National Tire & Battery [NTB]
Reviews and Complaints

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.

I brought a 98 Toyota 4Runner into NTB to get a tire rotation and balance. The lugs weren't tightened and on the way back to NTB, the driver front tire came off. The tire subsequently rolled off and hit another vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle assisted with jacking up truck and placing tire back on vehicle. I was asked to provide a police report and also driver if vehicle involved was asked to send NTB an estimate from paint and body shop. After speaking with NTB, they attempted to stall the process to fix both vehicles. On Friday June 3rd, I was contacted by Erik Passarro and was given a compromise solution. Hours later Mr Passarro called back to renege on the agreed upon deal. NTB would like me to go away but it was because of their neglect that my truck and another vehicle need to get repaired. To show good faith in NTB as a whole, I continue to do business with NTB.

Location-
4616 Hugh Howell Rd
Tucker, GA [protected]

Consumer's Desired Resolution:
I would like for NTB to repair my vehicle and also vehicle that was involved in this incident.

Went in for allignment and oil change at the Monroeville, Pa store. NTB was running decent specials at the time (couple days before Easter `11) and I told my wife that I was prepared to rebuff any attempt at upselling as specials usually just to get folks in the door and real money is made on other stuff.
Manager and staff nice enough but after about an hour I get asked to look at some concerning safety issues. I was shown that I had bad sway bar links and I needed to take care of this immediately or risk an accident. I really, really dont think this would happen even if they failed but I said I was interested and that I wanted a quote. they then told me I needed front brakes and rotors (of course!) and they would give me the best deal they could. I nodded seriously and said lets see what cost is because I really want to have this work done. The quote: $176 each link and $350 for brake job. after adding work i was having done already was around $800+. I almost laughed out loud. I said that I would get the allignment and oil change done that day and as soon as I saved up some money I would be back (probably). They reluctantly agreed and after 3 hours total had my work done and was out the door phew!

I have an 07 Ford Escape not a Maseratti or Rolls-Royce. I bought the parts from rockauto.com for about $90 with shipping and installed them in less than 2hrs. sway bar links cost $17 a piece and have a bolt on each end you fasten with a nut.
seriously. drivers side took a little longer but about 15 minutes each side and I dont have a lift or air tools . The point of this rant is: There is mark-up. I'm ok with that otherwise company would go bust. Then there is fraud - or at least greed in this case. By this math an $80 tire purchased elsewhere would cost about a thousand bucks with NTB lol. Be carefull with this company!

I had my alignment done at the porter 77365 location and found the hub cap missing reaching home.When asked they said that the vehicle came without the hubcaps.
I am sure that the Hub caps were there when I gave in for service and it is my fault that I did not check it while taking dekivery.Unfortunately this is the second incident with NTB and I thought this warrants a review at this time.

I went to the NTB location at the Beltway and Hillcroft in Houston Texas on 4/25/11. My car was making a really bad rubbing noise. The technician put my car on the rack, drove it around, then diagnosed the problem. All four brake pads and rotors were the issue, according to their technician. I agreed to have this fixed for around $600 dollars. Later that evening, the store called and said that something else was the problem - a bracket. Not wanting to pay for even more work, but wanting the problem fixed, I told them to go ahead and fix it. The next day they called and said the bracket wasn't the only problem either and it would cost an additional $1800 to fix my car! The axle was the problem this time. Why couldn't they tell me this at first, before I spent over $600? Then I am expected to pay an EXTRA $1800 on top of that? And they won't even admit that their technician messed up and didn't accurately diagnose the issue. They could have told me all of this up front, before doing any work and before taking my money. What kind of racket is NTB running? This is ridiculous that they can't diagnose and fix a problem without forcing you to spend thousands of dollars. Now I have to drive my car off the lot, not fixed, and I'm out of over $600. This is totally unacceptable and frustrating and NTB should be ashamed of calling themselves a service company.

I had a collegue of mine tell me story of NTB billing a $1000.00 for work on a volkswagon, when the car started acting up again, he took it to Volkwagon, and they tried to tell him it needed the same work done that he paid NTB-Jimmy Carter. He had the Volkwagon manager call the NTB manager, who, returned my collegues money. My wife took my car in to rotate the tires, and after a 45 minute wait, the manager said the tires only had about 10k left on them. He never said he didn't rotate the tires. When I called to find out why they didn't rotate the tires...guess what...the store manager said he did tell m wife. Now, do I believe my wife or a store manager with a reputation of not performing th work paid for .

While getting 4 new Michelins the mechanic wanted to replace my almost dead battery before I found myself stranded somewhere. I took my Camry to a dealership but they found nothing wrong (and it was still working just fine over a year later). Within 4-5 months I got a flat that couldn't be repaired - the garage that checked it said the hole was huge. i took it to ntb looking for a free replacement under warranty but they tried blaming me for hitting a pothole, which wasn't the case, & said they would sell me another tire at cost for $90 (I paid just a little more than that originally). I've hit some huge potholes with mediocre tires over the years which has never caused a flat, yet one of the best tires I've ever purchased gets a huge hole in it just a few months later? I told them if I did buy a replacement tire it wouldn't be from them but finally accepted their offer of $50 for a new one. I will never go back & have told everyone this story. I suspect it's ntb's policy to upsell (read "scam") their customers, especially females, in general.

National tire & battery destroyed my jeep engine while in their shop and will not accept responsibility for the damage... Monday evening, jan 3rd, 2011 … I had the oil and air filter changed at jiffy lube at 4592 manchester road, the jeep engine was running fine …

Tuesday evening (Jan 4th) on my way home from work, I noticed light steam coming from under the hood, I checked the temp gauge and it was fine, but I thought that maybe during the oil change, they might have poked a hose or knocked something loose, and it was leaking … I was very close to the jiffy lube and I pulled in to have them check it out. They notified me that it was the water pump and the jiffy lube technician showed me with a flashlight. We topped it off with coolant and since my house was close, we decided i’d try to make it home, I went just a few blocks and pulled over in a big k parking lot to prevent it overheating. I parked it there and called my wife to come pick me up … this was around 5:30 – 6:00 in the evening… the vehicle did not overheat.
I had used the ntb on manchester a few times before for tires / shocks, etc. And called them to see if they did water pumps… brandy (The manager) told me that they do and she quoted me about $ 330.00 - $ 350.00, I told her that I would have aaa tow it in that evening and she agreed.
I then called aaa and had them meet me at the big k parking lot on manchester and the vehicle was towed to ntb at approximately 6:30 – 7:00 tuesday evening…
I then went home. I received about 9:05 or so from ntb manager brandy telling me that “ my vehicle was ready to go! “ she said “ now you don’t have to rent a car for tomorrow, we stayed late to fix it … “ I had my wife drive me to the ntb (About 20 – 25 minutes) and I walked in and spoke with brandy, she then informed me that the mechanic was still working on it, he was having trouble getting the fan to come on and that it was probably a temperature sensor or fuse … (I stood with him and we looked at the fuse box under the hood, and no fuse was present – I ask him if he checked anywhere else on the vehicle for fuses and he told me not yet but would look into it) by the way – the fan had always worked and was working fine despite the fuse box issue prior to this time – this is what prompted the comment about a possible temp. Sensor …
We stood there for approx. 10 minutes, the engine was running fine, smooth and no problem what so ever other than the fan, no rough-ness or loud noises … for example, brandy had called me to come and get it.
We agreed that it was too late to continue, and no parts could be obtained at that hour anyway, so they told me that they would get a temp. Sensor in the morning and finish the repairs … this was about 9:45 or so …
(From the time brandy called me at 9:05 until I left the ntb shop, the jeep had to have been running for at least 40 minutes without any problem what so ever)

Wednesday morning (Jan 5th), my wife dropped me @ the enterprise car rental on manchester and I rented a ford fusion for the day, thinking I could drop it off later that afternoon … I called ntb at 11:40 am to check status on the jeep, and I was told that the mechanic came into work that day at 11:00 am and was working on it … no mention of any overheating problems, noises or issues … he said they would call me later in the day when it was ready. Either I called ntb, or brandy called me at about 3:00 and told me that it wasn’t ready … she admitted to me that “ the jeep was running fine until it overheated while the mechanic was working on it and now it is making a loud noise“. (Those are her exact words) I have no idea how long the mechanic had ran the jeep during the day, but the call was at least 3 or more hours since I called that morning.
I immediately drove to ntb and when I arrived, about 4:00pm – 4:30 pm, the mechanic had pulled the jeep out to the parking area in front of the shop (Approx.. 30 – 35 feet) as if it was ready to go… I asked if it was
O k now, the mechanic and brandy both told me no it wasn’t and it was making a very loud noise and running rough … I asked why it was sitting out of the bay and they said they didn’t know what else to do.
The mechanic told me that it was making such a loud noise and running so rough, that he was afraid to drive it any further. I then set down with brandy and discussed with her that they (Ntb) needed to continue and find out what they’ve done and she assured me that “ they would make it right. “ I suggested that they call the dealership to see if they knew what the next move was and the mechanic called but claimed he wasn’t able to speak with anyone… I urged brandy to call, which she did, and she told me that the dealership said it’s probably a faulty water pump and she should get a new one from the dealer and put it on, and that it would fix it … I told her I doubted that was the case, but she insisted that they told her it’s common and happens all of the time. I then left to go home at about 5:30 or so to wait for her call, she got a new water pump and had the mechanic install it. She called me later in the evening and told me that it didn’t make any difference and that she was going to have the dealer take a look at it. She ask me for authorization to have the dealer “ tear down “ the engine and I refused … I told brandy that it was ntb’s responsibility and I would not make that call. She agreed to take it to the dealer that evening and would call me with results the next day …

Thursday morning early (Jan 6th), about 6:00 am, brandy called and left a voice mail for me to call her. I called a little later in the morning and she said they hadn’t torn the engine down, but they thought it was a timing chain making the noise, again … I questioned that and asked how they knew that and she said that’s just what they had told her. I then requested that she have “ her “ manager contact me about the vehicle’s status.
Dave johnson called me and I explained what had happened (Just as written above) and he agreed that what I had told him was pretty much on track with what brandy had told him, except … “ I “ had provided more details. He said he would look into what was wrong … I thanked him and reminded him that I was soon to be on my 4th day without my vehicle, he told me he understood and would see what he could do. I then called brandy to let her know that i’d spoken with dave and I asked her how my jeep was delivered to the dealer … her reply was “ the mechanic drove it “ … this is the same mechanic, that just the day before told me that “ he was afraid to drive it any further “ … yet, he drove it down the road to the dealership (It's 1 1/2 miles away). I called dave back and told him that I had lost all faith in his mechanic’s integrity and ability to make a qualified decision about the vehicle, and that I was very worried about what he may have done to the vehicle … I have no idea what the mechanic did and what damage he had caused to the engine.
Dave agreed to have the dealership “ tear down “ the engine to see what the damage was and told me he’d call me back when he knew.

Friday (Jan 7th), I spoke to dave and he had not yet heard from the dealership … he agreed to call me saturday.

Saturday (Jan 8th), dave called me and informed me that the dealership found that the #2 cylinder was broken and the spark plug was “ smashed “ … he then informed me that he would have to contact his insurance company and let them handle it from here. I didn’t speak to dave on sunday …

Monday morning (Jan 10th), I called and left a voice mail for dave @ about 8:30 to telling him I had to rent another car and I was concerned about the status of my vehicle, since I was now going on my 7th day with no satisfactory results in the matter. Dave called back and left me a message that he had called, I called brandy @ about 12:00 noon to see if she had an update and she told me that they were waiting on the insurance adjuster. This is where kim bernal with gallager-bassett insurance adjusters enters the picture… she contacted me and I explained to her what had happened, just as I had explained to dave, and she told me that the insurance company would send an inspector to evaluate the damage and review the findings – then, they would decide who was liable … we spoke throughout the week and I explained my dissatisfaction about the time it was taking, and that I had rented another car… kim and I started communicating via e mail and she informed me that it could possibly take a week or more to decide, I then called dave johnson and requested he intervene to try to speed up the process due to my car being in limbo. Kim had also requested the jiffy lube receipt and my rental car receipts when we first spoke, I provide them to her, and informed me that if ntb was found liable, they would pay for the rental car, but they would not pay for gasoline or extra insurance that I had purchased for the rental car. I then took the current rental car back and traded it for a vehicle with better gas mileage and dropped the extra insurance as per kim’s e mail… all done in good faith pending the outcome of the inspector’s findings.
(The e mails between kim, dave and I were during the week of jan 10th – jan 14th …)

Friday (Jan 14th), I had received a letter in the mail from the insurance company (Kim) stating that I needed to grant permission for the engine tear down (Kim and I had already discussed this and I declined granting approval) and I in turn left her a voice mail that I had received the letter, and that we had discussed the matter and that I would be traveling and may not have phone reception for the rest of the afternoon, or during the weekend, but she could leave a message if she needed to.

Monday morning (Jan 17th), I logged onto my e mail and found kim’s message about the inspectors / review board’s opinion was that "there was no problem with the installation of the water pump". I called kim and explained to her that the “ water pump installation “ was never the issue at all … it was the negligence of the mechanic letting my vehicle overheat while working on it in the ntb shop, and his poor decision making by driving the jeep to the dealer after knowing the condition of the vehicle … “ that “ is the issue. That is what prompted this letter stating all of the facts that I am aware of … I have no idea what all happened while my vehicle was at the ntb shop …
In summary, something happened to my vehicle while the ntb mechanic was working on it, at the ntb shop and they will not accept responsibility, even though they admit that it happened while at their shop, authorized the engine tear down to see what had happened, and now... My jeep is sitting at the dealership - dead with the cylinder head sitting in the back hatch. It hurts to take your vehicle in for a minor repair and then within a day - poof! Your car is destroyed!
I've given the ntb 4 chances to review the facts and overide the gallagher - basset decision and ntb will not claim fault.
I have found at least (4) similar complaints involving the same type of scenario and gallagher - basset denying the claim, it's a very bad pattern and I am seeking legal advice to bring suit against ntb.

A car battery that I purchased from them failed to start a few times over the course of two days. It was in the second year of a five-year warranty, so I took it in for a pro-rated replacement. NTB tested it and said it was fine. It was tested by several other repair places, which said it should be replaced. One said it was "shot" and another said it was the wrong sized battery for the car. NTB would not honor its warranty. NTB either used faulty testing equipment or simply did not want to honor its guarantee.

NTB had a great ad on TV - buy one tire, get one free as long as you come in before noon. I made it to the dealership by 10, waited in line almost 20 minutes and finally got to speak with a rep. We went through another 10 minutes of data entry while he set up my account, entered all of the information about my vehicle and selected the tires I had inquired about.

He totaled up the purchase (all of the expected extras of balancing/hazard ins/alignment and such) and surprised me with a $900 amount - no discounts at all. This disappointed me so of course I asked why no discount and they said that there are no discounts on the Goodyear Eagle GT tires. They had one other tire that fit my car and qualified for the discount, but it was a brand that I had never heard of. He asked a coworker where the displays were of that tire so that he could show them to me, and the coworker immediately responded with "You don't want those tires, I sold them to someone with a BMW last week and they couldn't make it out of the parking lot because there was snow on the ground."

I inquired about alternatives (either a discount on the Goodyears or some other tire), and the sales rep asked the manager for help. The manager explained that they only had two tires in stock that would fit my vehicle, and that the ones they recommend were only available at full price. Since there were several other NTB's nearby, he searched their inventory online to see if they had any other options. He said that there were no other options except special order, and that those would be full price only.

At this point I gave up, deciding that wasting only 30 minutes and a gallon of gas was better than buying tires from these guys.

On October 28, 2010, I took my 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan into NTB for brake service, and oil change. It was suggested that I also get the tires rotated and balanced. On the 29th day of October, I took my family on a trip to see our grandson at Georgetown College, in Kentucky. We spent the weekend, and on the way back we had to stop in Nashville, Tn. because we had tire trouble. In the process of attempting to change the tire, it was discovered that the lugs had been cross-threaded. I had to call a tow truck to get the lugs off. In his attempt, 3 lugs were broken off. Therefore we had to stay in a hotel because we could not drive from Tennessee on 2 lugs. The next morning I carefully drove to Firestone to have them replace the lugs. When we arrived in Birmingham, I went directly to NTB to be told that I needed to speak with the manager, who would not be in until the next day. The next day which was Tuesday, November 2, 2010, I spoke with the store manager, who informed me(after some argument) that he would have to send the information to corporate. I came home filed a complaint to the corporate office, and have not heard form the store manager or corporate office. I spent $641.74, originally at NTB, $107.33 at Firestone in Brentwood, Tn, $92.25 for a new tire, and$162.70 on the hotel room at the Hampton Inn in Brentwood, Tn, totaling $367.28 that was caused in my opinion, by NTB store # 625 on 330 Gadsden Hihgway, Birmingham, Al 35235. Please look into this matter as soon as possible and get back with me, at marvin.[protected]@yahoo.com

I took my vehicle for a routine state inspection. They failed the inspection saying I had a bad ball joint. I knew that was a line of crap because I always have my vehicle checked & repaired before I take it in for inspection. I filed a complaint with penn dot and challanged the inspection. They sent a referee inspector to over-see a reinspection of my vehicle and wouldnt you know it... It passed! They were just trying to rip me off. Needless to say... I will never go there again!

On 7/18/2010 I went to the ntb located at 6700 schrock court in columbus ohio to get a new tire and an oil change. The service was completed and I picked my vehicle up. While driving home I noticed that the transmission was shifting a little funny but I didn't think much about it until later in the evening I tried to go to the grocery store and as I was exiting my complex the transmission slipped and the shifting was very abnormal. The next day I called the ntb store and told them what happened and larry told me to bring the vehicle back and they would take a look at it. I brought the car back but the manager joe told me that he "visually" checked the transmission fluid and it seemed to be at an adequate level and he asked that I leave the vehicle there for another day so the master technician could look at it. I wasn't satisfied with that answer so I called 2 certified audi repair shops and they both said that there is no way to properly check the transmission fluid without the proper equipment because the car has to be connected to a computer and there is a special procedure to do so. Both of the the certified audi repair shops also said that due to the design of the audi an inexperienced mechanic or one that isn't too familiar with audis may have mistakenly drained the transmission fluid because of the location of the transmission fluid plug. After learning that I picked up the car and took it too a team transmissions [protected], who specialize in transmissions and have all the equipment to properly diagnose the problem. I later found out that the transmission had been drained of all the fluid. It was missing 5 quarts of transmission fluid and is now ruined and requires repairs in excess of $3000.00. I contacted joe, the manager at the ntb location but he refuses to try and resolve the situation.

No oil on dip stick after oil change. read on...

I took my cadillac dts 2006 for a “quick” oil change which eventually ended up taking over 3 hours. they sold me a power steering flush and replacement after showing me a dirty sample of fluid on a “special” piece of paper.

I paid and was ready to get in and drive away but the floor mat was covered with black foot prints and oil.
I pointed it out and they apologized, the assistant manager got a cleaning kit and cleaned it.

Now i thought, what else “did they do” to my car? i opened the hood and checked the dip stick.
No oil on the dip stick!

I pointed it out and they added 3 quarts to bring the level up.
Now the question is? did they damage the engine while they drove it with only 4.5 quarts in?
Didn’t the mechanic see the low oil level alarm when he drove it from the bay to the parking lot? the light is supposed to come on approximate 2 quarts from full.

I thought, what else didn’t they do and noticed the cover for the steering fluid was missing and fluid had spilled down the side of the engine, pulleys and belts.
I pointed it out and they spent over an hour looking for the cover.
I asked if the spilled fluid could pose a fire hazard but was ignored.

Now i thought what else could be wrong.
I took a sample from the power steering reservoir and put a drop on the “special” paper they had used to show me how dirty it was. it was darker than the original piece they first showed me.

They offered to flush the system “again” and replaced the fluid while i was watching.
The tech also informed me that the fluid is always dark in color even after they have changed it.

During the “inspection” they concluded that the drivers side front wheel bearing needed to be changed. i said that i would think about it. shortly thereafter i took the vehicle to the cadillac dealer. they checked all the wheel bearings and found nothing wrong. so ntb was trying to rip me off for a wheel bearing.

Other issues
The portable oil container they used for adding oil was dirty and covered with dust outside.
Their large storage tank with “clean” oil had several openings on the top because the plugs and covers were missing.
I pointed it out to the manager, he apologized that they had recently performed maintenance on it and not reinstall them. the openings were covered with fussy dust.

They refunded the money and told me that the “mechanic” had a bad day because of family problems.
I could have ended up with a busted engine and a long law suit.

I contacted ntb customer service on february 1st. they took notes and asked if was ok that the store manager called me. i told them no and specifically asked that i get a call from their corporate office. regardless, ed the store manager calls me late in the afternoon. i told him that i expected a call from corporate.
Stephen shelden called me a few minutes later from [protected] and informed me that he was the corporate director for ntb. this is a bit strange since ntb’s hq is in florida and mr. shelden was located in massachusetts.
I asked mr. shelden to provide me with a letter from cadillac stating that the engine will not suffer any damage if operated with only 4.5 quarts of oil. stephen stated several times that he did not think so and that i should take his word for it as he had been in the industry for a long time.
We ended the conversation with me still requesting a letter from cadillac.
Stephen promised to call back february 2, 2010 with an update.
I have never heard from mr. shelden or any other ntb employee since (it has now been over 4 months).

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.