Ann Arbor auto repair

mrvids

Forum Member
My son moved to Ann Arbor and is looking for a reputable shop for auto repair. We are looking for suggestions. His car need shocks & struts currently, and possibly a control arm on his 2008 Saturn Vue. At least that's what Belle Tire told him. They gave him a quote of $1600.
I realize he may need all that work done but $1600 seemed a little high. Maybe I am wrong about that price.
 
I have used both of these shops, if your son is willing to drive
about 25 to 30 mins south of A2, it will be cheaper I think and
I would recommend checking out both of these shops.

Bell Tire in A2 is one of the worst shops one could visit.

Auto Repair .jpg
 
It seems like every time I walk into Belle Tire they want me to spend a crazy amount of money. I don't even get tires from them anymore. I tried to get a tire patched on my Camaro, and they refused because the said the nail was "On the outermost tread" - The outermost tread is like two inches wide, and the nail was that far from the sidewall. Needless to say I went to the shop down the street and had it plugged from the outside for $20, and it held for two years until I wore the tire out. They lost my business for life pulling crap like that. My buddy ran over something that slashed his tire, and they want him to replace the struts now too. I asked him how it drove and he said fine.

I guess when you don't know someone who works there, they give you Joe Dumbass price or something - because all I could think of the whole time is "Do you think I am a fucking idiot?". And they probably know they will scare off one out of four people with that schtick, but the two out of four that spend the money make up for it so they don't give a crap. Fuck em.

-Geoff
 
It seems like every time I walk into Belle Tire they want me to spend a crazy amount of money. I don't even get tires from them anymore. I tried to get a tire patched on my Camaro, and they refused because the said the nail was "On the outermost tread" - The outermost tread is like two inches wide, and the nail was that far from the sidewall. Needless to say I went to the shop down the street and had it plugged from the outside for $20, and it held for two years until I wore the tire out. They lost my business for life pulling crap like that. My buddy ran over something that slashed his tire, and they want him to replace the struts now too. I asked him how it drove and he said fine.

I guess when you don't know someone who works there, they give you Joe Dumbass price or something - because all I could think of the whole time is "Do you think I am a fucking idiot?". And they probably know they will scare off one out of four people with that schtick, but the two out of four that spend the money make up for it so they don't give a crap. Fuck em.

-Geoff

Tell us how you really feel....In all honesty, this is the same as I feel +/- certain reasons...
:)
 
Belle tire installed for new tires and an oil change at my neighbor's minivan....and then informed him that the rear suspension is so rusted out that it should not be on the road and he should scrap it or his family is going to die in a fiery crash.... So I trailered it to the scrap yard for him and we scrapped it with brand new tires and fresh oil in the oil pan....hahahaha
 
Belle tire installed for new tires and an oil change at my neighbor's minivan....and then informed him that the rear suspension is so rusted out that it should not be on the road and he should scrap it or his family is going to die in a fiery crash.... So I trailered it to the scrap yard for him and we scrapped it with brand new tires and fresh oil in the oil pan....hahahaha

They probably told him as they handed him his receipt too. I had this old green Chevy truck with that I brought in to get a leaky plug replaced. They refused to touch it (said they could only replace it of course) but they still wanted to charge me for repairing it! The manager said they did the labor to pull it off and on and leak test it, so I still had to pay. I looked at the receipt and it only said "Repair Tire" on it. So after a 30 second argument, he refunded it. That wasn't even the time I gave up on them! I thought that was an isolated incident. Guess I was wrong!

-Geoff
 
As everyone has already said, yes belle tire is great for throwing something at the wall to see if it sticks. I will occasionally have to deal with them and they usually have a hard time explaining their diag. Is there an issue that he brought it in for or were they upselling while he was their for tires? If there is an issue I would go somewhere else for a second opinion.
 
As everyone has already said, yes belle tire is great for throwing something at the wall to see if it sticks. I will occasionally have to deal with them and they usually have a hard time explaining their diag. Is there an issue that he brought it in for or were they upselling while he was their for tires? If there is an issue I would go somewhere else for a second opinion.
His tires are a few months old, and he needed an oil change and tire rotation. So they may have provided a "free inspection" to find other things wrong they could potentially repair.
 
Hoover Street Auto Repair, it's right by the stadium. Tons of Umich employees go there.

I would never go to Belle Tire for anything but tires, especially the one on Jackson Road. And you have to be very explicit about how they treat tire balancing and mounting.

I used to believe in them, but every last one of the stores I've been to have been shady as hell. Like I stand outside the door and watch them like a hawk.

I've had that one and the one in Jackson both tell me that I needed new tie rods and an alignment. I asked for the evidence that either needed work and they looked at me like I was the retard.

Last set of tires I bought were from Discount. I'll probably go there again or maybe just go to the dealership. The only reason I like Belle Tire is because of the baked-in lifetime balancing (which I do use).
 
Hoover Street Auto Repair, it's right by the stadium. Tons of Umich employees go there.

I would never go to Belle Tire for anything but tires, especially the one on Jackson Road. And you have to be very explicit about how they treat tire balancing and mounting.

I used to believe in them, but every last one of the stores I've been to have been shady as hell. Like I stand outside the door and watch them like a hawk.

I've had that one and the one in Jackson both tell me that I needed new tie rods and an alignment. I asked for the evidence that either needed work and they looked at me like I was the retard.

Last set of tires I bought were from Discount. I'll probably go there again or maybe just go to the dealership. The only reason I like Belle Tire is because of the baked-in lifetime balancing (which I do use).

Discount Tire gives you free lifetime balancing & flat repair.

As a matter of fact, I never purchase the "tire replacement
warranty" and I recently had a new tire from them get destroyed
and the manager went ahead and covered it!

I did not ask him to do this, just Discount Tire being Discount Tire!
 
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