Sears Auto Center

Because the manager was nice here, they get two stars, but only for his patient customer service.
My car battery died on Christmas and my Dad bought a battery from tthe Eastern Hills Mall location the day after. It came with a long term warranty. The very next day my battery was dead. I charged it and kept experimenting, trying to find the live draw on my car. Two weeks after Chrsitmas I called Eastern Hills to see if they could do a voltage meter check to spot a live draw. I was told that no one there had a voltage meter. Not one word was offered to come in for a check for $ 12.99 of the charging system, etc.
When my 29 day old battery was stinking of sulfer from a bad voltage regulator I knew I needed a new battery before leaving and going home from the town I worked in as we had below zero wind chill weather.
I called the McKinley location because it was closer to work and hoped that they would honor the warranty for my battery. The Manager said yes and maybe I had one with a bad cell. I said no I have been having an problem with the car. He said they had to do a check for 12.99 and if the battery was the problem I wouldn’t have to pay for it.
I came in and they printed off a coupon for me to enjoy browsing the Sears store and take $ 5 off a $ 25 purchase while I waited for my car to be serviced. Lucky I didn’t spend any money yet.
An older mechanic said that the battery was out of warranty because I had a problem with my car. They showed me a print out that hardly had any ink on it and I grabbed the carbon copy underneath. It was not a diagnostic from a machine. It was merely a checklist that they could imput themselves and answer on their own. They said the serpentine was good, that was good news, and that the voltage regulator and the alternator was shot. Note that is two items there.
First of all, if I am generating so much power to fry a battery, the alternator is not shot. Second of all the volatage regulator was an extrernal one that I could see next to the battery. I do have a book for my car.
The nice young man said, Well, Susan, he kept using my name, till I was mildly irritated, the battery is out of warranty and until you get the alternator fixed there is nothing you can do.
I needed a battery now, right now, before I got stuck on the way home. I was having the voltage regulator swapped out the next day and I didn’t think I would fry another battery in 24 hours. I purchased another battery and they crossed off the warranty because I had a malfunctioning charge system. Fair enough.
The older mechannic had kept insisting that the regulator was in the alternator. The young man even said Well Susan you have such a large car engine perhaps you have two. I immediately knew that something was very wrong with the diagnosis.
I paid an additional 90.00, tax included, for a battery that they took the warranty away on because I had a bad alternator/​voltage regulator/​lifestyle/​I just don’t know. The other thing the young one said is I am really sorry we don’t have that external part in stock.
AH HA!!! So… they would have replaced the alternator with one with a voltage regulator in it and disconnected my malfunctioning exterior regulator and called it a fixed problem, totally at my expense. I can’t even imagine how much that would have cost. By the way, a $ 14 part the next morning and all the problems were resolved.
The nice manager even said I should call Eastern Hills and rip the manager over there a new one and see if he could do something for me. Also to call his store back and talk to their store manager and see if he would comp me with something.
Comp me with something?
How bout a new battery?
How bout comp me now?
How bout you don’t tell me all this silly stuff about my alternator definately has a regulator in it when you darn well know it does not and just tell me you don’t have the part/​time/​integrity to fix the silly thing.
When I junk this car it will probably have the die hard still in it.
And the beautiful shiny regulator.
And I will never go to this Sears Automotive again as I can see they are back to bumping up to unnecessary repairs, to girls at least.
What a shame.
At your own risk coming to get serviced here.
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