‘They broke my rim on my 55 chevy, and told me it was already broken.’

Owning a car can be expensive. According to AAA, as of 2016, “owning and operating an average sedan costs $8,558 per year, which is equal to $713 per month or 57 cents per mile”—and in recent years, the cost of ownership has increased.

As a result of these high costs, drivers are looking for any way to save money on car maintenance, or even just make their lives easier through finding a singular location to handle all of their auto needs.

Now, a user on TikTok has sparked a discussion with a piece of advice: Don’t let Walmart be your one-stop auto shop. 

A negative experience with Walmart auto work

In a video with over 844,000 views, a worker for the auto shop STW Direct in Lincolnton, NC (@stwdirect) tells viewers, “Do not go to Walmart to get your tires, and here’s why.”

According to the TikToker, a customer came in after saying she got her tires rotated at Walmart. After doing so, he says “she felt a bad vibration coming from her car. It felt like a wheel was coming off.”

The worker says the shop responded by checking the torque to ensure the wheels were not, in fact, coming off. While the wheels were correctly torqued, the worker says the shop suggested it could be an imbalance and advised her to return to Walmart, as she had paid them to balance her tires.

“Long story short, Walmart said that since we torqued down the wheels, they can’t touch her car,” the TikToker states. “Like I said, do not buy tires from Walmart.”

The customer instead brought the car back to the TikToker’s auto shop, where the TikToker says he told her that it would make all of the needed adjustments to her car for free.

“That’s how you do customer service,” he explains. “Do not buy tires at Walmart. Do not pay Walmart for any kind of services like this. Go to a real tire shop where they actually know what they’re doing.”

A follow-up

In a follow-up video, the shop showcases a variety of issues with the woman’s car. This includes misplaced weights, using the wrong kind of weights, not removing corrosion, leaving the wheels out of balance, and more.

The video shows the TikToker’s shop resolving all of the issues, which proves to be a fairly time-consuming and involved process.

“Stop going to Walmart,” the TikToker reiterates in conclusion. “You guys don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”

Commenters share their experiences

In the comments section, some shared their negative experiences with auto service at Walmart.

“True. they broke my rim on my 55 chevy, and told me it was already broken,” said a user.

“Walmart damaged my bf’s rims. They had to fork over $5000 to replace them,” added another.

“They did me like that one time with an OIL CHANGE,” offered a third. “when I Tell you oil was leaking so bad they didn’t tighten the oil pan and didn’t wanna make it right.”

Still, some recounted positive memories of their times at the Walmart auto shop.

“I will continue to buy tires from Walmart. They have the same tires as many shops without the mark up,” stated a commenter.

“I buy all my tires at Walmart. They got the best warranty,” shared a second. “I had a blowout the day after buying tires and they gave me a new one. No questions asked.”