Firestone Complete Auto Care

10733 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, USA

Address:	10733 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, USA
Phone:	+1 510-995-0127
Site:	firestonecompleteautocare.com
Rating:	2.6
Working:	7AM–6PM 7AM–6PM 7AM–6PM 7AM–6PM 7AM–6PM 7AM–6PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 21

Reviews 6

Anonymous User

I brought the car in because they were one of the few places open on a Sunday and I had a flat and also needed to get the alignment fixed. I dropped the car off and then returned at the appointed time to find that my car was just then being put on the lift to get the alignment straightened out. I sat in the waiting area for an additional hour while they worked on it. Eventually the guy called me over and said they were "finished." He said there was a small problem with the center cap (small hub cap that covers the bolts) and he handed it to me. "When my guy went to pull it off, it just broke." One of the little tabs that holds the cap inside the wheel broke and the cap would no longer stay in place. "So, uh, sorry" he said. I got a bit upset then and told him that I wanted to pay only for a regular alignment instead of the "lifetime alignment" that he had sold me on earlier, as I wouldnt be coming back to a Firestone shop any time soon. He said that that wouldnt be necessary since they werent able to get the alignment unstuck and there would be no charge. (Wow, Sweet. No charge for not fixing the thing you were unable to fix. That right there was the highlight of my visit.) He was feeling so generous that he wasnt even going to charge me for the alignment check and Id only have to pay for the patch. He rang me up and it was $30, which is only about ten bucks more than I usually pay. Thanks for not charging me for failing to fix my alignment. Thanks for the year old magazines I got to read while smelling the patchouli-stink woman who came in and sat down to wait next to me. Thanks for breaking my little hubcap that, since its a German car (my fault), will no doubt cost me $75 to replace. Thanks for making me wait an hour while I looked at your "Done Right; Done on Time" guarantee poster. Thanks for making my car worse off than when I brought it in and only charging me $30 for the privilege. Thanks for leaving me so incensed after a visit to the tire store that I sat down to review it hours later when I got home.

Anonymous User

Went in complaining of belt noise that I believe was coming from the tensioner pulley, also of a small fuel leak. They found neither but fixed a tie rod end. So after $600 neither of the issues I had were resolved. I know that what they fixed did need attention, so cant complain too much. I just wished they listened a little more to what I had to say. Just moved to Berkley from CO, where I did all my own work. So I have some idea whats going on. I wrote the above reviews right after the problem. Now about 6 months later I have an update. After not listening and addressing the tensioner pulley noise complaint, the pulley failed completely. After hitting a pot hole the spring in the tensioner broke shredding the belt and requiring another $300 in repairs at another garage. This was about 3 months after going to Firestone. Thank god the battery was strong and even with out an alternator (due to no belt) we were able to drive to a repair shop. Then about 6 months after the lower control arm that they supposedly serviced by replacing the bushings, broke completey requiring $550 more. But wait why did this other garage charge $550 to replace the whole piece, while Firestone charged $600 for just bushings? Terrible garage, will never go back. If you are in Berkeley go the Berkeley Auto Care on Telegraph. The staff is friendly, honest, and gets the job done.

Anonymous User

The good: they were out of stock of the cheapie tires I wanted, so they gave me better ones for the same price. The bad: I asked them to also do the alignment, which had been stellar on my car until then, and after all was said and done, the car pulled hard left. I took it back to them, and they agreed it was out of alignment, and "fixed" it (no charge), but it still pulled left, albeit not quite as bad. Cmon, guys--this is a tire and wheel shop! Later I took it in for the free tire rotation, which they did (I verified), but at that point they tried to sell me various routine maintenance based on my odometer reading. They didnt know my cars service history, but tried to sell me the routine maintenance anyway. At least ask if that stuff had been done! (It had just been done! Im not paying you to do it again just because my odometer happens to say 115,000!) When I got the car back from the rotation, the plastic covers for my "spikes spiders" snow chain mount points were missing. A quick query got them back--theyd forgotten to put them on. What kind of attention to detail is this?

Kate Harrison

Ive been coming here for several years and they give consistently mediocre service but today was the last straw. I called yesterday afternoon and was told that the wait for an oil change was 1.5-2 hours but that they could finish in about an hour if I made an appointment for the following day. When I showed up for my appointment this morning, I was told the wait would be 1.5-2 hours. This has unfortunately been my experience many times and today will be the last. Other than timeliness, their service has generally been good. The only other major complaint I have is about a time when I asked them to lock the keys in the car so I could pick it up after business hours. I came back to find an obvious note on the seat saying "keys in car" and the windows cracked. This was especially disturbing because theyre not in the nicest part of town and there was indeed someone rooting through the nearby garbage bin when I got there. Im glad to still have my car after they gave thieves ample opportunity!

Mark Liu

I dont know why all the low reviews. The wait here is pretty long but if they are giving you good service I dont care. I would rather wait a bit longer and get a more complete service than to get in and out in 30 minutes and have to come back the next day. Francis D is the store manager and very friendly. They didnt try to push anything on me like other shops and dealerships and this is my second time using a Firestone around the area (Berkeley one closed down). So this is likely going to be my go to place for stuff. I had them patch a tire and rotate my tires (which they do some basic inspects as well.) In total it took about 1.5 hours (because there were 3 people ahead of me) and it was much faster than they had told me it would take which was a relief I guess. The price cant be beat $30 for the whole thing because they had a $10 tire rotation deal.

Anonymous User

I will NOT come to this place ever again and advice people I know not to come. I brought my car in for an oil change and a tire rotation. One of the four tires I knew had a mark on it (which is really obvious). After the work, I got the paper and saw the rotation had been done -- only on the paper. The tire with mark was still in the same position. No other tire on the car has the same mark. I went back to see the store manager. He went to see the person who did the job. He just insisted that he had done the rotation. What a shame! I left the store and the people there even didnt offer any appology. I really doubt if they changed the oil. However, I couldnt tell because the oil was the same color as when I brougt my car in. Its really weird to have this kind of situation with people.