Firestone Complete Auto Care

Address:	40 Arsenal St, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
Phone:	+1 617-607-3040
Site:	firestonecompleteautocare.com
Rating:	3.3
Working:	7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–6PM Closed

Location

Photos 20

Reviews 4

Tony L

They (Sal and Jessie) messed up one of my outer tie rod ends during a routine alignment and did not take ownership of it. Instead they tried to upsell it to me that I needed both sides replaced. Beware of their integrity and be ready to confront any fishy business. Full story: I have a Firestone lifetime alignment. Have had it for more than 3 years now. Dropped my car off for a routine (6 month) alignment check. Got a call later in the day from Sal that I needed new outer tie rod ends because they couldnt get them off. They had the parts. He wouldnt charge me for the right one because he said, "Thats on us." Didnt outright admit fault but more or less did with that phrase. Why else would he pay for one side? I decided to pass on the couple hundred dollars it would cost. In my mind, Im like, "How bad could it be?" I figured Id talk to him in person when I pick up the car to sort things out. When I get there to pick it up, Sal is not there and wont be in for the next week because of managers training. I talk to Jessie and he wont outright deny that they damaged my car but he also wont admit it. Im also not good with confrontation so I didnt really know how to deal with people who will just straight up lie to my face. My previous car had some worn out tie rod ends and I drove it for a while like that so I just take my car and go home. A week later I have a look at my car (Im somewhat handy with maintenance). The play is ridiculous. I definitely would have noticed this when I changed out my snow tires/wheels the month before. Plus you can see the heat mark on the tie rod end from where they took a torch to it to try to break the locking nut free. I call Sal about it. He denied damaging it. Says he wouldnt do me like that. Well, he certainly did. And now its basically a "he said, she said" situation. No hard proof either way. Also, they said they had difficulty with the adjustment because things were rusty and seized together. Firestone is the only place thats been touching my alignment for the last 3+ years. How about you use some anti-seize when you work with parts that you know will be adjusted again in the future. In the end, I replaced the outer tie rod end myself. ($30 part) I should have caused a big ruckus that same day and not let them get away with this. To top off this whole experience, I asked them to look at some uneven wear on my tires. They still charged me the $9.99 inspection fee!

Patrick McCabe

I brought my care there on a Friday after it had been overheating for a little while, and they diagnosed the problem quickly and told me what I would need to do to fix it. It needed a great deal of work done, so I chose to forgo that work as I had already put enough money into the vehicle, and figured I could make it back home and junk the car for a little cash. Well, I didnt make it far from Firestone just as the nice mechanic had warned me, although I didnt listen. I broke down about a mile from the Firestone and had it towed back to the store. I came back the following Monday and told the guys at Firestone my situation, and I decided to get the work done that I previously passed on. Later in the day I received a phone call from Firestone - it wasnt good news. It turned out I had done even more damage to the engine when I drove away and broke down, and I basically needed a new motor. Because I had already authorized the guys at Firestone to do the work, I figured I would be stuck with the fairly large bill with no car on top of it. When I went down to Firestone later in the week on a Friday to pay for it and grab some belongings out of my car, I had a conversation with the gentleman I had originally met my first trip there and explained my situation. Even though he was not obligated to, he offered to actually do away with the bill. I was astonished and honestly couldnt believe that they would voluntarily put my wants and needs before their own profit. They may have passed on my money this particular time, but I guarantee they will see a great deal of business from me and the many people I will refer Firestone to in the future. Their honesty and terrific customer service was a great change of pace from almost every other mechanic Ive dealt with in the past. I know where Im going the next time I have car problems.

Anonymous User

I went to Firestone for an oil change and alignment because all my usual guys were booked up. They did a decent enough job of aligning my wheels, even though one guy dropped some huge device from atop the raised platform in mid alignment because it wasnt secured (I watched them carefully). Then they told me a few of the rotor screws (where lugnuts go) were messed up and I needed to replace them for $90. They told me it was a 30 minute job. Would not budge on the price. I watched them do it in 10 minutes. $90 for two f*king screws. Now driving on the highway earlier my check engine light is on. I drive a Honda. The check engine light NEVER goes on. Reading other reviews Im sure they punctured a hole in something or loosened a clamp. How do you screw up an oil change and an alignment? Please trust me. Its not a bargain. There are no deals here. If you go here once, youll have to go SOMEWHERE again to spend money fixing what those pieces of $h!it messed up. You will be absolutely furious with the service. Unless you dont know better... then youll probably get taken advantage of and rate the experience highly. And for the love of god dont get the "full systems check." You give them $20 more dollars to f*k up your ride. They got two stars only because they didnt outright slash my tires to my face and tell me I need new ones.

Tomas Palacios

I bought a set of 4 new tires here a few years ago. At that time, I also bought the Road Hazard Insurance that pays for the repair/replacement of the tires in case of damage. A few days ago, I had a flat tire and I went to Firestone to repair it. Because the damage was too close to the edge of the tire, they had to replace the tire completely (and I paid a prorated amount). The problem came when in addition to the prorated amount (which is clearly described in the insurance paperwork), they wanted to also charge me for balancing the tire (which should be free according to the insurance paperwork) and for a new insurance for the tire (which they told me was "compulsory"). These two charges didnt make any sense even though they told me that "they always charge them when they replace the tires due to road damage with insurance". After arguing with them for 15 min and going back to the original paperwork to show them that they shouldnt charge for this, I was able to get these two charges removed. Really poor experience. On a side note... the road hazard insurance pays for the replacement of the damaged tire, however in AWD vehicle you are supposed to change all 4 tires at once. The insurance wont pay for the other three tires...