Tires Plus

Just needed an oil change… but needed one on a Sunday before a road trip. I read the Unilocal reviews but Tires Plus was the only place I called that was open and able to accommodate my last-​minute request so I thought I would give them a try. The sales person was friendly and accommodating and the tech was efficient. No upsells and no surprises. Only 4 stars because my experience with them was fairly limited. However, I would definitely go back.

I am not sure where the guy who typically mans the front desk went — but this place is in a sad state until he returns.
The man (wears goggles, dirty blonde — big) who took his place first told me they could not honor my appt b/​c someone was on vacation, and then told me to reschedule another time and call to confirm after booking. Seems like it defeats the purpose of making an appt (don’t accept it if you cannot honor it).
When I came back — he tried to upsell me on a new air filter (my car is brand new with on 20k mile) — and when I didn’t accept he mocked me by telling the tech to «throw the dirty air filter back in there — he wants a dirty air filter». If Christ hadn’t changed my attitude, ideas, and behaviors 5 years ago — I may have checked his chin for the utter and intentional disrespect. But I’ve disrespected people in the past — and I’m glad noone broke my jaw for it. To add insult to injury — he wouldn’t honor my coupon — telling me my oil was FULL synthetic, not just synthetic. Not a big deal — but when you pay $ 54 for a oil change and you thought you were paying $ 19.99 — it stings.
Oh well– worst things have happened to better people — just hope the other guys returns soon.

I shopped around online for tires and settled on Tires Plus due to price and Saturday hours. I made the appt online for tires and an oil change for a Saturday at 8am and clicked the box to wait with my car while the work was done. I got a call from Ed to confirm my appointment… but he didn’t seem to know what time, what the appt was for or if I was waiting with the vehicle. Ok, so maybe their online appt system isn’t so great…
I got there at 7:50am for my 8am appt and found that they only had me coming in for an oil change, not tires. We got the tires straightened out and I sat down to wait. Online I’d seen a 59 minute guarantee for tires and 30 mins for an oil change, so I’d assumed that I’d be there for 1.5hrs.
1 hour and 40 mins later I asked how much longer it would be and was told 20 mins. I inquired about the 59 minute and 30 minute guarantees and was told that neither would apply to me. The 59 minute tire guarantee was negated because I’d also added an oil change and the 30 minute oil change didn’t apply because my SUV took more than 5 quarts of oil. According to manager Rob, it takes longer for my oil change because there’s more oil to drain out. I said ok and that I’d accept another 5 minutes for the extra oil (ridiculous excuse!) but otherwise there was no good reason for the delay. He was pretty annoyed with me but offered $ 10 off my oil change (which as it turned out was going to be $ 45 which is outrageous). I went and sat down and 5 minutes later he said that he’d give me the oil change for free.
It ended up taking 2 hours and 15 minutes for new tires and an oil change. Totally unacceptable for a place that advertises time guarantees for both services. Plus, when I got home I found that all 4 tires had different pressure in them! I appreciate the free oil change but won’t be returning for other services nor will I recommend tires plus to others. Next time I’ll stick with the online Tire Rack (which would have been about the same price).

As an update the Corporate office reached out to me and were quite concerned. The promised to address the customer service issues and website in the future and also offered to make things right.
Mistakes happen, its how you address them that matters and I have to say that Tires Plus did the right thing.

I stopped in to Tires Plus this morning with my heart set, or let’s be serious, my dad’s heart, set on a new set of Perelli All Seasons for my VW. However, not knowing what tires cost, seeing the price made my heart sink! The new manager, Rob, helped me find a comparable tire in my budget and showed me reviews online to be sure I was getting a quality product! He even offered to rush deliver them to the store!
When I called back later he helped set up an appointment and remembered a joke I had told him earlier — it added a nice personal touch to the service. Congrats on the promotion Rob and kudos to Tires Plus for picking the right man for the job — with service like that I’ll be a repeat customer for sure!

I have been here twice and after the first time, I said to myself that I would never go back. I should have listened to myself. The managers seem ok but their workshop staff are as incompetent as you get. I assumed that a tire shop would know how to balance a tire. I was wrong. They told me my wheel was bent which was inconceivable as it was fine just before they got their hands on it. Turns out they do not know how to balance a tire as I took the car to the dealer and they fixed what Tires Plus screwed up. My mechanic tells me that 9 out of 10 times they have to send a car over there, they end up having to make an insurance claim on the damage these guys do.

The guys at Tires Plus were fantastic. I dropped my car off for an oil change on a busy Saturday afternoon (without an appointment) and they were super friendly and helpful. Not only did they have super cheap rates ($ 20 fo the oil change), but they also rotated the tires and filled them, checked and refilled all the car’s fluids totally for free! No extra hidden costs or additions to the bill, and my car was ready really quickly. I’ll definitely go back here next time I need regular maintenance!

Home of the upsell!
No matter why you go to Tires Plus, they will try to add to the list of repairs you need. The guy who does your paperwork is trained in the art of up-​selling (a sales strategy where the seller will provide opportunities to purchase related products or services, often for the sole purpose of making a larger sale).
Need a battery? No you «need a battery, new cables and a new alternator.»
Need new tires? No you «need new tires, a wheel alignment, and lubrication.»
I used to take my car here for PA state inspection (which is a rip-​off to begin with; how does checking that the gas cap is tight qualify as a $ 50 emissions inspection?).
First year I didn’t pass due to a burned out bulb that illuminates the license plate. So that added $ 40 to the inspection tab. Who knew it takes 45 minutes to replace a bulb?! The next year, I didn’t pass, –due to a burned out bulb that illuminates the license plate. Another $ 40. At least they could have dreamed up another reason for not passing; these guys are shifty AND lazy. So the third year I decided to have some fun. Just as the guy was getting ready to tell me I didn’t pass yet again, I interrupted him and said,” Let me guess, I need a bulb replaced that illuminates the license plate.” The guy turned ashen, stuttered and managed, «uh, no, you (pregnant pause) passed.»
It’s bad enough that you have to pay $ 70 – 90 every year to subsidize auto repair shops in PA. Why let Tires Plus screw you out of another $ 40 – 60 dollars on bulbs their technicians say are burnt out (they must keep drawers of burnt out bulbs to swap just for inspections). And if you go in for any repair, they are ready to pad the bill with questionable additional repairs.
Drive on by!