VIP Tires & Service — Local services in Portland

Where to start... My wife had an appointment to drop her Toyota Camry off at 7:30 am at your for a winter tire swap-over and alignment. She informed VIP at the time of drop-off that she would need the car ready for her by 4:00 pm. She had already given them her cell phone number when making the appointment. She was at VIP before 7:30 and by the time she left it was after 8:00 making her and the person nice enough to give her a ride, late to work. I received a call a little after 4:00 pm from her informing me that the car was still on the lift with two snow tires on the car. I asked her to come and get me once they were done so I could talk with them. They informed her that they had been trying to reach her all day (if you call, calling twice all day...thanks caller ID) and left a message (hard to do with no voice mail or answering machine). She asked what number they called and they looked at the computer and read her our home number. She pointed to the schedule on the desk with her cell number and they responded with "OH". When my wife came to get me I asked her what they decided to do. She told me that they put two of the studded snows on and left two of the all seasons on. I thought at the time that this was ILLEGAL to do. After arriving at the store I asked why they would send my wife out with only two snow tires being that it is very DANGEROUS and ILLEGAL. They said that they knew that she needed to get going. I asked why they didn't leave the car the way it was when we came in. They said that two of the tires needed replacing. I said since you could not/did not reach my wife you should have put the tires back on the way they were and reschedule an appointment with new tires. It is our decision not VIP's decision as to what we want done to our car. Especially when it some to the safety of our family. I asked if they would please put the other two snows on and they said they couldn't because it would be Illegal to do so. Understanding that the tires were on the way out and hoping to make them last for another month (with Christmas and 2 birthdays in December) I said what is the difference between that and sending me out with two snows.

Eventually after much debating and refusal to call corporate, I was told they would put all 4 snows on. My wife and I waited for approximately 10 minutes making it close to 6 pm (thankfully a family member was able to pick the kids up from daycare). At that point, I was told the Mgr would like to talk to me. I walked out to the counter and was handed a phone. I was then informed they they would not be putting all 4 snows on. They would leave two and two on. I responded with isn't that ILLEGAL to do? Answer: 'You can put two studded snows on a front wheel drive car as long as it was on the back.' Not knowing the rules for certain and figuring the Mgr would know, I agreed and hung up. I have since found out that it is ILLEGAL to put two snow tires on and decided to let others know of my experience.

On a side note, the previous year at this same location when they put the snow tires on that are directional... They put two on going the wrong direction and tried to charge for the swap over even though we had purchased the all inclusive swap, rotate, balancing and alignment pkg.

From the website of VIP (for free with no special pkg) VIP Tire Service With every tire purchase you get: FREE Tire Rotation FREE Wheel Alignment Check FREE Safety Inspection FREE 30-Day Ride Guarantee FREE Winter Tire Changeover*

I went to the store about 3 or 4 weeks ago to order tires. I had gone online to Town Fair Tire and had their price. When I spoke with the guy at the counter, he quoted me approximately $50 more a tire. I had bought four Michelin snow tires in the fall and had a good experience. So instead of walking out (as I now I know I should have) I told him I thought he was wrong because there was such a price difference. Also, I wanted to stick with the same store for both sets of tires and the guys I have dealt with in the past have always been helpful. I asked him to look into it just to make sure. He was pretty adamant he was right but said he would look into it. When I left the store I called Town Fair Tire and made sure the price I was given was for the right tire. It was. When I said thank you and was going to hang up, Town Fair offered to drop the price by $10 a tire. They gave me a total price of $961 including free rotations, winter tire changes overs, balancing and free flat repair. Thats what I got with my winter tires at VIP because I don't have dedicated rims for my snows. So when I called back VIP, I spoke with the same service rep and he told me they were in the computer wrong and would match Town Fair. He said they would be in the next day. After more than two weeks I had not heard so I stopped by and was told the tires were there, they must have forgot to call. I went in today to get the tires put on. When I got there I told the the service rep I was supposed to get the same price as I was quoted at Town Fair, $961, he was looking in the computer and then called over a gentleman who identified himself as the manager. According to the "manager" apparently the service rep who I was first working with did not add in the package that included the free winter tire change overs and balancing. The manager wouldn't honor it! No question that is bad policy. One of your guys screws up, you take the hit, particularly if there is no cost to you. They weren't going to lose money, just not make as much. He then started calling Town Fair on the phone to get a quote from them he was going to them match I guess. I told him not to bother- I would not buy another tire from VIP again because they didn't honor their first quote to me- wasting my time and adding a month to my purchase. I then asked him for his supervisor’s name and number. He wouldn't give it to me! He said he would tell his supervisor and they would call me. Unbelievable! I walked out and told him I would never do business with them again accept to get my free rotations, winter tire changes overs, balancing and free flat repair on my winter tires. To bad my winter tires are brand new. I went on the Town Fair Tire website after leaving and the tires had gone up $9 each. I called Town Fair Tire and they quoted me $991. So as it turns out VIP loses a customer over $30! I have spent thousands at VIP over the years. I buy good tires at around $900-$1000 a set. Too bad, I like most of...

Last fall, I had an appointment to put my snow tires on. After waiting three hours, the technician came out to tell me that I needed new tires. They had mounted the old 'bald" tires and had to put the new ones on. "Not to worry" I was told it wouldn't take anytime at all to get the new tires on. So 4 hours later, I was on my way. Is that speedy service?

But here's a little back story:

I have been buying my tires at VIP for the past fifteen years. I lived in the mountains and purchased my tires at the Gorham NH VIP. When I came south, I came to the Westbrook location and began to have trouble getting them to honor my free tire services that came with my lifetime warranty that I paid for on my tire purchases. They began to get rude and hostile toward me at Westbrook and insinuated that I did not purchase my tires from VIP at all. I remember buying them in Gorham NH with a full warranty.The technician told me they didn't carry the tires that I had on my car. I called the Gorham location and learned that they had replaced their computer system and lost most of their records. Because they lost their records, they no longer felt the need to honor the "lifetime guarantee" I purchased with my tires. The paperwork I had given them during a tire change mysteriously disappeared from the folder I kept it in. They ended up honoring the warranty, because I persisted vocally at their service desk, but I did not enjoy going through this each time I changed my tires or came in for rotations or alignments.

When I purchased my new tires at my last visit, they offered me THE SAME TIRES I HAD on my car. I asked the technician, "You mean, you carry this tire?" He said "of course we do, it's a standard tire!" So the previous technician who told me they didn't carry those tires was flat out lying to me.

In all fairness, the company had fired all the old (extremely rude) people who used to work there and hired new very polite people. I just wish it could have taken less than four hours to get new tires on my car.

Here's an update: At my last seasonal tire change in May 2015, I also had the wheels aligned and they completed the work in just over an hour. I think things have improved there drastically. I feel much more at ease when it's time to change oil or...