Trail Tire Auto Centers Whyte Ave. — Local services in Greater Strathcona

On July 4/2020 we took the wife’s Jeep in for a tire rotation, which is pretty standard procedure. When we returned to pick up the Jeep the manager Marty informed us that a rear seal was leaking. At this point he said it could be fixed that day so we agreed for the work to be done. I did not ask to see the said leaking but instead trusted him that this was the case. Keep in mind I had been dealing with this Tire craft for awhile and had never been mislead by Landon the employee who took care of us in the past. When we returned to pick up the Jeep, it was driven for a block and the abs light came on, the traction control light came on and the 4x4 indicator light also came on (which was never on before we took it in to indicate a problem). It was immediately put on the hoist for Marty to look at, he had told us that the mechanic had broke the speed sensor and that it would be fixed at their cost. It is now Monday and after I called and spoke to Norm the owner he told me that the speed sensor part was not available but could weld the old one in place so that it would work the mechanic only broke the plastic clip that holds it in place. Then he said I will call you back. Norm then called back and said it was the tone sensor that was damaged. At this point the mechanic said the part was only available out of the US and It would be 5 to 7 days to get the part. The mechanic said that we could take the vehicle and that it would be okay to drive and we could bring it back to be fixed when they received the part but Marty the Manager had said it was unsafe to drive and could cause further damage as the vehicle would be trying to go into limp mode. Then after another phone call the mechanic found the part in Red Deer through Derrick Dodge and that it would arrive to them on Wednesday morning, I said great news. At this point I was informed that I would be charged for the part and 1.6 hours for the labor. After talking to Norm about this he only offered to charge for an hour labor but that’s it. They claim that the mechanic did not break the hub when the tire rotation and seal work was done. Remember that everything on this Jeep worked fine before it went in for the tire rotation.

I believe that the mechanic broke the tone sensor when putting everything back together after fixing the seal. This lead to another $465 dollar bill that they said just broke but worked fine before it went into the Tire Craft on Whyte Ave shop.

Trust is a big part of the business unless you are a mechanic and can look at things right away. I would not trust Tire Craft on Whyte Ave for what the claim to say is wrong with your vehicle. They give conflicting stories between the manager and mechanic in reference to safety of a vehicle.

So tire rotation was free. Seal replacement was $265.00 The hub replacement that I believe they broke cost $465 I will never go back or...

SHORT STORY: Told us we it would be $1000's of dollars for all new tires and brakes when we brought the car in for a simple flat tire - when we took it to a different shop it was confirmed our brakes and tires are in perfectly good shape, minus the flat. Very bad business practices. Long story: We have been long time customers of this Fountain Tire because it was close to where we lived and my husband’s work had an account with Fountain Tire. However, Fountain Tire has removed this shop as a franchise due to their terrible business practices. We were not aware of this going into the shop, as at the time there were no Tire Craft signs anywhere and absolutely no indication that the shop had changed. We hit one of the ubiquitous potholes in the city, and got a flat tire on our '07 Civic. Upon taking it in to this location, we were told that flats from potholes were not covered by even though we had a tire warranty. When they finally looked at the car, they told us we needed all four tires replaced. At first, the guy said it was because they were worn out, but when my husband questioned this, as we've only put 40,000km on them, he said that there was in fact 50% tread left but all the rims were damaged (I only hit the pothole once, with one wheel. Not all four). I then called a different Fountain Tire and asked about their Road Hazard Warranty for tires and was told it indeed did cover potholes, though was a prorated warranty. When we told this to the Whyte ave location, he said "No, that's like a Mercedes hitting a meridian." (?????) (Note they still did not tell us this location was NOT A FOUNTAIN TIRE). IN ADDITION to all this, they also told us our brakes were completely shot, and needed $1000 worth of work including calipers. We took our car in to get the brakes checked barely 6 months ago (to a different company) and were told we had lots of wear left on them. When we told them we were going to take our car elsewhere, they told us we had to pay for a wheel alignment (I don’t know why they would have done an alignment when they wanted to put all new tires on the car!). It was at this point we finally found out that they were not, in fact, a Fountain Tire at all, but a Tire Craft. They are trying to scam all the customers that assume this location is still a Fountain Tire. This location puts a bad name on mechanic shops everywhere, because it reinforces the idea that they're all out to get as much money from you as they can. UPDATE: We took our car to an ACTUAL Fountain Tire (on 96th St and 111 Ave) and got the tire replaced under the prorated warranty, they said the other tires were in near perfect condition, and it would be at least another year or so before our brakes would need any...

I hesitated to write a poor review but I am just floored right now. In the fall of 2020, I brought my vehicle in for a simple oil change and a check engine light diagnostic. After a few hours in the shop, I received a telephone call stating I needed new brakes and new tires. I have a regular mechanic so told the gentleman I would be booking with them. He was insistent that at the very least I needed a wheel alignment (that it would be dangerous to drive my vehicle without) and coolant service. So I agreed to that. When I picked up my vehicle, my glove box was open and the cover to my cabin air filter compartment was sitting on my seat. I went back in and asked them what that was about. They told me they had replaced the filter but apparently forgot to put the cap back on. I did not ask for this to be done. I put the cap back on myself and left. This whole trip cost me over $500.00. When I took my vehicle to my regular mechanic 2 weeks later for new tires and brakes, they told me there was absolutely no way an alignment had been done. I trust them and have been going to them for years. They gave me an alignment free of charge because they felt badly for me having already paid for one I did not receive. This is the only reason I did not contact this shop and demand a refund. Fast forward to today. I went to change my cabin air filter, as I annually do, AND THERE WAS NO FILTER. Not only did they not change my filter, they took my old one out and did not replace it. So I have been driving around for a year with unfiltered air. I am beyond livid. If my experience is any indication of their trustworthiness, STEER CLEAR...