Tire Ponzi scheme RANT!!!!

So I go to Walmart at 6:30 AM, waiting to be first in the Snowtire lineup. I'm the only one. Get the paperwork done, asking for P185-65-14" snow tires. Go and check out some bargain movie racks, when I get paged.

What I asked for was wrong. I should have asked for P185-75-14" tires. OK, so, Any in Stock? Nope. Next size down? No stock, but you'd have to change all 4 tires. Oh and the sales spin. Nobody makes P185-75-14" tires anymore!

WTF!!!???

Anyway, the guy did a full grease job, and I got the flicks - Old 007 flicks.

So I go to our national auto chain. Yeah, they've got them! Yippee! Only a one dollar more per tire. BUT they only install 4 at a time! Has anyone heard that there's an Economic Crisis going on???!!!!???? WTF!!! WTF!!!

I just told the Anal-yst. "That's too bad." and walked out.

So I go to my usual small and very busy Uniroyal/Michelin dealer, close to the house. Yep! We're busy, can you leave the tires and we'll have them by noon tomorrow. And 3 dollars cheaper than Walmart. Installed, new stems, balanced and mounted on the car!!!!

What the heck is this collusion? Don't these rubber companies sell enough rubbers already???!!!

 

Snow tires? What are those?

 

They're different than even All Season tires. The rubber is softer, the tread is deeper and the spacing is wider. Think of a truck tire's grips, but softer. Some allow you to install 'nail-headed studs' for really Northern or Cold country use, but they aren't legal in the City.

Here's one from Uniroyal Canada (click on the enlarge text to see it):
http://www.uniroyal.ca/overview/tiger-paw-ice---snow/1157.html

 

Just bustin balls. The last time we saw snow accumulation here was in 89.

 

I refuse to give Walmart any more of my money.

The story, sit back, its a long one.

About a month ago I was taking the Blue Roadie to get some milk and stuff, had a rear blow out on the way there. The 255/70's were about whooped, but I hoped to make them last till snow fall anyway. Well, now I need a pair of rear tires, which I will move to the front when I put my studded snows on. So I go to the auto department and there they have a pair of clearance BF Goodrich Land Terrain 235/75's for $70 eash installed, with lifetime balance so I get um. I am anal about letting anyone touch my cars, so I stood there and watching him the whole time, which he was about as slow as molasses in January. Well, he pulls my car onto this ramp lift machine that is just a platform that lifts the car under the doors, its just a plate job, there are no arms to extend. He gets out and just hits the button and never checks anything underneath it. I said, "hey man, did you look to see if you were gonna hit my exhaust, coz I know it hangs lower then the frame and its only 4 months old". He stops and looks under it and says "it cleared" and continued to lift it up. 30 some minutes later, damn he was slow, he gets them done and I paid. As I am cashing out, the wife calls my cell and asks if I can hurry back to the restaurnt and do a delivery for her and I said sure, I will be there in 20.

I leave the place and get 5 miles down the road and pull into the gas station to top up the tank. I shut it down, filled it up, paid and fired it back up and VROOM, its loud, I said WTF and looked under it and the idiot crushed my pipe at the flange for the cat and intermediate pipe. I do not have time right now, so I vowed to go first thing in the morning.

I get back and there has been 47 miles on the car since the tires were installed. Its right on their paperwork they gave me. They take the car to the oil bay and the pencil neck manager comes over and talks to the mechanic, who was not the same guy that messed my chit up. Well they go under it and take some pictures and he said they will turn it into their claims dept and I will hear from them soon.

3 weeks later I get a call and they denied all responcibility. I said "WHAT????" She said "its a 1992 sir", I said "I could give a **** if its a 1902 or a 2022, you broke my 4 month old $380 exhaust system". She said "it doesn't look 4 months old", I said "where do you live lady", she said "Arkansas", I said "well here in NY state, we have things called snow and salt and drastic climate changes from day to day. Which will make a shiny exhaust pipe tend to gain a little surface rust in 4 months worth of driving. You can clearly see in the pics where the lift hit it". She said "there was 40 some miles on it sir, how are we to know you did not hit anything". I said "lady, if you look at the marks on the pipe and draw a line from there to where the lift scratched the frame rails, you will clearly see they intersect". She refused to do anything for me.

So I am going to start a small claims suit against them and they will be forced to send a rep up from Arkansas, pay for air fare, hotel, meals and car rental. Hopefully once they see the suit they will just do what they should have and pay to fix my car. Sure I can fix it and for $15 myself, but why the hell should I have to?

So I from now on, I refuse to spend a penny of my money at any Walmart store. I will shop KMart and Target and others just so I am not helping to pay the wages of an evil biatch like her!

 

I checked before I posted that you are in Florida. Figured you were bustin my ball bearings (old age and all that... ) Just in case you get a dump of the white stuff.

Walmart has a lot of competiton up here for our small market, so they do a little better. I've never used their grease-monkey services. In fact, any really fine work on the powertrain, I take back to the same dealer who sold me my new 1981 Fairmont wagon. He owns the dealership now, and he loves it when I come back and tell the story about how he sold me the car in 5 minutes on a -5F night at 8:45 PM. Treats me like a prince.

Why do they offer Satisfaction Guaranteed spin, and make you sue to get it?:confused:

 

I'm praying for it.

 

typical undercar servicer BS story.
I wouldn't let those nit wits at Wal-Mart install anything on my car if they offered to do it free.
No clue about things work in Canada, perhaps some regulation but here you buy what you want. Four is certainly better than two but if you'd rather just go than steer or stop that's up to you.
I am a big fan of Tire Rack, good price, always fresh goods, no sales tax(offset mostly by shipping) and my choice of COMPETENT installers. Will they ship to you?
Oh yea,

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/03/0311_madoff/3.htm

 

With so many Front-Wheel-Drive cars, they do recommend 4 tires, but here, when it's -30C, even the regular softer snowtires get hard. If they aren't the drive wheels, they don't get torqued or spun to keep them pliable for traction. For a RWD, the new All Seasons steer better.

I've been driving since 1968, with no accidents in this cold white north, often with only All season tires. So far, the FWD vehicles are only 'recommended' for all 4 here.

 

That's just flat out bad business. It sounds to me like it's clear as can be that they did the damage, doesn't even appear to be any grey area at all. Don't they understand bad news travels faster than good news and for the sake of eating the repair, they've lost you as a customer plus everyone on this website. I, for one, won't go to Walmart ever again. Absolutely ridiculous; talk about penny wise and pound foolish. And, all this after you told the tech to double check before he lifted it. How frustrating.

 

Tell me about it Snooter. We did 100% of our grocery shopping there, I am talking an easy $800 a month they just pissed away in just food purchases from us. I feed 5 ppl here every day and a 6th on the weekends when my 2nd oldest is here and my 17 year old will eat us out of house and home and ask for seconds. That does not include the new DVDs we buy nearly weekly, household goods, $70 worth of diapers a month, clothes and all the other things for personal hygene. In total, I bet they lost me as a $1000-1200 a month customer over a rotten arse $15 fix if they did it themselves or $50 for a garage to fix.

Trip over a dime to pick up a penny. AND you can be damned sure that I have run my mouth to everyone I come across about how they mistreated me and my personal property.

 

Sad thing is that studded tires are legal here, but rarely necessary for more than about 3 days during the season. There are tons of yahoos driving around grinding ruts into the pavement that fill with rainwater and cause hydroplaning problems.

Don't even get me started on WalMart. I've already lost one career to outsourced Chinese manufacturing.

 

I HATE automated cashiers. Our walmart doesn't have them, but they've got 6 of those 'small purchase' cashiers (6 items or less?). Anyway, you get in the corral, and this voice comes up telling to go to X. When I get to one, I suggest they should go one more - go to hell. This one old bird, said I did that when I walked into the store!

 

hmmm wal mart strikes again!

came from my cousin who owns a garage in sutersville pa:

he was working on a car in the front bay of his garage. (the bay that faces the gas pumps) when he heard the distinct clatter of a V6 that was very low on oil. he walked out of the bay and saw one of his regular customers, and elderly lady whith a 90's olds cutlass international
she walked up to john and said "i just had my oil changed at wal-mart while i was grocery shopping, and on the way home my car started making this noise." john walked over to the cutlass popped the hood, and pulled the dip stick.... bone dry! he added oil....4qrts! pulled it onto the rack suspecting a loose oilfilter or pan drain plug. both were tight and sealed....they forgot to add new oil! at this point the engine was heavily damaged but still ran. i never did find out what happened to he beyond that. but i guess you get what you pay for , and more than you bargined for there!

 

He shouldn't have put oil in it. A call to Walmart should have been made immediately.


I had a diesel van in need of an oil change bad and no time to do it. When they took off my oil filter a spring came out of the oil filter adapter. They couldn't figure it out. I had to go down in the pit and fix it myself. Took the same van to Jiffy Lube a month later and they but 7 quarts too much in it. After that I always change my own oil.


Norman, I think many tire stores only install snow tires on a four for "liability" reasons.