Tires..... sheesh. |
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Jimbo
Honor Roll Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Location: Florida Status: Offline Points: 56959 |
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Posted: 08 Oct 2008 at 3:19pm |
Four years ago in 2004 I bought a set of new tires from Discount Tire Co.
As usual, I bought the cheapest tires they had in 14".
They came with a 40,000 mile "warranty". But because I drive very little (about 2,500 miles a year) four years later in October 2008, I had only put 10,000 miles on them.
A few days ago, I noticed the steering wheel of my truck was wobbling & shaking so I figured it was time for a rotation & balance which was covered under the warranty & supposed to be free.
So this morning, I get up early & head out the door, paperwork from the original sale in hand & head up to the tire store in time to be the 2nd guy there.
They pull the truck in the bay, take the tires off to do their stuff, & the counter gal comes in & tells me the two front tires are separated, which means the steel belts had separated from the rubber.
I didn't actually look at the tires (which I should've) but I know from experience what it feels like driving when that happens so I believed them.
Then the gal tells me that it will cost just over $80 to put 2 new tires on.
Wait a minute.... these tires were warranted for 40,000 miles & I only put 10,000 on them. That means that I should get the replacements for 1/4 the cost. Then they start going on about tread depth & a $14 per tire installation charge & god knows what all else.
When did tire companies start charging installation fees again???? The last time I bought tires they were all advertising "On the rim & out the door".
So I told em to put the bad tires on the rear where they were supposed to be rotated to anyway, & I'd come back in a couple of weeks & get new ones.
They refused to put my tires back on. Said they couldn't because of legal liability.
So I told them I didn't have any money. (I didn't tell them I had a credit card, but they didn't ask either.)
Anyway, we start going back & forth about it until we arrived at a standoff & finally the assistant manager who obviously wanted to get me out of there offered to put two new tires on & let me "pay for them the next time I came by".
So basically I could've had two new tires for free, but being the idiot that I am, I couldn't accept charity, so I suggested a lower price. The first price she gave me was over $80, now she's saying it would be $70 total. So I said how about $60? They agreed to that & I was immediately pissed off at myself for not offering $50 which I'm sure they would've gone for at that point just to get rid of me.
Then this fat guy who looked like the main manager says (smiling) "I thought you said you didn't have any money!!" To which I replied "I don't.", to which he then says (smiling) "Well, I don't want any bad checks..."
I shoulda told him to go f**k himself right there for implying in front of everyone that I'd write a bad check, but I just laughed & said "I don't write checks period.", as I took out my credit card. Thinking about it later, I felt damned insulted.
So anyhoo, I wound up paying just under $60 for two new tires to replace two that only had 10,000 miles on them.
I can't help feeling like I got hosed.
And I can't believe these jerks can hold someone hostage like that. I shoulda let em put the new tires on for free & said screw em & never went back, but I wouldn't have been able to live with myself.
I just wish I woulda offered to pay $50 rather than $60.
That's gonna mess with me all day now.
Dammit.
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...the ads take aim and lay their claim to the heart and the soul of the spender
Jackson Browne - The Pretender C'mon, man! Joe Biden - 46th President of the United States |
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msmadz
Honor Roll 8+ years on CIH Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 9952 |
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That sucks, Jimbo! I have to agree - I think you got hosed. Sons of Beehives... |
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The artist formerly known as Madawee
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BrianO
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Thor
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Judge Marilyn Milian, the hottest judge on television, has a Cuban expression for this:
"The cheap always turns out expensive."
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msmadz
Honor Roll 8+ years on CIH Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 9952 |
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She's great! I can just hear her saying that!
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The artist formerly known as Madawee
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Jimbo
Honor Roll Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Location: Florida Status: Offline Points: 56959 |
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Yeah, but since you suck yourself, it all works out even.
And since you entered the thread vountarily, you didn't get ripped.
So you've got nothing to complain about.
But of course having nothing to complain about has never stopped snivelling little crybabies like yourself from doing it anyway, has it?
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...the ads take aim and lay their claim to the heart and the soul of the spender
Jackson Browne - The Pretender C'mon, man! Joe Biden - 46th President of the United States |
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BrianO
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msmadz
Honor Roll 8+ years on CIH Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 9952 |
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OK, you two, knock it off. Don't make me pull this CIH bus over and open up a can of Whoop Ass on you!
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The artist formerly known as Madawee
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Ad nauseous
Revolutionary Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: Connecticut Status: Offline Points: 23601 |
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shill! |
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One good thing about TV-you could always turn it off
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Jimbo
Honor Roll Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Location: Florida Status: Offline Points: 56959 |
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Oh, he got his panties in a wad & left.
But.... he'll likely be back, because he seems to be like a fungus.
Just when you think you're rid of it.... it comes back again.
That & he probably doesn't have anything else to do or anywhere else to go.
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...the ads take aim and lay their claim to the heart and the soul of the spender
Jackson Browne - The Pretender C'mon, man! Joe Biden - 46th President of the United States |
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CatWoman
Revolutionary Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: SW MI Status: Offline Points: 11401 |
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He's not a fungus......he's HERPES.
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Ad nauseous
Revolutionary Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: Connecticut Status: Offline Points: 23601 |
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did you end up tossing the old tires through the window like the ad?
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One good thing about TV-you could always turn it off
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Tiz
Revolutionary I donated! Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 15588 |
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Yeah, now back to tires. Jimbo, did you take a magnifying glass and read all the fine print on that warranty?
What brand were they? Without reading the warranty, I don't see you being "hosed" paying $60 for 2 new tires. Some stores do have that "on the car- out the door" pricing.
The ones around here even have a tire disposal fee.......landfill charges, I guess.
Anyway, the tires I have on, have a road hazard warranty. The tire I mentioned in another thread getting sliced was covered. They 'gave' me a new tire, minus the fees for balancing/etc.
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PaWolf
Revolutionary Hoary Ol' Chestnut... doncha know.... Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: GreatWhiteNorth Status: Offline Points: 40769 |
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uhhh....Jimbo? Think you have a few minutes to 'cut and paste' your opening thread commentary to the State of Florida Consumer Protection Division? The basic line sounds as if you have a valid complaint. At least you could have fun with a paper trail the tire folks will HATE you for creating; a real 'ping-pong' effect can occur with you only having to repeate the 'cut & paste' effort - but them having to constantly respond...they'll readily hate the day they met you.
You might even get a few bucks back...and tires...and the idiots will learn to NEVER talk to, nor treat a customer as they have you. Brats gotta learn somehow...
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Jimbo
Honor Roll Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Location: Florida Status: Offline Points: 56959 |
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You know what?..... After I got home it occurred to me that I should've asked the guy if I could take my old tires & throw them thru their plate glass window like the old lady in the commercial.
It would've at least made a point.
Damn my forgetting!!!!
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...the ads take aim and lay their claim to the heart and the soul of the spender
Jackson Browne - The Pretender C'mon, man! Joe Biden - 46th President of the United States |
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Jimbo
Honor Roll Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Location: Florida Status: Offline Points: 56959 |
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Yeah, I skimmed over it while I was waiting & they had their asses covered thouroughly.
And while I don't feel 60 bucks is a bad price at all for two new tires, what pisses me off is that the old ones only had 10,000 miles on them.
If fairness was an actual factor in the equation, they'd charge me 1/4 of the price for the two tires & 1/4 the price of everything else associated with them because the last crap they sold me only lasted 1/4 of the milagae they were supposed to.
Anyway, what I was really pissed off about was my own failure to get them down another 10 bucks.
Meh..... water under the bridge.
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...the ads take aim and lay their claim to the heart and the soul of the spender
Jackson Browne - The Pretender C'mon, man! Joe Biden - 46th President of the United States |
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Jimbo
Honor Roll Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Location: Florida Status: Offline Points: 56959 |
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Well.... the guy did offer to basically give me two new tires with no guarantee of payment, trusting me to come back pay them the next time I came by, so I can't be completely pissed off.
Also, I had the tires for 4 years.
Just sounds like it might create more hassle in the end.
I'll just take my lumps like the rest of us sheep.
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...the ads take aim and lay their claim to the heart and the soul of the spender
Jackson Browne - The Pretender C'mon, man! Joe Biden - 46th President of the United States |
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Tiz
Revolutionary I donated! Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 15588 |
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Well, at $30 a tire, you didn't expect Michelins, did ya?
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Spicy_Meatball
Revolutionary Joined: 16 Apr 2008 Status: Offline Points: 1199 |
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This tire thread made me think of a recent piece on 20/20 about "old" tires being sold as "new" tires. You need to check the dates on your "new" tires and be sure they are not more than a couple years old. The longer the "new" tire sits on the shelf, the more it ages. Doesn't matter if the tire has never hit the road! Many accidents are caused by old tires being sold as new tires.
Also I don't drive much at all and have replaced ALL of my 3 year old car's tires! I pay about $80.00 per tire.
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"Mama Mia! That's a spicy meatball!!" ~~Alka Seltzer Ad
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