Kost Tire & Auto Service
Reviews and Complaints

On October 22, I had a scary incident while driving home from work on Route 80 in East Stroudsburg, by Exit 305. My brakes completely failed, and I had to get my car towed to Kost Tire in Brodheadsville, Pa. The technicians at Kost admitted that my brake hose was installed incorrectly, with the new hose being broken and hanging down under my wheel. I had brought my car to Kost multiple times before for repairs, but the issue was never resolved. I had to tow my car there several times. This negligence made me extremely frightened while driving. I could have easily hit something or someone, or even lost my life, even though it wasn't my fault. I had spent a significant amount of money at Kost to maintain and fix my vehicle, but I received no satisfactory resolution. I contacted Kost Corporate, but they didn't provide any help either. I am still upset about this whole experience. As a consumer who trusted them with my vehicle, I believe I should be compensated for some of the trouble I went through. It's just not fair.

I took my car to Kost tire cuz it broke down. They said they checked it out and said the problem was the transfer case and drive axle. They said they could only find original dealer parts (I found cheaper ones tho). They charged me 3080 bucks for the fix and when I asked why they didn't get cheaper parts, they said they looked everywhere. I told them I found the parts but they already put on the ones they ordered. I had to pay with a loan service they had. I took the car home but the problem wasn't fixed, so I had to bring it back. They called me and said it was the rear differential, which was the original problem. I asked why they didn't fix it before and they said they missed it. I took my car home again.

Kost, as an authorized dealer, processed my warranty claim for tires. Since October 27, they lacked the specific tires I needed, citing a backorder. They still placed an order, estimating a 2-week arrival. Needing immediate replacements, I purchased costlier Michelins. Kost retained my old tires for the warranty claim, which requires sending them to the manufacturer for inspection. I was to receive 4 new tires under warranty, despite buying replacements. Repeated inquiries yielded no updates; I was informed of possible discontinuation and was told my original tires were lost, then that I never left them, contradicting the warranty process. This has led me to believe I was scammed into buying new tires without fulfilling the warranty. I have written evidence of this ordeal.

Me and my daughter took her car to Kost Tires in Milford, PA for the inspection. They failed her because the emergency brake wasn't working and said it would cost $135 to fix. She didn't have the money, so she said she would bring it back in a week or two when she had it. We came back today and there were different guys working. They ignored our 11AM appointment and finally took the car in just before noon. They took off the tires, inspected it, and then came out to tell us it would cost $405 and take 3 hours to fix! I told the guy that we were just here 2 weeks ago and they said it would be $135 and take about 45 minutes! He started stuttering and said, 'well, uh, that's just for the parts!' I laughed at him and told him to put the tires back on as he tried to sell me a credit line. I watched through the window as the mechanic acted unprofessionally (like he was annoyed that we wouldn't be extorted). It took him half an hour to put the tires back on, and then he rushed through the parking lot to bring my daughter's car to the front door! He came in, SLAMMED the keys on the counter, and said he was going to lunch, but he didn't make eye contact with me... it was really unprofessional... and cowardly too... On top of that, they didn't give us back the brake pads that were in the car or our original receipt, and they didn't even write us a new one, knowing they didn't want any conflicts! I had to stand there for another 20 minutes until another guy finally brought out the box and receipts! It was like dealing with a group of annoyed preschoolers! And just to make things worse, they didn't enforce the social distancing rule either! People were sitting and standing too close to each other in the overcrowded waiting room! At least they had some hand sanitizer available... I guess that's a positive...! This whole situation is terrible and it's a big problem up here, especially with these generic mechanics! It should be illegal!

I went to Kost in East Stroudsburg 'cause my wheel was squeaking sometimes. I told them 'bout the noise on the right side of my car that got worse when I turned the wheel. After like 8 hours, they fixed my power steering pump and charged me 'bout 500 bucks. But in two days, I heard the same noise again. I called and went back to the shop the next week. They said the belt was loose, so they tightened it. I left. But in two days, the sound came back. I called again and went back the following week. They said the new power steering pump must be bad, so they'll order another one. I had to wait another week for it to come in. The next week, I was at the shop for like 8 hours again. I got there at 7:30 in the morning. It wasn't until 5:00 pm when the manager told me the new pump broke as soon as they put it in my car. I had to wait again for them to order a new pump. I couldn't get it fixed for another 1.5 weeks. I went in for the next new pump and they replaced it. But as soon as I left the shop, I heard the same noise again. I called and explained, and the manager said he didn't know why. He told me to come in the following week AGAIN. I went in for the last visit, and the mechanic said he wasn't sure why it was still making noise. He said he greased my brakes. I left frustrated and feeling unsafe in my car. I took my car to a local shop and they said my power steering shouldn't have been replaced. It was actually my right wheel bearing and I needed a hub too. Now I've spent over 1,000 bucks and missed so much work 'cause of Kost. They checked my problems and were also really rude when I got frustrated. I called Kost district management and they said they couldn't give me a discount or refund 'cause I went somewhere else.

I took my car to Kost Tire & Auto Service, Inc. for an oil change and new tires. The so-called "master technician" messed up big time. They lifted my car incorrectly, which damaged the running boards, broke brackets, stripped the oil plug, and melted the oil pan. The manager, Chris D, was rude and unhelpful. He insisted that everything would just "pop back" into place. They even used used motor oil to move my car out of the bay and didn't put on the new tires. Here are the issues I experienced:

1. I brought my car in for an oil change and was told it would only take 30 minutes. However, I ended up waiting for 40 minutes and was then informed that the oil plug couldn't be removed and was stripped. This was not the quick oil change I was promised.

2. I specifically told the technician that I only had 20 minutes because I needed to pick up my daughter. I asked them to reschedule if they couldn't finish in time.

3. The technician tried to heat the plug to remove it, but it ended up fusing and wouldn't come out.

4. They didn't even have a replacement plug in stock before attempting to remove the old one, in case it was stripped.

5. Manager Chris didn't bother coming to speak with me. I had to go and ask him to come see the damage.

6. Chris insisted that my car wasn't damaged and that it would "pop back" into place. But both the passenger and driver side rocker panels were destroyed.

7. They didn't provide an estimate until I asked about the cost of replacing the oil pan.

8. Chris should have informed me, as a customer, before attempting to remove the plug that if it couldn't be removed, I would need a new oil pan costing $1600 and taking 8 hours to replace. But I had to ask these questions myself after the technician attempted the oil change.

9. Joe, the district manager, had to inconvenience himself by driving me and my husband home. But that still left me with the problem of finding someone else to pick up my 4-year-old daughter, which can be confusing for a child.

10. We exchanged emails, and I asked Joe to have Chris contact me to let me know when the parts would arrive so I could make arrangements for my children. Communication should be a priority when trying to do right by a customer.

11. At 1:42pm, I contacted Chris and asked about the progress. He rushed to get off the phone and said the parts hadn't arrived. It was like pulling teeth to get any information from him. He didn't even know when the parts would come in.

12. Today, I emailed Joe again, and he told me that I must have spoken to the assistant manager, who was much more caring and provided good customer service. Joe said Chris wasn't even at the shop and was on his way to Scranton. But I had already spoken to Chris 31 minutes before that. When I showed up at the store at around 4pm, Chris intentionally avoided me. When I finally confronted him, he said the parts had arrived but didn't bother calling me. He pushed the responsibility onto Joe instead of taking accountability.

13. Chris is not truthful, and other customers seem to have the same experience with him. This is not good for Kost's business.

14. He claimed to have no knowledge of the conversations between Joe and me, saying it was between us and not his concern.

15. Joe said the part wasn't ordered from ***. But Chris lied and told me he did order it from "a ***." He knew this wasn't true. When I called *** for the price, they quoted $275 with a $6 gasket, including all bolts. They even had the oil pan available for pickup. The rocker panels cost over $600, but Chris quoted me $599.95 for the same part, which apparently wasn't even ordered from ***. It was a mopar part but not ordered from a dealer. Chris gave me the quote before even checking if the parts were in stock, so claiming that Joe relayed the cost to me is nonsense. The price was given before verification, and an alternate vendor was contacted after ***.

16. *** quoted $1475 for the oil pan repair, including parts and labor for 10 hours. Kost quoted me $1646.49 with 8 hours of labor. That's a $171.49 difference! The part itself had a $318.95 difference. Doesn't that upset you? And this was before Kost even ordered the part. Joe offered me $200 off, but that's not enough.

Overall, my experience with Kost Tire & Auto Service, Inc. was a complete disaster. The technician's mistakes, the manager's unhelpfulness, and the lack of communication have left me frustrated and disappointed. I would not recommend this place to anyone.