Pope-Davis Tire & Automotive

After perfectly adequate experiences at the Assembly Street location for oil changes and general services, I thought I would maintain my loyalty by visiting the Lexington location when I had a strange noise/​vibration coming from my vehicle. A friend suggested it could possibly be a transmission issue. When I spoke with the technician about my experience, I mentioned this in passing. This should have been no guarantee that that was indeed the problem with my car. After all, isn’t it the shop’s job to look into any possible causes rather than jumping to a conclusion offered by a non-​expert?
One would think…
With that being said, they immediately recommended I get a transmission flush, as there was «debris» that could be making one of the parts behave in a faulty manner, which they claimed was responsible for the noise. I was assured that this was the first step that needed to be taken to fix my car.
After waiting all day to hear from them when the vehicle was finished (they were supposed to call), I had to chase them down to find out if it was finished. I was assured the sound had stopped. Yet, lo and behold, when I get in my vehicle to drive home, the sound persisted.
I called back first thing in the morning to find out why I had been promised my vehicle was fixed when it was not. The young man I spoke to said he would speak with my technician and get back to me. Yet again, I had to chase them down to find out what the issue was. I was told the sound «should resolve itself within 500 – 600 miles, and if not, then [I] have a transmission problem». Naturally, it did not resolve. Why is that? Because it was not actually a transmission issue at all, but a plate that is generally removed for oil changes had been missing several clips and was scraping against the tire. And THAT I found out from taking it to the dealership.
I am usually all for supporting local businesses and would have done most anything to avoid taking it to the dealership, as I have experienced excessive upcharges to most services. But this was just ridiculous — I was swindled out of my money for a transmission flush that I didn’t even need. I will say here that they were very nice and courteous, and even gave me a lift to my job (which isn’t something they usually do), but that is not enough to harbor a positive experience.