OT Les Schwab family considers putting the Oregon tire empire up for sale for $3 billion

[SlyPokerDog]

https://www.oregonlive.com/business...wab-considers-putting-itself-up-for-sale.html

 

[julius]

Maybe the new owners will improve their shitty selection of overpriced and overrated tires.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Always hated that company

 

[CupWizier]

Maybe the new owners will improve their shitty selection of overpriced and overrated tires.

I agree they tend to be over priced, but I have learned to negotiate with them and when I bought my set of custom rims for my Navigator I was surprised at the price I was able to get. They also gave me a free tire when I had a flat leaving camp in northern Idaho heading home and had to disconnect the boat trailer and head into the Sandpoint, Idaho Les Schwab and they picked out a good used tire, mounted and balanced it all for free. Like many shops they have some good attributes and some negative attributes.

 

[Lanny]

Always hated that company

It's a great company.
I use to live in an apartment complex with these planters in every parking lot. The planters and a square concrete curb around them. I use to pull into my parking space a little too fast and frequently would bump my front tire against th corner of the curb blowing out a tire. Les Schwab kept replacing the tires even though I admitted to them how I got each unrepairable flat.
I've also gone to Les Schwab to have my studded snow tires put on replacing the street tires that I had on in the first place and even though I did not buy my snow tires from Les Schwab, they replaced the tires for free. Come spring they changed bach to regular tires for free.
I also use to have battery trouble and they pro rated those with no questions asked.
I've been using them for nearly 50 years with great satisfaction.
I do have two complaints:
1. When I last bought studded snow tires from there they gave me new studded snow tires but without telling me used a spacer. When I found out, I went back to my old tires. I tried another Les Schwab and had better success. Also, the first installer kept my factory spare tire and rim without tellinmg me and I think he was going to make a couple bucks by selling it somewhere since it had never been used.
2. I've always had trouble getting Michelins there and I really like Michelins. Costco carries Michelins and at a good price.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

Schwab hit the skids about 20 years ago. Besides a shitty selection of bad tires and high prices, customer service went down the toilet. They also have a proven history (at least the Wilsonville store does) of taking unfair advantage of women and teenagers who don’t know any better. But then, I’ve heard the Wilsonville store (along with about 3 others) is not actually owned by Schwab, they are owned by a franchisee. But whatever, they suck donkey appendages. Discount Tire is light years beyond Schwab in terms of selection, quality, service and price. Schwab can dry up and blow away for all I care. They died with Les.......

 

[Lanny]

Schwab hit the skids about 20 years ago. Besides a shitty selection of bad tires and high prices, customer service went down the toilet. They also have a proven history (at least the Wilsonville store does) of taking unfair advantage of women and teenagers who don’t know any better. But then, I’ve heard the Wilsonville store (along with about 3 others) is not actually owned by Schwab, they are owned by a franchisee. But whatever, they suck donkey appendages. Discount Tire is light years beyond Schwab in terms of selection, quality, service and price. Schwab can dry up and blow away for all I care. They died with Les.......

My wife and I have dealt with Les Schwab in Lake Oswego and two places in Beaverton with good success on about 5 or 6 occasions. We had bad luck at the Les Schwab in Aloha.

 

[jonnyboy]

Whenever my mom comes out to visit I have the pleasure of fixing all the shit Les Schwab fucked up on her car throughout the year. This time the “new” windshield wipers they put on were clearly used and they were the wrong size, and they put water in her windshield fluid reservoir, which promptly froze in the lines as soon as she got here.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Schwab hit the skids about 20 years ago. Besides a shitty selection of bad tires and high prices, customer service went down the toilet. They also have a proven history (at least the Wilsonville store does) of taking unfair advantage of women and teenagers who don’t know any better. But then, I’ve heard the Wilsonville store (along with about 3 others) is not actually owned by Schwab, they are owned by a franchisee. But whatever, they suck donkey appendages. Discount Tire is light years beyond Schwab in terms of selection, quality, service and price. Schwab can dry up and blow away for all I care. They died with Les.......

Edit...20 years ago
I need an alignment on my old Cutlass after I replaced some suspension parts and before I installed new wheels and tires.

One of the front steel wheels (being replaced) had a tiny ding in the wheel lip. That wheel had been fine and balanced properly and had been used when I had the car aligned in the past. They said that I needed a new rim for them to do the alignment. I said I had one at home and it would take 10 minutes to run get it.

They said "don't worry about it we have one laying around we will use"

I said I'd run home I had another wheel with the same size tire and offset.

They said no that they would switch it and it would be faster. I'm like whatever.

They align the car and the bill was 35 dollars too high?

I looked closer and they were going to charge me 35 bucks for a late 70s nova rally steel rim I didn't want.

Uh....no.

Never went back to a Les Schwab again.

 

[julius]

Edit...20 years ago
I need an alignment on my old Cutlass after I replaced some suspension parts and before I installed new wheels and tires.

One of the front steel wheels (being replaced) had a tiny ding in the wheel lip. That wheel had been fine and balanced properly and had been used when I had the car aligned in the past. They said that I needed a new rim for them to do the alignment. I said I had one at home and it would take 10 minutes to run get it.

They said "don't worry about it we have one laying around we will use"

I said I'd run home I had another wheel with the same size tire and offset.

They said no that they would switch it and it would be faster. I'm like whatever.

They align the car and the bill was 35 dollars too high?

I looked closer and they were going to charge me 35 bucks for a late 70s nova rally steel rim I didn't want.

Uh....no.

Never went back to a Les Schwab again.

I once had a car that I went there to see about them doing a brake job. Long story short, they quoted me more than the car was worth to fix it, and I said "Yah, no" and went home. Bought the pads and had the rotors re-whatevered...and did it myself. total cost? about 85 bucks. Their quote was 900 bucks.

 

[julius]

Whenever my mom comes out to visit I have the pleasure of fixing all the shit Les Schwab fucked up on her car throughout the year. This time the “new” windshield wipers they put on were clearly used and they were the wrong size, and they put water in her windshield fluid reservoir, which promptly froze in the lines as soon as she got here.

Not Les Schlob, but one of the oil can places installed a quick drain plug on my moms last car (without my moms approval), and then when she took it to another place to have the oil changed, they didn't "know" it was that kind of bolt and stripped it. She had to have the oil pan replaced (and they refused to pay since it wasn't a stock item).

Another time, one of the local dealerships tried to convince my mom to have something done to her car, so she did it (I don't remember what it was). No less than 6 months later, she went back for regular service, and they tried to convince her again she had to have the same fucking thing done. Luckily my brother and I told her to tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine, and she refused their service.

Turned out what they had replaced wasn't even broken/damaged. They just saw an old lady going into the shop and tried to take advantage of her.

 

[tlongII]

They’re a big part of the central Oregon economy. This won’t be good.

 

[SlyPokerCat]

Schwab hit the skids about 20 years ago. Besides a shitty selection of bad tires and high prices, customer service went down the toilet. They also have a proven history (at least the Wilsonville store does) of taking unfair advantage of women and teenagers who don’t know any better. But then, I’ve heard the Wilsonville store (along with about 3 others) is not actually owned by Schwab, they are owned by a franchisee. But whatever, they suck donkey appendages. Discount Tire is light years beyond Schwab in terms of selection, quality, service and price. Schwab can dry up and blow away for all I care. They died with Les.......

I always knew i liked you.

Discount tires is so much better. Have been getting my tires there the last 15 years.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Ive gone to Les Schwab(spelling?) a few times with no problems.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Always hated that company

They offer a free tire rotation.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

They offer a free tire rotation.

I don't need to have someone do that. I don't ever remember seeing anything they sold that I couldn't get cheaper somewhere else.

We hire a very popular company to service our AC at our house. They clean the coils and check everything in the entire system for 80 bucks. The guy was here for almost 3 hours. The run capacitors were testing on the low end of spec but still in but he recommended replacing them. How much per unit? 350 bucks.

I bought the capacitors on Amazon for 20 bucks each. Made in the USA, the ones the company sold that did the service are 14 bucks each on Amazon.

Luckily the guy was salary and didn't try to hard sell us on how bad it was and it needed done ASAP.

Moral of the story is that very little is actually free in life. They hook you with the low cost service and then upsell you.

 

[julius]

I don't need to have someone do that. I don't ever remember seeing anything they sold that I couldn't get cheaper somewhere else.

We hire a very popular company to service our AC at our house. They clean the coils and check everything in the entire system for 80 bucks. The guy was here for almost 3 hours. The run capacitors were testing on the low end of spec but still in but he recommended replacing them. How much per unit? 350 bucks.

I bought the capacitors on Amazon for 20 bucks each. Made in the USA, the ones the company sold that did the service are 14 bucks each on Amazon.

Luckily the guy was salary and didn't try to hard sell us on how bad it was and it needed done ASAP.

Moral of the story is that very little is actually free in life. They hook you with the low cost service and then upsell you.

I have my tires rotated at Discount tires, but only if it's convenient. Most of the time I do it myself. For some people, though, it is a draw. My mom is in her 70's, and wouldn't know how to rotate a tire to save her life. Luckily I can do it, but not everyone is lucky enough to have someone in their life who can do that sorta stuff.

Les Schlob offering that service doesn't impress me. It literally takes them 15 minutes. If they didn't sell shitty ass tires or upsell the hell out of everything, they wouldn't have the reputation they do.

 

[Hobbesarable]

Always hated that company

And others comes to mind: Oil Can Henry's, Jiffy Lube, etc.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

And others comes to mind: Oil Can Henry's, Jiffy Lube, etc.

I hate how crappy I am at mechanical things. Heck the Mechanical Engineer I work with he and I have a good thing going because our skills are so polar opposite We have no idea what the other is talking about most of the time. We just agree he wont touch my code and I wont touch his designs... Anyways, I end up at jiffy lube / oil can henry’s once in a while when our normal mechanic is busy and I hate much crap they’re always saying I need to have, cause a lot of the time Im like oh that does sound important lol

 

[julius]

And others comes to mind: Oil Can Henry's, Jiffy Lube, etc.

They're known in my family as "Oil Can Screw Yous" and "Screwyou lube"

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I have my tires rotated at Discount tires, but only if it's convenient. Most of the time I do it myself. For some people, though, it is a draw. My mom is in her 70's, and wouldn't know how to rotate a tire to save her life. Luckily I can do it, but not everyone is lucky enough to have someone in their life who can do that sorta stuff.

Les Schlob offering that service doesn't impress me. It literally takes them 15 minutes. If they didn't sell shitty ass tires or upsell the hell out of everything, they wouldn't have the reputation they do.

I'd like to know how many times they torque the wheels. If ever.

 

[julius]

I'd like to know how many times they torque the wheels. If ever.

I actually knew someone who had new tires put on his truck, and as he drove off and onto I-5, one of the wheels came off and he got into a pretty bad accident. He sued them, and won iirc.

 

[calvin natt]

They are always incredibly nice whenever I’ve gone in. Strange how disliked they are by people. Guess I’ve been lucky.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

They are always incredibly nice whenever I’ve gone in. Strange how disliked they are by people. Guess I’ve been lucky.

There is one in Hillsboro that I Went to with a flat tire, It was like 100 for a new tire and they didn't upsale me on anything (or even try). The people I interacted with seemed nice enough too. I agree it's interesting, I didn't know people disliked them that much.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I hate how crappy I am at mechanical things. Heck the Mechanical Engineer I work with he and I have a good thing going because our skills are so polar opposite We have no idea what the other is talking about most of the time. We just agree he wont touch my code and I wont touch his designs... Anyways, I end up at jiffy lube / oil can henry’s once in a while when our normal mechanic is busy and I hate much crap they’re always saying I need to have, cause a lot of the time Im like oh that does sound important lol

edit..jiffy lube story
I never let anyone work on my cars unless it is warranty work. My wife had a Ford Fusion company car at her last job. We didn't own it and they supplied coupons to have it serviced. I figure what the hell, it ain't mine.

Take it in and they have windows where you can watch them work. Guy drains the oil and goes over to a hose coming out of a barrel. Fills this crusty looking cut up container with oil and transfers it to the car. Strike one.

Then I watch him lift the car and rotate the tires. He proceeds to tighten the wheels with a chrome socket on an impact wrench. How tight? Who the hell knows, 150 or 500 ft lbs? Then he adds air to the tires.

Finishes the job and I am standing in the office with a few other people waiting for their cars. Manager tells me car is done. Says they changed oil and rotated tires and inflated tires to 37psi. I ask manager where they came up with 37 psi. He can't answer, I tell him that there is a sticker in the door jamb that tells you how much air the tires take. Then I tell him that I will loosen the lugs in the parking lot and hand tighten them before we drive the car home as I know that the "tech" has no idea what he tightened them to. I will torque them when I get home. He goes in the back and they open the door and read the sticker. They inflate the tires to the 32 psi or whatever it was on that car.

I tell him that we use vouchers to service the car otherwise I would never let them touch it and that they are the professionals and should know better. Poor guy reading a newspaper is peaking out from behind listening. Then I said something snotty about now I know why you have your techs out spinning signs every morning when I go to work.

That same car had to have some paint work done because a tow truck driver scratched it taking it to the dealer. Don't even get me started on being a bodyman having work done by someone else. I couldn't fix it because the lease co had a deal with the dealership. What a nightmare that was.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I actually knew someone who had new tires put on his truck, and as he drove off and onto I-5, one of the wheels came off and he got into a pretty bad accident. He sued them, and won iirc.

I fixed a Focus back in say 2003 that the guy was driving down the freeway in the rain and he swore the car just lost control going straight. Everyone laughed after he left like "yeah, right"

I was working on his car and noticed the side I was working on had some sort of aquatread style tires that were directional. The passenger side tires were pointing the wrong way. I told my boss to tell him to sue whoever did it but don't know if anything came of it.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I actually knew someone who had new tires put on his truck, and as he drove off and onto I-5, one of the wheels came off and he got into a pretty bad accident. He sued them, and won iirc.

I get paid .1 hour to R and I a wheel at work. I take a picture with my torque wrench on any wheel I remove and install for the file. I may get sued but I ain't losing over .1

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Wife had a company car at her l

I never let anyone work on my cars unless it is warranty work. My wife had a Ford Fusion company car at her last job. We didn't own it and they supplied coupons to have it serviced. I figure what the hell, it ain't mine.

Take it in and they have windows where you can watch them work. Guy drains the oil and goes over to a hose coming out of a barrel. Fills this crusty looking cut up container with oil and transfers it to the car. Strike one.

Then I watch him lift the car and rotate the tires. He proceeds to tighten the wheels with a chrome socket on an impact wrench. How tight? Who the hell knows, 150 or 500 ft lbs? Then he adds air to the tires.

Finishes the job and I am standing in the office with a few other people waiting for their cars. Manager tells me car is done. Says they changed oil and rotated tires and inflated tires to 37psi. I ask manager where they came up with 37 psi. He can't answer, I tell him that there is a sticker in the door jamb that tells you how much air the tires take. Then I tell him that I will loosen the lugs in the parking lot and hand tighten them before we drive the car home as I know that the "tech" has no idea what he tightened them to. I will torque them when I get home. He goes in the back and they open the door and read the sticker. They inflate the tires to the 32 psi or whatever it was on that car.

I tell him that we use vouchers to service the car otherwise I would never let them touch it and that they are the professionals and should know better. Poor guy reading a newspaper is peaking out from behind listening. Then I said something snotty about now I know why you have your techs out spinning signs every morning when I go to work.

That same car had to have some paint work done because a tow truck driver scratched it taking it to the dealer. Don't even get me started on being a bodyman having work done by someone else. I couldn't fix it because the lease co had a deal with the dealership. What a nightmare that was.

If I decided to work on our car, we would be buying a new one shortly after.. heh.
I am lucky that I have a family friend who owns a repair shop a couple of blocks from our house. He hates my car, it's a 2007 chevy cobalt, but he knows I'm driving it until it won't go anymore.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

If I decided to work on our car, we would be buying a new one shortly after.. heh.
I am lucky that I have a family friend who owns a repair shop a couple of blocks from our house. He hates my car, it's a 2007 chevy cobalt, but he knows I'm driving it until it won't go anymore.

As long as you don't have 35 more payments Al Bundy style you are fine.

My gray Focus I bought with tons of new parts but the guy couldn't get a check engine light to clear. He even took it to the Ford dealer and they said it needed a new computer. I was like, I can fix it or have friends who can help me.

It had an O2 sensor heated wire code that wouldn't go away. I figured I would just change the sensor with an OEM ford sensor because it was only 40 bucks. Changed it and the light would still come back on after 2 starts. Reached down and felt the wires by hand and traced them up looking for a cut wire or something. Got to the top of the engine and it ended at a plug that wasn't plugged in. Previous owner had changed the alternator and never plugged a wire harness back in after he had done it. Plugged it in and light was gone for good. Guy said he was on his last nerve and his wife made him sell the car. I paid less for it than he had put into it in parts.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

As long as you don't have 35 more payments Al Bundy style you are fine.

My gray Focus I bought with tons of new parts but the guy couldn't get a check engine light to clear. He even took it to the Ford dealer and they said it needed a new computer. I was like, I can fix it or have friends who can help me.

It had an O2 sensor heated wire code that wouldn't go away. I figured I would just change the sensor with an OEM ford sensor because it was only 40 bucks. Changed it and the light would still come back on after 2 starts. Reached down and felt the wires by hand and traced them up looking for a cut wire or something. Got to the top of the engine and it ended at a plug that wasn't plugged in. Previous owner had changed the alternator and never plugged a wire harness back in after he had done it. Plugged it in and light was gone for good. Guy said he was on his last nerve and his wife made him sell the car. I paid less for it than he had put into it in parts.

Nope my car is paid off and thats why I dont want a new one heh.
My wife has a 2015(?) Chevy traverse thats not paid off yet. Its a nice-ish vehicle, sometimes driving it makes my jealous.