Took an hour and a half for a basic oil change. I called ahead to. schedule an appointment however they said no need. I came a half hour later only to still be sitting in their waiting room. I am not one to complain, but I figure I should warn others from making the same mistake

Got me in on a Sunday without an appointment — yay! It took all afternoon, so I took a Lyft home, but I had 4 new tires and an alignment when it was done, and at a great price (I called around and they were the best for my tires)!
I came back at the end of the day and it wasn’t done yet, so they may have underestimated how long it will take, but I was still happy to get this taken care of relatively quickly.

This place is a complete mess. They will sell you tires without knowing if they factually have them or not. They did it to me, twice in one day.
I came in around 5:00. They offered me a few different sets of tires. I chose one brand. They told me they’d be installed in about an hour. An hour later I got a call: turns out they didn’t have the tires in stock after all.
A little after 6:00, I agreed to have them install a different brand of tires. I sat around their office until 7. Then the salesman found me, told me they’d only had three of that brand of tires, so he’d gone ahead and installed them and was going to charge me for them. I could come back next week and get the fourth tire if I wanted.
He pressured me to pay for the three tires. Now I really regret doing so. I’m driving around on three new tires and one old tire, short two hours of my life, wishing I had never gone to Sears. I will never shop there again.

OK, I will start out saying that this is in comparison to the Barton Rd store. I had a horrible experience there, and so just doing their job is a significant step up.
As for the 41^st street store, what can I say? I brought in a bad battery, they tested it, and replaced it, and I was back out of there in less than 20 minutes. They were fast, efficient, and polite. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

This place has zero respect for their customers’ time. I’ve used Sears in the past for car batteries and tires and their customer service was never anything to write home about but it is now a complete joke. Was told my tires would be replaced in an hour and a half so I hung around the shopping center killing time, came back 90 minutes later and they hadn’t even started on my car. Oh, and I had an appointment, so it wasn’t even like I just walked in! Have been waiting another couple hours and it’s still not done. And when I called the manager on his cell he basically told me he didn’t care and «Oh well.» There’s another guy here in the waiting room who has been here for 6 hours, and they had told him his vehicle would be ready in a fraction of that time. Never again. My time is too valuable to waste on these morons who have no concept of time or any sense of urgency or respect. They do not care in the slightest who they inconvenience. In the future I will purchase tires and batteries from companies that respect their customers — even if it means paying more.

Dropped off car Friday for ac problem Saturday morning they say ac compressor needs to replace. Late Saturday they say it didn’t fix issue. Now it’s Monday and still not fixed. During this entire time they never called me. I had to call every time.

Sears is okay if you need to have your car checked out in a pinch. I prefer to take my car to Yost, but they aren’t open on the weekend like Sears is. The employees are polite and try very hard to be efficient, but I think the location is understaffed. There is usually a line of people waiting and only one person working the front when they have at least 3 cashier/​check-​in stations.
I take Sears’s recommendations with a grain of salt. For example, they told me that I needed my alignment fixed and when I got the information back after the service, I discovered that my car was just barely out of alignment. It was probably unnecessary to fix it at that point, according to my regular mechanic. Unless I know for sure that something is wrong (battery dead/​dying, etc.) or I need an oil change, I try not to take my car here.

Two stars because my first experience was adequate.
The manager promised me on the phone that my appointment would take only 30 – 40 minutes tops, and if I brought my car in first thing then I would be able to have my tire plugged and make it to work with time to spare.
I showed up at 8:03 for my 8:00 appointment, and apparently that means that I’m now in line between three other guys. «But I have an appointment.»
Doesn’t matter. I was told that there were folks «waiting here at 7:59 that also had appointments.»
How is it possible that you’re going to guarantee me a slot and then guarantee multiple slots at the same time to other folks, with the apparent intention of having us battle to be the first ones served by what must be a staff of too few people? If the expectation had been set that my appointment would be lost if I wasn’t waiting on them to open up then I would have made the extra effort. 8 o-​friggin’ 3.
I’m not upset with the employees. I’m disgusted by their horrendous planning and their cockamamie system. In speech the associates are quite agreeable. In practice, their supposed policies leave me baffled.
The plug job has not been witnessed as of yet but I’m sure their work was just fine. Go here if you can wait. If you’re in a rush, why bother? There are numerous locations nearby that, as far as service, have nowhere to go but up.
I didn’t make myself look great in the store this morning with my behavior as fear of being late for work started me to panic. Not proud of that. On their end, the lack of dedication to the promise that they made is still unforgivable.

Blew out a tire. Took my car in on a spare to have it replaced. 2.5 hours after arriving my car wasn’t even in the bay. I left and went to discount tire; they had me in and out in 20 mins with the same tire Sears was going to sell me.

Came in here looking for Reebok tennis shoes. Not much of a selection in the way of tennis shoes. But, I did see a few other clothing items I wanted to try on but I had just left the 24 hr fitness around the corner (I came all the way down from RR to try a new class) so I couldn’t try anything on all sweaty and in a sports bra. So… I’ll be back!

I went in yesterday because I was leaking coolant from my reservoir cap.
They said I needed an oil change, charged me for that, and told me to come back at 8 am this morning to look at the issue with the coolant.
I showed up at 7:50am and he didn’t pop the hood until 9:00am.
They billed me for a diagnostic and told me to replace the gas cap. So I asked AGAIN about the leaking coolant.
Oh? Don says. I popped the hood and showed him the leak. He says I need a new radiator cap for $ 10.
Those jerks were just going to bill me $ 60 and send me on my way again leaking coolant!!! Imbeciles. I want my money back. They could have told me about the radiator cap the first time I went in. Thieves

Steer clear! My car stopped working in the HEB parking lot on a Sunday. I thought it was the battery, so one of the sales people helpfully brought over a pack to jump the car but it turned out to be another problem. At 11:30 AM, they said they could fix it before close of business. But after a series of calls, which were severely lacking in anything resembling customer service, they told me at 4:30 PM that it couldn’t be done that day. I had things to do the next day and could have rented a car if I had known in the morning that it wasn’t possible to fix that day. They clearly prioritized everyone else who came in. I towed it to another service station and had it taken care of (in one day). Take your car somewhere else. Hopefully Sears will go out of business and a business that takes care about its customers will take its place in Hancock Center.

They appeared nice and sincere, but apparently an «older» woman with an older nice car is a deal in the makings! Over sold on service «needed», more parts than needed, and no telling on time/​labor! Can’t trust them. The old adage about auto shops and women, still true here.

Sears Auto Center once again hooked me up!
I’ve been going to Sears Auto Center for many years because my father always told me that they gave good service to African American customers back in the day when many places would not. During the 1970s as a young tyke, I’d always accompany my dad there whenever our family needed a new car batteries.
Well, 30 years later, I just received my 2^nd free battery from one I purchased a few years ago because my warranty is still good. Diehard batteries. Of course, it sucks that I’ve had to receive 2 replacement batteries in the past 2 ½ years… but both replacements have been free!!!
The service guys — and women — are friendly and professional. And they got me in and out very quickly. (Note: I did arrive accidentally 30 minutes before they opened, and that helped getting my work done so fast.)
I’ll be returning to the Sears Auto Center as long as they keep giving me such great service!

This specific Sears Auto Center has done such an exceptional job for me in the past, it certainly helps simplify things when I need to shop around for my automotive needs (in this case tires). I stopped in on a Sunday morning to have my tires rotated and balanced since it was way overdue.
Nathan was the manager, it’s always nice to see him as he’s helped me out on several prior visits. He remembers me and provides excellent and professional customer service, always diligent and eager to please. One time I stopped in when they were very busy just to have someone check my tire pressure, and instead of delegating or making me wait he jumped right on it and checked all my tires and filled them up which took only a few minutes. That saved me a lot of time and hassle, I greatly appreciated it.
It’s common to see a line or queue here yet I know they try to make the best of it, and today Nathan said it shouldn’t take more than 1 hour to rotate my tires as he would make sure all went well. I walked next door to Wendy’s to chill and hit up the wi-​fi (also had a nice discussion w/​the manager on how Wendy’s is today since I worked there ages ago in HS — — but that’s another story). Anywho — — within 15 minutes I get a call from Sears Auto — — it’s Nathan, he says he can’t rotate the front tires since one tire was too worn and it would do no good, plus it’s a safety issue. He highly recommended to buy a new pair asap as the problem will only get worse. I’ve had this happen to me before so I knew he was right.
Those who know me know I don’t typically make hasty decisions (like buying new tires) until I’ve done my research to get the best product and pricing possible. Nathan actually knows this about me as I purchased these tires from him before, so he tells me he’ll search to find my size tires in stock and will work to get me the best deal possible. 99.9% of the time I would opt to refuse and delay my purchase until after I do my own research, but in this case I give him the green light to buy the new set. Nathan attributes for that 0.1% when I know I’m dealing w/​a trustworthy and competent professional.
I have extra time now since they have to pull the tires from a warehouse up north, Nathan says he already sent his guy out to get them — — he knows I don’t like to wait (who does?). In the meantime (out of curiosity) I search google for the exact same tires (Michelin Pilot Sport A/​S Plus — which BTW are AWESOME TIRES!) and wouldn’t you know — — Nathan was right again. His rate was very competitive, so I would have just wasted more time and more $$ delaying and shopping around. It’s a great feeling walking away from an Automotive Service knowing you made a safe and smart purchase and didn’t get taken advantage of or overpay.
Having someone like Nathan makes me feel comfortable and secure as a customer since I know he is a quality and trustworthy professional. I was extremely pleased with his prompt, diligent, and courteous service as he made me a very happy customer on this Sunday morning. I am not fond of waiting in lines or queues, but in this case it’s well worth it when Nathan’s running the show.

My review is going to sound as if it supposed to be 4 stars but I don’t know why I’m sticking with three stars. My battery died down during Labor Day. I was going to do yoga and my car crapped out on me. I called AAA and they ran a diagnostic. Thankfully my alternator and starter were good. My battery not so good. I have the extreme record heat to thank for messing up with my battery. I did celebrate our record by staying indoors in a AC room. Then AAA jump start my car and I needed my car battery to be replaced.
I usually take my car to the Toyota dealership but they were not open. My other alternatives were Sears and Walmart. I couldn’t really get myself to go to Walmart. So I decided to go to Sears. Thank god they were open.
I don’t have any complaints on them. It took them 30 minutes to replace my battery and I was on my way out of there.