Certified Tire & Service Centers
reviews and complaints

I have done my own oil changes on my Honda Civic for a while but i just recently moved into an apartment and no longer have a work space to do it on my own any more. I took my car to Certified Tire in El Cajon to get my oil changed and they did a free inspection which came back with a huge list of things they said needs to be fixed on my car. I shake my head at them and said no thanks, just do my $15 oil change and i'm out of here. So they did it. The next time i brought my car in do get an oil change they did the same thing, a very expensive list of things that they say needs to be fixed, i said NO! It's not necessary in my opinion. So they change my oil and when i pick up my car they said my oil pan drain plug is striped out and the whole oil pan needs replacing! So, all of sudden the threads are messed up but the last time they changed the oil it was fine? And all the times i changed my oil myself the threads were fine too. This is what they do to make money! They obviously aren't making much profit on $15 oil changes so it's just a way to bait people in to convince them other things are wrong and if you don't want them to fix them they will CREATE something you will HAVE to fix. Now my oil pan plug is messed up thanks to them (they don't just suddenly become striped out in one oil change). They obviously did it on purpose to try to squeeze me out of more money. I will take my car to a friends garage and repair my car myself and not give them the satisfaction of making money that way. Lesson to be learned, THESE COMPANIES DO NOT MAKE MONEY ON CHEAP $15 OIL CHANGES, THEY ONLY DO THAT TO BAIT YOU IN AND UPSALE YOU ON EXPENSIVE SERVICES AND IF YOU DON'T BITE ON THE BAIT THEY WILL MESS YOUR CAR UP AND MAKE YOU FIX IT! I will never go back there again.

my brother and i went in to get an alignment about $150 and they didnt try to sell him any more while i was there cuz i know about cars so they wait till we leave and call him and try to sell him $900 in bull ### work that he didnt need and i know he didnt need it i work on cars my self

I worked in there Moreno Valley store very bad company to work for i have worked for G.M. since 1983 until some medical issues forced me to a lighter duty job big mistake working for certified tire they made it seem so good but i will not work every friggen day and night for peanuts and dis honest business practises like not paying technicians for the double minimum wage law for using there own tools there answer was we have tools yes they have one torque wrench because there drug addict mechanics leave wheels loose then they say you are fired we have torque wrenches here never see this kind of behavior at any new car dealership or treated so poorly like dirt
manager extremley over worked and all hell trickles from Jeff Darrow on down to his piece of crap son Jearmie

I certainly thank you for your honest assessment of this company (Certified Tire). I completely agree. They are a nuisance to the community as well as being blatantly dishonest and corrupt.
I am actively suing this company for their 'theft by deception' activities and dishonest practices.
It's time that they paid for some of their criminal decisions.

The Riverside (CA) Police Department is also actively engaged in a criminal investigation regarding many of their illegal practices.

Jeff Darrow may soon find that he will have to post bail to stay out of jail.

This is a common practice for them; i work for them at a different store and they will rip you off if you are not aware. The owner, jeff darrow, makes it well known throughout the company that he is there to make money and if you cant make him enough money he will fire you or cut your hours; a lot of his employees have drug and alcohol problems and are barely hanging on; when sales are slow they overbill goodyear credit cards and just plain rip people off! They were busted by the b.a.r.-bureau of automotive repair last year and were made to close some of the stores for a while and pay a fine in excess of $100,000; this is not a big deal for darrow since he makes alot more than that per month; don't ever sign up for the "goodyear membership", unless you want a credit card, because that is what it is! They will run your credit and will not tell you that it is a credit card unless you ask; they trick people into signing up for it; if you are declined credit, chances are they will run your application again every 3+ months, because the sales staff gets $5 for every application that is called in! Oh and dont buy any parts from them they mark up in excess of 300% on some items! If the part costs them between 0-40 dollars they mark it up x [times]2.8; if it costs them 41-100 dollars, its marked up x 2.5; it its over 100 dollars they double the cost to the consumer! They also mark up dealer parts to where it costs the consumer more to buy it from them than from the dealer! The owner sends out harassing memos over the computer to all the stores daily, saying that we all suck and if we cant sell what or how much he wants, he will cut our hours and fire us! Ive been saving these memos and will use them when needed. They rip off national account companies by not putting on the tires that they are paying for, but use cheaper ones and charge them for work that is never done! The charging for work that is never done part is a common practice with them. We are told to recommend service-[which are not even recommended by the manufacturer], as "preventative maintenance".. Lol what a joke; you'll be lucky if it even gets done. If you need to get a tire adjusted by them they will prorate it for you using the msrp-manufacturer suggested retail price for the tire and adjust it off that price-not what you paid for it, so you will not save much if anything. They lure you in with the $13.88 oil change or even free ones so that they can inspect the car and recommend everything else! Did i mention that the store managers also change time clock records to stay "within the law"- some people dont even get a lunch break, but they are "docked" an hour for lunch; store managers cant even leave the store; you cant even call in sick, without being put through the ringer about why you are sick! Ts like a prison here and it really sux! Never believe that they are giving you a deal because we are the highest price and lowest quality shops around; our labor rates are higher than most dealers and we hire mechanics who cant keep a job anywhere else... Beware of this place! They will definitely try and rip you off!