Mathis Tire Southaven Store Service with a frown. Southaven, Mississippi

These are my experiences with Mathis Tire in Southaven, MS.

 I first used them with a coupon a friend gave me for an oil change.  I own TechANYWHERE.net, LLC and felt I could benefit from the savings and the convenient location to my office.  I had two company trucks and could save on service.  I sent an employee up their at 8:00 am to have the service performed on a 2002 Ford Escape that I had been driving myself for a few months.  I was working and hadn't noticed it was 1:00 pm. 

I had not heard from my employee and assumed he was on a job.  I received a call from him; he asked me was I
sitting down"  "it is going to cost you over $4,000.00 to make this vehicle drivable."  My answer was short; "Bring it back to
the office now."  The up-sell tactics

were unbelievable. I realized that I could save money and time taking my vehicles to the Lube Shop.

My second experience was to have the AC repaired on my van,
a 2004 Nissan Quest.  I left it with them for several hours and was told I needed $3,000.00 worth of work to repair
it.  When I told them to just bill me for their time and I would pick it up, they came down to a thousand for the
repairs.  They could not finish and would have to order a new left actuator for my left-dash AC control.  They also told me that my serpentine belt was cracked and had to be replaced.   I thought that was ridiculous.  I had replaced it only 8,000 miles earlier, and told them so. I waited the extra four days for them to have it shipped.  No part ever showed up.  I called them, and was told that they could probably glue my old one with epoxy.  Now I really dont need this $88.99 part anymore. 

I paid for my bill and went home with my van and turned it off.  I needed to go to the store a few minutes later, got in and tried the key, no noise or lights.  I opened the hood to find my battery cable very loose.  I tried to tighten it and
the bolt was stripped and would not tighten. 

I immediately called Mathis and asked them if they removed my cable when they were replacing the actuator inside the dash.  It made sense to me that they would have to pull the cable to work inside my dash. 

They said they never took my cable off so I just left it at that, even though it was obvious that they had done it to work inside the dash.  A week or two went by and I reconciled my credit card and noticed that I had also been charged $88.99 for the new actuator that had never came, nor was it ever installed.  I decided that I would tell them the next time I took my vehicle in.

My third involved my 2001 Jeep Wrangler with a four- inch lift kit, and 35 tires that I paid $250.00 each for.  One of my employees drove it the night before and had hit a curb.  The tire was low so I sent it to Mathis to have it looked at. 

I received a call and was told my tire had sidewall damage and had to be replaced and that it would cost me $750.00. 

I told them to air it up and return it to me.  It has now been in my garage for two months and has lost no air.  That seems amazing to me.  I guess the damaged tire fixed itself.  Or more likely, never need replaced.

This fourth visit will be my last.  I brought it to them with a coolant leak.  My van was leaking and running hotter than normal.  I looked under the hood and saw where the leak was under my dash at the base of the firewall.  I knew it was around that area because I saw the drips on my garage floor.  They told me my secondary water pump was bad and needed replaced.  They also told me my alternator belt was bad, not the serpentine as was stated before. 

The part was special order and would take three days to get, plus I had to pay $404.43 before they would order it. 

They gave me my vehicle and I drove it back home.  A friend of mine came over looked at it and told me I just needed to tighten the hose clamps.  He did it and I was able to drive every day for an entire week,   I almost forgot that I had paid to have it fixed,   no one from Mathis ever called to tell me the part had arrived.  I called eight days later September 14, 2012, where I was told that they had tried several times to call me at a number I answer 24 hours per day. 

I was angry and told them I still saw a small leak from the back hose.  I believed them that the part was still bad.  They replaced it and I carried it home.  I drove it over the weekend and still smelled antifreeze.  I again looked under the hood and noticed the same leak I had saw before and took it to them again.  The manager had the echanic replace the hose clamp on the hose I had seen leaking all along.  The original clamp was still on the original hose.   They also told me that the hose
needed replaced.  I drove back to my hose and noticed that I no longer had antifreeze leaking from under the dash, but a
new leak was coming from the front.  They had already closed, so I opened the hood. 

I noticed there was a cover over the radiator where the leak was.  I also noticed the clips holding it down had been removed.  I took the cover off and immediately noticed that the leak was coming from under my top radiator hose, I also
noticed the hose clamp was sitting at a very odd angle.  I was not seated in the original grooves that it should have been in.  I went to ORileys and bought another clamp thinking that I could just place it I front of that one and stop the leak.  I felt that would stop it.  I replaced the clamp and it still leaked.  I called my friend again who had tightened the other clamps and he said the leak was actually coming from a crack along the bottom of the plastic radiator housing that the hose fit
over.  He showed me the crack.  It was about 3 and 1/2 inches long.  I asked what might cause that.  He said he had seen it happen when people tried to remove older hoses due to corrosion;   its kind of stuck and people will wiggle them up and down or side to side to get them loose.  He said they are plastic and have to be taken off very carefully to avoid cracking them. 

All I could think of was that the problem was caused by the mechanic trying to drain my radiator from the top considering I told him I was not going to replace my brand new coolant, or that their up-sell tactics were used to tell me I would need to replace my upper radiator hose.  He more than likely wiggled it off, thats why the clips were missing and the clamp was moved.  I can only assume he pressure tested the cooling system for leaks, noticed he had broke the plastic when he loosened the hose, and decided it better not to up-sell me a hose.  He could tell me that my Radiator needed
replaced now.  I called the manager.  Told him what I thought and showed him the radiator.  (I replaced myself the next
morning for almost $400.00).  I also explained all the other events prior to this last one.  His explanation was that my radiator and hose were original, and over time and with heat that they develop cracks.  I told him again about the clamp that was moved and cover clips that were missing; along with the parts I paid for that werent replaced that I paid for; parts that were replaced that were more than likely good;   a tire that was not bad; and a noise coming from the new belt they had just replaced. 

And by the way, my friend took the tension off it and it is okay now.  He just shrugged and went back to work.

In summary:  I spent $58.48 on June 10, 2011 to have my oil and air filter changed on a 2002 Ford Escape, instead of the more than $4,000.00 I was told I had to have.  Drove it till November, 2012; bought the 2004 Quest; trading in the Escape for $2500.00. 

Spent $1,027.06; On the Quest March 27, 2012; for repairs that were to cost more than $3,000.00 according to them. 
Decline the $750.00 for a tire that never needed replaced.  Received no credit for the $88.99 AC part that was not installed.  Spent $182.06 on May 18, 2012 for service I was happy with for once.   Then $404.43 On September 6, 2012 for a part that was probably good, and another $400.00 to repair the radiator that was more than likely broken during the coolant leak repair.  Am I upset?  You bet I am. 

Would I ever take a personal or company vehicle to them again?  Would I ever say that you or anyone else should trust or believe their work to be honest or reliable?  My answer is simply NOOOOOOO.  I Believe that customer s comes first.  I dont charge for parts I dont install.  I diagnose problems and consider what I believe and know before I tell someone my price to fix something.  And I always listen to complaints seriously.  The internet is a source of information that can destroy or help a company.  I choose only to be the best at what I do.  I thrive by my customers experiences.  I will always protect my
integrity in respects to my work.

Rusty Allen, CEO/President

TechANYWHERE.net, LLC