Big E Tire & Auto Service

Last week I went for an inspection at the Front St location and was told by Tim that I needed several repairs done to the tune of $1,323 before he would pass my vehicle. Of all repairs I was informed needed to be done, one was that the front lights were "blown". All lights have been checked by another professional, and each light works great. I was also told over the phone first thing in the morning that none of my brakes worked, the rotor was so bad that it could break in two and the sway bar was faulty. My back brakes were new and the rotor and sway bar were fine. Upon further inspection, a new shiny part was found, which leads me to wonder if something was broken at the shop and then quickly repaired when I said I would be picking it up to have repairs done elsewhere. The only thing that actually needed to be done was an alignment. I'm not sure if he attempted to rip me off because I'm a woman and perceived to be stupid, or if he needs more training. Waste of my time and $10.50.

So to start with, I’ve used Big-E for a variety of car services; tires & brakes mostly. But I’ve had 2 recent issues they mis-diagnosed. Leads me to believe they outright misled the customer (me) into paying for something that didn’t need be fixed. #1) The latest was brakes they replaced last year: wanted another new pair of rotors, pads & pistons ~ $800. Parts had < 5000 miles so something seemed wrong in their assessment. Took it to the car dealer and they found nothing wrong!? #2) Rumbling noise under car and seemed to come from rear drive. So after replacing tires & brakes, they thought it was the rear differential drive ~ $3500. Took it back to the car dealer and they found the drive shaft universal joint was locked up which was a couple hundred! Bottom line : Would skip the folks if possible. Compare troubleshooting before trusting thier word … would only buy tires from these folks, if that!

LADIES BEWARE!!! I asked my husband to get a quote on tires since he was already there getting his truck tires changed. Tim quoted him an estimate of $400 on tires with mounting, balancing and taxes. When I stopped by to make the appt, he started giving me a song and dance. He said I would have to change all 4 tires or void the warranty if he changed just two. What's truly funny is I didn't need any new tires at all. Had he taken the time to actually inspect my tires like they did at Sam's Club he would have seen I didn't need any, but he would have ripped me off by changing all 4.

We planned on getting new tires all around towards the end of the summer, but on our drive up from NYC had a blowout on the HWY. I was looking to just find a used tire to temporarily replace the one until I did the full replacement. But Rob was very helpful and not only got me a great deal on a new tire, but it was 2pm on a Saturday when I called , and they close at 3:30. He told me to bring it in they got me in and out in less than half an hour! Great service, very straightforward and honest on top of a great deal! Couldn’t ask for more. We’ve found our new “Go To” for tires !!

Made an appointment for 12PM. Asked @ 1:30 PM, how much longer I can expect to wait & was told another 40 mins. Was confused at this timeline. I understood they need to conduct business, but needed someone to explain to me how I seen 3 different people come in and get service, while I’m waiting for snow tires to get changed out? I can appreciate the gentleman’s honesty at the desk, as he told me “we don’t have an excuse”. Had I NOT been told it would be a half hour, and needing to cancel something that was at 1:30pm, I wouldn’t have had an issue. Rob said he wasn’t sure why someone would give me that information, of 30 mins, but moving forward it would be roughly an hour, which makes more sense. Although I was frustrated for what had transpired, I feel like they understood the issue and tried to make it right. Thank you Rob & Big E Tire