Firestone Southtown

On the morning of Tuesday April 15, 2014 I brought my car to Southtown Tire and Auto because my car was leaking coolant. I asked them to take a look, locate the leaking, and give me a total of what it would cost to have them to fix the leaking coolant. After a couple hours they called me and told me the leak was coming from a rusty bypass hose and this is what needs to be replaced to stop the leaking. I was given a total of $ 507 + tax which included a new and replaced bypass hose, new thermostat, new coolant, and the cost of labor. This was a high price tag but I knew I’d be paying a high premium (specially after I researched the actual cost of the parts) but I needed this done ASAP. I picked up my car by the end of the day. I paid the $ 535 and received what I thought was my coolant leak free car. Less than 48 hours later (about 38 hours from the time I picked it up) my low coolant light went on and when I checked the coolant it was almost gone. The leaking was still accruing. Before loosing my cool I wanted to give them a chance to make this right. The next morning, April 17^th I brought my car back and explained that I was still having leaking and the problem hasn’t been fixed. They took a look right away and about an hour after looking they came in and said I was leaking coolant from my water pump and they missed it the first time. What they offered to do for me was fix this issue for another $ 300. I understand that they could have missed something, or caused another leak during repair, but what I don’t understand is how they felt I should be the one to pay the price for their missed diagnosis. Had they done proper job diagnosing the first time I would might have made a different decision. After explaining this to them he offered to bring the price down to the mid $ 200’s. This was still far above the actual cost of the water pump and still included a labor cost. At this point when I realized I wasn’t going to be treated with the respect I deserved. I asked to refunded at least the amount they charged me for labor on the first service. I felt this was completely reasonable considering I didn’t receive proper service the first time (coolant was still leaking, and who ever did the labor misdiagnosed). I was denied this request.
For all I know they didn’t repair anything the first time, and I have no reason to believe that they would a second time. I have never in my life felt so taken advantage of and disrespected by a business from which I chose to do business with. If the truth was that they missed the coolant leaking from the water pump they should have taken responsibly for their missed diagnosis by offering to replace my water pump at ACTUAL cost. Some people would probably say at no cost. Either one of these options would have given me reason to trust them. Taking responsibility for their honest mistake. However, here I am letting people know of their shady business practices. What really makes me upset is that they didn’t see the big picture here. I can’t believe there are still auto mechanics in this world that can’t be trusted. TAKE CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS AND THE MONEY WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.

dudes here are friendly and will help you if you have an emergency or just need service.
not sure about prices, i work at a lube shop nearby and we send people here all the time. they seem to have good rapport with all the local dealers so they can help you out with getting parts on time and such.