Warning
 

to all new residents of The Villages, this is a heads up--avoid Tire Choice at all costs--through out the years they have been known as the No 1 rip off artists in the area

I know what you mean about tires, you have nail in the tire and of course Tire Choice will tell you it cannot be fixed. You need a new $180 tire, so you go to Walmart and they fix the tire for $10 while you shop. Typical scenario.

They are good for golf cart tires. I have a Yamaha I bought from TV store and I needed one tire, new and mounted. I called the Brownwood store about this time last year. He said the next appointment is in 3 weeks, or you can come in at 7:00 in the morning and leave your cart and pick it up at the end of the day. We can give you a loaner. I asked about how much for a tire, he said about $80 out the door.

Walmart has the tires and would be the cheapest but I just don't like going that far and dealing with all the traffic and tunnels. I'm not really a cart person, I have it because I play golf and that's all I use it for. I called Tire Choice at Colony which is ten minutes from my house and they said, bring it in, we'll be right on it, no appointment necessary. I took it to Tire Choice at Colony and left the cart, went and ate at Fiesta Grande and when I returned it was ready and $77 out the door. No up-sale or any hassles.

U were lucky, tires are not the problem--they have beat villagers out of thousands and have destroyed a transmission on another villagers car

Like I posted, they're good at one thing, golf cart tires without an appointment and out the door quickly.

I don't know what their business plan is, or how they train and motivate their employees. But, from my personal experience, it seems to be to upsell as much as possible, and to charge customers, not based not on a set schedule of prices and needs, but on an evaluation of the situation and how much profit they can achieve by performing unnecessary work and charging as much as possible for it. That is not the way to run an auto service business and to build customer loyalty. Just my opinion.

Their business plan is, get as much as u can from a new sucker, and when he realizes what happened -he will be too embarrassed --to complain or ever return again

......and yet they survive, and prosper!

I was just trying to be a little more insightful and analytical.

Since we’re sort of on the subject - where within the villiages are the best car repair places?

For typical repairs like brakes - tuneups - timing belts - once overs - air conditioning - etc.

Firestone on Rt 466 near Rt 301.

Goodyear in Lady Lake near Home Depot.

Excellent - thanks!

They are the worst! Stay away!

Never had a problem with Tire Choice, and we have 2 cars and 2 carts. Then again, we only use them for tires, no other work.

I agree. I was once going to Colony Publix in my Kia Soul and just before shopping, I noticed a large screw in one of my tires. Being right there I brought my car in for the fix. Went shopping and afterward went to pick up the car. They charged me $45.00 + tax. To fix a flat? Will never go there again.

Wildwood tire on 44 close to 301

You are EXACTLY RIGHT!! If you want an honest business with great mechanics, go to Sumter Tire! I highly recommend them!!

That maybe true but they repaired my golf cart tire with a nail in it for no cost.

Sumter Tire & Auto

I get oil changes there for my car; never had any problem with this. Also bought set of tires couple of years at competitive price.

Why would you not go to the dealership that carries your car? Going to a tire shop to get mechanical work done is like going to a Chinese restaurant and getting tacos. The price at a dealership is only slightly higher than independents and you have much more leverage to ensure something gets done and done correctly. Just my opinion and questions.

...

You are correct!
 

Tire Choice quoted $1,220 to replace my tires. Got the exactly same tires at Barnett Tire (great folks) in Leesburg for $900.

I agree on Wildwood tire. Quick service, fair prices, no BS

Wildwood Tire on 44 just east of 301... No oversell, fast and courteous service. Went in for a new battery and have my check engine light looked at. Door was left ajar over night and ran down the 4 year old battery. Dealer looked up my records and said battery should be replaced for about $180 + $150 to investigate check engine light. At Wildwood Tire I was told the battery was good and the check engine light was reset. This was about a year ago and no problem with the battery. All for no charge, so I handed him $40 and became a future customer. I have been back since with an unrelated problem and was very satisfied.

We agree! We TRIED to get our golf cart repaired...after taking it in 3X’s and $900, they tell us they can’t fix it...nice. Mostly all they did was put new battery cables in...didn’t work. Since we used Discover, we filled a claim immediately. Four months later, it was dismissed; we paid $100 for cables. We thought it was over...it was not. Came down 10 months later, and got a second notice from debt collector...after three calls to corporate, the claim was dismissed again for good.

Don’t do business w them...forever!

We've used Sumter Tire and Auto for everything on our car. They've never tried to up sell us and do great work.

Sams Sams Sams

We found tire roundup on 441 to be the most reasonable place. We got 4 new tires for our subaru for $300 less than Tire Choice quoted us. Its a family run operation and they do not have a fancy waiting room. But they are wonderful