I know that criticisms of well established businesses are not always appreciated and can sometimes result in accusations of lying or exaggerating or simply being an entitled American who can’t seem to adjust. Nevertheless my experience today was so egregious that I feel an obligation to share it, so here goes.
I have always taken my car to David’s Tire in Sosua for routine service such as oil changes, tire mounting, or battery replacement, and I have always been very satisfied with their work. I have found them to provide excellent service and inexpensive pricing. My experience today was unfortunately very different when I went there for a simple oil change.
Business was slow and I was the only customer in the place. One of the reasons I always liked that place was because I can stand nearby to watch them work. But this time I was instructed to go sit on the coach in front of the office, so I dutifully obeyed. They raised my car up on the lift to drain the oil and immediately after lowering it I noticed the boss man removing my right rear wheel. That wheel was on the blind side of my car opposite from where I was sitting so I could not see what was going on and could not understand why they were removing my wheel for an oil change. The boss man rolled my wheel over to me and said, “I’m sorry but I have some very bad news for you”. He then pointed to a half-inch wide sliver of metal embedded in the tread of my tire. He told me that the tire was old and should probably be replaced. He promised to give me a great price on a new tire. I told him that I was not prepared to buy a new tire today and instructed him to put the wheel back on the car. I told him that that the tire has not been losing any air and that perhaps the metal sliver that was embedded in the tread had not punctured the inner lining of the tire. He offered to remove the metal sliver but I told him not to touch it. He insisted that I should at least let him remove the tire from the wheel to inspect the inside of the tire and repair it. After much back and forth I finally relented.
Within 2 minutes of rolling my wheel over the tire mounting machine, he returned and announced that he had repaired the tire. I have never seen a tire repaired so quickly. I asked if he could balance the wheel before putting it back on my car and he said, “we don’t balance rear wheels – there’s no need to. We only balance front wheels.” I was becoming suspicious of the entire transaction by now, so I just shook my head and said ok.
When the oil change was complete and I was leaving the garage, my car only managed to go about 50 feet before I heard a clunk and the engine would not go above idle speed. At the same time the check engine and other warning lights were lighting up on my dash. I managed to limp back to the garage in reverse and told them that they had done something to my engine. The guy who did the oil change seemed to know immediately what the problem was. He opened my hood and told me stay in my car. But by now I was becoming suspicious of what was going on so I got out of my car just in time to see him removing a big shop rag from inside the tube that connects the air cleaner housing to the throttle body. And then I saw him reach in and remove a 2nd rag. Seeing that I was watching, he simply looked up and said “sorry”.
The guys then assured me that my car was fixed. I protested that the check engine light and other warning lights were still lit on my dash. So they summoned their guy with the diagnostic scanner to read the codes on my car’s computer. The guy showed me the code and advised that my fuel injectors were dirty and needed to be cleaned. I told him that I had never seen a check engine warning light before driving into his shop, so I was skeptical of his diagnosis. So he cleared the codes, and suddenly my car was magically fixed. After I arrived home, I carefully inspected the “repaired” tire and could find no evidence of any plug or other repair. However I did see a ½” wide slice in the tread where the metal sliver had been embedded but it went no deeper than the tread.
Needless to say, I will not be returning to David’s Tire again. Any recommendations for other car service places in the Sosua/Carbarete/Puerto Plata area would be appreciated. I drive a Honda CR-V and I have heard good things about the Nissan dealer in Puerto Plata, so I may try that place next time for service if there are no warnings to stay away or recommendations for other places to go.
I have always taken my car to David’s Tire in Sosua for routine service such as oil changes, tire mounting, or battery replacement, and I have always been very satisfied with their work. I have found them to provide excellent service and inexpensive pricing. My experience today was unfortunately very different when I went there for a simple oil change.
Business was slow and I was the only customer in the place. One of the reasons I always liked that place was because I can stand nearby to watch them work. But this time I was instructed to go sit on the coach in front of the office, so I dutifully obeyed. They raised my car up on the lift to drain the oil and immediately after lowering it I noticed the boss man removing my right rear wheel. That wheel was on the blind side of my car opposite from where I was sitting so I could not see what was going on and could not understand why they were removing my wheel for an oil change. The boss man rolled my wheel over to me and said, “I’m sorry but I have some very bad news for you”. He then pointed to a half-inch wide sliver of metal embedded in the tread of my tire. He told me that the tire was old and should probably be replaced. He promised to give me a great price on a new tire. I told him that I was not prepared to buy a new tire today and instructed him to put the wheel back on the car. I told him that that the tire has not been losing any air and that perhaps the metal sliver that was embedded in the tread had not punctured the inner lining of the tire. He offered to remove the metal sliver but I told him not to touch it. He insisted that I should at least let him remove the tire from the wheel to inspect the inside of the tire and repair it. After much back and forth I finally relented.
Within 2 minutes of rolling my wheel over the tire mounting machine, he returned and announced that he had repaired the tire. I have never seen a tire repaired so quickly. I asked if he could balance the wheel before putting it back on my car and he said, “we don’t balance rear wheels – there’s no need to. We only balance front wheels.” I was becoming suspicious of the entire transaction by now, so I just shook my head and said ok.
When the oil change was complete and I was leaving the garage, my car only managed to go about 50 feet before I heard a clunk and the engine would not go above idle speed. At the same time the check engine and other warning lights were lighting up on my dash. I managed to limp back to the garage in reverse and told them that they had done something to my engine. The guy who did the oil change seemed to know immediately what the problem was. He opened my hood and told me stay in my car. But by now I was becoming suspicious of what was going on so I got out of my car just in time to see him removing a big shop rag from inside the tube that connects the air cleaner housing to the throttle body. And then I saw him reach in and remove a 2nd rag. Seeing that I was watching, he simply looked up and said “sorry”.
The guys then assured me that my car was fixed. I protested that the check engine light and other warning lights were still lit on my dash. So they summoned their guy with the diagnostic scanner to read the codes on my car’s computer. The guy showed me the code and advised that my fuel injectors were dirty and needed to be cleaned. I told him that I had never seen a check engine warning light before driving into his shop, so I was skeptical of his diagnosis. So he cleared the codes, and suddenly my car was magically fixed. After I arrived home, I carefully inspected the “repaired” tire and could find no evidence of any plug or other repair. However I did see a ½” wide slice in the tread where the metal sliver had been embedded but it went no deeper than the tread.
Needless to say, I will not be returning to David’s Tire again. Any recommendations for other car service places in the Sosua/Carbarete/Puerto Plata area would be appreciated. I drive a Honda CR-V and I have heard good things about the Nissan dealer in Puerto Plata, so I may try that place next time for service if there are no warnings to stay away or recommendations for other places to go.
