Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Center - Clermont Hwy 27 — Local services in Four Corners

Well, I wish I could write a better review. I was traveling from Minnesota visiting family that live in a housing development very close to them. My battery light came on and I also needed an oil change. They wanted to charge $19.99 to check for the code, but I said no thank you, as I could take it to AutoZone for a free code check. To that, they said they'd wave it. I wrote on the estimate sheet all over, that I was signing "-19.99." The oil change was steep too- about $65. But, I was happy to pay for the convenience of location to the house.

When they called back, he rattled off several things that needed to be repaired- I said no to the brake pads that were "really worn down" as the estimate was super high. Also, it was a red flag to me how fast he rattled off the many items, with zero explanations, when this car was new used from a lot 2 months prior. I said I'd shop around for that price but gave the warranty contact information for the alternator. They were very eager to help with that- a good point.

Upon completion, I found the $19.99 was charged and had to come back for the refund, they couldn't apply it to my card- BUT they did give it without any arguments.

I did some errands around town, then parked the car for 2 days and then drove to MN. In Wisconsin, very suddenly the car started going haywire, all indicator lights coming on and within seconds the car died on the highway- electrical issue. I had to get towed 60 miles and have a friend drive to me to pick up my dogs while I got a hotel. The AAA facility said the alternator was bad. Since that was warrantied itself, it "only" cost me $175 in labor and diagnostics (for all the lights that came on when the power got so low), the hotel, the stress and my friend having to drive out from Minneapolis.

While I totally recognize that this could be an alternator issue alone, Tuffy's is the place where I got it from and was the company that used that brand and installed it. When I called them (I was polite and calm) about it from the hotel, after learning it was an alternator, there was no apology or any indication of a surprise. They only gave me the phone # for the warranty holder (for which I thanked him). This speaks volumes for their business philosophies. I guess as long as they got their $275 from me, they were done with me.

If Tuffy's wants now, after the fact, to try to help, they can review their records for the work done described above on June 19th on a Ford focus. The customer would have a MN area code- should not be...

I brought my car in and asked them to look over it. I had told them that the oil light was also coming on at certain times. After they looked at it they had told me that the engine was worn down to the point that it did not have a long life expectancy. They informed me that they would quote me on a new engine and the labor for the repair. After receiving the quote I declined the work. They did not expect me to decline and said that they had my engine torn apart and would need time to put it back together. Later that evening I received a call from them telling me they had put it back together but it was leaking a lot of oil. When I asked how much he said "it's pouring out". I informed him that I wanted it returned the same condition that I brought it in. He said okay he will "put silicone on it" Keep in mind that I had driven this car 12 miles from my house to this shop. They called asking me to pick up the car because I hadn't shown up for it yet as I was busy. Because I was at work I asked if I could pay over the phone and pick it up after hours. They agreed and told me they left the keys under the floormat. When I picked up the car and turned it on it started dripping oil so I parked it at a friends house nearby until I could get a tow truck to take it home. (Which I have records of). When I called about it they told me that if I brought it in they would fix it. But at this point they already had a chance to fix it and did not and it was undrivable at this point. I had another mechanic do all the work for me and he told me that the C/V joint was so bad that it was pouring grease out of the boot and when he took it all apart it actually broke into a bunch of pieces. He said it was clearly visible and that the other mechanic probably didn't tell you because they knew if you agreed to the engine and they brought it up halfway through that you would have no choice but to have them fix that as well.

In the beginning I asked them to look over my car and they failed to tell me about the clearly damaged C/V joint and failed to properly seal up my oil pan causing it to...

Short story: Running a scam. I thought Tuffy would be trustworthy because it's a chain. Not so.

Long story: I brought his car in because some lights were on. Tuffy told me a few different things they were going to do and that it would be about $400. I said great and accepted the work. Three days later even more lights are on. I brough it back and they say he needs a new transmission. I just spent $400 on this transmission with them this week. So. Either they expensively serviced a part that they knew needed to be replaced or because they didn't do everything they said they were going to do they broke the transmission. I wanted to believe it was an honest mistake that could be worked out. When they guys here started telling me the $400 service they did was a gamble with all these long detailed analogies and that they explained that to me (which they did not) I felt they were scam artists. They claimed they told me it was a gamble. Absolutely not. After an hour of going back and forth with these guys, I told them we were going through a lot and it wasn't worth it to argue our points anymore. The manager then played a disgusting line and said to my wife when I left the office maybe I didn't remember them saying it was a gamble because he has so much going on... Terrible way to take advantage of someone at a low point. And then threw an offensive one liner about the hurricane coming when my wife heard when I left earshot again. I have never experienced an auto shop scamming people out of their money like this. The manager continued to try and bargain me into getting the transmission fixed here.. which was more money than the car is worth. They said $1700 on the phone then it was $2600 in person. Terrible people out to make money however they can, not owning up to miscommunications or paying for their mistakes. I'm working to get the message to corporate and the Better Business Bureau so no one else can go through what we went...