Kal Tire Deer Valley Calgary Alberta False reports and unauthorized work Calgary, Alberta

My family has been taking our vehicles to Kal Tire in Deer Valley since the early or mid 90's.  First with our 1991 honda, 1975 Pontiac Lemans, 1998 Jeep Cherokee, 2003 Grand Cherokee and now me with my own 1998 Grand Cherokee. I have a background in automotive servicing (completed up to a first year apprentice level) as well as being a driving instructor so while not knowing everything there is to know about cars, I do know how they work and what causes systems in your car to fail.

Kal Tire in Deer Valley on more than one occasion has attempted to mislead through fear, exaggeration and sometimes out right lying the necessity of work that needs to be done to my vehicles in order to make extra profit.  Kal Tire in Deer Valley has a business to run and it is in their best interest to mention all possible problems however they have cleverly disguised fear mongering and unnecessary repairs as "true service" and going the extra mile. 

In the fear category:  My girlfriends Volkswagen inspected before driving it to Vancouver and they discovered a a ripped CV boot... it was there opinion that the car would "probably not make it" and pressured her to pay for the repairs.  I talked her out of it and gave her the accurate assessment which was that it will cause her CV joint to wear out faster and should have it replaced when she can afford it to avoid premature failure.  (She kept the VW for another year and the CV joint never failed and even passed an out of province inspection when she sold it to her dad in BC).  The brake lines on my 35 year old car have rust on them. One day while in for service I received a phone call from them saying that they "needed to be replaced" and the charge would be hundreds of dollars.  Not true, the brakes and their hydraulics work fine and the vehicle has less mileage than most 8 year old cars... it wasn't until I demanded an explanation that they stepped back their report to "well if you were to try to remove them you wouldn't be able to get them back on".  They also said the brakes were fading and the master cylinder needed to be replaced... 3 professional opinions since have said its fine. 

On other occasions they've actually lied and included unnecessary services.  While I was in high school the starter went on my old car so I tried doing a "starter tap" and it fired up enough for me to drive it to the shop.  I told them what I had happened, made them aware of my "starter tap" trick and clear told them that I just wanted the starter replaced.  On the bill I was charged with an electrical system test and recharging the battery.  On a separate insurance inspection for my old Pontiac it was written on my report that my front brake pads had 1/32nd remaining and rear shoes had 2/32nds remaining.  The charge was going to be hundreds of dollars ($100 in parts for both the front and the back) plus an hour and a half of labor.  For anyone who doesn't know, the only way it takes an hour and a half to do brakes is if you're on the side of the road, with one axle stand, and you're drunk.  This is, however, the system that is in place at most repair shops... there is a standard labor charge that doesn't need to reflect the actual time spend.  All shops do it this way, but Kal Tire charges a lot more labour than others I've been to.  I had begun to catch on so I told them I'd do the brakes myself.  I went to Auto Value and got some top quality brakes for a total of $60 (front and rear) and returned to my garage to replace the old ones.  Upon replacing them I found out using my calipers and comparing them to the new ones that in fact there was 7/32nds on the front and 8/32nds on the rear which in most cases is next to brand new!  I returned the brakes to Auto Value and I called Kal Tire to let them know of my dissatisfaction and demanded an explanation.  He told me that when they do insurance inspections they don't even remove the drums.  There is no way to check brake shoe life without removing the drums, it was a flat out lie that would have cost me $300.  Kal Tire, how do you or your technicians sleep at night knowingly ripping off someone who has to drive a 35 year old rusty car?  I'm not a rich person... I'm a student and am trying to sell my Jeep for tuition money.  I pity the majority of customers who get taken every day because they don't know as much about repairing cars as I do.

Most recently, I had my Jeep in to get inspected as I am trying to sell it and the bill for "repairs" came to around $2000.  The prospective buyer who was serious enough to pay for the inspection himself declined due to the enormous cost of "needed repairs" and the Jeep was not sold.  Of the estimated repairs no more than $500 worth was warranted.  These repairs included a transfer case output shaft seal and a track bar.  The rest included things such as replacing wiper blades for $50, aiming the headlights for $60 (which it didn't need... as a driving instructor I know how to aim headlights) rehanging the entire exhaust system because it rattles when the Jeep starts, rear shocks (not needed... if anything the front ones would need replacing) a "possible" coolant leak that would cost $200 to diagnose (I haven't put more than a quart of coolant in the thing in the last 2 years... there is no coolant leak) and another $200 or so to investigate why my oil pressure is "low".  Its actually on zero in all driving conditions but its because I broke my oil pressure sender during an oil change... I even told them about it but rather than lean over the engine to look and take my word for it, they quoted the prospective buyer hundreds of dollars to diagnose.  They wanted to open up the front diff to inspect it but didn't include an explanation.  The Jeep actually needs new front rotors but despite all their nit picking they didn't catch it. Dishonest AND incompetent.  More so, they charge a higher mark up on parts than any other shop I've ever been to.  The manufactured alternator for my brothers Cherokee is $150 from the parts store and we paid $340 (plus installation) for the one Kal Tire installed. 

Kal Tire Deer Valley, you have lost the trust of my family.  Your services provide horrible value and your entire business is hinged on fear and uncertainty.  I don't let any of my family members take their vehicles to Kal Tire for even a tire rotation anymore (you've told both me and my dad that we needed new tires because ours were truck tires instead of SUV tires).  We cope with the harsher ride because it gives us peace of mind that our tires won't puncture as easily when we leave the pavement or hit a pot hole, or rub up against the curb when we parallel park.  We all go to Avenida Auto Center on 12445 Lake Fraser Drive SE now, just a 5 minute drive up the hill from Kal Tire.  Surrinder is honest and respectful his clients' money and stands behind his shop's work.  I highly recommend Avenida Auto Center to anyone reading this.

There are other stories but this is already wordy enough.  In defense of Kal Tire as a whole, I have heard of and been to other locations that provide much better service so please don't judge all locations based on the Deer Valley one!