American Tire Depot — Local services in Los Angeles

Bought a set of 4 tires from this store and had them install them. As I drove my car away I noticed my steering wheel was vibrating when I went over 30mph so I took it back and they balanced the tires (which should have been done when the tires were put on) and the vibration stopped. When removing the wheels, they broke my locking lug nuts. I was told they were ordering replacements and would install them. It took 4 months of me stopping in to ask if they had ordered them before they even placed the order, eventually they did and installed them. Now, less than one year later, every one of the four tires has been replaced, one at a time, because the tires they sold me were defective. The tires were actually discontinued by the manufacturer because of issues with them. 3 of mine developed bubbles in the sidewalls, the 4th had a nail in the sidewall, which they refused to cover with the road-hazard coverage I also paid for. When the first defective tire developed bubbles in the sidewall they replaced it under the road-hazard insurance I purchased with their cheapest possible tire, an Iris Sefer. I was charged $40 for this. So for a few months my car had 3 Presa tires and 1 Iris Sefer. Driving a car with unmatched tires is illegal in some states because it is dangerous. Mismatched wheels and tires can cause premature and uneven wear and tear on the new and remaining three wheels. Even replacing a single worn out tire with a new one, could mess with the handling of the vehicle because of the different tread depths. A few months later 2 more of the Presa tires developed bubbles in the sidewalls and were replaced under the road-hazard insurance I purchased. I was charged $80 for this. Which left me with 3Iris Sefer Tires and 1 Presa, so still mismatched tires. When I found a nail in the sidewall of the final Presa tire they refused to cover it under the road-hazard insurance I purchased. I was charged $100 for that tire. Every time I have brought the car in to have the defective tires replaced I have had to take it back the next day to have them balanced. Today I brought it in for the most recent tire to be balanced (this is the one that had the nail in the sidewall, it was 2 days ago that I had to purchase the new Iris Sefer tire for $100) and I received a call from them telling me that the key for my locking lug nuts is stripped and they cannot complete the job. They claim not to be responsible for this, but the fact is that American Tire Depot - North Hollywood is the ONLY shop that has done anything with my car's wheels and tires, so the fact is that it is a 100% certainty that they stripped the key for my locking lug nuts...AGAIN. If you hate yourself...and I mean really hate yourself...or if you have always wanted to feel like you are living out a Kafka novel, then by all means take your favorite car here for service.

I just picked up my car. When I asked for the broken key the clerk tried acting like that is an insane thing to request and when I insisted he tried telling me that it had been thrown away. Since the garbage collectors don't come at 6pm on a Monday I insisted. The technician came out and complained that he didn't want to go dumpster diving and I again insisted. As it turns out he had the key on or very near his person, took him no longer than 10 seconds to retrieve it, put it on the counter in front of me and remark "Here you go sweetheart".

I have no idea why every time I have had to interact with these guys they either break something on my car (locking lug nuts, key for locking lug nuts), don't do all of the work they charge me for (wheel balancing) or a combination of the two, but I gave them several opportunities to just do the work correctly before writing this review and they failed every time. It feels intentional...

All About The Upsell: Questionable Tire Diagnosis

Background: I was passing through this city after a 12 hour security shift and found myself with a completely flat, front passenger tire and needed to travel 30 miles to get home. I happened to have a portable air pump. While inflating the tire, I inspected it and did not notice any damage on the side of the tire, so I deduced that I must have a puncture in the actual tread area. I Googled the nearest tire shop and decided to try American tire depot since they do "free" tire repairs.

My visit: I was first to enter when they opened and was assisted by a young fellow who explained that a repair could be made if there was no damage on the side of the tire. Knowing that there was no damage on the side of the tire, I was relieved and looked forward to going home.

I was told that it was going to be a 45 minute wait, which was the first red flag I noticed. A tire patch or plug - at least in my experiences - only takes about 15 minutes with a skilled tire worker at a mom and pop shop - for example. AND, mind you, I was the first in line.

While I was waiting, I noticed that the attendant employed scripted-like rhetoric, emphasizing terminology as a way to persuade and compell clients into buying, in my view, overpriced tire sets and services. Also, as more customers began to enter, they were being given ridiculous wait times. An hour and a half for a tire repair? Are they building a house too?

I was finally called and was told that my tire was irreparable due to damage on the side of the tire. I knew this was false since I inspected the tire myself. I stopped the tire attendant just as he was going into his sales pitch, which was going to cost close to 200 dollars and decided to take my business elsewhere.

I found a mom and pop tire shop a few blocks away ( El Camino Tires) and wouldn't you know? Just as I suspected, a puncture was found on the treaded area and my tire was fixed in under 15 minutes for 20 dollars! And yes: I made it home safe with an extra 180 dollars in my pocket. (I will attach a photo of my receipt for full transparency)

Conclusion/Analysis: This company denied to honor their "free" tire repair services by fabricating a lie about the type of tire damage; there was no damage on the side of the tire but rather a puncture on the tread that they surely discovered but chose not to fix. Instead, they attempted to sell me a tire that I didn't need, a sell that was based on a deliberate lie. In doing so, they allowed me to leave on a dangerously punctured tire just because fixing it would not have been profitable for them. Zero integrity and no regard for human life - apparently.

It is clear and obvious that this establishment will lie and deceive customers for the pursuit of profit, which is a shameful and predatory way to operate. Slimeball, corporate tactics at its finest.

On the bright side, "Mama' didn't raise no fool."

Support your local, mom and...

The staff here are so friendly and personable. That is the first thing I will say. The prices are also great (a new tire on my car being $139 before taxes and labor is very hard to beat). However, I don't know if it's this location specifically, but there seems to be an issue with timeliness and communication. I expect that every time I am having work done on my car that it will be time consuming. I never go in expecting to be in and out quickly, but I have visited this location twice in the past two weeks and waited significantly over the estimated time told to me at the beginning, and that's WITH an appointment.

Last week I went for a patch but they said the tire needed replacement. No problem. The tire needed was in stock and ready to go. But I ended up waiting another hour only to find out they were doing the tire change AND an alignment that I wasn't informed about and was charged for. They gave me a coupon for a free oil change for the inconvenience, but to have a service performed that I was never told about seemed very strange to me.

Today, I went to get another tire replaced as well as my oil changed. I had an appointment and called the day before to ensure my appointment was confirmed. I got there (10:30am) and they didn't have the tire. They said they will have to drive to another location in Burbank to pick it up, but that it will be ready by 1pm. No worries, I'll wait. Tell me why I go up to the counter at 12:45 and the associate tells me the guy has JUST left to go and get the tire and won't be back for another 20 minutes, a.k.a. already past the time the car was supposed to be READY. In the two hours that my car was just sitting there, they still hadn't done the oil change. I understand shops get busy but it's mid-day on a week day, customers should not be sitting around for TWO HOURS while their car isn't even being worked on. ESPECIALLY if they had an appointment and ESPECIALLY if they were already given a ready-by time. Only to find out that the car hasn't even been started on yet? I ended up leaving at 1:30pm which is entirely too long to wait for a tire replacement and oil change. I had an appointment and they knew what I was coming for. They should've been prepared.

They were apologetic of course and always friendly, but I'm afraid after these two events, I will not be returning to this location for my...