National Tire & Battery [NTB]
reviews and complaints

I brought my vehicle in for NTB's advertised $19.99 oil change and tire rotation. Once they had the car on the rack, Jose Moreno, the store manager, tells me that ALL of my lug nuts on the right front wheel are 'stripped' and can't be reinstalled. He gives me a quote for SIX new lug nuts @ $9.95 ea. I'm immediately suspicious, because my wheel only has FIVE lug nuts on it. So I ask to see the damaged lug nuts. Moreno spends several minutes scurrying around the shop, but produces ONE lug nut, which has the first few threads stripped. He then corrects his earlier statement, saying I only need TWO new lug nuts. I authorized the purchase and installation. Then he tells me that they can't do my tire rotation for fear of stripping additional lug nuts.
Moreno then brings over their DNA (Diagnostic Needs Analysis) results. He says every single fluid in my car is 'contaminated' and must be changed immediately. That included coolant (just changed in August), brake fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, and even my one-year old, still-warranted battery (he said the battery was 'failing'). I decline all additional services.

When I go to pay, I ask for the two old lug nuts - something IL requires that a shop provide. They only produce ONE stripped lug nut, so I refuse to pay for a second one. They knock $9.95 off my bill. My $19.99 oil change and tire rotation has now set me back $36, and my tires never were rotated.

I'm used to blatant 'upselling' on low-priced oil changes, but this went beyond anything I'd ever seen before. If I had agreed to all of the services they proposed, my bill would have been bigger than my monthly mortgage payment. I also don't know why *I* have to pay to replace a part which THEY damaged. I don't know about the rest of NTB, but I can say with certainty that their Hodgkins, IL shop is a pure ripoff scam.

I heard a radio advertisement for National Tire and Battery (NTB) which said you could buy one tire and get one free. Since i need two new tires, I thought that this was my lucky day. I could not have been more wrong. When I went there they informed me that the particular tire I wanted for my 2005 Ford Focus was $102.00.
Not bad for two, which would have brought the price down to $51.00 each. Then they dropped the bomb on me. They required that they mount and balance the tires (I could have done this myself) and that I MUST pay for an allignment as part of the deal. The total cost would have been $271.00. These requirements are not mentioned in the ad. The final total cost ($271.00) was at least 25% more that if I had had it done at BJ's Wholesale Club or Firestone. What a sleazy and deceitful way to operate. I urge anyone reading this to not patronize NTB. They wasted my time; don't let them waste yours.

Late on a Sunday, we discovered my son's Honda Accord has a leaking heater hose. My child drives the car to school and needed it Monday. I was at work, so my wife and son take the car in to NTB. She was informed the repair would be $60 for the hose and $175 for labor. It would be a two hour job. She told them to start the job and called me. I told her the part costs $16 and the labor should be around $50 maximum, and to stop the repair. She told the manager. The car had been there 10 minutes. He told her they would stop, but already had the old hose off. If the repair takes 2 hours, and they put the old hose back on, wouldn't this be a 30 minute job? I had the car repaired at AAMCO for $75. Nothing more than a price goughing case of a woman in a desperate situation. I have used them before, but will never drop another dime in their business.

Took car in for 2 new tires ($200) then they called my wife back stating the car needs all kinds of additional work like transmission flushing, new battery terminals, new fan belts ($600). They cut battery cables to put on new terminals and cables no longer reach battery - their solution was a new battery. In process of replacing fan belts they broke a bolt and can find no replacement - so car is still disabled after 2 days. So beware of these folks and avoid at all costs.

I went in to get tires and alignment buy 2 and alignment get 2 free. They said one adjusting nut was stuck, they put penitrating oil on, come again in 2 days-couldn't do alignment which was badly needed. Came back, now they notice all for are stuck and in order to get alignment I need new inner and outer tie rods for 400 bucks. After 3 days tires showing uneven wear because ball joint were just done the week before. Took car home and my husband had them loose in an hour. Took back and got alignment. They got the $$ for alignment when I bought the tires and clearly were not going to put any effort into doing the alignment and tried to make some more $$ with tie rod crap. Everytime I called this store after they got my $$ they had no time for me to come in (other than the manager Norm who is nice). Yet one night when I dropped in they were not busy-I had just called and was told I would have a 4 hour wait. NO ONE was there, they were standing around with nothing to do. I never wanted the new tires w/o an alignment and was very upset they put them on and then discovered no alignment could be done. That 1st night I did not want to drive off with the new tires but was assured no uneven wear would happen in a few days or even a week, they were too busy to do the alignment that weekend and I should come back in a few days or try another store they said. Uneven wear happened by the time I got home and they did not care they told me there would be no uneven wear in a few days. So after spending 800 bucks and having tires with bad wear on the front -I took advantage of the 30 day ride gaurantee and got different tires. While there waiting one night the desk man was on the phone with another customer and was mouthing silently 'I dont give a care-shutup' and 'God' as someone was relating there car issue. I hate to say it but he smelled like alcohol. Bad atmosphere and service at NTB in Crestwood on Watson. Go to South County-they have time and seem to care. Crestwood doesn't care and should not have gotten my business.

I bought 4 new tires from NTB and within a couple of days I went by the store to ask them to check the balance of the tires as there was a vibration that was coming up through the floor shift indicating a possible out of bal.rear tire.None from the steering indicating front was ok.They had plenty of time and help to sell me the tires but never seem to have the time or help to check the bal.I`ve been by the store at least 6 times, I get the same song and dance every time.They told me to come in at about 6:30a.m.and they would do their best to get to it.What!I`m supposed to get up at 5:30a.m. to get there at 6:30 only on a hope.I`ve read a lot of th reviews on NTB and it looks as if you all need a face lift.Bad reports all the way around.Ihave bought my last set of tires from them as their are way to many tire stores out there to put up with this type of conduct.

NTB of Round Rock, Texas is awful. I had front brake work done. They replaced the calipers on my car. I didn't realize this until I was told later by Tom of E & T automotive, that if a mechanic tells you that new calipers are needed, then go to another shop. They should never have to be replaced. That's $311 down the drain. Then I had rear brake work done months later. That's when the problems started. When I left NTB, I took my car to Brake Specialists down the road since I had a hole in my exhaust that they could weld. The mechanic noticed brake fluid all over my rear tire. I took it back to NTB, and I believe it was the assistant manager told me it wasn't a problem, it was due to overflow. Now, I have bled the brakes on my motorcycles, and that statement was a load of crap. If I didn't take it to another mechanic right after I left NTB, it could have been catastrophic.

I also had problems with the car shimmying, the steering wheel would vibrate. I went back to them several times so they could fix the problem, all they did was machine the rotors and balance the wheels. None of these solutions helped. Another time they replaced the rear drums (remember, I just had rear brake work done), and it still didn't fix the problem. I'm convinced that these people do not know what they are doing. I was also told by the assistant manager that my car had 3 bent wheels. The likely hood of having 3 bent wheels is very low. I went to Discount Tire, and they said only 1 of my wheels is bent. I did not have a bent wheel until after I took my car to NTB.

NTB also gave me a quote and on 2 separate occasions, they had to call me back to tell me the original quote was wrong and the price was actually higher. Apparently, they have a habit of doing this. Always take the first quote.

Do yourself a favor if you live in Round Rock or surrounding areas, go to E & T Automotive. They do good work, are reasonably priced compared to most places, and most important, they are HONEST! They don't perform unnecessary work. None of those stupid flushes that shops like NTB try to sell you. E & T is just just down the road from NTB.

Chad is a very rude individual. Last year they left my oil cap of which shot oil all over my engine. When I took it back they wiped the front off with a rag and put a new cap on that did not fit correctly. A couple of weeks a go I took it in for a oil change, after a small arguement with chad over balancing, i left. I then noticed oil dripping on my nice clean painted garage floor. So I went back and asked them to check if everything was tight, instead Chad insisted on pointing out all the oil over my engine (remember the no cap issue). He claimed it wasn't the oil change. I finally got down to a garage that cleans engines on a rack. Guess where the oil was coming from, A LOOSE OIL FILTER. Called Chad at NTB, he told me to file a complaint with corporate and would not let me talk to the manager. I hung up. I NEVER WILL GO THERE AGAIN!

Went in for a simple oil change and tire rotation. On the way to NTB I heard a little bit of front end creaking. I had had my steering looked at earlier that day by a reputable mechanic, he replaced a couple of parts that had been causing a lot of noise. I could finally hear quiet creak that seemed to be coming from the front end, so I asked NTB to have a look. Two hours later they got to my car. I had been the only customer for part of that time, but they were too busy looking busy to work on my car. They came to get me to discuss what I needed for my car. Basically, they listed every part that has anything to do with the front end alignment, including my new struts and plates. Their description to me of what was happening to my front end was comical... My rack and pinion was scratched and needed to be replaced, my struts were old and worn, and the plates were in awful shape. We needed shims (no). And the list went on. I am a girl, but I am not an idiot. I helped install those struts, they were new, and installed correctly. I was quoted $2200 for repairs I DID NOT need. Oh, and when I asked for a printout of the quote so I could show my mechanic and husband, the computer suddenly stopped working and they couldn't print it. But they had no problem printing my oil change receipt seconds later (convenient...). Just to be sure, I called my mechanic back, he said that those parts were part of what he had checked this morning, everything looked fine but now that the louder steering noise was fixed he will go back and have another look to find out what the creaking noise is. After reading the complaints on the NTB consumer complaint sites, I am going to go check out my lugnuts, oil filter, and so on to make sure everything actually made it back onto my car properly. This company is scary...unapologetically scamming people and incompetently repairing cars. They are slow...be prepared to wait at least an hour and a half for an oil change, regardless of whether there are other customers. They are dishonest, taking advantage of women...I can honestly say that this is the first time I have ever been treated like the stereotypical female at a stereotypical mechanic. Apalling. Before you take your car in, research the complaint boards.

I took my car into NTB for vibration when braking. That was last fall. My car is still vibrating a year later and they have sold me about a thousand dollars worth of repairs, plus have lost my hub caps and keep telling me they have new ones ordered. I need help dealing with them. I've purchased another set of tires, another wheel alignment, rotors, brakes and to top that, they didn't put my hub caps back on and now they can't find them. They've been replacing them since August. I also had my check engine light repaired by them and it's back on. I'm tired and fustrated from paying this bill and my car is still in the same condition it was in last fall. What are my options

I took my car in for a wheel alignment. I received a call from Nick Villareal. He told me the front wheel bearings needed to be replaced. He said they would cost $400 each. This seemed high, but since the car was there, I agreed. He later told me that the struts additionally needed to be repaired at a cost of $207 each. So, I was expecting to pay about $1200. I nearly had a heart attack when presented with a bill for $2000. After seeing that my wife and I were extremely mad at his deception, he lowered the price to $1558. If he could lower the price so quickly, imagine the markup he was making. He told me that he was selling the parts at cost and challenged me to go to any auto parts store to verify. I did. The bearings were $229.99 compared to their cost of $339. The struts were $126.99 compared to their cost of $207. So with the price I was expecting to pay at $2000 they would still be making close to $500 profit. Worse, the noise that I took the car in for was still there.

I took it to the dealer to have him look at it. They told me that NTB had been unethical because the bearings would have been under warranty. I went back and spoke to the NTB manager, Fernando Garcia. All he did was say he was sorry…but that he was there to make CASH!

NTB will not make any CASH from me or any one I can influence again.

I experienced the following today but it was the same as with every visit:
1. I brought my VW Jetta in around 8:30 am on Sunday for 4 tires because of an advertised special.
2. The advertised specials are conveniently not in stock and the next cheapest tire is $30 per tire more. I am so desperate for tires that I agree to a more expensive tire.
3. They pressure me to get an alignment even after I tell them I just had one. I tell them no.
4. I leave the car and get a call 6 hours later to tell me that they are working on the car and found that my tires are out of alignment. I tell them no again to the alignment.
5. I show up 20 minutes before closing (9 hours after dropping it off) and find that they hadn't even started work yet. I have to wait another hour for them to put the tires on.
6. I am charged almost $40 per tire for tire disposals and tire installation. I turned down the additional $15 per tire road hazard protection.
7. I originally wanted the $69 per tire special but ended up with a $600 bill.

I found out i had a flat tire while i was about to take my mother to a doctor's appointment.Before i took tire off, i called around to price a tires.I then proceded to take off flat and replace it with donut.I noticed that tire most likely could get patched, I saw a coupon for free patch frm NTB.so i went dwn rd to NTB, told them i had coupon, assistant manager Greg said he'd never seen coupon, check with co-works and replied i guess we'll take it.I left tire there due to hot weather and patch needing to set properly as i was told.A hour and half later, I received call tire was ready.I walked in to NTB, told Greg i would pay to have it put back on, gave him my car key and sat dwn in waiting area.20 mins later, he ask me to Help his tech remove key, because he's been TRYING and can't.So i went outside with tech, popped trunk so he could place donut back in car.I tried removing key and it would not come out of ignition, I tried 3 times.I then went back inside to see greg.His words were (I hope we didn't break it) I replied yea, me too.Thinking i just was in a rush and didn't do it right.I went home, key still wouldn't come out.I looked at car manual, called a friend with same car and still wouldn't come out.I called store, Greg answered phone.I said Greg we have a problem, they key won't come out now..He replied, We'll we didn't break it, not our fault.My reply was, i've had car a yr+, never had this issue, until you guys touched my car.you even said i hope we didn't break it.He replied that there not responsible for it, but he'd look at it, for a fee of course.I've contacted corp, the store manager and car dealer.manager will pay to have it looked at, but wants proof that his guy broke it...even car dealer said that's impossible, unless there's a camera in car.point is i told them, i never, never had this issue til they touched car.total repair is $411.00.I refuse to pay for something i did not break.I'm in contact with lawyer to help me get this resolved.I would think a company would accept responsiblity for something they did, rather than place blame on customer.I have to disconnect battery when i get out of car, so it isn't stolen.This has been a stress filled 3 weeks, so i'm willing at this point to go as far as needed to get this properly handled, even if it means having a til tap done on them.Stay away frm NTB

I recently dropped my car off at the NTB in Deptford, NJ for an oil change and front brake service. Having worked in the business for several years, I understand as much as anyone that there is great corporate pressure to sell, sell, sell. However, trying to sell unnecessary services to any customer is a terrible policy, and that problem becomes magnified then the customer happens to be knowledgeable. A couple hours after dropping off, I get a call from the service advisor, quoting me a cost of $450 (for a Saturn Ion). She could tell I was quite surprised, and told me that included pads, rotors, a rear brake cleaning and adjustment, and that my brake fluid was contaminated and needed to be replaced.

I took no issue with the pads and rotors - they were a foregone conclusion beforehand, and I expected to pay a couple hundred bucks for them. The issues begin with the clean and adjust service. A word to the wise: NEVER accept this service. This is just an easy revenue builder for the repair business that provides little to no benefit. Rear brakes are self-adjusting; when you back up and then brake, the brakes adjust outward. So the extent of this "service" is removing the brake drum, spraying a brake cleaning agent on the brakes and hardware to remove any brake dust buildup, and return the drum to its original position. Rarely does enough dust accumulate to affect performance even slightly; you're better off waiting until they're ready to be replaced. I've been quoted anywhere from $30 to $70 for this service, and it is offered EVERY TIME the wheels come off my car. Thanks, but I'm not really into setting money on fire.

The contaminated brake fluid claim really sent me over the edge, though. One, a brake system is a sealed hydraulic system, so nothing can get in or out. If there is an opening for something to enter, then you will experience a loss of pressure, meaning your brake pedal will feel spongy or fall to the floor. I specifically mentioned to the advisor while dropping off my keys that I had experienced no such issues. Imagine my surprise when the advisor told me that the brake fluid was burnt. When I responded, "BURNT brake fluid, huh?" she began to stammer a bit and said that it was instead contaminated. If the system is sealed and has no leaks, how is something getting in there to contaminate the fluid? It certainly didn't burn; the amount of heat required to accomplish this is not generated in brake lines, not even close. For something to get in and contaminate the fluid, there would have to be a break or an opening in the system, which would lead to a loss of hydraulic pressure, which has not happened. The only time I had the master cylinder cover off was the day I bought the car, and the fluid looked perfectly normal to me.

This was nothing more than an attempt to build sales with services that were not needed. The reason I left the automotive service business was because of the high level of dishonesty that exists there. It's sad to see that it's so widespread.

Store at 1960 and Cutten rd near Walmart

Damaged vehicle (Broke bracket on suspension) when performing front end alignment. Ran suspension bracket into ramp broke bracket on driver side rear. Business acknowledge they hit ramp but said they had not hit it fast enough to break the bracket. Speed is not a factor. Weight and point of contact are the issue. They have so far refused to pay for the damage. We had to remove the suspension componet $150 and are looking for a replacement bracket.

I bought a new 2011 Subaru wrx an took it in to have winter tires put on the vehicle. When I got there to pick it up it was dark out so I drove it home. When I pulled in the garage I noticed walking by that the rim was scratched. I was fuming especially because as I looked each rim had damage! The bad thing about it was nobody told me about it before I left, when you know they had to notice. This is were it all goes south! I take the vehicle in the next day an showed the manager. The manager states he would take care of it. He said he would send the rims out to be refinished, but it would take 3 days. I informed him it was my only vehicle an I don't have a spare set of rims to put on for them to send those out. He said when I can be without a car just bring it in. 2 wks. Later we went on vacation for a week so I dropped it off to him. They said it will be done an they would just keep it in the garage at night. I get back an the rims are not done! The mechanics state they had no idea what the car was there for, that all the manager said was make sure the car is garaged, no order at all to be found! I was told he went on vacation, wouldn't you think after a week moving a vehicle in an out of a bay someone would pick up the phone an call? So another month goes by an I leave again for vac. So I dropped it off on fri. Said I would be back on wed. Wed. I get a call an was told it wouldn't be done till thurs. Thurs I call them at 1 pm to find out if I can grab my car. I was told, the man came in last night an did your rims, he put a clearcoat on an set them under your car on the rack so they could dry. Then he informed me that overnight the car was raised in the air an accidentally fell onto the rims! I was in shock. What do u say? To make a long story short, they didn't know that I know someone whom works there who took pictures of everything before I got there. When I saw it the last time they actually had the nerve to try to cover it up by pushing the bumper back in place! We are not talking about a $500 car here, who the hell gives them the right to touch an cover up the damage? They said thats the way it was! Any the coverup just began! It just gets worse from there!

Store 501 password [protected] 00001 roomate took car in for a tire at 11:30am on 11/28. Told it would take till end of day. She had to work and wasnt sure she could get it picked up so it was marked over night. But could be picked up at 7am. She said the guy was rude to her the whole time. Another customer asked if he was having a bad day. I later found I could pick it up. I went in at 5:30pm. When I told him who I was he attacked. He said I had hit another car in the morning and he was filing a hit and run with the police. He said I would be charged and there would also be a lawsuit. I kept saying he was wrong but he said he had two witnesses that took my plate number. It turned out it wasnt me but he never said he was sorry. This took place in front of other customers and I was never so embarased or angry. He left to see if he could speed up the car and 20 minutes later I was still waiting for an answer. I had to ask another worker to get an answer. The car wasnt ready till 9am the next day. This was the worst example of customer service ever. And they should know their facts befor saying I commited a crime.