Sears Auto Center

Good luck with customer service in the Philippines. Bought a shed online and been in phone tree hell for 2 days now!!! Still not installed.

Had tires put on. Bought them off Craig’s. Guy checked thread and put to work. Balance air up and did break check and alignment test.
Found out today. Sears auto are money hungry people. They told me my rotors and pass were bad. I pull my tires off yesterday. And my rotors and pads are great. They suggest things you really don’t need to try to get more money. I say go in for service you need and do not take any thing offered. They might be lien.

Bought the 3 year alignment no questions asked. I put after market tires and now they say they won’t touch them since I bought it from somewhere else. Also had an oil change and dropped off the car at 10:00 am in the morning finally get a call at 5:00pm saying I have less than 45 minutes to get there and pick up my car. Just for a simple oil and tire rotation takes over 7 hours.

I thought I was the minority when it came to my dissatisfaction with the Auto Center, but after reading these reviews it’s amazing how 99% of the customers had the same bad experience I had at Sears. I will save time by not repeating the complaints, my advice is DON’T go, save yourself the aggravation and go somewhere else in town that wants your business and treats you like the paying customer.

Went in there needing an oil change. The young man got the car’s information and told us it’ll be about one to two hours wait. Instead of standing around to wait, we went into the mall. After two hours of wandering around the mall trying to kill time, we finally got a call from the auto shop. They told us they can’t do an oil change because the oil level is too low. When we picked up the car, the old employee told us in a condescending tone that they cannot do the oil change because it’s Sears policy to not do the oil change if the dip stick shows no oil. I asked the old man, where in the shop do they have that policy displayed? How am I, the customer, supposed to know your store policy? When you were gathering information of the car, why didn’t you check the oil level before you sent me out to wait for two hours? The rude old employee said to me that they are not allowed to open the hood when the car’s outside. I asked him, why didn’t you ask if we can check or if we know how low is our oil? He finally said «I apologize». I completely understand store’s policy but I as a customer don’t know the policies. You wasted two hours of my time and have nothing done. On top of that, this old man was rude! Don’t talk to me like I’m your grandchild because I look young. Don’t speak to me like I should have known your policy. If I knew I wouldn’t have brought my car to your shop. Show some respect. I am a paying customer and I did not come in here just to pick a fight. If you spoke to us politely and professionally, than I would have left with a better feelings of this place. Because this old man was rude and unprofessional, I will make sure I share my experience with everyone.
I am unable to do a review without putting at least one star, I put one star. This star is for the young man that helped us in the beginning. He was professional and helpful.

If 0 stars were possible this would be a 0 star review.
I drove into an empty parking lot. I was excited this meant they wouldn’t be too busy.
When I walked in there wasn’t a single person working. They have a rental car desk in there also and someone came out and sat down at that desk. I assumed someone was following shortly behind to help on the Auto Center side of things.
Nope.
I waited. Walked around. Scouted out a few options for the item I needed and waited because I needed advice. I looked at my watch because I was surprised at how much time had elapsed.
I went to the rental car desk — she told me to head towards the waiting area /​service bay and try to get someone.
I went to the windows looking out onto the service bay. A few people were waiting in the waiting area. 12 minutes has now elapsed since I walked in. I manage to make eye contact with an employee servicing a vehicle. He puts one finger up as if to say «just one minute.»
I get optimistic.
Then I get let down.
18 total minutes in the store AND an attempt at wrangling someone and I walked out. They missed out on me spending $ 100+ on a battery charger. I will take my business elsewhere.
I was so irritated I considered calling the Sears customer service number. Then I said «why bother? I will Unilocal them and move on with my life. I will never come back.»

In summary, the Reno Sears refused to perform warranty work (free rotations), which I believe was because I had the tires installed at a different Sears location that was out of state (and thus no money in it for them).
The Reno Sears instead tried to sell me tires I didn’t need, got my odometer wrong (which affects how much money they were going to give me back on my warranty tires), told me I didn’t have a trouble signal on my car (which I did, part of the reason I took it in) and said the part of the report that said my tires «passed» was incorrect.
How can they get everything wrong on the report and have me trust them when they say I need to spend $ 750 on fixes? Poor customer service to boot.
To the average Joe, they might seem good customer service but I suggest they have a hidden agenda, to rip you off. Suggest a specialty auto shop over these guys. Don’t believe me? Look up consumers affairs — sears auto centers, its rated 1 out of 5 stars with 618 reviews. My story’s full details below.
Bought tires in 2013 from Sears in CA, which promised free rotation of tires for the life of the tires.
Approached the Reno, NV Sears Auto Center and the technician (and subsequent associate and manager) stated they would not rotate my tires due to «internal company policies» that supposedly state tires at or under 2/​32″ remaining tread depth are hazardous and that Sears, for liability reasons, will not rotate the tires. The 2/​32″ is understandable and consistent with government guidelines.
However, none of them provided documentation to support this and additionally sent me away with the technician’s report that states my «tire health» and that all 4 tires «passed».
With 3 measurements on each tire (3 measurements /​tire x 4 tires = 12 measurements), the lowest measurement of the 12 measurements was 4/​32″. No treadbar issues, etc. They tried to sell me new tires instead.
Additionally, the technician’s report stated the wrong odometer reading (he was off by 5,000 miles. The odometer reading was important because it is used to calculate the refund (when you don’t reach the mileage warranty of the tires, there is a refund on the % not used of the tires, so the higher the current odometer reading, the more miles on the tires [and closer to the warranty mileage] and less refund %).
Another thing, the technicians report stated there was no check engine light. The check engine light was illuminated and I have pictures to prove.
The technician also failed to put any seat covers on and got into my vehicle (getting my seat dirty) and adjusted my seat and mirrors to drive less than 100 feet into the shop. When I mentioned this, it was «for safety reasons he adjusted those things», yet I witnessed him driving the vehicle forwards and backwards (20+ feet) with the hood up after he entered the shop. So much for safety and customer service for that matter.

End of April 2014 I was told I needed a new radiator to the tune of $ 752. I kept an eye on the fluids and after having to add 2 gallons of antifreeze to the radiator over 4 months I took it back for them to look for a leak (9÷16÷14).
Had the unpleasant luck of having Don (#647 479) degrade me while being there. After ignoring what I was saying and me finally YELLING at him to listen to what I had to say… they took it back for a pressure check. After a few hours Don dragged me back there and told me to LOOK where it’s leaking. I’m 5’4″ my truck is a Chevy k1500 Silverado. Told him I can’t see where he’s pointing. He said the radiator is fine but it’s the intake manifold valve gasket that needs replacing for $ 354. Told him can’t afford that and to give me my truck back. I also kept eye on the oil for any signs of coolant mixing in, there never was any.
Put in another 2 gallons of antifreeze until I saved the money up to take it to a real garage. Then yesterday (12÷01÷14) steam is coming out the front. The whole right side of engine had coolant spewed all over it.
Was near Tires Plus on Pullman/​Prater and they popped the hood and saw immediately what the problem was. THE TOP RADIATOR HOSE WASN’T TIED BACK and the alternator chewed a hole into the hose! SEARS DID NOT TIE BACK THE RADIATOR HOSE. It wasn’t the intake manifold it was their incompetence by not securing the hose. Not only did I have to pay Sears $ 752 for a new radiator (hoses too) but I had to shell out $ 264 for a new hose and radiator flush.
Stay away from Reno’s Sears Auto Center.

I took my car to the Reno Sears Auto Center to have the tires rotated and balanced because the car had a high speed shimmy. The balancing wasn’t done and the car still had a high speed shimmy on the way home. I brought my car back two days later to have them do the balancing work that wasn’t done the first time. When I picked up the car the second time, there was a large crack in the front windshield. This was not there when I dropped the car off. I showed the manger the cracked window. I also noticed that the car had 29 more miles on the odometer than when I dropped it off — so they had taken it for a long «test» drive.
The manager asked me to call Sears Customer Relations — which is actually a third party claims administrator that is outsourced to Sedgwick Corporation. I called Sears Customer Relations (Sedgwick Corporation) and opened a claim. A few days later the claims associate called and told me I could go prove my case in court because the Reno Sears Auto Center was disputing the damage.
Wow!
I’ve been a loyal Sears customer since 1969 and I’ve never been treated like that by Sears or by any business. I’ve also never filed a claim against any business. I sent a detailed email to their third party claims associate indicating that I would be more than happy to take them to court. They paid for the repair in full — but not without a fight. They also left 2 lug nut covers off which they replaced but I had to make a separate trip to pick them up. In all, I had to make 3 trips and the car still has a high speed shimmy. I’m not going back. I read the other reviews for Sears Auto Center on Unilocal.As of this writing, there are 11 reviews — 7 of them 1-​star. That has to say something about this business.

I recommend that you do not take your car to Sears Auto Center in Reno for any automotive work. If you do, make sure you take pictures of the entire car before you drop it off. You’ll need them. See the pictures of my cracked windshield in the «See all photos» section for the Reno Sears Auto Center.

I went in for an Oil change on Monday. I was told that they were extremely backed up, and that it would take almost four hours before they could get the work done. However, the person at the counter offered to make me an appointment, which meant that I would come in and immediately have the car pulled into the bay, should only take about 20 – 30 minutes. So I made an appointment for the following day.
The next day I show up about ten minutes before the appointment to drop off my car. As I’m waiting in line, the guy in front of me is quoted three hours to get an oil change, because of how busy they are. He passes, and I drop my car off. Double-​checking, I ask how long until it’ll be ready. I’m told about an hour, which isn’t great, but I can deal with. My wife and I go grab lunch, run a few errands, etc.
An hour and a half later, I haven’t heard back, so I swing by. The person at the counter goes through the paperwork and pulls out mine. He then tells me that he just needs a signature and it is good to go. As he starts to walk away, I ask him to check if the work was actually done, because my car is in the same spot I dropped it off in.
No one has touched my car. So, not only has nothing happened in an hour and a half, but he was getting ready to hand me my car back, with no work done. I’m sure I would’ve still been charged for this phantom work, though.
At this point, I ask what the point of making an appointment was, and ask to see the manager. He leaves, then comes back and says that the manager is too busy, but that they can get it in immediately, should only be 20 – 30 minutes. I say fine, and wander around the area for 30 minutes.
When I return, the car is not only not done, but has just been pulled into the bay. After another thirty minutes of waiting, my car is finally done. They charge me, and I leave.
At no point in this did I get an apology, or get to see the manager, or anything related to them saying they messed up. It took 2 and ½ hours to get my oil changed, a little less then was quoted to the guy who walked in and was in front of me. At this point, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he got his car first.
I will not be going back there, and I will tell everyone I know to go somewhere else. Clearly our time is not worth anything to this Sears Auto Center.

I have been a loyal tire customer here for 10 plus years. My patience has finally ended. I am tired of being turned away when asking for a tire rotation. I am tired of waiting 2 plus hours to get my tires rotated when they accept the vehicle. I am tired of replacing wheel caps when they magically disappear after a rotation. The straw that broke my back was finding out that they cross threaded a couple bolts on one of my wheels. Unacceptable for a tire shop.

They have very reasonable pricing. The staff is knowledgable, respectful, helpful and honest. Our car came out running like new.

Update 6÷15÷2014 — What a difference five months makes. After writing a glowing review about my tire purchase and install from Sears Auto at Meadowood Mall, today I called them because I am looking for a new set of tires for my GMC pickup. Both Walmart and TIre Rack had better prices, but I wanted to stick with Sears Auto since I had such a great experience back in January. I asked for Dana, the very helpful gentleman I worked with previously, only to find out that he had left the store a few weeks ago. Undeterred, I carried on with the gentleman who answered the phone about getting a price match. He informed me that they would price match to Walmart only while they had the tires in stock (they happened to have exactly four). When I told him that I wouldn’t be able to come down today, but would like to get them installed next weekend he said that they wouldn’t be able to price match for me since there was no guarantee they would have the tires in stock. I then asked if he could price match to Tire Rack, which was slightly higher than Walmart but still a good deal, and he said they no longer price match to Tire Rack. This blew me away because it was the main reason I had used them for my purchase in January. This guy was very matter-​of-​fact in his responses and certainly wasn’t going out of his way to earn my business. That’s all right, I guess they don’t need my business anymore. I’m sorry to hear Dana moved on, but it sounds like this operation has soured so I don’t blame him. Wish I knew where he went. I guess I will be buying my tires from Walmart. Goodbye Sears Auto!

We had made a road trip to Virgina City when we got stuck there with a dead battery. AAA came and got us on our way but we needed a battery at 6:45 on a Saturday night. After wasting our time at a nearby Pep Boys for an hour to find out they did not have the battery for our car we jammed over to Sears. They were very helpful and the tech stayed late to get us back on the road. Thank you to all who helped us out!
Date of service 10÷5÷2013 6:45 pm
2008 Ford Edge

I will never use Sears Automotive at Meadowood Mall in Reno. My car recently started smoking from grease leaking on the transfer case of my Subaru. I took it to my Subaru dealer (who I should have gone to in the first place) and they said that who ever worked on the car used zip ties to hold the CV boot on. A ZIP TIE! Furthermore they used zip ties in the rack and pinion. Do not ever trust them for any of your automotive work in the Reno area. Thanks to your quality staff I am now paying double what I paid your poor staff to fix my car.

This place is absolutely awful. 2 hours to put tires on when there are 0 customers? Unacceptable.

Battery died on a Sunday afternoon. They got me into a service bay and out if the shop in less than an hour. The service writer was helpful and I was pleased with my experience.

In a nutshell, terrible customer service and terrible quality control. I ordered tires through a Sears agent on the phone and arranged for installation at the Meadowood Mall store. I live in Tahoe and it is a two hour round trip. When I got to the automotive center, I also arranged for an oil change and wheel alignment. An hour later, I got a call informing me that the wrong size tires were ordered. Only the oil change had been completed. I returned to the store to pick up my car, and requested that I not be charged for the oil change, considering they had wasted 3 hours of my time and a 90 mile round trip. I was told I would need to talk to Mike, the manager, but that Mike was not there.
I left without paying for the oil change to work out the details with the manager when he was available. I should also mention that as I drove away I found that the car’s oil life indicator displayed that oil life was at 20%.
Several days later I was called by a manager (not sure if it was Mike) and agreed I would return in 3 days when they would have the proper tires in stock. I clearly stated I expected not to pay for the oil change.
On the scheduled day, I drove to Reno again. I informed them of the issue with the oil change indicator, asking them to be sure it was reset. Two hours later I returned to pick up the car. The tires had been paid for in advance, but I was asked to pay for the alignment and oil change. I objected to paying for the $ 33 oil change, explaining again the inconvenience I had experienced and my conversation on the phone with a manager before I agreed to drive down again and give them a chance to correct the original mistake. I was told I would need to talk to Mike, the manager. I was happy to do that, but, you guessed it, Mike was not there. It was 4:00PM on a Tuesday.
I then asked to speak with the parent Sears store manager. I was connected to him on the phone, but he was not at all helpful and said he’d need to speak with Mike the next day. I paid for the oil change and left, not at all pleased. As I drove away, I noted the oil life indicator still had not been reset. Who knows if the oil had actually been changed.
I spent about $ 750 on the tires, alignment, and oil change. A simple gesture of providing the $ 33 oil change at no charge could have diffused the situation. The store appears to be struggling, and perhaps that’s the reason for their shortsighted desperation to collect $ 33. With customer service like that, I expect their business is only going to get worse.
My wife had tires installed at Big O on Kietze about a month previous. The service was excellent. My advise, go to Big O.
Quick follow-​up: The day the incident occurred the store manager said he would confer with the automotive center manager and get back to me the next day. Three days later, haven’t heard a word. Just another example of the poor customer service. I will not be using Sears automotive again.
Another follow-​up: Very interesting, my review was removed. Unilocal,why is that? Let’s see if it will repost with this follow-​up. I should also add that the manager did eventually call, approximately 10 days after the incident. I was out of town. I’ve not yet had time to return his call and I’m not really inclined to invest more of my time.

I called for an appointment for Friday, so when I got there I was told that the special only ran Monday thru Thursday and the special was expired? They suggested Unilocal was the actual contact that places the specials and Sears can cancel them, any mis information was Unilocal deal! Charlie (SM) went ahead and honored the special and in doing so I purchased some oil treatment to add to my oil change! A shout out to Charlie! So buyer beware. call and confirm (which I did) but make sure its a manager and not a mechanic and get a name to put with the special. Charlie also mentioned that when a coupon special has been used to much they cancel it.

Terrible. Do not go here for tires. I went here and they only carried the most expensive version of my tires. They were rude too. I really needed new tires and one of mine was flat so they thought they could box me in.
I went to Pep Boys across the street. They gave me better tires, free install, better warranty, and all for $ 200 less. Plus, they checked my brakes free of charge because I wanted to know how long until the pads needed replacing. They also agreed to mount my tire on a rim for a spare when I bring it in next time, free of charge.
Sears was a bad experience and Pep Boys will be my place for tires from this day forward.