I, too, made that decision a long time ago. But a couple of factors mitigated that absolute avoidance of CT. One was when I still had my previous vehicle which was definitely becoming aged, and it developed a leak in the brake line. My primary concern then was taking to some place – ANY place – that could fix this problem with an absolute minimum of driving distance. And CT was by far the closest.
The other was when I needed a new battery. The premium CT batteries are actually pretty good, and my naive thinking was, “what could possible go wrong – even at CT – with replacing a battery?” Well, it required the removal of a wheel to access the battery, and that was when the fuckers broke my wheel cap. I don’t remember what they broke when they fixed the brake line on the previous car, but I’m sure it was something. It always is.
I used to have a very competent independent mechanic that I knew well who did all of my work. He was both competent and inexpensive and even had a few old but well-maintained cars lying around that he’d give you as free loaners. He ultimately moved his business to a small town where property rentals were cheaper. With the advice of friends I’ve found an alternative that I’m happy with.
I could literally go on at quite some length about Canadian Tire. On one occasion a long time ago I foolishly took my car in to them because one of my headlights was unusually dim. After a bunch of arguments about whether it was the bulb or not and whether I should buy a new bulb just to check it out, the mechanic eventually found that it was a faulty ground wire. He fixed it. But wait, this is Canadian Tire: could it be as simple as “he fixed it”?
Of course not! When I got home, at which point it was near dark, as I drove up close to the garage door, I could see that the “fixed” headlight was pointing wildly upwards, completely misaligned. I tried to realign it using the alignment screw, but it just wasn’t doing anything.
I went back to CT several times, and eventually got into a very unpleasant confrontation with the manager. I gave up and took the car to my trusted mechanic. He told me that the reason the alignment screw wasn’t working is that it had been completely stripped. The only practical fix was to get a complete new headlight assembly. Which I told him to go ahead and do. So that’s another example of something Canadian Tire has broken when I entrusted my car to them.
I’m also really offended by these assholes appropriating the moniker “Canadian”. There’s nothing remotely “Canadian” about “Canadian Tire” except the advertising imagery. I’d be OK if they called themselves “Somalian Tire” or “Total Ripoff Tire”, which is what they actually are.
