Many years ago I took my vehicle to a Canadian Tire as all I needed was a quick oil change. That was my first experience with CT as a garage, and absolutely my last. I figured it's just an oil change, the most basic of all maintenance, what could possibly go wrong?
How could I have doubted the incompetence of CT? They didn't thread the cap on properly, so oil went everywhere when I drove it. *rolls eyes* Never again.
I've also had bad experiences with dealer mechanics (not all dealer mechanics, mind you. My Honda mechanic was awesome.) Took my Elantra to the Hyundai dealer on a regular basis for maintenance and repairs. Maintenance was fine, but they were a bag of hammers when it came to diagnosing repair issues. I had already experienced some questionable repairs, but this is the straw that broke the camel's back: I suggested that my alternator needed work based on what I was hearing, but they insisted it was something else (of course, I'm female, how could I know?). Within DAYS my alternator blew, requiring a tow to the mechanic. Repairs at my expense. I had also previously brought it to them for a coolant flush, noting that there was a leak. They did the flush, but didn't bother to check out the leak. Minutes after I got home, I noticed coolant streaming down my driveway. Back we go! "Oh, it's just a rusted clip. Two bucks." Yeah, it's just two bucks, but really? YOU should have covered that minor expense.
Then my alternator started making noise again, and I complained as they had just "fixed" it. They had a look and insisted that the noise was because my brakes weren't properly repaired (surprise surprise, I had had enough and found another mechanic to do the work). Went back to my new mechanic who confirmed the noise was due to improper installation of the alternator, wrote up a report for me to bring back to my now "fired" mechanic to fix their shoddy job. It was like pulling teeth, but Hyundai did eventually admit that they had used the wrong type of bolt to install the alternator. No kidding. For my trouble, they offered me 3 free oil changes. Ok, I'll take that, thank you! Went for my first free oil change a few months later, "I'm sorry, we have no record of that on our system" (but took my word for it that time). WOW. Garbage of epic proportions. (btw, could you tell my car was getting old? I have since tossed it.)
Moral of this story, don't let CT anywhere near your vehicle, and if you live in Kingston, stay far far away from the Hyundai garage.