Merchant’s Tire & Auto Centers

I dropped my car off yesterday to be patched up and was told it would be ready in 2 – 3 hours. Because I would not be able to come back to the shop in that time I asked if I could just come back the next day after work and was told it was fine and that I would receive a call when the tire was ready. The next day, 24 hours after I had dropped the tire off, I had yet to receive a call and so I called the shop to make sure my tire was ready before making a trip out there to get it. The gentleman I spoke to said he had no idea what I was talking about and had no record of my tire ever being dropped off. He hung up to check with his guys and called back a few minutes later to say they had never looked at my tire but would start fixing it now and would call me when it was ready. He called me back an hour later to say that they had looked at the tire and it was too worn down for them to fix it.
I’m not mad they were unable to fix the tire because I took it to another shop and was told the same thing. What I’m mad about is the complete lack of customer service and the time I wasted dealing with this shop. If they had looked at my tire yesterday like they promised then I would have known yesterday that it was unfixable. Instead, they didn’t even look at my tire for over 24 hours and then took another hour after I spoke to them to look at it and determine they could not fix it. Suffice to say, I will never be doing business with this shop or any Merchants location ever again.

Went there to buy the buy 3 tires get 1 free. They did my alignment without my permission and then they said they would just charge me $ 20. Then when we got to the register the manager Matthew said he would give me the alignment for free and just charge me $ 20 for the tire warranty. I told him NO it sounds like he just want $ 20 out of me. He said if i didn’t pay then he would knock my alignment back out of place. I was so heated b/​c how I know he really fix my alignment and and just want to cause me problems. I called and filed a complaint and talked to a woman name Liria and she seem like she didn’t want to take the report. I refuse to deal with NTB or Merchant as they are the same company. NTB two days before tried to over charge me for tires gave me a different price from what they gave me over the phone at the store.

Rick was extremely helpful in making sure my car alignment was done and that the car didn’t have any major issues. He was honest about the evaluation and made sure I walked away with a thorough understanding. I loved that I was able to make an appointment online and take my car in and ACTUALLY be serviced at my requested time. I usually get my car serviced at another service shop that may or may not rhyme with Sister Fire, but after this experience, Merchant’s might have a brand new regular customer!

Extremely helpful and fair! Dealt with 3 sales associates/​managers and all three were very informative but not pushy! By not pressuring but rather educating me makes me feel I make an educated decision in pending repairs needed (Saturn Relay).
I am particular on where I will take my Volvo cause Volvos themselves are particular but they have earned my confidence and I have already made an appointment for that car this Saturday!
Did I mention convenience? Open 7 days/​wk AND evenings?
They do soooo much more than tires, don’t pass them by!

The manager, Matt, was very friendly and seemed to have the customer’s best interest in mind. I got a great deal on tires and didn’t have to wait long. I would definitely go back and recommend this place to others.

This week I went in for two new tires. They cut me a great deal on 4 new tires that was almost as good as the two tire price. The manager, Matt, was very helpful. He helped to find me a great deal on tires with a great warranty. The staff was amazing and got me in and out in a reasonable time.

I always question when I take my car in, was the work I came in for completed… what was done… but that’s because I’m not a mechanic and I can’t be 100% sure that what I paid for is actually done…
I can say Merchants has always been up front about the work I’ve needed on my car… they have always been willing to explain in detail why certain things may or may not be needed. My most recent visit was for an oil change, no issues, pretty simple.
I appreciate the suggested work they provide on your receipt, so you know what work may be necessary.
There has been a few manager changes since I have been taking my car to Merchants. I must say, Matthew is the most honest one yet. He has great customer service… when they were not able to take my car at the time I scheduled my appointment (for whatever reason) he advised me it was best to come in an hour later, rather than sitting idle. I appreciate the honesty. Many places would have you sit and wait and tell you it will be done soon… kinda like how you go to the Cheesecake Factory and they tell you the wait is blah blah blah, lol… my time is precious, and it’s evident Matthew valued my time and business.
I have suggested merchants to others, and will continue to take my car to be serviced there.
SN: There are always coupons available… make sure if you go you look some up on the internet or in the local newspaper.

Let me say up front that Matt and Jon were very pleasant and certainly did try to work with me on the price (only because I vigorously complained). But the fact that I paid over $ 3500 for 2 cars to «pass» state inspection is absurd. Both cars were in good condition when I brought them in; I figured Merchant’s would find *something* wrong, since MD state inspection is notoriously difficult, but I did not expect to pay $ 3500.
I took my Subaru Outback in for an oil change and inspection. Merchants told me that my tie rods were bad, along with a bunch of other stuff, and it would cost $ 1200. Fine, I just drove my Outback 1800 miles from Colorado. I can understand that perhaps it needs some attention (although honestly, it seemed fine). Merchants did the work; I picked up the car late on a Wednesday. I started my morning commute on Thursday and noticed a high pitched whining sound that was brand new. I took the car back to Merchants in the afternoon. They were supposed to call me by 8 pm to let me know if the car was ready. I wound up calling them and they said yes, I could come get it. Just kidding! I got there and no, my car was not ready. Brandon told me the high pitched whine was a result of the mechanic failing to finish part of the job, and that it was dangerous to drive my car (great to know, since I had commuted 90 miles that day). The next morning, Merchants tells me that it’s actually my rear wheel bearing and it will cost about $ 600 to fix. I checked online and average price for my car is more like $ 300 (parts and labor). I called back to Merchants and quoted them the parts price from AutoZone, so they agreed to match that price (and could not explain why their cost for the part was so much higher). When I showed up to get my car, I asked to see the bearing; they were shocked that I wanted to see it.
Point of the story: I flat out don’t believe that anything was wrong with my wheel bearing. I think they screwed up my car, and then were horrified that one of their employees admitted that they screwed up my car, so they made up a story about the bearing and tried to squeeze another $ 600 out of me.
Also, even though I asked 3 different times, Merchants still couldn’t manage to put an oil change sticker on my car. I sort of wonder if they even changed the oil.