Kal Tire not a Repair Shop

Dean2 · #1 05-17-2019, 09:56 AM

Took the car in for a tire rotation to their St Albert location. Have come to understand that Kal Tire is good for tires and tire service. DO NOT believe what they tell you about the condition of you vehicle. Was told I had two rear Struts and one front strut leaking and need to be replaced. Took the car to the Lexus dealer, all Struts are perfectly fine. Same thing happened on my 4Runner, said it needed new ball joints etc, dealer checked them, all well within spec. Both vehicles drive perfectly fine, no wander, no wobble, no uneven tire wear etc. On top of that, absolutely no comment about the check engine light and check VSC System warning being illuminated on the dash. (Was just a loose gas cap but surprised they missed a pretty big warning sign) Kind of wonder if they were driving it with their eyes closed.

Very good place to get tires and have tires rotated etc but definitely no a repair shop. Would like to think it is only poor training and not intentionally recommending work not needed. I am sure many of you have similar stories.

Really getting bad when you need a second option on car repairs. Used to reserve that for major medical.

bc8x8 · #2 05-17-2019, 10:27 AM

I agree with you. Took my truck in to have the tires changed, winters to summer. I was told that the truck needed an oil change as the oil was dirty. I told them that it was a diesel and had been changed about 1 K ago. Their answer was...O. guess that its OK then.

Dick284 · #3 05-17-2019, 10:40 AM

Not all Tire shoppes are equal.

I’ve got my guy here in town, that is a tire shop(no need to advertise) he’s awesome for everything.

If you go down the road to his competition, who our work says we must take our work trucks(better fleet pricing, which is a crock, and is being driven by some bimbo in Calgary who has a friend blah blah blah) these guys can barely fix a flat let alone do front end repairs. But apparently the same franchise down south does awesome work.

Choose your repair and tire shoppes like you choose doctors, gun smiths and taxidermists.

artie · #4 05-17-2019, 10:53 AM

Some guys have good luck with Kal tire others not so good.I quit going to one location when I took a flat tire in to be fixed. I had the tire off the truck and just wheeled it in. They had the tire off the rim to fix the hole so I asked them to flip the tire over when they installed it so the white wall was on the inside. Got the bill and they charged me full price for fixing a flat and then they charged me full price for flipping the tire over so the whitewall was in. Never went back there. But I had my last tires installed at a different Kal tire and took it for a test drive. The tires were so out of balance that I took it right back to them They told me to have a seat and they would get at it. I sat there all afternoon and then around closing time they told me I would have to come back in the morning. Probably a good thing as then I got a different tech who did admit the tires were out of balance. So I would have to find a Kal tire with a good rep before I would go back to them.

Dean2 · #5 05-17-2019, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artie

Some guys have good luck with Kal tire others not so good.I quit going to one location when I took a flat tire in to be fixed. I had the tire off the truck and just wheeled it in. They had the tire off the rim to fix the hole so I asked them to flip the tire over when they installed it so the white wall was on the inside. Got the bill and they charged me full price for fixing a flat and then they charged me full price for flipping the tire over so the whitewall was in. Never went back there. But I had my last tires installed at a different Kal tire and took it for a test drive. The tires were so out of balance that I took it right back to them They told me to have a seat and they would get at it. I sat there all afternoon and then around closing time they told me I would have to come back in the morning. Probably a good thing as then I got a different tech who did admit the tires were out of balance. So I would have to find a Kal tire with a good rep before I would go back to them.

If I EVER have a problem with them balancing tires I will quit them completely. Tire service was the only thing I thought they actually do well.

I use a private repair shop here in Edm that was recommended by 3 people here on AO when I moved to Edm 6 years ago. He is absolutley great. Just had him do the timing belt on the Lexus, he was less than half what the dealer quoted. Hard to find good guys and I will stick with Bill as long as I live here.

JB_AOL · #6 05-17-2019, 10:43 AM

Honest mechanics/service centers are VERY hard to come by.

My brother brought his jeep srt8 in for a recall at a "good" local jeep
dealership, he got a phone call mid day and they told them he needed a new set of tires. He went in and talked to the service writer, asked to see the paperwork, and asked them to confirm with the mechanic.
After they both came back and said YES, he asked to go see the tire depth gauge with the mechanic. My brother kept confirming as they were walking that it was the right jeep, etc. The mechanic then put the gauge on and said, "look they're shot" (I'm not sure he knew how to read a tire gauge), only for my brother to proceed to show the mechanic the stickers still on the tire as he had literally just replaced them yesterday.

I'm pretty sure the dealership was trying to sell him tires he already owned.

Needless to say, he won't be going back.

I have heard numerous stories like this. It's scary how much credit people give these "professionals".

urban rednek · #7 05-17-2019, 10:44 AM

Kal Tire was my go-to for many years. Then about 10 years ago, something changed. Their prices went up, they could no longer manage to balance the tires they sold, and they started recommending unneeded mechanical work. It was like they were trying to match the WalMart and Canadian Tire service center experience for people who don't know anything about vehicles.

Too bad to hear that they have not improved over the last decade.

ghostguy6 · #8 05-17-2019, 11:01 AM

One thing you have to remember at places like this they usually have kids and in some cases apprentices do the tires and leave the technical repairs to mechanics. Quite often these kids see a minor issue like a sweating seal and think leak without it ever being confirmed by the mechanics. The "bounce test" for suspension might reveal a squeak but they cant confirm exactly where it came. There also could be a problem between the tire tech and the guy working the counter. Since the guy working the counter's job is to sell the services often they will play up a minor issue hoping you will not know better so you will fix it immediately. Often little things resulted in "false reports", something like the owner changed the thermostat a few days ago but missed cleaning the spilled antifreeze from the oil pan. This would result in the kid looking for cooling system leak that wasn't really there. Most shops wont start that procedure until the customer approves it because it cost them time and money but the poor kid can only write "suspected leak" on the work order. Another factor could be the vehicle specs themselves. Brakes pads for example come in different thickness for different vehicles but shops use a generic go - no go (green, yellow, red) gauge for quick reference. My truck for example reads in the yellow range for new pads. This meant lots of false reports for worn brakes because we werent allowed to spend the time to look up the actual spec. Once the customer approves then the vehicle gets kicked up to the mechanic who finds out nothing is really wrong.
Another train of thought is the shop could be held liable if they don't report the suspected issue and something goes wrong so they are telling you to cover their own asses.
Since you specifically mentioned the check engine light, that is a separate service now, they charge to scan you engine so unless it is a complaint when the tech is handed the sheet they wont scan it unless its a new issue caused by the repairs.

nimrod · #9 05-17-2019, 11:43 AM

I had a coupon for a oil change, 40 dollars off, told them I wanted 0w30 oil for winter, when I went to pick up my truck, 140 bill for me, so this was a 180 oil change for a gas truck, called the Vancouver main office, to tell them, they said call the local shop, no help at all with this 140 charge for the oil change, no business from me after this Camrose location

Erik · #10 05-17-2019, 11:53 AM

I think a lot has changed with Kal Tire in the last few years. I noticed that when you used to buy tires from them you got complimentary summer/winter changeover. It was even written on the paper attached to the purchase. Now they try charging $40 for a changeover with tires purchased from them. I'm not sure I'll even be retaining my tire business with them any longer.

nebcfarmer · #11 05-17-2019, 12:01 PM

Took my work truck to kal for an alignment & told them to look at the front end because I was seeing irregular wear on both drives and a lot of play.

Got the truck back with “couldn’t find anything” your good to go, figured maybe it was badly out of alignment.

Took it to where I take my personal vehicles in FSJ (private shop) for a transmission fluid change and got them to inspect the front end as well, got a phone call both upper and lower ball joints both sides were completely shot, had to get them done on the spot as it’s a registered 5500.

F’n Kal.....

tri777 · #12 05-17-2019, 12:14 PM

LOL at the timing of this, was just there last week for a 'wellness check' on car,
here's the thing though, i always look,go over, crawl underneath all my cars/trucks real good before letting
any shop put their finger prints all over it. I get the assessment done, an lo & behold,
there was freshly squirted oil on the 2 front inside front fenders of course followed by:
"you'll be needing your two front struts changed out"

And don't ever get me started on fountain tire..after seeing the plier teeth gouged into the 2 nuts on the
newly installed master cylinder, never again visiting.

buckbrush · #13 05-17-2019, 12:16 PM

I think it has a lot to do with staff. I use OK tire for all my work and have for 10 years. It’s the only local mechanic. Although it is a tire shop they do pretty much anything. Having a good reputation in a small town often says a lot. I once took my truck in to them and got a quote for 3k to fix my diesel. I didn’t think twice because I trust them. Few hours later the owner called telling me it was done and they found a different part causing the problem cost 210 to fix. They could have said it was 3k and I would have paid it. Just confirmed my trust.

nafiul15 · #14 05-17-2019, 08:20 PM

My own experience just about tires

Went to quote for winter tires and i wanted with rim. It was a CRV with 20 inches or 19 inches rims forgot. I asked if I can buy 17 inches rim so that I can save money. The guy looked at my tires and said it will too short due to my brake system and he has no 19 inches rim in steel. Offered me 4 alloy rims for $1400 (my CRV's rims from Honda will be cheaper than those 4 rims). Oh than he asked for tire pressure monitor without even confirming if i need tire pressure monitor. Total came up to $5000.

Took my car to Costco and confirmed from Honda if i can use 17 inches rim and if I need tire pressure monitor. Same CRV in base trim uses 17 inches rims and CRV dont require tire pressure monitors.

Bought rims and winter tires with installation and tax under $1000.

Please do your research before buying tires and DONT GO TO I****S LIKE KAL TIRE

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean2

Took the car in for a tire rotation to their St Albert location. Have come to understand that Kal Tire is good for tires and tire service. DO NOT believe what they tell you about the condition of you vehicle. Was told I had two rear Struts and one front strut leaking and need to be replaced. Took the car to the Lexus dealer, all Struts are perfectly fine. Same thing happened on my 4Runner, said it needed new ball joints etc, dealer checked them, all well within spec. Both vehicles drive perfectly fine, no wander, no wobble, no uneven tire wear etc. On top of that, absolutely no comment about the check engine light and check VSC System warning being illuminated on the dash. (Was just a loose gas cap but surprised they missed a pretty big warning sign) Kind of wonder if they were driving it with their eyes closed.

Very good place to get tires and have tires rotated etc but definitely no a repair shop. Would like to think it is only poor training and not intentionally recommending work not needed. I am sure many of you have similar stories.

Really getting bad when you need a second option on car repairs. Used to reserve that for major medical.

leeaspell · #15 05-17-2019, 10:26 PM

Last year at work we switched from using who ever we wanted to using element fleet cards and their recommended places for all our maintenance, the 3 big three in most small towns. None of which I was a huge fan of, except for maybe tires, but element only lets us use Duratracs so that was limited to Fountain based on price.

My go to place was Autopro. Sure his prices may have been a bit more, or maybe not I dunno, but when you needed work or broke down Ted and the guys got ya in and out and back on the road again in a very timely manner. In my opinion thats way more important than saving $5 on an oil change.

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