# Phoenix Uber: DON'T TRUST FIRESTONE for inspection



## OldTownSean (Aug 14, 2014)

This relates to pay because you may not be getting paid if you trust the scam artists at Firestone to do your inspection. Yes I have documentation to back this up in case anyone at Firestone wants to get in line to sue me. 

I went to Firestone 3 weeks ago for my inspection and they failed me claiming I needed 600$ worth of front end work on my trailblazer which only has 66k miles. 

I immediately went to my own mechanic who looked at it (for free ... much love to Bo Knows Tire and Auto Repair in San Tan Valley) and he said not only was the work not a safety concern at all, but if I needed it, he would do it for 250$ (less than half).

I immediately fired off an email to uber support in Phoenix with all the info and they told me to go to Royal Car Care (1111 n. Miller in Tempe). This shop is independently owned by an honest guy. 

Needless to say, I passed my inspection at this place no problem and he advised me on a couple things I may need done in the future but there are no safety hazards on my car.

I would like to use my own trusted mechanic for my inspection, but since this isn't possible yet, DON'T waste your time or money with the scam artists at Firestone! It's worth the extra time and gas to go to Royal Car Care in Tempe. They will not try to rip you off and the inspection is only 15$, not 20$. 

Call for appointment though, I was sent away Monday because they were too busy.


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## Narkos (Aug 5, 2014)

I agree to not trust Firestone for inspection, but my reason is a bit different than yours. I had my vehicle serviced by the dealer (scheduled maintenance), took the receipt to Firestone and they did a "quick visual" inspection - vehicle passed (I did not want to leave my vehicle with them). I, then, looked at the receipt when I got home and they put incorrect vehicle information on it! My vehicle is a 2013 with 27,000 miles, yet they have it listed as a 2005 with 105,000 miles, and an incorrect VIN#! If you do choose Firestone, I would recommend carefully going over the paperwork to make sure they have the correct vehicle information listed, especially on the receipt.


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## buster11xx (Aug 13, 2014)

Unfortunately they are not making any $$ on $20.00 inspections. The real money is in the repairs. I saw this coming when the email went out for mandatory inspections of all cars in a short period of time. Luckily my car was new enough to pass everything (under 2,000 miles). There have been plenty of stories going around of cars that would not pass. When I was there another driver was told they needed $800 in repairs to be road worthy. Firestone rep told the driver if he did not get the work done on the spot they would send a note to Uber for deactivation.


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## OldTownSean (Aug 14, 2014)

Yeah I saw it coming too ... having grown up in the Phx metro area and knowing Firestones rep.

Hopefully Uber will open the inspection process up to any ASE certified shop in the future so the big chains can't rape drivers. I'm sure there were some that didn't know any better and got fully taken. 

Anyway, props to our local Phoenix Uber support for turning me on to Royal car care in Tempe. I was really scared when I went in without knowing the type of business they ran and when I left I was comfortable enough that I would have work done there if I broke down on that side of town.


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## Droosk (Sep 1, 2014)

Meh. I used the firestone at 35th Ave and Bethany, took about an hour (Including an oil change), passed with flying colors. No issues at all.


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## UberMalibu (Sep 6, 2014)

Firestone is a load of crock. I have done a handful of mystery shops for them in the past few years. 9/10 times...how convenient that they find nails and screws in my tires. F them, I'll go find a used tire for $10 rather than shell out $50+ for a new one. Often times it is when doing an inspection. Great assignment if you just bought a used car, you know right off the bat what work needs to be done and ultimately it doesn't cost you anything because they give you back your $20. The nails don't happen so much with oil changes.

I did have two incidents where they put the wrong vehicle information on the paperwork. One of the questions is would you return, both times a big fat no. Because if they can't get that right...wonder what else they might mess up on. One was a Geo Prism, they listed it as a Toyota. Turns out there is an old school Toyota that looks identical to the Geo Prism. So that just shows laziness on their part. The other, I just bought the car, registered it, etc. 100% positive of the year, the guy insists it is a year older "based on the door panel". I would have walked out if I wasn't getting the service for free. That was insulting to say the least.


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## OldTownSean (Aug 14, 2014)

UberMalibu said:


> Firestone is a load of crock. I have done a handful of mystery shops for them in the past few years. 9/10 times...how convenient that they find nails and screws in my tires. F them, I'll go find a used tire for $10 rather than shell out $50+ for a new one. Often times it is when doing an inspection. Great assignment if you just bought a used car, you know right off the bat what work needs to be done and ultimately it doesn't cost you anything because they give you back your $20. The nails don't happen so much with oil changes.
> 
> I did have two incidents where they put the wrong vehicle information on the paperwork. One of the questions is would you return, both times a big fat no. Because if they can't get that right...wonder what else they might mess up on. One was a Geo Prism, they listed it as a Toyota. Turns out there is an old school Toyota that looks identical to the Geo Prism. So that just shows laziness on their part. The other, I just bought the car, registered it, etc. 100% positive of the year, the guy insists it is a year older "based on the door panel". I would have walked out if I wasn't getting the service for free. That was insulting to say the least.


How did you get your 20$ back?


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## OldTownSean (Aug 14, 2014)

I've found that privately owned shops, where you deal directly with the owner, give you a better chance of a fair deal.

I don't know it I'd risk my ride with a Craigslist backyard guy though lol.

Corporate chains have high overhead and even if it's a franchise, the owner has to pay huge fees to the corporation. Managers at corporate chains have to meet their sales goals or they get fired or miss bonuses. All this money has to come from someone and that someone is the fools they sucker into overpriced or unnecessary work.


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## mp775 (Jun 26, 2014)

UberMalibu said:


> Firestone is a load of crock. I have done a handful of mystery shops for them in the past few years. 9/10 times...how convenient that they find nails and screws in my tires. F them, I'll go find a used tire for $10 rather than shell out $50+ for a new one.


Pep Boys will repair punctures for free if you're a Rewards member. You can tell the folks at Firestone you're bringing it there once they find the screws .



> One was a Geo Prism, they listed it as a Toyota. Turns out there is an old school Toyota that looks identical to the Geo Prism.


The Prizm was just a rebadged Corolla.


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## PDX2012 (Dec 15, 2014)

OldTownSean said:


> I've found that privately owned shops, where you deal directly with the owner, give you a better chance of a fair deal.
> 
> I don't know it I'd risk my ride with a Craigslist backyard guy though lol.
> 
> Corporate chains have high overhead and even if it's a franchise, the owner has to pay huge fees to the corporation. Managers at corporate chains have to meet their sales goals or they get fired or miss bonuses. All this money has to come from someone and that someone is the fools they sucker into overpriced or unnecessary work.


Firestone Deja Vu - check my post at https://uberpeople.net/threads/uber-inspection-in-md.6186/


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## ElectroFuzz (Jun 10, 2014)

This was my experience:
https://uberpeople.net/threads/vehicle-inspection-now-only-at-pre-approved-stations.2368/


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

Chain anything sucks.

Chain restaurants suck
Chain car repair sucks
Chain haircuts suck
Chain tire stores suck


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