My local Les Schwab has declined.

[EPS]

And at 60 to 100 dollars a hour for labor.
A 25 dollar fix could be 125 dollars.

 

[WAYNO]

True unless you know what you are talking about or know what's wrong with your car.
They will take advantage of you.

And that's exactly why my wife will no longer take any vehicle in for service. They used to give her a laundry list of deficiencies. She always said no, and she'd let her husband take care of it. And when she told me what they tried to sell her, it was stuff absolutely not needed or not due for service.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

I love LS!
They treat me right every time.
Do I pay more? Probably so.
I'm loyal.
And I drive a Toyota.
So I don't issues like all you dodge guys do! Dodge wheel studs are notorious for falling off.
Lol!!!
Sorry. But they've done free work for me
A lot!!!

 

[308]

I always end up at Discount Tires.

A friend works at Schwab and he said there is always conflict with managers ans assistant managers. Maybe they don't like seeing one of the little Schwabs boys driving around in his new Ford GT that he did not earn.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

I always end up at Discount Tires.

A friend works at Schwab and he said there is always conflict with managers ans assistant managers. Maybe they don't like seeing one of the little Schwabs boys driving around in his new Ford GT that he did not earn.

That's a nice car? Who was driving it?
I know for fact that the busy store in Bend, that manager makes about $375,000 a year. And it's hard work!

 

[Camelfilter]

I love LS!
They treat me right every time.
Do I pay more? Probably so.
I'm loyal.
And I drive a Toyota.
So I don't issues like all you dodge guys do! Dodge wheel studs are notorious for falling off.
Lol!!!
Sorry. But they've done free work for me
A lot!!!

Yah, we've also had decent experiences with them. Everyone is worth watching tho these days, so there's that.

No negligent work done on ours, but it's only been tire repair, seasonal swap overs (quick & free), and a set of tires back a long while ago.

They also did a great job at a very fair price on a trailer bearing inspection/repack/replace of the ones which were too far gone. I just didn't have the time to get to that job, and was also under a time crunch. Oddball trailer (for them to work on) as well, military surplus.

Figured they'd take the opportunity to take advantage price wise, given the oddball. Nope. Price was fair and under what I expected, and job was done pretty quick. Upside was I knew which bearings it took all size wise, in the event they needed replaced. That helped them check local stock & get the replacements easier.

Sure I could have done the trailer job, but it was simply far more convenient to have them do it. Given the fair price, am glad I did.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

I might add, they only do our tire work. Brake product quality sucks.
Dealer does my brakes.
I get 120k miles on my Toyota Tundra brakes.
65-70k on LS tires.

 

[308]

That's a nice car? Who was driving it?
I know for fact that the busy store in Bend, that manager makes about $375,000 a year. And it's hard work!

After Les passed away I believe the kids got a lot of $$. The Ford GT is a nice car BTW.

 

[bbbass]

1. I never begrudge people their inheritance.

2. Local Schwab often did brake checks for me w/o recommending I replace anything at all.

3. I miss the younguns running out to greet me.

4. I never had good luck with either Wild Country or Toyo light truck tires. Kept buying Toyos at a premium price but they never lasted any longer than the cheap Chinese made stuff LS The Dalles put on for me in a tire emergency. (Edit: Challenger tires, I think)(Double edit: Mastercraft Courser... they told me Chinese, but never said all their tires are Chinese)

5. Last year I got my winter changeover on my Toy Highlander done for free, even with non-LS tires. Today, I got charged $70 for changeover with the same tires. Scratching my head...

6. I need to buy 6 passenger truck (Silverado 3500 dually) tires this year... I'm on no tread left front and back. What would ya'll recommend? (Edit: All Terrain, but not too aggressive)

bb

 

[amusicman2]

I suppose if you live in the city other tire stores are great but I have no complaints about Sublimity's Les Schwab. Somethings are crazy expensive but most of that I do myself.

 

[kmk1012]

After Les passed away I believe the kids got a lot of $$. The Ford GT is a nice car BTW.

Les outlived his kids. He really was a very nice down to earth person every time I would see him. LS stores have two sides (not counting commercial stuff), the tire center and the profit center aka:alignment and brake center. I happen to have very intimate details of the ridiculous markups on that side of it. It paid me some very handsome annual bonuses through all the years I worked for them.

 

[Jeedia]

I have only had great service and great products at a fair price from Les Shwab.

 

[kmk1012]

I still get my discount and recently had them lift my new truck. Funny thing is I bought my first set of custom wheels a few years after working there, lol.

 

[Alexx1401]

Damn, going to make me nervous now when I need tires
been using Discount since I moved back here in 92. Had flat one day, stopped at the one down the road. They fixed it free. So when I needed new I went to them. Now and then I do a quick look at price and they always seem good. They have a couple times screwed up lugs on one Jeep. Both times they sent me to a shop to have them replaced on their dime. Hope nothing like the stories here happen. Eeekk!

 

[308]

Les outlived his kids. He really was a very nice down to earth person every time I would see him. LS stores have two sides (not counting commercial stuff), the tire center and the profit center aka:alignment and brake center. I happen to have very intimate details of the ridiculous markups on that side of it. It paid me some very handsome annual bonuses through all the years I worked for them.

It must have been grandkids then. I saw the one at PIR with his GT

 

[CamoDeafie]

Yea
..after the most recent trip to have my tires rotated, and only rotated, under their warranty.. they told me I needed "$580" of work to replace the front right strut and alignment I politely declined that work. At least warranty works done but I seriously don't think they actually balanced the tire/wheels, only rotated them... I've been noticing a shake at 63-65 mph coming from the front. Which was never there before.
I'm gonna shop around when I can, and see who can balance the tires and make sure theyre not out of round or bent steel wheels... less than 45k miles since replacing the tires... I know I need to adjust camber on the front struts, I know I need replace the front struts, but no way am I paying $500+ for struts when I can get good new ones off Ebay for under $100

 

[PNWguy]

6. I need to buy 6 passenger truck (Silverado 3500 dually) tires this year... I'm on no tread left front and back. What would ya'll recommend?

bb

Asking what tires you should buy is like asking what gun you should buy without stating the intended purpose.

And you'll likely get a dozen different answers as there are some great tires out there.

 

[PNWguy]

I have tried out 4 different tire types in the past 5 years on a 2014 Ram 1500 and a 2005 GMC Yukon.

Both vehicles were used to go into the woods fairly often and also used as daily commuters to work, so I like aggressive AT or mild MT tires.

The four types I used:

Cooper ST MAXX



Cooper Discoverer AT/3:



Milestar Patagonia MT:



And currently running the Goodyear Duratrac:



My favorite tire out of all of them so far, believe it or not, was the Patagonia MT. It and the Cooper ST Maxx were about even for the best in snow (I did get the Patagonias siped) and off-road use. The Duratracs were disappointing this past winter, despite getting rave reviews for snow traction.

The Patagonias were also not that loud on the pavement. Certainly no louder than the Duratracs, while being pretty darn cheap at about $150 each.

The Discoverer AT/3s weren't bad in the summer and in the rocks and dirt, but not very good in the snow at all and seemed to wear fast than I liked.

The ST Maxx tire was the best all around tire, but they are expensive at over $250 a tire.

Not sure what I'll try next. Either another set of the Patagonias, or the Kumho AT51, which are getting great reviews, especially for snow and wet conditions and run pretty cheap at around $150 a tire.

 

[bbbass]

Asking what tires you should buy is like asking what gun you should buy without stating the intended purpose.

And you'll likely get a dozen different answers as there are some great tires out there.

A dozen answers will be fine as I haven't bought anything besides Toyos and other Schwabie tires for 20yrs. Unlike some others, I do know how to sift information and come to a decision, I just don't trust advertising or other dealer claims. I'd like some real world help from my NWFA buddies.

However, I take your point on useage... I need a tire with SOME lug, but primarily a highway tire. Not purely road, but not very aggressive. It's not for off road. The truck is used to haul a 5th wheel camp trailer on asphalt roads and once in awhile on gravel. All Terrain tires is what I have always used.

This is the tire I am replacing, Toyo Open Country ATII (It's possible I don't need anything even that aggressive as I don't go out in the woods as much as I used to and don't use it much in wintertime):

Thanx for the info on Cooper tires, Patagonia, etc.!!!

 

[Racktech]

I have only had exemplary service from them in Scappoose/Saint Helens. On the other hand I have not bought new tires from them in 12 years, because of where their tires are made. Tires matter! Quality matters.

Made in China and Korea crap, is driving stupid. I did it when I was poor, but I would rather spring for a set of USA made Michelins and skip a few meals (arguably a health benifit ) than risk wrecking on a wet road because my tire design and compound is hard and nasty-cheap.

Driving - arguably the most dangerous thing we do.