CBS Reports Decatur Goodyear Upsold Reporter By Over $1,100
Decatur Metro | November 9, 2009This is quite disturbing. Especially as someone who’s had quite a bit of work done at this shop.
Billy points out a recent CBSAtlanta story where a reporter went undercover at different auto repair shops across the metro area and Decatur’s own Goodyear dealership on Clairemont came out looking worst of the bunch.
After asking for a simple oil change, the other recommended “unnecessary” services at Goodyear came to over $1,100. I can’t embed CBS video, so here’s the link. CBS promises a response from the offending shops during tonight’s telecast.
Jiffy Lube up at North Decatur and Clairmont was also among the culprits.
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That’s really disappointing. Wish that the reporter had listed the shops that didn’t try to rip her off.
She said on the air that the good ones are listed on their website – haven’t checked yet, tho.
I know they are not officially in Decatur but I have had great service at least five times from Kauffman Tire on Church Street. Twice I was told by a Honda dealership that I needed work such as brake changes and when I took my car to Kauffman to do the work (that the dealership had said I must have immediately), the mechanics at Kauffman took me out to the car and showed me that I didn’t need the work (showing me how much brake pad I had remaining, etc.). Again, this happened twice. I noticed the CBS reporter didn’t talk about the five good shops in their report–only the bad ones. Wanted to note there are some good ones!
Good to know. Wonder how I’ve never asked you about where you take your car before?
I’ve had good luck with Kauffman Tire also and I’ve used them for several years. I’ve been to SO many garages in various cities and states that have tried to “upsell” me. Good thing my dad knows a lot about cars
Kaufman on Church are great. We got a new model car two years ago. Within a week we got a nail puncture in one of the tires. Well I called half of Atlanta to buy a replacement tire but nobody including the dealership we bought the car from had the tire in stock. I took the car to Kaufman and they fixed the tire for free because we had bought tires for other vehicles there before. The tire is still going strong two years/19k miles later.
I quit going to Goodyear a while ago for this very reason… and the fact that they nearly trashed my transmission but refused to refund me for the faulty work.
I’m relieved that this behavior is finally catching up to them.
I’m not surprised! Goodyear also tried to rip us off.
And I can attest to the fact that Kauffman is great!
Yup, we stopped going to Goodyear a couple of years ago when they charged us $600 for some sort of fluid change that was a ripoff. We also go to Kaufmann. This isn’t surprising to me at all.
I, too, would like the names of the guys caught being honest.
Sad to say I am not at all surprised, either, about the Goodyear exposure, based on an extremely negative experience I had there earlier this year. They have earned this bad publicity.
I like Kauffman, too, except for the fact that they did a lousy job on an alignment for me a few years ago. Had to take it elsewhere (NOT Decatur Goodyear) to have it redone.
I’m not surprised. I’ve had the same happen to me. I refuse to go there. I go to the same Midtown Tire place on N. Druid Hills Rd. — they’re way more honest.
It’s a good thing I have three hidden cameras installed in my car.
I’m glad to see that Decatur Goodyear is getting the publicity they deserve. Every time I bring my car in (mostly for oil changes) they attempt to get more $$ out of me with other repairs.
I was told the Radiator hoses needed to be replaced. Another mechanic later told me that the hoses were old, but otherwise fine. Next time I needed new brakes, again my other mechanic said they could be fixed. Of course, they usually recommend the radiator flush too.
Decatur Goodyear – it’s convenient, but that’s about all.
gosh, that’s kind of disappointing to hear. We have used Decatur Goodyear for years, mostly for maintenance, and never had any problems. It’s so convenient, too, since my husband works at Town Two and can leave his car there for the day.
Intown Autocare in Oakhurst is great. I have found that they are very friendly, reliable and honest.
Intown Autocare in Oakhurst is not my favorite. It’s takes all day to have an oil change done and they missed up my previous car so bad, having to take it back repeatly to get what they done, done over. I haven’t had a problem with Goodyear.
I haven’t heard great things about Intown Autocare. Had a great experience with Summit Auto yesterday. Machined a damaged rotor on my car when most other places I know would have told me I needed to replace it so they could get more $.
Summit Auto gets my vote and my business. I have been very happy with them. They seem to be honest and fairly priced. Good stuff.
Summit Auto gets my vote and my business. I have been very happy with them. They seem to be honest and their work is reasonably priced. Good stuff.
I am not sure why people are having such bad experiences with Intown. Brian and crew are great.
People can’t just say no? I have been in there for both oil changes and a suddenly dead battery – they always recommenced lots of extra things, and I always politely say no, and they drop it. I am a young, single, female too; stereotypically a big target for auto shops. Just say no, seriously.
People can just say no, but they can also go to a place where they don’t have to. I’ve had similar problems with the Decatur Goodyear — http://tr.im/decaturgoodyear — and stopped taking my car there long ago.
Intown Auto in Oakhurst is consistently excellent.
Mary, the problem with that approach is that I want to know when my car actually DOES need some work. If nine times out of ten, a garage is lying to me about work that is needed, how am I going to know when something really does need to be done?
What if Goodyear says my brakes are bad and I assume that it’s the same old scam and refuse the work. Then I run over someone because my brakes fail?
Mary, the problem with that approach is that I want to know when my car actually DOES need some work. If nine times out of ten, a garage is lying to me about work that is needed, how am I going to know when something really does need to be done?
What if Goodyear says my brakes are bad, and I assume that it’s the same old song and dance and refuse the work. Then I run over someone because my brakes fail?
BTW, I love Ed’s Garage out near Avondale (sort of near the Waffle House). Before I finally quit going to Goodyear, I had Ed’s give me a second opinion on some work that Goodyear recommended. Not much to look at shop wise, but they are very honest and do good work. They are also quite a bit cheaper than most places near Decatur.
Oops, double post. Itchy pinky finger I guess.
Mary you are correct. This is how auto mechanics operate, and each time they come up with something that seems unnecessary, you say no and insist that they fix what you told them to fix. You can say no. I’ll bet the reporter just kept saying yes to every new development the mechanics came up with.
And yes, it is completely dishonest, but so is how your bank, dentist, and real estate agent does business. Doesn’t make it right–but you shouldn’t be shocked–you should be informed.
Quit going there after a couple of bad experiences. Wife took car there for an oil change and they had her convinced I was the worst husband ever because I clearly hadn’t had any maintenance done to her car. Almost had her crying. She was so pissed I had to pull out a receipt to prove I had just had the 30,000 service.
Certified Auto Repair on Clairemont near the VA Hospital is great. I hear Quantum Mechanics on Tally Street is good as well.
Quantum Mechanics is great. I’ve never seen a garage (or mechanics!) so clean. They have been very honest and I appreciate not having to be “on guard” with them. They are a nice group of guys in their 30s -40s who seem to like the intellectual challenge. Almost surreal. Not like any mechanics I’ve ever met- they have their bikes hanging from a pulley system on the ceiling. Imports only or I’d take both cars there.
Oh I love Quantum Mechanics! Those guys know their stuff on imports, do a good job that is through, have never once tried to up sell me and have even sent me back to the dealer to have repair work completed that was covered by the dealer.
One night I was driving home near the Decatur Police station ran over something an quickly developed a flat tire. The owner of Quantum Mechanics saw what happened and pulled over with me to change the tire. He would not take anything from me as a thank you so I forced a hug on him. They have my business forever!
Me too, me too! Quantum Mechanics do a great job at a good price in a reasonable amount of time. And they are just plain nice on top of it.
Not fond of the Goodyear on Clairemont, but kept going back because of the convenience factor. But not since i discovered Quantum.
Quantum is really good. Very professional. Excellent record. I’ve been dealing with them for years, and have no hesitation in recommending them.
what about the jiffy lube on clairmont? I stopped going there years ago because they always came back with the laundry list of things that needing fixing… including the rear differential fluid they talked about on the news report. They also seems perturbed when i told them i could change my own air filter… and then i wondered if they every did the work. Seems like they did not many times (from the news report).
I took my car to Jiffy Lube not long ago and they talked me into the synthetic oil change (as opposed to the standard oil change) by telling me that with synthetic I wouldn’t need to change my oil for something like 10,000 miles. OK, cool, I thought. Afterward, I noticed on the little sticker on my windshield that they put my next oil change scheduled for 3,000 miles. Not going back there.
I also had a bad experience with JiffyLube. They conned me into buying some expensive high millage addiditive. When he asked all he said was do you want the high mileage? I assuming he meant regular high mileage oil agreed. They also told me I needed my tranmission fluid flushed, told me it was so dirty it looked like motor oil. I had just had it flushed the last time my oil was changed at a place I trust.
Is there a good place to have your oil changed around here? My trusty station is a ways away and I don’t always have the time to head up there.
Ditto – all Goodyears everywhere, in my experience. And watch your tires, they always end up having mysterious “sidewall damage” that can’t be patched or plugged (requiring new tires.)
I’ll put in another vote for Intown Auto Care in Oakhurst. They’re terrific. They used to be in walking distance (very handy for a mechanic) but we still go there now that we’ve moved further away.
I have always gone to dealers for ANY type of car maintenance. I understand that they are inherently more expensive. Yet I never have any problems and I know they only work on the same cars over and over again and you can’t get that type of experience at a place that works on every type of vehicle.
The only times I have ever not gone to the dealer:
1-The Express Lube on Ponce. Went in for an oil change, had it done, and the next day some gasket or other mysteriously breaks on my car (which was under a year old. Luckily it was under warranty, but it would have been $400 if not.
2-I went to Intown Auto in Oakhurst to get my tires rotated. Easy enough, right? Well, apparently the workers stripped one of the lugnuts when putting the tire back on. Well, two months later I had a nail in that tire, had to jack up the truck, and had to jump on the tire iron to get it off which then ripped off the lugnut with the screw inside of it. Hilarious. Called Intown and he said, “Well, that happens.” Asked if he would fix it for free and he said no.
Sigh……
That’s odd. Brian at Intown has done lots of free stuff for me.
I have always declined the extras at the Decatur Goodyear…Avoid the Jiffy Lube on Clairmont at all cost!! They cost me $6000 on a new transmission…they over filled my Mercedes on an oil change, I went back 3 times and had them remove oil because the message kept coming on that day! Turns out they had no clue how much oil they had put in my car because they did not know how to check it….it does not have a dip stick, you have to check thru the cars computer! Anyway…they wouldn’t sign anything admitting to putting too much oil in the car each of the times I went back…I knew it would have been a waste of time to try to hold them responsible.
Brian at Intown Auto in Oakhurst is great!
It’s times like this I’m grateful for my dad making me learn how to work on cars. And for my best friend, who is an auto mechanic.
Now if I could just learn how to repair my physical ailments, I wouldn’t have to wonder if my doctor is lying to me when she says, “you need a new lung.”
LOL, I’ve been to the Firestone place on N. Druid Hills, the Jiffy Lube and the Goodyear place. Never got a good feeling from any of the them.
But it was a dealership that tried to rip me off the most. I owned a German car that wouldn’t start one morning. I had it towed to a German auto repair place on DeKalb Ave. They told me a timing belt for the engine was bad and that only the dealership could repair it. So I had the car towed to a German auto dealership several miles away on Lawrenceville Hwy. The dealership said I needed a new engine and that it would cost $5K.
Sooo, I had the car towed to Catherine’s Auto Repair. They diagnosed the problem and got the car running again in short order. Turns out the spark plugs were dirty. I’ve been taking my cars there for repairs ever since.
PS: For regular maintenance stuff, I’ve had good luck with the Sears Auto place at Northlake Mall.
ooooooooh this is fun. like campfire stories.
so my anecdote at this goodyear location. i thought auto zone installed burnt out bulbs; they don’t. so i bought the blinker bulb and realized it might be bit tricky to install. passed decatur goodyear and thought, what the heck. we negotiated a price and they said 10 minutes………20 minutes later some musclehead calls me over. i’ve seen this routine a lot and am simply confused since all i wanted was a bulb replaced. he has some wooden board with different fluid samples from my car on it, and proceeds to tell me what work i need done. i just stare at him in disbelief. i just wanted a light bulb replaced. im wondering who gave him authorization to take my fluid samples. eventually he stops talking and says, “ok you want all that work done.” smiling i say very loudly, “Absolutely (he starts grinning)………..NOT.” give me my frickin car back and put those fluid samples back where you found them. yeeesh. and they don’t even have good tv reception or wifi.
certified auto repair rocks.
Yup, this is what they started doing. Happened exactly the same way to me, but since Goodyear had been taking care of our cars for years, I agreed. Big mistake, and $600 later, they lost my business for good.
The five repair shops that were visited who didn’t over charge were:
Mr. Transmission on Peachtree Industrial Blvd.
Precision Tune on Cheshire Bridge
Kauffman Tire on Peachtree Road
Jiffy Lube on Peachtree Industrial
Xpress Lube on Howell Mill
Thank you, Gary.
Several years ago I had the timing belt replaced at the Goodyear on Clairemont. A year later I was on 285 and something fell out of my car onto the highway. I barely got off and had to have the car towed. Well, I found out that they had incorrectly installed the timing belt. To get everything repaired that was damaged, I had to pay $1200.00. I tried to get Goodyear to refund the money I paid them but to no avail. Never went there again. Never will.
My firend Gino warned me not to go to Texaco Express Lube for an oil change, but I did anyway. Within 48 hours my transmission was ruined. Luckily it was under warranty.
After an allignment at Firestone, my car would practically fly off the side of road into a ditch if I let go of the steering wheel.
I use the Clairemont Goodyear only for the annual inspections for registration. They do fine with that. Have had them request my regular business which I didn’t mind but didn’t heed. Once or twice they’ve “discovered” something and recommeded that I let them fix it but I just smiled blankly and said that I’d have to ask the hubby about it. (Not that he knows any more about cars than I do).
too bad to hear this about the goodyear. one positive is that they charge less than most other places for an emissions inspection. also, my partner thought she had something in her tire b/c she was hearing a clicking noise & stopped off there. the guy just took a look & pulled out a piece of metal that had slightly gone in the tire. he checked to be sure it had not penetrated the tire to cause damages & leaks and didn’t charge anything. technically, they could’ve tried to falsely say she had tire damage. after that, i had higher hopes for this goodyear.
I had a similar positive experience w/Decatur Goodyear – I took my car there to have my brakes checked out. They checked them and told me they were fine, just that my brake pads were showing a little wear but didn’t need to be replaced right then. They could have pressured me on the brake pads or worse, a new brake job, but didn’t. They usually do have a list of other “recommended” services, but we just say no if we don’t want them done then.
Re: emissions, I recommend “Dad’s Emissions” which is in the parking lot where the Last Chance used to be, on Church Street – had mine done there recently and the owner did it himself; he’s a super nice guy, and he knocked two bucks off the price – said business was really down since the Last Chance moved, and he was thinking about moving over there himself.
I’ll second the shout out to “Dad’s Emissions”. They are the best…super professional, fast, courteous. It’s the only place we’ll go for our emissions test. I highly recommend you check them out for yourselves!
Tee hee…Dad’s emissions. Pull my finger.
I’m sure I’m not the first to make that connection, but that doesn’t mean it’s not funny to the 12 year old in me.
I’m really surprised by this. I’ve always had excellent and reasonable service from the Goodyear in Decatur.
We have learned through two poor experiences like those posted above never to use Clairemont Goodyear It’s a shame, because the business has been in Decatur so long, and you would think they would be a little more upstanding… they are so close, just drop off the car and walk home or get on Marta, which is what i did when i did use them … they do need to be called out as a bad citizen. The upselling might be a regular practice in the industry, but my experience is that there are good mechanics who do what you ask, and diagnose correctly … Summit Auto is one of the best, off of East Ponce, if you have an import (hondas, etc., no mercedes.)
At the risk of piling on, I feel the incredible urge to pile on. This Goodyear shop is definitely getting what they deserve. I swore I wouldn’t go back after a couple of semi-shady expereinces with them, but then got hooked by the lower-cost emissions test earlier this year.
Well, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me three times, shame on my memory. Car passed the inspection, but they recommended over $600 worth of other ‘repairs’. I took them up on one of the smaller items and I’m pretty sure they didn’t even do that right. I’m sticking with Intown Auto Care in Oakhurst – they’re not exactly cheap or fast, but they are definitely trustworthy.
YAY, piling on is sooo much fun! [edited] I swore years ago I’d never go back when (I think it was a Firestone then) they told me I needed a new “computer system” on my old Saturn. $2,500. If I didn’t do it, my car would literally kill me. It was such a danger to myself and to society that they couldn’t “legally or ethically” release the car back to me if I didn’t pay them to do the work. I had to call the cops to get my damned car back (OK, that part was fun!). Turns out a 75 cent breaker or some such thing-a-ma-jig needed to be replaced, which the guys at the old Hays Auto (sadly no no longer there on DeKalb Ave) did for free.
So a few months ago I needed an oil change, saw their sign advertising a special and thought to myself, what harm can an oil change do. Besides, it’s a Goodyear now, probably different folks. Riiiiight. I don’t know if it’s under different ownership or not, but I guess it’s gotten a little better because I didn’t have to call the cops. However, the [edited] who took my payment told how I was going to DIE IN A HORRIBLE WRECK because I wouldn’t authorize the $1,300 in work that NEEDS TO BE DONE YESTERDAY!!!!!! Of course, I knew it was all bunk because I had just done half of what they wanted to do. It scared the hell out of the little old lady dropping off her car when I picked mine up and she even told me that she would pray for me until I could get all those dangerous things taken care of. I wonder how much they bilked her out of……
OK, DM, I understand why I got the edits and I admit I need to watch my language sometimes. But this topic fired me up and, for the record, I 100% stand behind my description of the Goodyear guy that got the second [edited]. Next time I will aim for snide or snarky rather than vulgar!
I wanna know the bad words.
For oil changes and the like, the “Zombieland” gas station at Ponce and Candler is just fine, and very convenient.
NTB on Dekalb Industrial is the best place to get a basic oil change. Dirt Cheap too. I’ve taken all of our vehicles there and they never add anything on and only charge $17 if you use their online coupon.
Also, RDS in Scottdale is amazing for general repairs and never tries to add on needless fees.
follow-up video:
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/21547998/
Thanks for the link Danny. The Goodyear seemed to be the only shop that stood behind its assessment, using some test strips to show the fluid wasn’t totally clear. Not sure that makes me feel any better.
The Chevron on Clairmont next to Golden Buddha is where I go for oil changes. It’s a little more expensive than some other places, but they’ve never tried to upsell me, even when they found a legitimate problem. They spotted a problem with my front axle and advised me to bring the car to my dealership to have it repaired. The dealership acknowledged the problem and replaced the axle for free.
As for Intown in Oakhurst I know lots of people are very happy with their services. We had a very bad experience. We took our car in for repairs (it needed quite a bit of work). The main problem was not fixed properly. We took the car back twice and rode with somebody in the car to point the problem and he refused to acknowldge the problem and we suspect did not investigate the problem at all, since the car stayed in the same place on their lot. We took the car to a dealership and they were able to fix what was definitely a problem. We will not be taking a car there ever again
My co-worker hit Goodyear in midtown yesterday afternoon to patch a tire with a slow leak. $900 later she rolled out with two new tires, some suspension work, and a wheel alignment.
Sometimes, and I’m saying this for myself as much as for anyone else, it’s alright to decline the suggested repairs.
Here’s my Decatur Goodyear story: about two years ago I went in for tire repair and they tried to sell me a new air filter for my passenger compartment, claiming that it had never been replaced and was filthy. But I had just had it replaced during a major service at my dealer only a month before. I declined. The above comments have me suspicious that the three flat tires I’ve had replaced there were maybe not really all done in by “sidewall damage” as the Goodyear folks claimed. Never again.
Being old, I was just thinking how hard it used to be to move to a new town and have to find a reliable car repair place, and now, with a good local blog, you can have the experience of hundreds at your fingertips! We have lived in Decatur for 15 years, and one reason I’ll probably never move is that I’d have to find another car repair place as good as Summit. Has Decatur Metro ever tackled Dry Cleaners? I’d love to get 66 comments on that topic!
Kim’s Cleaners on Clairemont across from the Emory Clairemont campus has been reasonable and reliable for years and years. You don’t have to get out of your car. I miss Mr. Kim who died 8 years ago but Mrs. Kim and other nice workers are still there. Husband uses it too for shirts.
Tried whatever is there by Watershed and it was just plain too expensive for someone who has a large, regular volume of work and other dry clean only clothes. Convenience and quality are nice but a monthly dry cleaner bill higher than the utilities is not sustainable!
Anybody else use Petes’ Import Garage on Dekalb? I’ve had good experiences with them.
I took my truck to Decatur Goodyear to have an oil change (and for them to checkout an oil leak) . I told them to call me with specifics before they did ANYTHING! They called and quoted a price for the needed repairs….no problem! When I went to get my truck, the charge was $250 more, as they replaced my windshield wipers, battery and all of the lights on the truck that “needed to be replaced. They were very busy when I was paying, so I said loudly “You really want all of these people in line to know that you did all of this work that I did not ask for?”. They removed the items from my bill.
I will NEVER go there again.
I’ve got my own set of Decatur Goodyear stories but they run pretty well in line with all of the others posted above so I won’t outline them here. I do, however, have a question. Quantum is consistently mentioned as THE place for imports. Intown in Oakhurst gets some good and some not so good marks. I’ve got a domestic truck. What shop do folks recommend for work on domestic vehicles?
I took my old car in for a flat repair at Goodyear and got a sales pitch for $1200 in needed repairs. Probably most were legit, but I can’t believe the guy could recommend this with a straight face, considering the car was worth maybe $500 on a good day. They charged something like $25 for the flat repair. The next flat I got I went to Kauffman. They charged me nothing, even though I didn’t even get the tires there. I asked the attendant if I needed an alignment, showing him the odd wear pattern. He said an alignment wouldn’t help much at this point, and the best thing to do was to use the remaining life in the tires and then get an alignment with the new set. I really appreciate this type of honesty and customer appreciation and will now always go to Kauffman.
That Goodyear in Decatur has scammed me hard over the years. It should get shut down for terrible service, surprise charges, and refusal to take responsibility for anything they’ve done. My first experience there was so terrible I vowed never to go back.