Direct Tire & Auto Service

These guys are amazing people that know their stuff. Prompt, they even offer to show you a video of what they do to the car! 100% recommend

One bad experience after another.
Bad mechanics, poor communication, and typical ripoff scams mar occasional decent work.
Some of the people who work there seem to care, but it just never comes out right without much time wasted, and having to yell and scream.
I think I’m done.

very poor service. I scheduled an appointment for a oil change and tire rotation on my subaru impreza. This was my first time going there for service, but I did buy my tires there. It took them 2 HOURS!, they couldn’t figure out how to reset my oil light, and they didn’t replace the sticker that says when i should come back. My car is 4 years old, I’ve been going to Valvoline for a couple years to get oil changes. Not only are theirs only 20 minutes, they’ve never had an issue resetting the oil light on my dash board. Tire Direct isn’t even cheaper than Valvoline! definitely will not be returning.

After several great experiences with Direct Tire, I’ve had one that won’t have making anymore return trips. After having 4 new tires installed to replace ones with worn treads, I found myself adding air every few days. Upon finally getting the opportunity to have them checked again, I was informed that the tire pressure sensors were corroded (valve stem assemblies). A problem that should have been caught and action recommended during installation that never was. I reluctantly agreed to pay for one of the two leaking ones (that weren’t leaking prior to new tires). After a conversation about the tech not checking them for corrosion as a part of their installation checklist, I was informed that most likely the other two will start to leak as well!!! So after two visits and being out an additional $ 70 for something that should have been done the first time around (and action taken for the other two), I’m stuck having to bring the vehicle somewhere else for the other two sensors to be replaced. Two phone calls to Direct Tire with no response and finally an email to Barry directly prompted a response… sorry you’re on your own. As a business owner myself, I take pride in providing my customers nothing but the best service. Unfortunately Direct Tire has left me deflated and will not see my business again.
After reading Clarks response, he is indeed correct about the timeline. Getting a car you depend on daily in for a repair that should never have happened in the first place is tough. Almost as tedious as having to put air in the tires every 3 – 4 days as needed. The fact that we are 15 miles from this location makes it even tougher. He received the email after I left this review. I wish I could have had such a prompt response to begin with. Direct Tire dropped the ball and damage control is underway… buyer beware!

I mean it may cost a little more than other places for an oil change but honestly as I’ve learned you get what you pay for.
Prices for services aren’t too bad, I was lucky I went there without scheduling and I was able to get my car back the same day.

This is where you should go to get your tires. Simple as that, Quick responsive and COMPETENT service, free loaner car, shuttle service to and from my place of business. Good people.
I am a local business owner and I respect and support competent local businesses that care about their customers.

I needed to replace the tires on my Audi Q5 (only had 23k on the factory Intercontinental tires… awful product). Direct Tire had a great sale a few weekends ago, buy 3 get 1 free. I purchased new Michelin tires from them. I would normally go to the dealer for all service done on my car (Audi Natick) and price match, Audi dealership couldn’t match the price!
While waiting, I went to the movies down the street. I would suggest anyone do that or go over to the mall right next door. Why wait in a tire shop? What a great experience, oh and I saved close to $ 400 from the dealer!
I have 3 cars, would come back in a heartbeat.
Thank you!

Requested a tire quote online. Emailed them with a question about it and they never answered me back.
The place I ended up buying my tires from changed me $ 350 less for 4 tires than I was quoted from these guys.

I have been using Direct Tire for 30 years. I started at the Watertown location and switched to Natick. Doug Smith, Steve and crew have been replacing my tires, brakes, and doing my repairs for 25 years. The service is always top notch, plus they have loaner cars. The work is always top quality be it an American car or high end German sports car. My cars are repaired on time and they call whenever they find something that needs to be repaired. They have matched or beaten Tire Racks prices, plus they swap winter tires for free. I always feel that the crew at Direct Tire is looking out for what is best for me.

These folks are the best as is the Watertown location. I had an emergency today, and they went above and beyond in changing a very flat tire. It was Saturday and they were quite busy but they had me out in record time. I live closer to the Watertown location so usually do there but these folks treated me like I was their best customer.

I limped off the pike to direct tire with a bolt jammed in my front tire. I was prepared to buy another tire. I walked in and was greeted by a very pleasant gentleman that walked immediately out to the car and thought he would be able to patch it. Music to my ears. They were busy and thought it would be a couple of hours before it would be finished. My boyfriend was meeting me so we took care of some errands. They called in a couple of hours. Only $ 25 later I was on my way. I am always terrified to take my car in for anything. These guys were friendly professional and no nonsense. It was an excellent experience.

Tire deal!!!
Ok, I am the most skeptical person on earth… I have to say that i would suggest this place for their life time tire deal to ANYONE! you CANNOT beat the value of it… I have gone for 2 alignments and 3 rotations already… ALL FREE! This is the way to go even if the cost is a little more!
You do sometimes have to wait and if you complain about it «GET OVER IT» there is a reason you have to wait… They do QUALITY WORK!
Bottom line. Great place to get tires done!

3 hour in store wait for them to simply change 4 tires. I had scheduled the appointment a week in advance to specifically avoid this problem…
Customer service was fine, seemed to be plenty of employees and few customers. What they were «doing», who knows.
If your time is valuable I suggest to avoid!

I have been a customer for over 25 years, since the only store was in Watertown MA. I have always received great service and observed both small purchase and large purchase customers treated equally. I had some poor experiences with another tire dealer before discovering Direct Tire and now come in for all wheel and tire work and most auto service. They have always done the work I have been charged for and never charged me for a tire repair. When I came in for a particular tire to replace what was on my car they suggested an alternative that was slightly less expensive and quieter and better in the rain than what I asked for (I have them on my other car). I trust the staff at Direct Tire.

My car was vibrating around 60mph, and my alignment was slightly off, so I tried to get it serviced at Direct Tire as a walk-​in on Feb 12. Unfortunately they were super busy and couldn’t get me out within 4 hours; a snow storm was coming the next day and (go figure) they get a ton of snow tire requests on those days.
So instead of waiting or making an appointment, I made the mistake of bringing my Infiniti (G37x) to a dealership for a tire balancing and alignment. $ 225 later I left with my tires shaking so badly I thought my car would fall apart on the highway, and the steering pulling the car badly to the right.
So here I was, royally pissed off and $ 225 poorer. So I brought my car back to Direct Tire on Feb 19 to try again as a walk-​in. I talked with Doug Smith, who assured me he’d get things right. He took my car for a drive and told me it «feels pretty bad,» which I already knew. Told me it’s likely just a balancing issue, but maybe a bent rim. Then they did the tire balancing; about 30 minutes Doug came over and told me that all 4 tires were badly out of balance; so they re-​balanced them using their road force machine and test drove it to confirm it was better. It was. Then they did the alignment — they found it out of specification for camber, toe, and steer ahead. Not only that but the dealer left a suspension bolt loose. They fixed it and test drove it again to confirm. Two hours and $ 200 later, I was out the door.
Guess what? The car is smooth like butter now, and the alignment is dead on. I highly recommend these guys, they truly know what they’re doing and will treat you right. The work is very high quality, they are knowledgeable, reasonably priced (cheaper than dealership, more expensive than mom/​pop shops), and they are all around nice people who want you to be happy with their work.

Let’s start with the good. Fast, efficient, and decent customer service. They also found something major that was missing from a prior repair job once they put my car on the lift. A+++ (could have cost thousands down the road).
Went in for an oil change and my service engine light soon light was on. They ran the codes and wanted $ 100 to «diagnose» the codes and then another approximately $ 900 to repair what «might be wrong.» Stick to selling tires and making overpriced oil changes ($ 80 for synthetic oil change???).
After doing some research on *ahem* the internet, found out that the light might have been triggered from a «bad fill up» at the pump. Needless to say, the light went off a few days later when the gas ran a little lower. Thus, I saved myself from approximately $ 900 in repairs for nothing. Oh and my car only has 30k but is a ’04. The service personnels rationale for service engine light: «oh, the car is almost 10 yrs old, so things can just go.» I’m not an auto mechanic, but I am not an idiot. The car is still like new and DON’T try to overcharge me and make me your new cashcow.
Will NOT come back here. Save yourself the $ and headache.

I have been coming to Direct Tire to buy Nokian WRG2’s for a Subaru and for a Prius (second set for each). I have also occasionally had oil changes done here. They are very very pleasant and professional. Dave has been a tremendous help, and always goes above and beyond. He helps me get a great price on my tires (I ask around at other tire shops). Today he helped me verify that my drive belt was fine, not cracked as Toyota had said. If I do decide to replace it as preventative maintenance, the price quoted by Sean at Direct Tire is about $ 55 less than the dealership. Thanks, Sean (Shawn?)!
Update: These guys are SOOO nice. I received an email about a deal on enTYRES for this weekend, buy three and get the fourth free. I had just purchased four enTYRES about three weeks ago, and emailed back «D’oh, just bought these from you.» They actually responded the very same day with a merchandise credit fot the difference. Holy cow.
Regarding the tires: so far, I have noticed that the tires are quieter than my previous tires (Nokian WRG2’s — saving them for the snow). I have not seen any difference in handling on ether wet or dry pavement. The mileage has probably not changed, but hard to tell, because the car used to overestimate the miles traveled (read 10.5 miles when it was really just 10 miles) and now, using 215÷55÷16 instead of stock 195÷55÷16, in underestimates — reads 16 miles when it has gone 16.2ish. This is based on mile markers and a Garmin GPS for the old tires, and mile markers for the new. I’m waiting for another long trip with a passenger to do the GPS thing.

Bought rims and tires here, so I call many months later to ask about Blistein shocks and a person I think his name was Rich spoke to me like I was an idiot… I spent over $ 2000 there and will never spend another $ there…
Thanks Rich for letting me know how you feel about your coustomers!

Have been coming here for years.
Just got the snow tires put back on the car. Great deal; you get lifetime snow/​summer tire swap over if you’ve bought the tires from them. Very handy, very quick, no hassle.
Huge plus, they have free donuts on Saturday morning. Well worth getting up for an early appt (they open 7:30am).

BUYER BEWARE!
Did they perform the repair they said they would — yes.
Were they professional, courteous, offer a loaner car — yes.
Did they rape me price wise — YES!
Never had been before, but after seeing my regular mechanic — and hearing the truth — I was, well, I was pissed — I had just been majorly screwed and ripped off.
Too bad because they were nice. But I will never go again, or tell anyone else to go.