# Canadian Tire car service?



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

just dropped car off ar CTC for oil change.
they called a few min ago & said they noticed a bit of irregular wear on insides of front tires.
reccommended a wheel alignment ($79). i said i dont notice anthing, driving it? they said, no, its not off too nuch.
i said ill pass.
were they just trying to get a few more $$$ outta me? 
how can i tell?
2016 corolla w 25k. have never had wheel alignment done.
waddaya think?


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## Retired Peasant (Apr 22, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> just dropped car off ar CTC for oil change.
> they called a few min ago & said they noticed a bit of irregular wear on insides of front tires.
> reccommended a wheel alignment ($79). i said i dont notice anthing, driving it? they said, no, its not off too nuch.
> i said ill pass.
> were they just trying to get a few more $$$ outta me?


yes - typical of CTC


> how can i tell?


you took it to CTC.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

It's possible. New cars are often racheted down tight in shipping and can sometimes knock off the original alignment right when new. Or you may have hit potholes etc that would affect it. Or it may be fine. Normally its a good idea to consider having an alignment done when putting new tires on. 

You can check yourself. Have a look at inside of front tires to see if this is true and compare fr. side to side and to rear tires, as well as over the face of each individual tire. Stand back so you can see both fronts and judge. Look for a difference vs the centre and outside of the tread, as well as cupping. Minimal wear you probably won't notice driving. High wear from misalignment often causes additional tire/road noise, especially scalloped or cupped tires. If you see much difference at all in the tread you may benefit from an alignment to maximize tire life. Always be sure to regularly rotate tires front to back, and side to side if they're not directional (not likely), although many snows are.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

re post #2
yeah, but they're all the same......
what options have we got??


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

i thought if car pulls to one side or another is a test...


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Not saying it's their policy or anything, or that all CTC outlets are the same, but there has been a lot of investigation into their auto repair practices and they have been found to be fraudulent and inflating bills for things that were not necessary. I would personally never take my car there; I go to independent mechanics that I find through word of mouth or via online reviews. If you happen to be in the Lower Mainland, I have two excellent recommendations. And anyone else, please reach out as well.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

CT would never be my choice for any automobile issues. I have had two negative experiences with them. One was, IMHO, out and out deception. Fortunately I did not fall for it. The experiences soured me on them to the point where the retail side of their business is pretty much the last place that I shop for anything.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> i thought if car pulls to one side or another is a test...


If they all look the same you're good. Have someone more knowledeable look too to verify. 

Car pulling to one side can be an indicator of misalignment but not the only indicator at all. Wear on the inside fronts is often too much toe in, and maybe too much negative camber. With an alignment you would see the factory recommended specs, the before specs and the after specs to see how much and where adjustment was done. It can't be fudged so you would know if it really was bad, if you did have it done.

If there is absolutely no difference in the tires, that's a knock against what CTC suggested.


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

I go to CT for oil change as part of their roadside assistance program. They always provide me a copy of wheel alignment inspection report. It's free and part of the inspection package. Mine is usually little off but the mechanic told me not to do it. I think we should do the wheel alignment once we buy new tires or unless it's off a lot.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

_re post #2
yeah, but they're all the same......_

bit of mis-communication there
I was referring to "service stations" per se ,(and their penchant for ripping you off) ....... NOT the tires...lol


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## lonewolf :) (Sep 13, 2016)

signs you need alignment

steering wheel off center

after cornering steering wheel does not return to center on its own

abnormal tire wear in certain spots

your car pulls in one direction

I go by the owners manual for regular maintenance nothing more nothing less. I have never had any signs of needing a wheel alignment so have never had one. It would not surprise me if the best alignment is from the factory & CT would put the alignment out or they might not even do an alignment & said they did. If possible try to watch work being done on your car.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Well I would not necessarily single out CTC for this question. It can be hard to find a reliable mechanic anywhere including dealerships.

When I read what you were told and your decision, my question then is, 'but what if what they told you is true?' You don't know if it is or isn't and if it is, then you are going to wear down your tires before their normal time. That will cost you more than $79 obviously.

Your real problem is that you need to find a reliable garage to take your vehicle to. One where if they call and say, 'it needs this', you don't wonder if they are lying to you or not. That's one of the advantages of living in a small town that I often speak of. Whatever type of business it is, if they are ripping people off, they won't last long as everyone knows everyone else and word soon gets around. So merchants and service providers like mechanics, plumbers, electricians, etc. really have no choice but to deal fairly with you.

So what you need is to say where you are located and ask for any suggestions as to a reliable garage/mechanic in your area. Whether CTC was trying to rip you off or not is really irrelevant. Having an answer to that question won't solve your problem. As I see it, you now need to know if your wheels are out of alignment or not. I could take you to my garage and get you a reliable answer in a few minutes but I don't think you live near enough to me for that to be practical.

I should note that when I was living in the 'big city', Toronto, I had as cynical a view of car repairs as some posters here obviously do. My view however has changed entirely since moving to the small town we now live in.


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## Fisherman30 (Dec 5, 2018)

Yeah, CT is terrible. I don't even trust them to do an oil change. I took my car there once for an oil change, and they over-filled the oil by a lot. Good thing I noticed before driving away. 

I do most oil changes myself now to avoid that sort of thing, but maybe check the price of your local independent mechanic? Sometimes their prices are competitive, and you will have someone working on your car who is competent and won't try to upsell you.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> _re post #2
> yeah, but they're all the same......_
> 
> bit of mis-communication there
> I was referring to "service stations" per se ,(and their penchant for ripping you off) ....... NOT the tires...lol


Got it. Let us know what you're doing.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

lonewolf :) said:


> signs you need alignment
> 
> steering wheel off center
> 
> ...


Agree on the signs. Although a visual inspection is valuable in addition to the signs. Many people are not overly perceptive on the signs particularly as they often happen over long periods of time. ie they don't notice them. Read what I said about factory alignments. It isn't uncommon for a car to be delivered misaligned. Both of our last new cars were. Alignments are normally under warranty 1st 12 months.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

There are a lot dishonest shops and mechanics. Trust me, it's a lot worst if you are female too. The most difficult part is finding a trustworthy mechanic, they are as important as a doctor. Fortunately, I have a few family members that we usually bring our vehicles too. However, we were in the situation of looking for a new mechanic, and we did some tests by bringing to a few places. We had my family member check the vehicle, and we knew exactly what work we needed done, and had an idea of what the costs should be. Then brought in the vehicle, most (11/12) place brought up things that we KNEW were not a problem or tried to over inflate it. We did end up at one place which we bring one of our vehicles. 


In terms of alignment, one quick test I was given is see if the car pulls one direction. You can get an alignment test fairly inexpensively.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

ok...so took the car for run today, got on some low traffic streets....let go of steering wheel....straight as an arrow IMHO
THINK ILLwait on the WA...


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Plugging Along said:


> There are a lot dishonest shops and mechanics. Trust me, it's a lot worst if you are female too. The most difficult part is finding a trustworthy mechanic, they are as important as a doctor. Fortunately, I have a few family members that we usually bring our vehicles too. However, we were in the situation of looking for a new mechanic, and we did some tests by bringing to a few places. We had my family member check the vehicle, and we knew exactly what work we needed done, and had an idea of what the costs should be. Then brought in the vehicle, most (11/12) place brought up things that we KNEW were not a problem or tried to over inflate it. We did end up at one place which we bring one of our vehicles.
> 
> 
> In terms of alignment, one quick test I was given is see if the car pulls one direction. You can get an alignment test fairly inexpensively.


I posted this upthread, but if anyone is in the lower Mainland area of southwestern BC, I can recommend two honest and very good shops.


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## lonewolf :) (Sep 13, 2016)

Longtimeago said:


> When I read what you were told and your decision, my question then is, 'but what if what they told you is true?' You don't know if it is or isn't and if it is, then you are going to wear down your tires before their normal time. That will cost you more than $79 obviously.
> 
> 
> .


 Get a tire depth gauge measure & record the tread depth right side, center & left side of the tires & repeat the process every so often to know if tires are wearing properly


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## Synergy (Mar 18, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> ok...so took the car for run today, got on some low traffic streets....let go of steering wheel....straight as an arrow IMHO
> THINK ILLwait on the WA...


Not a great test as roadways are often slopped. This helps to veer the drunken fool towards the ditch rather than towards oncoming traffic. Along with water drainage, etc. On roadways, straight as an arrow could indicated a problem. A flat parking lot would be a better measure. 

Tire wear on one side could be something as simple as uneven tire pressure.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

Sorry RBull, you have a whole pile of misinformation in your post.





RBull said:


> It's possible. New cars are often racheted down tight in shipping and can sometimes knock off the original alignment right when new.


Not really. Toyota was one of the first manufacturers to demand vehicles be strapped by their tires, and not chained by their frames. You're very unlikely to see any car hauler for the major manufacturers still using chains and ratchets. And also, even if a car is shipped on a ferry or container, they'd need to be ratcheted incredibly tight to cause major issues.



> Or you may have hit potholes etc that would affect it.


Definitely possible.



> Normally its a good idea to consider having an alignment done when putting new tires on.


Nope. Not even close. You need a wheel balance when putting new tires on. You only need an alignment when you replace a suspension or steering component. Cars don't get a wheel alignment every time you switch from winter to summer tires, or every time you rotate tires to even out the wear.




> You can check yourself. Have a look at inside of front tires to see if this is true and compare fr. side to side and to rear tires, as well as over the face of each individual tire. Stand back so you can see both fronts and judge. Look for a difference vs the centre and outside of the tread, as well as cupping. Minimal wear you probably won't notice driving. High wear from misalignment often causes additional tire/road noise, especially scalloped or cupped tires. If you see much difference at all in the tread you may benefit from an alignment to maximize tire life. Always be sure to regularly rotate tires front to back, and side to side if they're not directional (not likely), although many snows are.



- Comparing the front to the rear tires won't tell you anything about misalignment. 
- Scalloped or cupped tires aren't an alignment issue. 
- Having the centers worn out more or less than the edges of the tires is an indication of inflation problem, not alignment issue.


It's not that hard at all to tell if you have an alignment issue. A big sign is when the steering pulls to one side. The other one is just a simple visual on the tires. If one of the edges is wearing out faster than the other, then get an alignment done. Run your hand over the tires if you want a second opinion to your eyes.


Do I think alignments and other unnecessary work is routinely sold to unsuspecting customers? Heck yea. Would I ever take any vehicle to Canadian Tire service department. Heck no.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Look at the front tires, you will see if they are more worn on the inside edges. More worn on the outside edges usually comes from going around sharp corners rather fast.

Cars today don't have an alignment like older cars, they only have one adjustment, toe in. But this does get out of whack with time. So, there are a lot of cars running around that could use an alignment but usually with higher mileage on the clock. Unless you are in the habit of bumping curbs or running over potholes.

You may not even notice if your front end is out of alignment but you will wear out tires prematurely.

By the way I too have had my problems with Canadian Tire service. I would not take anything to them, not even an oil change. I might let them install tires if they have the best price when I need a new set.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

One of the many things I like about Costco is their tire service. It is the only place that we buy tires. I never needed an alignment on the Camry in 20 years. Did our first alignment on the 10 year old Accord this past summer-at the recommendation of Costco when I purchased new tires. Went to a privately owned alignment shop recommended by friends.

When the tire folks at Costco suggest a wheel alignment we take it seriously. They do not do alignments and they have absolutely no financial interest or incentive to sell us an unneeded service. 

I will not even buy gas at Canadian Tire. I drive right on by. We did well on their stock though quite some time ago.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

I don't know why people want to hit on CTC so much. They are fine for a lot of things and I am sure that not every franchise and every mechanic is out to rip everyone off. It seems to me that the problem is that a lot of people have that impression whether it is applicable to their local CTC or not. I don't have my car serviced by them but not because I have heard bad things about the CTC store nearest to us, but simply because I heard good things about the local service garage in the small town where we live, when we first moved here.

The issue is not CTC, as I have already said, the issue is you need to have a service garage and mechanic you trust. I'm sure there is someone who has a Brother-in-law who is a mechanic at a CTC store and who they trust completely. Some people are writing as if every CTC and every mechanic who works for them is a crook trying to rip everyone off. 

A far better use of this thread than bashing CTC would be to suggest reliable service. In that regard, I would not suggest any CHAIN including Costco or CTC. Trust is about a relationship between two people. I have a relationship with my local service garage owner, it is him I trust, not where he works. It is not as easy to have such a relationship when you are dealing with a chain.

As for not even buying gas from CTC, that to me is simply ridiculous. First, their gas bars are independent franchises separate from the stores. Second, there are few products where there is as little difference between one 'brand' and another. Gas is about as 'just buy on price' item as you can get.

As for Costco, I've never been a fan of the scam of 'you have to be a member' type businesses. What's more, Costco have far from clean hands. In Canada, they have been in trouble for asking for 'kick backs' from pharmaceutical companies. YES, they've been caught ripping off their customers. 
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/03/28/costco-probed-in-alleged-drug-kickback-scheme.html

They pleaded GUILTY. Read here and note the additional info re trouble they have been in.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ned-for-seeking-illegal-rebates-idUSKBN1F51VW

Improperly filled prescriptions in the USA got them fined $11 million. I' rather have an improperly diagnosed tire alignment than an improperly filled prescription, I don't know about you.

They were fined $19 million in the USA for selling COUNTERFEIT Tiffany & Co. rings. 

They were fined $335,000 and agreed to spend $2 million on improvements in 274 stores in the USA, in regards to an allegation of violating the USA's Clean Air Act.

This is a company you want to recommend to someone as a good company to do business with? But CTC isn't?


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

Our Costco membership does not cost us a dime. We get back considerably more from the annual rebate that we pay for our membership.

We buy all of our prescription drugs from Costco even though it is operated by a third party. In my daughter case, Costco prescriptions cost about half of what she previously paid for the same prescription. Two of the past president of the Ontario College of Pharmacists have been investigated for taking kickbacks. At least one was found guilty of doing so. His excuse....he did not know that it was a kickback.

Sears was fined in Canada a few years ago for selling diamond rings with grossly inflated valuations. That is why they always sold and advertised diamond rings at 50-60 percent off their appraised value.

We have never felt ripped off or cheated by Costco. Cannot say that about CT. One thing though. When we feel this way we seldom deal with the firm again. We feel the same way about an automobile manufacture and dealer that we caught cheating us years ago via an repair invoice with parts that would not even fit on the vehicle. Never walked in their showroom after 45 years or considered one of their vehicles. We will never deal with Bell for exactly the same reason.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

ian said:


> Our Costco membership does not cost us a dime. We get back considerably more from the annual rebate that we pay for our membership.
> 
> We buy all of our prescription drugs from Costco even though it is operated by a third party. In my daughter case, Costco prescriptions cost about half of what she previously paid for the same prescription. Two of the past president of the Ontario College of Pharmacists have been investigated for taking kickbacks. At least one was found guilty of doing so. His excuse....he did not know that it was a kickback.
> 
> ...


Umm, so what are you saying there ian?

Costco has proven unethical practices when it comes to their pharmacy but since you get a lower price, you don't care if they have unethical practices? 

They deliberately mislead their customers re 'Tiffany' diamonds but since another company (Sears) has also been fined for similar practices, that makes it OK that Costco also does so? 

That as long as you personally don't feel ripped off or misled by Costco, you have no problem with them ripping off or misleading someone else? If they do rip you off or mislead you personally though, you will immediately stop doing business with them and so 'punish' them by taking your business elsewhere. 

Well, I suppose that is a pretty common view of things these days unfortunately. I wonder if something like the tuna boycott of the late 80s would work today? If everyone said, 'well as long as my tuna tastes OK and the price is right, it's not my problem if they kill some dolphins in the process', they would still be killing dolphins today.
http://www.eurocbc.org/page322.html

Having looked into the background of Costco in relation to responding on this thread, I have concluded that they are not in fact a company I personally would want to do business with. They've been caught just too many times for me to even give them the benefit of the doubt. I have never been into a Costco and had no real opinion of them whatsoever before doing some research in regards to this thread, but I have now discovered enough to form an opinion and my opinion is that they are quite willing to employ unethical business practices. That is enough for me to say, no, they will not get any business from me, even though they have never mislead or ripped me off personally. I don't need to have suffered personally before I choose not to do business with a company.


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