WalMart Tire & Lube Express

*** Wally-​Mart Mega-​Lo Deals (Westminster) ***
Let me start off by saying that Firestone began their quote at over $ 700! I had a 2^nd quote for about $ 550! They told me this was a good deal with a promo and all (blah blah blah). I like getting deals, and I didn’t feel that was a good deal. If I were getting performance tires for a sports car or luxury vehicle I’d probably shell out more bucks. I’ve spent decent cash on motorcycle tires in the past because that grip the road better on turns. However, the car I’m getting tires for is a standard economy vehicle that gets driven at the speed limit.
Wally-​mart had a promo on selected tires and sold me name brand tires (Good Year) at about 50% less than the other guy’s cheap price! The tires were listed as «all-​season & high performance. I kinda doubt the high performance part, but the name recognition was nice :-) I didn’t bother looking into the tire rating because the price was right. When I called into the shop there was nobody getting work done, so I ran over to take care of business!
Seriously, I don’t believe the warranty stuff. I tried to collect on a tire because it developed a massive bump on the side wall. That went nowhere so I am very skeptical of manufacturers or vendors who sell extra warranties.
Here’s what I liked…
* called in and got lucky with fast service. This place is usually packed.
* loved the great deal!
Here’s what I didn’t like…
* Nothing comes to mind. I’m just happy this transaction didn’t burn a hole in my pocket :-) ha ha ha…
Seating area = There’s a small waiting room by the tire center area to sit. They used to have a TV there, but it’s now gone. I suppose most people just do shopping while they wait for their car is worked on.
Shopping area = Clean and organized.
Restroom = clean

Called around for a quote on new tires. Walmart was the lowest at $ 527 out the door, tires, stems, taxes, fees, warranty, everything included. Called Saturday to ask about wait times. Kathy tells me it’s backed up but suggests I set an appointment. «No problem, just has to be at least 24 hours ahead of time». Scheduled for 12PM the next day.
I arrived 10 minutes early, approach a technician in the garage who tells me I need to go inside to the counter. I’m standing at the counter for 15 minutes and nobody shows up. Eventually had to call the store and ask for the auto dept. to get someone to come by.
Then I’m told I’m in the wrong place and need to go talk to someone in the garage. I spoke to another technician who told me I have 2 people ahead of me and the wait time will be 1 to 1 ½ hours, even though I made an appointment.
They finish 2 ½ hours later. I go to pay and they ring me up at $ 583, which is 56 dollars more than I was quoted for parts, labor, warranty, fees and taxes. Since they had me schedule an appointment and didn’t honor it AND overcharged me, I submitted a complaint about it. I just get a call from a lady who told me very rudely that I’m full of it because they don’t take appointments and that they’re not allowed to quote an out the door price. Seriously? I wouldn’t waste the time and gas to go anywhere for tires without a quote, let alone walmart of all places.
I ended up paying more than Big O, America’s Tire & even Firestone quoted. My car is also pulling to the right now. I took a closer look and they slapped a huge wheel weight on my front right, so now I need to go pay more money for someone competent to balance my tires again. Stay away from here. You will be lied to, overcharged & pay for sloppy work.

Oil change dept closes at 8 it’s not even 7 yet and they denied me an oil change service. I guess too lazy to do a simple oil change with an hour left and one car inline and I’m sure the employee will lie about something but I heard him say he was ready to go home… With an hour of work left dick

Before I start ranting about my most recent experience w/​a relatively newer vehicle, I have to say they did do a decent job (oil change) on my older vehicles.
HOWEVER, yesterday I took the a 2010 Prius to Walmart for an oil change (will never do this again), and they told me the filter was too tight and could not change the oil. They blamed it on the «last person that did your oil screwed it on too tightly». Turns out they did not have the right TOOL to unscrew the filter.
So I drove it off and heard the car making strange noises. Luckily another vehicle pulled up and told me there’s a panel loose and i’m dragging it. WtF! Turns out they didn’t secure the plastic cover underneath the car. (picture uploaded to Unilocal) Went back and they «fixed it». Drove off and heard it again! WtFx2! This time a bit more frustrated, came back again and they seem to correctly secure it.
During this 3^rd time back, the manager told me they had actually put fresh oil in the Prius even though the first guy said they couldn’t. Anyhow, I didn’t want to stay or argue w/​them any longer so drove home.
So in the 2 hours at Walmart, they were able to screw up the bottom panel, waste my time and gas, and loose my family and I as customers forever.
I think I’m being fair by giving them an 2 stars for their past service, but this experience was enough to bid the lube and tire department at the Westminster and all Walmarts goodbye!
************ update ***********
Upon further review, I cannot place the blame on Wal-​Mart. Turns out, Toyota is the one to blame. It’s a known faulty part made by Toyota, and they are not using a recall (yet).
This is very similar to the 2007 scion tc trunk handle. After years of complaints by numerous owners, they finally issued a recall.