BEWARE THE PREDATORY PRICING PRACTICES HERE!
I had my vehicle towed here on 11/6 and asked Dan to have someone inspect & diagnose the left rear suspension/axel/tire issue after my car jerked left, fishtailed on the freeway, & hit the median on the left rear tire. 11/7 the diagnosis was done & said the precision lateral arms, trailing arm, knuckle, precision suspension control arms, and spindle nuts needed to be replaced. Quoted $2,279.67 or $2,220.27 once the $59.40 convenience fee was removed as I was not intending to pay with a credit card. It took several days as I opened a car insurance claim. Finally on 11/21 I spoke to Dan and told him my insurance adjuster had informed me that Eagle Tire was refusing to agree on the insurance's price of $1,949.85. I let Dan know that if the shop couldn't agree to the price I'd need to know so I could have the vehicle towed to a shop that would agree to that price, but Dan said he'd agree to the price and get the work started. We scheduled a pick up date on 11/24. I called Dan on 11/24 and he said some parts they ordered still hadn't arrived and he'd need me to pick it up on 11/25. The morning of 11/25 I called to check in and Dan told me the price to pick up my car was now $2,800, but couldn't tell me why. We went back and forth all day long between him calling my insurance to submit a second supplemental claim because the parts price were higher. On the evening of 11/25 I spoke with Dave who said when they took things apart to do the repair they found additional parts that needed to be replaced that they hadn't included on the original quote, which is why the price went up. I had to ask Dave to send me a new quote, which was $2,511.45. The morning of 11/26 Dan called me to let me know they submitted the supplemental claim to my insurance, but that they wouldn't process the claim until after the Thanksgiving holiday and that I couldn't pick up my car until the full price was paid.
RCW 46.75.025 states that when a repair shop's price increases 10% above the original quoted price that they are required to contact the owner before proceeding with the repair. It also states if this is not done that the shop can't hold the car until full payment is made. This condition was not met & Eagle Tire illegally held my car ransom until the insurance came back with the new total.
On 12/1 Eagle Tire and my insurance finally agreed upon a new price. Because Eagle Tire refused to be paid through the insurance because they didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting the documentation set-up, I had to have my insurance pay me so I could make the final payment. I had to wait two days to allow the second fund transfer to settle and called Dan on 12/3 to pick up my car on 12/4. On the phone he stated the final price was $2,387.04, but when I got in to pay he said the final price was $2,327.04. When I asked why the price was different now, he couldn't explain and just asked if it was ok.
I've done business with Eagle Tire in Gig Harbor for 5 years and have had great service and have solely used them for all my vehicle tire and alignment needs. After this experience I will be taking my business elsewhere and will be warning everyone to avoid doing business with them.