TheGreenDragon
Dopamine-seeking Missile
I'm going to try to make this brief, but there is a lot to cover.
TL/DR: Don't use Hibdon Tire Plus. Period. I know more about how to do their job than their mechanics do, and I've never even worked in a tire shop!
Story:
My Sonic (the Green Dragon) recently developed a slow leak in one of the tires. I work as an electrician, so it is not uncommon to encounter the occasional screw or nail around the areas surrounding my job sites. A fellow co-worker recommended Hibdon Tire Plus for their free flat repair.
Biggest mistake of the month...
I put the spare on and drop the wheel off at a nearby Hibdon during my lunchbreak. I return after my shift is over and immediately notice a problem.
There are gouge marks all around the inside barrel of the wheel that cut through the clearcoat and paint all the way into the aluminum.
I do some research and discover that these marks are due to an incompetent technician clamping the rim from the inside rather than the outside (you only clamp steel rims from the inside: basic tire-machine knowledge). I bring the wheel back and ask them to repair the damage. They send the wheel off to be refinished at a no-name "We-Repair" shop for three days.
I call back after four days after not receiving any calls from Hibdon and find out that my wheel is ready. So I commute back down from my home to pick it up. Upon arrival, I discover my "refinished" wheel has received a Maaco paintjob. The paint around the lip is already chipped and flaking from the tire machine and I discover that the wheel wasn't primed and the 'new' paint has bubbles everywhere.
I ask for a corporate number to get everything straightened out. I am offered a new wheel for my car, straight from the factory, as it would cost just as much to resurface my wheel yet again. I accept and wait four more days.
I call after six days because Hibdon has, once again, not called me to let me know if the wheel has come in. The wheel is at the shop, waiting to be put on the car.
I bring the car by and for the first time have to surrender my keys and let them drive the car into their service bay. I have made sure to nicely grill the tech on desk about how they will perform the work to ensure no mistakes will be made.
Now, I have a dashcam in my car that automatically records when the car is started. I find out after I have left the store that the tech who drove my car into the bay had no idea how to drive stick. He forgot to release the E-brake and stalled my car six times, all the while wondering why my car was chirping at him. Three of those times he burned my clutch trying to get the car onto the service ramp. With the E-brake on.
Meanwhile, I am in the store watching like a hawk to make sure they don't try to pull anything or do something stupid, while trying to remain calm and decently friendly. It was a good thing I was watching. The tech took the old rim that had been damaged and promptly slapped it on the tire machine and clamped it forcefully from the inside! The tech on desk must have seen the look of horror on my face, because he instantly turned around, saw what the tech was doing, and raced out to correct the mistake before he ruined the new rim.
Even with all the precautions, the machine was not adjusted properly and scuffed the new rim slightly when the tire inflated and 'snapped' into place. The TPMS sensor was transferred over but they were unable to calibrate it due to their machinery being out of date. So I now have to find a place that can reset it so it will stop flagging my wheel at 0 PSI.
Conclusion:
All in all, I am grateful that the management of Hibdon had the honesty to admit they had screwed up and fix the damage free of charge. There were some very nice people who helped me navigate the entire fiasco, and I am grateful for their assistance.
However, I will never trust my car to another Hibdon Tire Plus as long as I live. If your techs don't know the simple difference between steel and alloy rims, how to properly adjust a tire machine for a mere 16" rim to prevent a 'bar-break', and can't figure out that they need to release the E-brake if the car keeps stalling...
I don't have time to continually baby-sit my car when work needs to be done. If you claim to be a shop specializing in tires, your techs should not be that incompetent.
P.S. I will say, it was rather amusing hearing the techs talking about my car from the dashcam recording once the work was complete. They found it almost comical that a car as small as mine had a turbo.
I may have started laughing...
TL/DR: Don't use Hibdon Tire Plus. Period. I know more about how to do their job than their mechanics do, and I've never even worked in a tire shop!
Story:
My Sonic (the Green Dragon) recently developed a slow leak in one of the tires. I work as an electrician, so it is not uncommon to encounter the occasional screw or nail around the areas surrounding my job sites. A fellow co-worker recommended Hibdon Tire Plus for their free flat repair.
Biggest mistake of the month...
I put the spare on and drop the wheel off at a nearby Hibdon during my lunchbreak. I return after my shift is over and immediately notice a problem.
There are gouge marks all around the inside barrel of the wheel that cut through the clearcoat and paint all the way into the aluminum.
I do some research and discover that these marks are due to an incompetent technician clamping the rim from the inside rather than the outside (you only clamp steel rims from the inside: basic tire-machine knowledge). I bring the wheel back and ask them to repair the damage. They send the wheel off to be refinished at a no-name "We-Repair" shop for three days.
I call back after four days after not receiving any calls from Hibdon and find out that my wheel is ready. So I commute back down from my home to pick it up. Upon arrival, I discover my "refinished" wheel has received a Maaco paintjob. The paint around the lip is already chipped and flaking from the tire machine and I discover that the wheel wasn't primed and the 'new' paint has bubbles everywhere.
I ask for a corporate number to get everything straightened out. I am offered a new wheel for my car, straight from the factory, as it would cost just as much to resurface my wheel yet again. I accept and wait four more days.
I call after six days because Hibdon has, once again, not called me to let me know if the wheel has come in. The wheel is at the shop, waiting to be put on the car.
I bring the car by and for the first time have to surrender my keys and let them drive the car into their service bay. I have made sure to nicely grill the tech on desk about how they will perform the work to ensure no mistakes will be made.
Now, I have a dashcam in my car that automatically records when the car is started. I find out after I have left the store that the tech who drove my car into the bay had no idea how to drive stick. He forgot to release the E-brake and stalled my car six times, all the while wondering why my car was chirping at him. Three of those times he burned my clutch trying to get the car onto the service ramp. With the E-brake on.
Meanwhile, I am in the store watching like a hawk to make sure they don't try to pull anything or do something stupid, while trying to remain calm and decently friendly. It was a good thing I was watching. The tech took the old rim that had been damaged and promptly slapped it on the tire machine and clamped it forcefully from the inside! The tech on desk must have seen the look of horror on my face, because he instantly turned around, saw what the tech was doing, and raced out to correct the mistake before he ruined the new rim.
Even with all the precautions, the machine was not adjusted properly and scuffed the new rim slightly when the tire inflated and 'snapped' into place. The TPMS sensor was transferred over but they were unable to calibrate it due to their machinery being out of date. So I now have to find a place that can reset it so it will stop flagging my wheel at 0 PSI.
Conclusion:
All in all, I am grateful that the management of Hibdon had the honesty to admit they had screwed up and fix the damage free of charge. There were some very nice people who helped me navigate the entire fiasco, and I am grateful for their assistance.
However, I will never trust my car to another Hibdon Tire Plus as long as I live. If your techs don't know the simple difference between steel and alloy rims, how to properly adjust a tire machine for a mere 16" rim to prevent a 'bar-break', and can't figure out that they need to release the E-brake if the car keeps stalling...
I don't have time to continually baby-sit my car when work needs to be done. If you claim to be a shop specializing in tires, your techs should not be that incompetent.
P.S. I will say, it was rather amusing hearing the techs talking about my car from the dashcam recording once the work was complete. They found it almost comical that a car as small as mine had a turbo.
I may have started laughing...
