Merchant’s Tire & Auto Centers

I’ve had a pleasant experience every time I’ve been here in the past few years (so like twice), and I even met a buddy’s mom in the waiting room which CAN’T be total coincidence, right? But that’s not why I’m writing this review, which would’ve already earned them at least four stars.
No, I’m writing because these employees are baller status, gold-​crown-​wearing rockstars who actually care about helping people.
So I’m walking my motorcycle over to Blalock cycle because I’m a dumbass and left the keys on while I was at Applebees, real Hill People type behavior. I walk by Merchant’s, half out of breath, and notice they’ve ‘just’ closed. I asked one of the employees I saw closing up shop if he could help unscrew my seats so I could jump the bike. Without hesitation, he grabs a socket wrench, sizes up the bolts, and unscrews these herculean strength bolts off the bike so I can jump it. Dude’s name is Zach, and he’s Saved By The Bell level cool about helping. I jump the bike, get it going, and even though I didn’t ask, straight up RE-​BOLTS my seats back on. At almost 15 minutes after they’ve closed! He didn’t even ask for any money! And he’s listening to Starset, which is a new hard rock band that has far better rifts and vocals than their Scientology backstory would suggest, but that’s irrelevant because Zach knows quality goddamn music.
If you’ve had an unpleasant experience here, give them another shot. My good fortune here can’t be coincidence, and Zach will literally starve if you don’t go because he’ll be out of a job and holy shit food pantries are a touch-​and-​go kind of game.
Captain America officially endorses your store.

My usual mechanic and my back up mechanic was closed for the holiday so I went here for a state inspection and oil change. Big Mistake.
What should have been a simple and pleasant experience was anything but that. Like many franchise and large auto repair businesses the mechanics are paid a percentage of the price of the job. So it’s in their best interests to do an expensive job instead of a simple oil change. So instead of a $ 30-​$ 50 oil change and $ 15 state inspection I got hit with a $ 1500 estimate for a motor mount replacement.
What they didn’t know was that my mechanic had just replaced the opposite side motor mount a few weeks earlier. Of course the Merchants mechanic stuck to his story. Even raised the car off the ground to show me how the wheel was moving. Duh… The car is off the ground, of course it moves! I can only assume they thought I’d be fooled by that stunt and it would change my mind.
Long story short, I informed them I didn’t agree and they could fail the car if they didn’t want to pass it. So I left with my fail sticker and went back to my mechanic who found nothing wrong with the motor mount and even took it to another inspection station. A much more honest inspection station where the car passed. Imagine that? I must have magical motor mounts.
Be very careful with this place. Regardless they’ll never have my business again.

I’ve been using these guys for a few years now. I have yet to have an awful experience here. Even when there were issues with my brakes, I brought my car back in and they made sure the problem was fixed with no additional charges and as quick as they could. They have also helped me shop for prices to get the lowest cost (without resorting to taking lower quality) tires for my car. They have also done my oil changes, tune ups, and some engine work, again no complaints, they got my car back on the road way cheaper than the dealer and with really good service, attentive to my questions and needs. I am no novice when it comes to car repair and have shopped around, and I always come back to them. As far as pricing goes, they are a business and need to be able to keep afloat, the prices are definitely much more reasonable then going to a dealer. Also they are the best when it comes to hours and availability.

This is the best tire shop or any auto repair shop I have been to in a long while. Not only did they have the best prices on the installation and reprogramming of new TPMS sensors and rebalance the tires in 60 miles radius but they also were professional about everything. The service was quick. I recommend these guys to everyone who needs anything tire related or TPMS system related.

Check out their multi-​year alignment package. It seems like a good deal especially if you use it 4 – 5 times over the course of 3 years. Most of the guys seem knowledgeable about what they are doing. Every once in a while you might get a guy who’s a little pushy but most of the time they are good about «no pressure».

I’ve been a Merchant’s customer before, and always had a pleasant experience — friendly staff, never patronizing to a vehicular idiot, all good. But today, Opie found me stranded at the bank down the street with a dead car. After graciously trying to identify the problem on the spot, he helped me get an affordable tow, and then had me back on the street in half an hour with a discounted bill (as well as lots of scratches and pats for my dog.) You guys have a customer for life!

Nice guys at the desk. We took the truck in for an inspection– It seems that nowadays you have to wait in line for more than an hour no matter where you go or what time of the month it is. Merchants lets you drop it off and pick it up the next day which is much better for me. We had a few minor things wrong and they fixed them quickly and now I can go get my truck.

Took a car there because the tire, which is only two months old, kept getting low on air. They said there was a nail in the tire and it could not be fixed and I had to buy a new tire at $ 120.00. I took the car somewhere else and they said it was a very easy repair and the tire was fine.
They tried to rip me off! I will never go there again. They are dishonest and only wanted to sell me a new tire, which I did not need.

I had to go check why my «Tire Pressure Low» light kept blinking on my dashboard. My husband and I put air in it multiple times until we get the right pressure, but the light is still on. 30 minutes into the appointment, they fixed it. The TPMS Sensor on one of the tires was bent and it was sending the signal to the car’s computer. So he took off the TPMS until I got a new one from Honda.
Oh BY THE WAY… no charge! Who does that? These guys do!

Called at 8am to make an appointment to mount 4 tires and apparently spoke to the guy running the Warrenton franchise; he said no need for an appointment and I could come by at 6pm for same day service…
I arrive at 6pm and the place is a ghost town but the cashier monkey assures me that they are slammed and cannot work me in. I tell them what the manager said when I called at 8 and they just shrugged.
I have never been treated to such a pair of uncaring employees! They also totally threw their boss under the bus and told me to call him the next day so they could get back to doing nothing.
Avoid!

Read all of these bad reviews and wanted to share my positive experience.
The desk staff was courteous and went the extra mile. I showed up without an appointment on a busy day. They told me they could get me in but it might take a little longer. I was buying oversized tires and the manager took the time to roll it out to my car so we could get a visual. It was close to the max the well could handle so he suggested we go ahead and mount one on the front, drop it and see if it cleared. It did and looked great so, on the other three went. As I was leaving I accidentally dropped my keys through the huge drainage grate out front. The crew came out, pulled up this 500 lb grate, climbed down the ladder and recovered my keys. I offered some cash as thanks and they would not take it. I’ll be back for sure!

Bought a set of tires and they screwed up on setting the tire pressure on each of the tires (22, 32, 26 and 29 PSI when they should have been set at 32 front and 39 rear) and also neglected to provide the $ 70 tire rebate form.
Obviously had to go back to get the rebate forms and to have them correctly set the proper air pressure to safe limits.

I had them rotate the back tires to the front (including balancing) and put on the new tires on the back. Got there a little after 9 and left around 11. In my mind it shouldn’t take an hour and a half for this to be done. Just thinking they need to have more help or less smoking/​water breaks.

Complete scam! While driving my Prius, I incurred a flat on my front passenger tire. Closest place I could go to was Merchant’s in Warrenton. Waited two hours only to find out that they can’t fix my tire, surprise! surprise!, and they can’t replace just one or two but it has to be all four tires! I was speechless and I wish I had gone with the other option of just towing my car to the original place where I bought my tires. So I had them replace all four tires and took the old ones back to the other place to claim warranty that I still had on them. I go to the other place with my old tires and they took look at my new ones and noticed right away that they are not the correct size. I showed them my invoice from Merchant’s and they pointed out that not only is the size incorrect but the brand is also not the same. I was so upset! I called them directly from the other tire place and told them the situation. No apologies from the manager it seems like he wasn’t all that surprised actually. It makes me wonder how often this happens and whose tires did I get or where my tires I was supposed to get go to. He said no problem just return them and I’ll get a full refund. I returned them as soon as possible and dealt with the store manager directly. He couldn’t give me the money back on my card right away because of a store policy he said they had on being unable to refund more than a $ 100.00. He said that their corporate office will return the money to me by check via mail in about 10 business days. Fine. I waited 2 weeks and got nothing. I called their corporate office at this point and spoke with 3 different reps and 1 supervisor in 3 days who all promised me that their corporate office will get in touch with me in 48 hours because I was actually dealing with a 3^rd party company who just takes calls for them. Again, shouldn’t be so surprises that I still haven’t received a call to this day. This has been ongoing sine July 9^th. I’ve reported them to BBB and disputing the amount with my credit card company. Buyer beware of doing any business with Merchant’s especially the store in Warrenton, VA.

i love Merchants. They have never let me down. Just this morning, my alternator gave up. They opened the door at 7 AM. I handed them my keys and 2 hours later I was back on my way to work. Robert is a very patient and knowledgeable person. I also must give Seth a compliment as well as he too was very friendly and helpful. Both of these guys took care of my Jeep in no time! I always go to Merchants in Warrenton!