Merchant’s Tire & Auto Centers

I’d give them zero stars if I could. I’ve had not too bad experiences with this location in the past, but my most recent interaction with them will be the last. I brought my car in for an oil change and a safety inspection. The oil change was fine, but when they called me about the safety inspection they told me I failed for three reasons:
1) front brake rotors worn too thin
2) front brake pads worn too thin
3) one fog light burned out
First off, I was somewhat skeptical that I needed new brake pads, and very skeptical that I needed new rotors. To make things worse, the incompetent on the phone took several minutes to convey to me what, exactly, they were saying I needed to have done, and how much it would cost. Getting the information out of him was like pulling teeth, and I had to prompt him over and over to get the next piece of information. The icing on the cake though, was that they wanted nearly $ 800 to do the work. The best part of which was that they wanted something like $ 75 to change the fog light bulb. Seriously? That’s a part that costs them _​maybe_​$ 10, and on my car requires about five minutes tops to change out. But they want $ 75 to change it?!? Give me a break.
So I tell them to forget it, and I go pick up the car. I decide to take it to my nephew, who’s a mechanic, and I pick up a new set of pads (just in case) and a new bulb for the fog light. Imagine my surprise when I turn on my fog lights to see which one’s burned out, only to find that they’re _​both_​working fine. You know, I thought they might be trying to cheat me on the brakes, but I wouldn’t have expected them to lie to me about something that any idiot can check for themselves. Sigh.
Fast forward to the weekend… I go to my nephew’s, he takes the front wheels off, and the front calipers and pads. I break out the old micrometer, and lo and behold, the rotors are only slightly more than half way to the point where they’ll need to be replaced (which at this rate will be in another _​five_​years_​), and every single one of the pads has _​at_​least_​triple the required amount of material remaining. In other words: Merchant’s flat-​out lied to me, and tried to rip me off for nearly $ 800 worth of parts and services that I _​provably_​did not need. Later my wife talked to a friend of hers at work, and it turned out the same Merchant’s location did the _​exact_​same_​thing_​to her friend, except that they told her she needed new rotors and pads on all four of her wheels, for a total of over $ 1200. Good God almighty. Someone at Merchant’s needs to go to jail. I’m serious.

Beware of being ’ upsold’. I called ahead to check the price of an oil change. I asked if there were and extra charges. they said only tax. When I got there, they wanted to upgrade service and oil. My car is a 2014 with 33k miles.

Please do not bring your vehicle to any Merchant’s.
As an Über vehicle, we have 10% discount but it’s not worth the headache. Über drivers… I beg you, Please do not take your vehicle to any TBC Corporation location. This is a corporate problem not just a store issue.
When I say that it was the worst service and the poorest customer service experience I ever had, I mean it. If something goes wrong with the service or the repair of your vehicle, you would expect/​imagine that Merchant’s, Tire Kingdom, NTB or any of the other auto repair shop are backed up by TBC Corporation, one of the largest in their industry. However, even at the corporate level they do not take good care of their customer. It’s unbelievable and sad but it’s true.
There’s more to it but let me make this long and painful story short. On 11/​21/​2015, I took my 2009 Suburban for a transmission fluid change and the transmission ended up somehow broken. The transmission started giving me problems as soon as I picked it up from Merchant’s, and the check engine light came on a few miles later. After filing my initial complaint, the store manager didn’t even tell the mechanic what the problem was. I had to leave a note in the vehicle hoping the service issue would be addressed but No. I had to take my vehicle back twice to Merchant’s within less than 24 hours and nothing got resolved. The transmission was still not working properly, and the check engine light on.
As of 12/​09/​2015, almost three weeks later, after making all the necessary phones calls, escalading my complaints from the store level to the highest corporate level I could, my vehicle is still seating at that location (5220 Duke St. in Alexandria, VA) without being repaired and, what it is even worst, without me knowing whether or not this huge company will assume their responsibility for damaging my vehicle.
Of course, my vehicle was in perfect working condition when I first took it to Merchant’s. As an Über vehicle you have to keep it in great shape at all times. That’s why I took it to Merchant’s. However, it’s almost three (3) weeks that my family it’s being economically affected because our Suburban is still at Merchant’s waiting for some sort of decision on my service complaint. Not even an explanation it’s been made to this day.
I’m a very respectful and well educated person. I understand that anybody can make mistakes, we all do. That’s why I waited this long to do this review. I thought and hoped that this would be resolved in the right way and in a timely manner. Unfortunately, it didn’t happened that way, and my family and I still don’t know how much longer we will have to wait to get our vehicle fixed and back to work with Über.
Can you imagine what would happen if any of the Merchant’s stores would have to stay out of business for almost three weeks? Sometimes is good to put yourself in the other person’s shoes

I had a really good experience. Yes there is some sales in terms of trying to upgrade… but customer service was great. No complaints my tires were awesome.

Ok so. This review is for the whole establishment. The customer service people who helped me out were great and understood that my problems needed to be fixed and that I didn’t want to waste my time. The mechanics at this location deserve a 0. They simply don’t know how to communicate with customers. I came in for an inspection and was told that the inspector came at 12. So I thought the mechanic would make the necessary repairs to my car in the meantime. At 11 I finally get ready to leave because my car is sitting in the lot still! The mechanic thought that by telling me the inspector came at 12 he was letting me know they were going to ignore my car until then!!! Dear Mechanics, learn how to form a sentence and explain what is going on, I wasted 3 hours sitting around doing nothing because you didn’t tell me what was going on. Probably will not come back here.

I will echo what everyone else has said about time management here. I dropped by car off at 4:30pm on a Monday, and it is currently almost 9pm and it’s still not done. I went in for an oil change, not sure how that takes 4.5 plus hours?! Clearly they are either understaffed or poorly staffed.

Swindled and cheated
I went here for an oil change today, and was forced into an upgrade to synthetic oil… A full $ 60 more than was necessary. Despite the fact that my owners manual states the mid grade option is fine, Merchants tire insisted my warranty would be voided and they could only use synthetic oil… AFTER my oil was already drained and I could do nothing about it. Additionally, they got oil on the inside of my car.
I will never return, and discourage others from visiting this establishment.

I went in for an appointment at 12:00 to get my spark plugs checked. At 1:30, with my car still sitting in the parking lot, they tell me that the technician that does alignments is a little behind (I never asked for an alignment). After wasting 1.5 hours I left. I would not recommend this place to anybody… go somewhere else!

Tires are priced right but watch these guys. They will attempt to upsell you all kinds of things you don’t need. My tire quote for 4 F-​150 tires was about $ 550. When I went to pick up they had $ 1300 of other «important items I needed“‘ including new brakes. I just had my brakes replaced 400 miles ago elsewhere. Like I said tire price was ok but when I told him I’d take my truck with none of their suggested items they got pretty snooty. Watch them close!

My experience with the Merchant’s was so awful I would give them –10 stars if I could. I called in advance and made an appointment for the following day for an oil change and tire rotation. I arrived 15 minutes early only to be informed they had no record of my appointment. I double checked my outgoing calls to be sure I had called the right garage, and I had. The man at the desk was completely unapologetic, and acted as though I was inconveniencing him. He said they could try to fit me in, but it would be about an hour. I didn’t have enough time in my week to reschedule somewhere else, so I agreed to wait. Two hours later, just as they were closing up shop, he called me to the desk to pay. When I went out to my car, they hadn’t even replaced the windshield sticker with information regarding my latest service. I had to go back in and request one, and that took the technician another 10 minutes. I will never go back to this Merchant’s.

I read the reviews so I was warned. Just needed a couple of new tires. With this place’s track record I knew better than have them put it on. Was going to take it over to jiffy lube across the street to have them put on.
Walk in. No one at front desk. Walked around into the bay. One guy directs me to another guy chatting away on the phone. 10 min later the guy was still on the phone with no one else offering to help. I walked out and headed to another tire place.
And this waste of time occurred before any service. I can only imagine the quality of the service.

Jose is the best and Brian the inspection specialist is top notch. They will give you the best service and won’t scam you. I went to another inspection place and he lied to get more money (see my other review Sunoco on duke avoid it like the plague). Merchants goes above and beyond and they have warranties on the parts and lifetime wheel alignment.

I came here the other day to get an oil change and to get a light bulb on my headlight changed. The oil change was fine. But when they said that it wasn’t the light bulb it was was a socket and they would have to run a diagnostic I said next time. I took it upon myself to change my own light bulb out and what do you know the light worked now. I did not need a diagnostic or a socket. They just wanted to charge me 300 $ for nothing over a 5 dollar light bulb CHANGE they take advantage of people thinking they don’t know anything but i did know how to change my own light bulb. THEY ARE LIARS AND STEAL PEOPLE’S MONEY! I WILL NEVER COME HERE AGAIN AND I DON’T RECOMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE!

If I can give a negative star rating I would. This is my last time coming here. I am not knocking the work that they do. I am seriously complaining about the time expectations they give you even with a reservation. This is not the first time I had my car serviced here and they took hours to complete a job that should have been no more than an hour. My time is more valuable than the lazy, I’m doing you a favor mind set management has.
If you have all day to spend at a tire shop or you can drop off your car and pick it up later, they do, do good work. But if your time is valuable to you and need more hours in a day like most, AVIOD THIS TIRE SHOP!!!

This Merchants had us wait for 3 hours, and then didn’t service our car for an issue covered under their warranty. I’m waiting for a manager to call back — and if they deal with the situation appropriately I may change my rating. If I don’t hear back, I will add all of the details of the unsafe condition in which this store put us in.
I hope that the regional office does the correct thing and contacts us — and resolves the issue here. We are giving then an opportunity to fix a bad and hazardous store in their chain.

I called this Merchant’s location to ask if they could perform a state inspection. I was told that yes, they could perform the inspection and to go ahead and bring my car in.
I drove right over, and when I arrived the person in the front office told me that despite what I was told on the phone, that they would not perform the inspection.
She not only denied that I called, but basically called me a liar.
If you value your time, don’t bother with this place.

Welcome to «Bait and Switch Tire Service»!
The facts: I call for 4 Michelin tires on a Corvette. Pricey as expected, but better than the competition. I am quoted $ 1328 for 2 front and 2 rear Michelin (different tires front and back on the ‘Vette). I specifically ask to confirm this is «on the rim, out the door» so installation included and no extra fee for this and that. Response «Yes, just need to add VA sales tax» so 6% (this is Northern VA).That means $ 1407 and change all in. I accept.
Fast forward to the afternoon, as tires arrived at the shop.
Esteemed gentleman takes me aside and runs down the invoice with this and that and fee and markup as he says «I said you had to add taxes and installation…» so total cost is $ 1,800 and change.
My response: «you kidding me, right? We agreed on „on the rim, out the door“. Hand me the keys, I’m out of here». Wasted 15mn: 5mn driving there, 5 mn talking to this guy, 5 mn driving back.
Could have been worse. Thankfully I don’t need the tires urgently.
What kind of business model is that? They think their customers are weak minded bums fallen off the turnip truck?

I needed 4 new tires (typically, new tires have 11 – 12 mm of tread, and mine had 1 – 2; so I definitely was not going to pass my upcoming inspection). I had my eyes on Michelin’s Primacy MXV4 model, one of the highest rated consumer tires on the market; so I checked several websites (Curry’s, Wiygyul, Firestone, BJs, JC New & Used, Tire Rack) and eventually chose Merchant’s because:
1) Lowest total price; i.e., including installation ($ 543.96)
2) Participating vendor for the manufacturer rebate (
)
3) $ 25 off $ 100 of service coupon (
)
I was a bit wary given the Unilocal reviews. But most auto shops have abysmal, let alone average ratings; so I didn’t pay much mind to it. There are a few places with stellar ratings (e.g.,
), but they’re almost guaranteed to charge full/​premium prices.
So, I made an appointment with Merchants; and overall, everything went well. Zain, the guy I was working with, persuaded me into the 5-​year wheel alignment, road hazard, and balancing package that cost $ 273.24 after discount. I knew that I needed to get my wheels aligned at least once, which would have cost $ 89. So I figured, for less than 3x that, I can get my wheels aligned, balanced, and rotated every 6 months (which will increase tire life and gas efficiency) over the course of 5 years at any Merchants, NTB, or Tire Kingdom center. Why do they offer a package like that? And if I buy a new car, I can transfer the package to it (this can only be done once during the 5 years). To garner revenue from other services (oil changes, fluid flushes, etc.) when folks pop in every 6 months. But I change my own oil and opt for only essential, not recommended, services. So this particular transaction may not work out for them economically; but, it’s a smart way to get me coming back to their chain of stores for at least the next 5 years.
One thing I didn’t like is that they didn’t print and give me the pre and post alignment report. I should have asked for it before, because their alignment equipment clears the data after it’s done. He offered to put it back on the lift and obtain the post numbers, but I didn’t care about that. I wanted to see the gap between the two.
Before sending me off, another mechanic asked if I wanted a «courtesy» 7-​point inspection (which is really just a way for them to identify problems, and thus revenue). But knowing that I opt out of almost all recommended services and that it’s always helpful to be aware of my car’s health, I said, «Why not?» And turns out, he didn’t recommend any services.
From entry to exit, I was there from 5 – 8 pm on a Friday. Zain and I spent a lot of time chatting and discussing options/​prices, so that’s pretty reasonable.

Worst place on EARTH! These people will rip you a new one. My fiancé went here to get my front tire patched. They called us 2 hours later saying the tread in my tires was really bad and it wouldn’t pass inspection. Long story short they sold us two new tires and after looking at the old ones there was nothing terribly wrong with them. Please DO NOT go here, they are not trustworthy!

So, my Roadbeast still needs the dreaded VA emissions test. I stopped by this shop to get my test (hey, 3^rd times a charm, right?) and at first things looked pretty good. The attendant was attentive and even understood that with older cars you want to keep the engine running up until the moment of the test. He worked my 1989 Crown Vic LX deluxe addition into the automotive mix and I took a seat in the customer lounge and waited… and waited… and waited… and waited!!! Finally, after an hour, the tech approached me, saying that their system was down, but that he had arranged for me to drive up to his brother’s shop where they would do my test.
At this point, I pointed out that my engine was dead cold, but he replied that the cold engine didn’t matter… Maybe it doesn’t matter to you, I thought, but I am certain that there is a reason why every mechanic under the sun tells me to keep the engine running. So, unless, you’re telling me that they all had plans to enlist me in the robbery of a bank, think it does matter, my friendly Earl of Emissions (FYI I’m still talking cars here, people)
I really hate giving this place such a low rating, for the guys were really nice. However, I think that they could have sent me on my way at the 30 minute mark. Oh, and as for the brother’s shop, I decided to go elsewhere. I shopped for enough carpets and trinkets around the world to know that the «other brother’s» shop down the street is rarely the best deal.
The Roadbeast’s emissions quest continues.