Sears Auto Center

Went here for tires, went over there to order the tires for my car since they are special order. Went back the next day to find that the guy who ordered them ordered the wrong kind. So they had to place another order, and told me they would call me when the tires came in the next morning so I can make an appointment for the same day to have them changed. When the person who works there called to say the tires were in she tried to tell me that I cannot make an appointment for the same day? well that’s not what they were saying when they were taking my money the day before. Anyway she ended up making the appointment for the same day. The wait time is ridiculous as people have mentioned in other reviews, and the customer service? non existent, ALL the employees there seem to have stank attitudes. I think there are FAR better auto shops you can bring your car to.

I took my vehicle for an alignment last week. I had an appointment so the wait was not long. After about an hour and a half I was finished. Paid my bill, drove off, but forgot to ask for a print out of my alignment. As I was going back I noticed my car pulling on the left and a knocking coming from the right. I mentioned it to the employee, they took another hour. I later found out that the second time around is when the employee actually looked at my car. To top it off they said I needed new tires, even though I bought mine less than a year ago. The manager said that was a mistake. But wait, it gets worse, when they test drove my car, the employee was smoking in it. I saw that myself. They didn’t even apologize for the error or for having me wait. It is out of total desperation that I go there, but they are making it very hard to continue.

I don’t think I am ever going to encounter a customer service person worse than Margey from the Sears Auto Center in Elmhurst.
I walked in at 5:30 with a tire about to blow, and I told the gentleman at the front desk that I needed to buy to tires and have them installed, and out of nowhere comes Margey tersely yelling that they aren’t installing any more tires. Mind you, they close at 7. When I told her it was an emergency an emergency, and asked if there are any other Sears Auto Shops nearby she told me that Valley Stream Long Island is open but they stop accepting cars before 6.
It was clear from her interactions that Margey saw customers as a problem.
I specifically drove an hour (including the half hour I got stuck in traffic) in spite of the emergency situation because the Sears corporation has a reputation for quality workmanship.
My tire ended up blowing up on the bursting on a Queens Boulevard side street and I was towed to a local tire 24 hour tire shop that some guy on the street recommended.
Margey forgot the saying in business, «If you don’t take care of your customers, someone else will.»
I called up Sears’ customer service line to complain about Margey, but they suggested I call the manager, Patrick Chen. When I made that phone call, of course Margey picks up the phone in an unprofessional tone saying Patrick isn’t there.
I would never in a million years patronize this place, especially with Margey employed there.

After my incident with sears which i have mentioned earlier in my review, i never wanted to go back to Sears. I just wanted to see if you have taken any actions regarding the issue so i waited for two weeks and dropped by sears to get my car inspected. This time, i arrived sears around 10 am on June 18^th, 2015. I have all the papers and receipt to prove that i am not making this story up. I dropped off my car for state inspection. The promised time was 2 hours. I told them to give me a call once its done. They call me back and tells me that i failed the state inspection because i need to replace my Tie rods and have to get a wheel alignment. And that will cost me $ 290 including inspection cost. I dropped by, picked up my car and i told them i will take the car to some other place and get it checked. I took it to a garage by maspeth and got my inspection done there and i reported about the reason why my car was failed by sears. The place not only passed by car, but also checked the tie rods for me and told me that there is nothing i need to do with my tie rods and my tie rods are absolutely fine. I was happy that my car passed the inspection. I still couldnt believe that Sears would lie so i went to my car dealer by Northen blvd, Paragon Acura and i told them about the tie rod issues. They inspected and reported no issues with the tie rods. I have a 2011 Acura MDX with 35 000 miles (mostly highway), still under factory warranty.
This pretty much sums it up. Either Sears or the mechanic who inspected my car clearly wanted to make some extra cash. Anyways, i just wanted to see how my experience will turn out to be compared to my previous visit. but i guess some things never change. I am never going back there again and will make sure that i spread the news among my friends and family around to avoid Sears.
Thank You,
Regards,
Tashi

This is the worst experience I have ever had.
I purchased a tire may 26^th and was going to pick it up today, june 23^rd. A lady left a voicemail on my phone saying I already picked up the tire but because they were in a rush they did not give me a receipt.
The manager says I picked up the tire but they have no proof or can even confirm what I look like, they also refuse to look at the store cameras and have no day or time for when I supposedly picked up the tire.
Staff is EXTREMELY RUDE and refuse to help me, very condescending and offensive.
They basically saw that a tire hadn’t been picked up for a few weeks and stole it or gave it to a buddy thinking I wouldn’t realize this LOL.
Please do not go here, they are scammers and SEARS should be ashamed to call that dump a SEARS Store.

I brought my car here for a misfire on cylinder 2 and cylinder 5. Upon their inspection, they claim that all 6 coil packs had to be replaced at $ 95 each ($ 700 including labor). I asked the service adviser if it’s even possible for all 6 to fail at once and was told…“of course”
I ended up taking the car back and eating a small «diagnostic charge». I drove over to another mechanic and had the 2 bad coil packs replaced for $ 120 total. It may be okay to get your tires changed here, but DO NOT bring your car here for any work under the hood.

Very pleasant experience! I called in the morning to check whether they had a tire to replace my irreparable flat one. No appointment was needed. Getting into the parking lot was a bit tricky as my Waze navigator sent me to a different side street. As I walked into the office customer service reps already expected me (what a surprise!) as they noticed my car and recalled the morning phone conversation. In and out in under 1 hour. Waiting room is very nice, great coffee, all facilities are very clean, everyone is very nice.

Beware — came in for an oil change and these guys tried to tell me that there was a problem with my brakes — I knew there wasn’t and when I told them to take the car down — there was a BIG attitude. I took the car to Pep Boys — who confirmed that there was no problem with the brakes. BEWARE — SEARS IS
DISHONEST and UNPROFESSIONAL!

I needed a new battery right away. I called and spoke to a Janet Lang and she assured me to come in right away as there was no wait and only a $ 20 charge to check the battery & alternator. I promptly arrived there within a half hour. No line, no waiting, they pulled my van right in. Honest to the tee, they assured me what I already knew, the battery was bad & the alternator was still good. Janet was so attentive towards getting my vehicle in & out asap and always kept me notified step by step. Thanks Janet for getting me to open a corporate account and I started saving $$$ instantly. Definitely will recommend this location again as i decided on a new Diehard with a three year placement plan included !!!

The first thing you hear when you walk through the door is stand on line, someone will be right with you… in the mean time they’re talking amongst each other. This place has always has HORRIBLE customer service

I love this place — the staff are great and accommodating. My husband and I once sat for a few hours waiting for our car and the staff checked in on us and did their best to make it a pleasant experience. We have since returned. They went out of their way to find coupons and applicable discounts for our tires and brake repair to help save us some money on our upcoming move expenses. I cannot say enough about the service and attention that our vehicle received.

I brought my car here because my brake pads we’re pretty much bald. So it was convenient to come here with a new coupon that I had received.
Big mistake.
The guy John went to look at my car and pot it on the lift. He started to look thoroughly at the front end of the car. I observed him carefully as he went into details to touch. Look and write things down. He almost looked legit.
He comes back and says: «We have good news and bad news. The good news is that I’m glad you came here so we can resolve your issues. The bad news is you have bad brakes and the front wheel drive is shot. It must be replaced.»
Already angry I respond:
” my car is only rear wheel drive, so what are you talking about? Please take my car down, have a nice day, you’re trying to piss me off, and I am not in the mood for games.“
He further tells me that he is a professional and it is what it is, so I can have it done or not.
I took my car and left.

What a nightmare of a place. Absolutely horrendous customer service. In today’s day and age, I’m shocked to see a business that has absolute no regard for the customer. The store manager is the rudest person and has no respect for dealing with customers in an ethical way. Highly recommend to stay away from this place.

One star because there’s no space for a zero or a minus zero.
Brought in my car for tire replacement, following a flat from bad roads. I had bought an extra new tire before when another tire in the same car blew (also from a bad encounter with bad roads) and it was in the back, with the shipping labels and such still on it. Never been used, never been on the road.
When I got my car back, I drove off the lot without checking the car or the tire. Big mistake. I had to stop about two blocks away from Sears for something, and then remembered to take a look. How about that, my new tire had a bubble already and it was just mounted. How nice.
Not going back there, ever. It used to be a reputable shop — about 30 years ago. Got hoodwinked before for work charged and paid but not done, all sorts of bad stuff. They just happened to be convenient.

I have to edit my review due to some unfortunate circumstances.
It seems that it’s been 2 month and my credit for the original in-​store purchase is not being credited. After speaking with the store manager Jeff, several times, and being told that the credit was in his system, i decided to dispute the charge in order to get my credit. Now my CC company is telling me that Sears is claiming my original charge is valid. Not a good sign for this Sears center. I doubt very much I’ll even return here. They went from 5 stars to 1. Below is the original review where I praised Sears for their service and center.
Great service, fast, friendly and inexpensive wiper blades installed for free!
Although I paid regular price for my Valvoline Aquablades wiper blades, I went online to write a positive review for them and found them 50% off (Sears online only special). One phone call to the store and I was told to order them online to get the sales price, then they’d refund me what I paid the day before, without having to even go back into the store. Can’t get better than that.
The one problem was that it took a long time to get the refund back on my credit card. I called the store a few times and they told me the credit was in their system, but ultimately I had to claim a dispute with the CC company to see my account credited.
Update: It took too long for the CC charge dispute to be resolved, but it was. I feel better about raising the star rating.

As if I have not learned my lesson hard enough form buying from the «Corporate’s» I stroll into Sears & Roebuck and apparently K-​Mart, auto center.
Long gone are the days of well established business names that put a knowledgeable and customer friendly staff on their payroll, ready to assist and provide the customer with the product knowledge to make a confident purchase. Instead, expect a representative with zero personal skills, no ability to gain the customers trust (where cross selling comes in) and have the prospective buyer leave the business and NOT have that feel good feeling we all deserve, when spending a good sum of our hard earned dollars.
In my tip I described briefly my experience with a fore mentioned Javier, who thought not explaining to me, where to put the battery I lugged from my car. The cleaned and wrapped old battery I brought in was left where I thought it made sense to put it, as my question was ignored as new customer’s were beginning to form a line, a line of two total people. The concept of telling me anything about the differences in batteries was apparently foreign as I was asking such questions and a few more., In addition to exclaim to me «step away» from him as he opened a cash drawer I had no idea was behind a counter at all, I guess I looked like I was debating trying to rob the place. In addition again, not assist with a question about my headlights getting a little corroded, outside of saying «try this» and walking away. Shall I continue?
But as with «Corporate» stores, we will expect the same level of underage employees with under qualified knowledge and allow our stiff upper lip to become stiffer.
Or, break the chain and try a independently owned and operated Mom and Pop shop, if there are any left, service your automotive needs,

I purchased a brand new Gold Diehard battery on ¹⁄₂₇ and then I had to have my battery jump started on ²⁄₆. I then took my truck to a Mobil garage and they said that everything was fine on my truck except for the fact the the battery had a bad cell in it. Since that was the case, I then brought the truck back to Sears Auto Center on ²⁄₁₀ when they told me that the battery tested fine. Fast forward to last night when I had to get my batter jumped AGAIN costing me $ 50! When I called Sears this morning they told me that I would have to bring the truck in again but they couldn’t replace the battery unless it tests bad and that they do not take reports from other garages.
Also while I was there on both occasions, they never told me that my truck was done… they just let me wait in the waiting room. This is my first dealing with this garage and it leaves an awful taste in my mouth… unbelievable.

UPDATE — My reply to Sears’ comment:
I already got my car fixed and I won’t be returning to Sears Auto Center. I was disappointed with the service and the staff there. I called early in the day, asked if I could bring my car in around 6pm, was told yes to bring it in, then when I got there I had to leave my car overnight or bring it back the next day to have it looked at.
The staff treated me very disrespectfully. I *do* know how my car works, what work has been done, and the general problem that was happening based on the noise, etc. that the car was making. Staff told me that they knew that I was going to be «trouble» since I brought in my car’s repair history with me. Maybe they were trying to be funny or flirty or cute but it was incredibly disrespectful. That, and other comments that were made, left me never wanting to go to Sears Auto again.
Also, the repairs that they said were absolutely necessary at the time weren’t deemed to be so by 2 other independent mechanics that I took the car to. (I’ve been going to one of these mechanics for years and completely trust him — went to Sears because I needed to get the car fixed on a Saturday afternoon/​evening. Went to a second independent mechanic to see who was being truthful — turns out it wasn’t Sears!) I’m highly disappointed in this store and will never get my car fixed there again and have been advising others of the same.

Do not trust anything that they say. Get a second opinion. I hade a tune up done here and then drove my car out of state and was told that I was over charged in NJ and GA.
Initally we had our driver side light instataled and they replaced the wrong light, so they never checked to see if it was done correctly.
We had a tune up because the car was having gear issues and Sears told us we needed a tune up. So we did the tune-​up. Three a week later drive the car out of state. After crossing the Lincoln Tunnel that check engine light came on and we took the car to a Sears in NJ and was told that there was an issue with the tune up, but that we could drive the car to GA. Drive the car and made it to GA. Today, again we were told that we were over charged for silly things like the air fliter. We are now getting a second opinion, and if it turns out that we never needed a tune-​up I am seeking legal representation.
When I called they tried to tell me that the issue pertains to lack of maintance, which is crazy becasue I love my car and I put a lot of money into it to maintain it every year. So I would say to everyone… do not come here, not even for an oil change.

I spent a lot of time in this shop, wrote 2 letters to corporate headquarters, and still wound up dissatisfied. This happened a few months ago, so I can’t remember the details, but I do remember that, after charging me a lot of money (over $ 1000) the car’s shuddering still wasn’t fixed and they suggested that I go to Aamco for the transmission. That means that they found a lot of items to «fix» that did not solve my problem. When I complained, they offered me some free oil changes. (As if I would even trust them with those at this point.)
Aamco now does all kinds of repairs so, if you live near Queens Blvd. in Queens, I would suggest that you go to the Aamco that is a little west of Sears. They fixed my car quickly and correctly.