18th August 2006.
Chain stores (since they're a lot bigger than me, I'm not going to mention any names), do the simple parts of car maintenance.

They change oil and they sell and mount tires.

Over the years we've seen enough evidence to suggest that you might want to be careful how much of the responsibility for your cars'
welfare you really want to put into their hands.

Years ago now, one of our clients went to buy four new tires at one of these super sized discount stores.
As she backed out, all four wheels fell off. Not one single wheel nut  was in place.
The ensuing damages for bodywork repair probably took all the profit out of that operation for a while.

One Friday night, just as we were closing, a fellow showed up in a panic. Under the terms of his original tire purchase, he got a free
tire rotation every 10,000 Km (6000 miles) and he'd taken advantage of the offer. But in the process, the "technician" had broken one
wheel stud and being of-course, a fully qualified auto mechanic, he wasn't able to repair it.

I booked the chap back into our shop for Monday morning and assured him that the four remaining wheel nuts would be OK if he
stayed local and didn't do any highway driving, or fast cornering.

This very week, a Honda Accord got towed in with the owner saying that the engine was running very badly.
We knew the car well and knew that it uses some oil, so during our absence on summer vacation, the lady in question had gone to
a supermarket type place for an oil change. Investigation showed that there was just over a litre of oil left in the engine and it was as
black and thick as Manitoba Spring Gumbo. But the oil filter was new - and of a brand none of us had ever heard of.
Obviously, somebody changed the filter, but simply forgot to change the oil and being a VTEC engine, which does not like being
short of oil, the engine computer cut power and would have eventually have shut the car down - fortunately long before any engine
damage could have occurred.

OK, so what's the bottom line of this morality tale?

It's simply this; If you go to one of these vast emporiums for ANY type of auto repair, stay with the vehicle and watch everything that
goes on. Don't be tempted to wander off into the main store.

Watch for the use and over use of impact wrenches.
Watch for rapid tire inflation which often means that the tire didn't have time to seat properly on the rim and consequently may be
oval or egg shaped.
Insist on having the wheel nuts tightened by hand with a torque wrench or a special torque limiting bar attachment which is colour
coded to various torque levels.

Over tightening wheel nuts can not only strip threads and break studs, but can also severely distort brake rotors.

In oil changes, watch out for the 3 foot tightening wrench or the slipping wring wrench that takes all the corners off the drain plug.
I don't know how many drain holes we've had to repair - but it's a lot, due to over tightening.
In some cases, we've had to replace the oil pan.

As you drive away, pause for a brief time on a patch of asphalt that is free of oil droppings and then check to see if you're leaving any
oil behind as you back away. Losing an engine due to gross oil leaks is subject to compensation, but is such a hassle that this little
precaution is well worth it. Open the hood as well and make sure you still have a dipstick!

I'm not telling you that you shouldn't use these types of repair operations, but remember that tire and oil changing do not require
the possession of any kind of technicians ticket - any teenager off the street can be hired to do the work.

Final word is that last year I needed four snow tires for our new Mazda3. Although I have access to tire wholesalers through my garage,
I finally bought four Dunlop DS3s at one of these places at a price that my wholesaler couldn't touch.

I bought the tires, loaded them into my wagon and took 'em back to my shop for balancing and installation.

'Nuff said.