NTB – National Tire & Battery

Bought four new tires which included lifetime alignment, balancing and rotation. This is a very busy location so it did take a bit longer than anticipated for the work to be done (I had an appointment at 5:30pm and was there until 8:00pm).
The tires needed to be re-​balanced after the initial installation so I dropped the car off overnight about a week later and picked it up the next day. I highly recommend dropping the car off overnight even if you have an appointment (this will save you SO much stress). Park out back and use the key drop in the front of the building.
Bottom line: The work was good but the wait times are long.

Awful customer service. Very rude and condescending staff — came in for a tire change and was treated with unnecessary hostility. No transparency on what problems they saw, constantly felt like the guy I was speaking with (David?) wanted to take advantage of any lack of knowledge to up-​sell various unnecessary services and products. This might be typical at auto shops, but there is an art to doing it without rubbing people the wrong way. Couple the constant up-​selling and rudeness with high prices and a long wait time. This place is a joke.

I was told I needed both control arms replaced and was quoted $ 300 over the phone and apparently that only covered one of the arms because when I got there I was smacked with a $ 700 bill. My car might have needed the work but I would have shopped around more if I was told the accurate full price.
On the plus side, the guys who work there were very polite and professional seeming.

Waited an hour to be told they don’t repair sidewalls. Then they tried to get me to spend 1k on new tires (to replace 1 flat on a new set I got a month prior), saying it was my only and cheapest option. After I went on their website and saw tires for 85 $ a piece, the tech said «oh I must have missed that one»
110 $/​hr labor rate and my brand new rims look like they’ve been through a mud field after this visit.

I’ve been here twice. Seems like good service but you need to set aside a few hours even for the simplest service. I made an appt for 1pm for oil change /​tire rotation. After about 45 mins I figured they’d be wrapping up soon, turns out my car was still sitting outside where I parked it. It’s been 2 hours and I’m still here. The guys were professional about it but claimed I had been told it would be done by 3… Nope, no one mentioned that. Also, they claim to be so backed up but they’re front lobby is full of 5 employees hanging out, teasing each other. Not a great way to run a business :-/

Very bad experience, waiting more than two hours before start my turn. I have appointment at 11:30 and get my service at 2pm. Never come back. don’t come.

I came here for a simple oil change and ended up waiting two hours despite making an appointment the day before. Their explanation was they were short on staff. If that’s the case, they shouldn’t have scheduled me to come in at this time.
The only benefit of this place is the hours. What a dissatisfying experience, and what a waste of a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

I am here to replace a defective Michelin Energy saver tire. I made an appointment and ordered the tire in advance. After 1 hour there is only 1 car in the service bay, and my car is still sitting outside. The lack of customer service is frightening. Stay away from this place. It is a disaster! Beware

Great place if you have 2 hours for a simple tire change.
They told me it was be a half hour. Ended up leaving because I had to make a flight. Wouldn’t recommend unless you love wasting time.

My Gf needed a repair done on her tire. Walked in without an appointment on Saturday afternoon. l and got service right away. Although she couldn’t get a patch done and had to get a new tire put on, Steven was helpful, informative, and friendly. He let us know why a patch would not work and gave us our options. He didn’t try to up sell us on a tire and just gave an honest opinion. I would definitely recommend this place.

I recently visited NTB this past weekend after price shopping tire mounting services in the Allston/​Brookline/​Boston area. Long story short, I had one curbed wheel currently installed on my car. I needed the tire on the curbed wheel swapped over to a new replacement wheel.
NTB had by far the best price compared to Sullivan Tire and Firestone, whose prices were 3x and 2x higher, respectively.
So I walked into NTB with the quote they gave me over the phone and was immediately greeted with courteous service by Steve. They helped me out right away after we went over the work that needed to be done. Steve handled the dismount-​mount-​balance job himself so as not to extend my wait time and also to make sure that we were on the same page regarding the damage repair. He was very thorough with the entire process, allowing me to watch my car as he pulled it in, jacked it up, etc.
He was very clear about the cost breakdown for the mount and dismount, going as far as itemizing the cost of the mount, balance, and potential cost for a new valve stem (which we went over in person once looking over the new wheel)
Once the new wheel had the TPMS and tire swapped over, Steve went as far as calling me over to inspect his work to give it my seal of approval before he pulled it out of the garage area. The entire process only took about 30 minutes.
The bottom line here is that I am absolutely satisfied with the service I have received from Steve and the Allston NTB. The work I had paid for and requested this past weekend was such a minor and measly repair compared to the other work NTB does. But that did not stop Steve and NTB from giving me excellent service. In my eyes, that’s the reason why I am going to come back not only for future repairs but also for tire purchases.
And do you know what the icing on the cake for me was? Right before I hopped into my car to drive away, one service technician (sorry I didn’t catch your name), ran over to my car to ask me if I was satisfied with the service NTB provided me on that day. I assume he saw me hovering over my car the entire time it was inside the shop, and I was was quick to tell him that I was completely satisfied. He let me know that he was happy to hear about my satisfaction and wanted to ensure that his goal was to make every customer as happy as I was.
When you have a team like the one at Allston NTB working together to achieve the ultimate goal of customer satisfaction through quality work and great service, you can’t really ask for more from a tire shop. I recommend going to NTB for tire services big or small. They will definitely take care of you in the same way they took care of me and a fellow Unilocaler below, Joseph L.

Scratched one of my wheels and didn’t tell me about it. My engine cover is missing too.

I called to get a quote for a new set of 4 tires, I already had the tire brand and type in mind. Their price came in about $ 50-​$ 75 less than other area tire shops (including installation and everything). When I came in, I was already happy with the price. So when the manager, without asking, added some coupons that knocked down the price a bit more, I was pretty damn happy. While I was there, I also replaced a headlight and got an oil change, and the all-​in price was less than what I originally budgeted for just the tires themselves.
I also wasn’t up-​sold any other service beyond extended warranties. And even then I simply politely declined once (and once only) and they left it alone. Whenever you go to other places (dealerships, I’m looking at you) it’s all about SALES SALES SALES, and then a talking-​down to from the sales rep as to why I wasn’t buying a super-​deluxe shiny Johnson Rod and Flux Capacitor flush job.
Here at the Allston NTB, I came in… pointed to what I wanted… Got it … for less than I thought it would cost… wasn’t hasseled for anything else… and got out of there earlier than planned. Now that’s damn good service.

When I went to buy 2 tires, I currently had 2 tires with holes and 1 decent tire. The decent tire was already on the axle, and the trunk held one of the bad tires. I told them to KEEP the decent tire, and replace the 2 bad tires with the new ones I bought.
They forgot to do that. So I had two new tires on the car, and I opened my trunk to find the popped tire, to my horror. I ran back, explained that I should have had my decent tire in the trunk! John, the manager at the desk, didn’t recall that conversation, but he asked me «What would make you happy?»
I answered, «If I got my old tire back, as a decent spare.»
He said, «We checked, we threw it away, I’m sorry. If I gave you a brand new tire, would that solve this problem?»
OMG, so I got a BRAND NEW TIRE. That’s a free 25,000 miles right there, considering my worn tire was halfway through it’s life.
I’m sorry that we had the misunderstanding, and that it had to cost NTB a tire. But they made things right, and I walked away happy. And I will always come back here for more repairs.
PS — FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE COMPLAINING: Stuff like «I was forced to get a repair that I didn’t need.» Seriously, calm down. Nobody forces you to get repairs. They suggest it because it’s a normal thing to ask. Seriously, very few people take care of their cars properly. For instance, I rarely meet anyone who changes their oil every 3000 miles. Those complaining are just too cheap to take care of their cars or get them inspected and serviced regularly. If you actually took care of your car, you would know what’s going on.
Some of the people who come here, are honestly, fucking clueless (excuse my language). Last time, this kid in a Lexus was complaining about oil change prices. It sounded reasonable to me, but he said his cousin did it for $ 20. Are you kidding me? Oil alone for a Lexus will cost $ 50. He acted like he was getting scammed, when he admitted that he knew NOTHING about cars. I have a BMW. I have to buy 6 liters of oil and a filter at $ 65 and I change it myself.
Also, if they say that it’ll be ready in one hour, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, waiting for 2 hours?! They tell me one hour too, and I’m back at the shop 1 hour later, on the dot. Expecting them to call you is kind of stupid. Waiting until the shop closes is even MORE stupid. Not knowing when they close is just plain ignorant.

NTB Allston MA is a disgrace to other NTBs. Obviously Terrible experience. Oil change lead to oil spills all over my engine. Tire Rotation never done (how do I know? my rear wheels are scuffed!). Tire pressure correction never done (Thanks for my TPMS). These Jerks have an excuse for everything. Don’t get suckered by their 22 point inspection + top off all fluid Promo. I had intentionally used up my last drop of winshield washer fluid. I showed them that I don’t believe the fuilds were topped off, and their response was we don’t really top it off to the top???
Stay away from these monkeys!

Every single time I have been here (this was the third — and last), the gentlemen have told me that my brakes were down to their last millimeter. This most recent time, they told me this literally after the car had just been serviced at the dealership. I imagine they would have caught that at the time, but I brought the car back to be checked, just in case. Guess what? It was fine.
Ladies, don’t trust the men here. If they say something is wrong, bring your car to someone you trust. Upselling brake jobs is a sham.

Well, they did change my oil so I guess I can’t give them zero stars.
The reason I’m giving one star is because they were very deceptive with me about trying to sell me other services. They told me my tire was so damaged that they could see the cords (I looked, you can’t), they also told me I needed new brakes «they are metal on meta!» (I checked, I’ll need new brakes in the next few months) and even went so far as to tell me I needed new wiper blades (I think I can figure that one out on my own). That along with a half dozen other little problems which I really can’t take seriously at this point.
Also, they said it would be under an hour and it took more than an hour and a half.
Don’t trust what they tell you.

Always been very helpful when I have been there.

I have used their services several times in the past few years, both for tires and a new battery, and have always found them to be efficient and fair priced. I stopped by with a low tire, hoping it only needed a patch, but the technician explained that it had a very long nail and alas, a new tire was needed. They had a matching tire in stock, and less than an hour later I was on my way. I have compared prices with other tire dealers and repair places, and their prices are quite competitive. I will keep coming back.

These guys are great — got me in and out, we’re friendly, professional, and helpful.
Popped a tire on a pothole, took a chunk out of the back one, so two tires. They had my car up in 15 minutes, and then took me through a free alignment check to show me the calibration so that I knew I wasn’t being ripped off. Alignment and two tires later I was out the door in 45 minutes or so… highly recommend NTB.