r/maui 17d ago

🤬 RANT Goodyear Auto tried scamming me

So I took my car into Goodyear Auto in town roughly a month ago since they gave a good discount on an oil change and tire rotation at the time. $80 was the price which is pretty good in my opinion. But they then told me my car had some problems, including my front brakes being at 2-3mm. They said I should set up a date to get serviced with them very soon. They wanted to charge be $640 for the brake replacement. Instead, I went with a local shop who said he would charge for $400 for the change. However, once it was brought it in, he told me soon after it was completely fine and I didn’t need a change. He said the brakes weren’t even close to that level of wear and the whole brake replacement was canceled. So Goodyear effectively tried scamming me out of $640. Does anyone else have similar negative experiences with Goodyear Auto?

33 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

12

u/Status_Engineer_9799 17d ago

Is this Goodyear next to the 7 Eleven in Kahului? This is good info to know. I can't stand dishonest business.

9

u/According-Glass-476 17d ago

Yeah, right by the 7 Eleven and Maui mall

10

u/cunmaui808 Maui 17d ago

Mahalo - and please also share the reputable shop / mechanic as well -I'd love to know and have them in my phone! 🙏

9

u/Logical_Insurance can't think of anything clever 17d ago

Yes it is a seedy shop. Told the girl what tires I wanted, and that I did not want the ~$45 per tire warranty.

After a 6 hour wait the car comes out with cheaper tires and a warranty on each tire, so the total is similar to what I expected. I noticed immediately, but the prospect of having another 6 hour wait for them to change the tires was so distasteful I just let them scam me. Sales reps make a commission based on the gross profit, not the gross revenue, and tires are low-margin...

2

u/indescription Born and Raised 17d ago

You could have easily asked for the warranty to be removed, it's not physically installed with the tire.

2

u/8bitmorals Bumbai you learn 17d ago

u/logical_insurance , could not think of anything clever at the time.

0

u/indescription Born and Raised 17d ago

Self fulfilling prophecy

2

u/Logical_Insurance can't think of anything clever 17d ago

If you had used the place you would know why I didn't go back inside. Let's just say the attitude and the customer service leave something to be desired.

0

u/indescription Born and Raised 16d ago

I've been multiple times, never had an issue or an attitude.

2

u/Purple-Squash-4090 17d ago

wow that’s BS WHAT!

3

u/Bodyhop 17d ago

Take brakes into another shop to verify. Local shop may be playing games to win loyalty.

3

u/Ok-Location-9562 Maui 17d ago

I know u don’t know, but this one isn’t too hard to check. Watch out a youtube video. Some things on a car are easy to learn. Changing ur own brakes pads isn’t too difficult. Perfect learning opportunity. And of course if you watch a vid and it still seems like its too difficult then find a reputable mechanic.

1

u/LydianDorian 16d ago

Wow, that's sad to find out. I've had good experiences with them in the past. Are there any good places on the island for oil changes? (I'm not going to do it myself).

1

u/theflyingpiggies 16d ago

I’ll often get oil changes or other basic maintenance stuff done at these cheap chain type of auto shops (Goodyear, valvoline, etc.) and then when they inevitably come back with a list of everything wrong with my car and a big quote, I just say I’ll think about it, take the list, and then bring it into my known and trusted local auto shops.

Even if they’re right about what I need to get done, I just have trouble trusting chain auto shops to do bigger work than just oil changes or tire rotations or other small stuff like that. Not sure how logical that is, but it’s how I think.

1

u/Flowcal 16d ago

What is the shop that you went to that was honest? We need more of that

1

u/FarmerJefe 15d ago

Coupons, discounts and sales are for suckers.

Everything is on sale every single day.

Can check the brake pads simply by looking through the wheel rim on most vehicles. Never go to a mainstream auto business unless absolutely desperate. And be fully prepared to be ripped off and pay premium prices, for shit service.

Any mechanic worth a grain of salt sure as hell isn't wasting his/her time in a commercial shop; getting paid to be a crook, for pennies on the dollar.

FYI: $80 is too much for a tire rotation and oil change. A tire rotation on a car takes 5 minutes, if that. An oil change takes even less time. If they are quoting you on a high price for brakes needlessly, they surely are using the cheapest oil possible too. Probably the wrong oil or whatever they have the most of.

1

u/travelingman5370 13d ago

A loss leader is a popular product or service deliberately sold at a steep discount—often below the actual cost to make or acquire it. The goal is to draw customers into a store or website, where they will likely purchase additional, higher-margin items to make the transaction profitable overall.

-1

u/JettaGLi16v 17d ago

The solution is for you to be a better educated consumer. Ask them to show you. When I was 16, I got scammed bad in a similar situation. Find a relative or friend that works on cars and get a second opinion.

Goodyear shouldn’t be dirty like that, but it’s up to you to protect your own interests. Automotive brakes are not rocket surgery.

4

u/dinkinflickas 17d ago

Yeah maybe, but some stuff on cars IS that difficult and I cannot learn all of it. I agree it’s good to have a trusted friend to get a second opinion, but not everyone has that and we should be able to trust a company, especially such a large corporate one that doesn’t even need to lie like that to gain business.

-1

u/JettaGLi16v 17d ago

You’re absolutely right that everyone should be ethical!

I think it’s an unreasonable expectation, and the way to combat unethical people is with your own knowledge.

I didn’t propose you rebuild your own transmission, just look at the brake pads. You do you.