I live in Phoenix. I have purchased at least 10 full sets of tires from
Discount Tire over the past decade or so, for various cars my family
has owned (BMW M3, Porsche 914, Dodge Caravan, Toyota Sienna, Ford
Escort).
The Sienna recently had a flat tire while we were in Phoenix (Goodyear
Forteras, about 25% tread life left). My wife drove a short distance
(less than 1/4 mile) with the tire flat. I was concerned that the tire
might be damaged and unrepairable as a result of being driven on. The
puncture was due to a screw in the middle of the tread, the screw went
completely through the tire. Discount looked at it, said the tire was
fine, and repaired it.
Today, we had another puncture in a different tire on the Sienna,
essentially identical to the puncture we had in Flagstaff, in the
middle of the tread, through the tire. My wife drove less than 200 feet
on it. I brought the tire/wheel to the Discount we bought the tires
from. First thing the guys says to me is, "We don't sell that tire".
Well, I bought it here, I said, here's the receipt. "Oh, yeah, we do
sell that.". Before he's even looked at the puncture, he's touching the
sidewall, "Oh, I feel a heat bump, this tire's unrepairable". I feel
the same area and feel no bump at all, nothing. He looks at the
puncture. "Oh, that looks bad, it's probably unrepairable." He takes
the tire, and tells me he'll call in an hour.
He calls - "the tire's unrepairable, the cut inside is very large,
cords showing, etc.". I tell him I'll come and take a look at it. It's
nothing more than a simple, clean, small puncture. No cords, no cuts.
He pulls another guy over who says, "oh, yeah, that's unrepairable, the
repair we use makes the tire like new, but when it's that bad, we can't
repair it". More stuff about how bad it is. Best part was when I
brought up the fact that Discount had repaired another tire on the van
2 months ago that was exactly like this puncture, no questions asked.
He said, "well, that was in the past, and we don't do that today". 2
MONTHS AGO IS "THE PAST"?
I told them I was dissatisfied and would not be returning for tire
purchases again. I drove to the new Big O tire a mile from my house. I
told them that I had a tire that needed repair, that I'd taken it
"somewhere else", they said it was unrepairable, and I wanted a second
opinion. I said nothing more. He went out, looked at it, and said, "why
in the world would they say this was unrepairable?". They fixed it in
15 minutes, charged me nothing, and I was on my way - oh, and they have
a new customer for furture tire purchases.
Anyone else had this problem with Discount? I was pretty pissed, it was
obvious that they were just trying to get me to buy another tire -
which I'd have gladly done, if the damn thing was really unrepairable
(e.g. sidewall damage, bulging, serious cord damage).
oceangoing - 17 Aug 2006 02:09 GMT
> Anyone else had this problem with Discount? I was pretty pissed, it was
> obvious that they were just trying to get me to buy another tire -
> which I'd have gladly done, if the damn thing was really unrepairable
> (e.g. sidewall damage, bulging, serious cord damage).
I have also bought a lot of tires from D.T.
I would have gone to a different Discount Tire store - you are never more
than a few miles from one it seems. If all their stores are now doing this
hardball act then they are doomed.
Steve - 20 Aug 2006 19:04 GMT
>>Anyone else had this problem with Discount? I was pretty pissed, it was
>>obvious that they were just trying to get me to buy another tire -
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> than a few miles from one it seems. If all their stores are now doing this
> hardball act then they are doomed.
Same here- not all store managers are idiots. In most cases (all sorts
of retail operations, not just Discount Tire) the personality of the
store is determined as much by the manager and crew as it is by the
chain. I've had a Discount Tire manager piss me off by refusing to
rotate my tires, claiming that he "has" to put new tires on the back of
the vehicle so I don't "lose control and spin out" (despite the fact
that it was a typical front-drive car so prone to understeer that you
could put roller skate wheels on the back and not get it to oversteer).
Went about 3 miles to another Discount store, and no problem at all.
The Polish-Kraut - 30 Aug 2006 16:59 GMT
>>Anyone else had this problem with Discount? I was pretty pissed, it was
>>obvious that they were just trying to get me to buy another tire -
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> than a few miles from one it seems. If all their stores are now doing this
> hardball act then they are doomed.
What problem ?!?!?!?!?
M.M. - 17 Aug 2006 04:31 GMT
> ...
> Anyone else had this problem with Discount? I was pretty pissed, it was
> obvious that they were just trying to get me to buy another tire...
I had a similar experience with Discount (in Gilbert...a suburb of
Phoenix, no less) several years ago. A couple months after we bought our
Astro one of the tires started losing air. Not a lot, in a couple weeks
it would go down about 5 psi...enough to make it noticable. For several
weeks I just filled it up every week. I finally took it off and looked
it over pretty closely...couldn't find the leak. No punctures, no
nothing. I tried soapy water...nothing. I aired it up and had my wife
take it to the friendly neighborhood Discount Tire the next morning
since the tires were under warranty and Discount was a dealer...IIRC
they were General tires. The tire was fine when I left for work a couple
hours before she went to Discount. She called me at work from Discount
and said that they told here that the tire had a sidewall puncture and
was not repairable but they didn't make that model of tire any more and
so we'd have to buy two new ones etc etc. Plus, the tire was now
flat...the tire that was losing less than 5 psi per week and I had just
examined with a magnifying glass (literally) suddenly had a hole in the
sidewall. Right! I told them to take a flying leap and put the skinny
spare on and she drove it home. Sure enough, the tire that I had
examined the day before had a rather large hole in the sidewall. Very
mysterious. I also went to Big O and had a couple new tires put on and
have given Big O most of my tire business since. They know how to treat
people. I[ll never go back to Discount.
Daniel - 17 Aug 2006 14:47 GMT
> > ...
> > Anyone else had this problem with Discount?
<snip>
I[ll never go back to Discount.
==============================
The receipt for my third set of tires from America's Tire Company also
shows Discount Tire Company so they must share the same corporate
ownership.
Nothing but praise for this particular Southern California store.
Just had a repair done last weekend. No charge.
Always use a torque wrench on my alloy wheels.
Knowledgeable personnel.
If I was getting the same kind of harball misinformation you received I
wouldn't go back there either, but I've been extremely pleased with the
knowlegeable, friendly, and helpful people at this particular location.
Same name a in the next city could be different of course.
Daniel - 17 Aug 2006 14:51 GMT
> > ...
> > Anyone else had this problem with Discount?
<snip>
I[ll never go back to Discount.
==============================
The receipt for my third set of tires from America's Tire Company also
shows Discount Tire Company so they must share the same corporate
ownership.
Nothing but praise for this particular Southern California store.
Just had a repair done last weekend. No charge.
Always use a torque wrench on my alloy wheels.
Knowledgeable personnel.
If I was getting the same kind of harball misinformation you received I
wouldn't go back there either, but I've been extremely pleased with the
knowlegeable, friendly, and helpful people at this particular location.
Same name in the next city could be different of course.
Almost forgot to mention, they've been matching the prices I've found
on the Internet, and allowing trade in value on the old tires, so
pricing has been very good after brief negotiation.
Have only had them for a couple of days, but so far the Yokohama Avid
TRZ have represented an extraordinary improvement in handling.
Daniel - 17 Aug 2006 14:53 GMT
> > ...
> > Anyone else had this problem with Discount?
<snip>
I[ll never go back to Discount.
==============================
The receipt for my third set of tires from America's Tire Company also
shows Discount Tire Company so they must share the same corporate
ownership.
Nothing but praise for this particular Southern California store.
Just had a repair done last weekend. No charge.
Always use a torque wrench on my alloy wheels.
Knowledgeable personnel.
If I was getting the same kind of harball misinformation you received I
wouldn't go back there either, but I've been extremely pleased with the
knowlegeable, friendly, and helpful people at this particular location.
Same name in the next city could be different of course.
Almost forgot to mention, they've been matching the prices I've found
on the Internet, and allowing trade in value on the old tires, so
pricing has been very good after brief negotiation.
Have only had them for a couple of days, but so far the Yokohama Avid
TRZ have resulted in an extraordinary improvement in handling, while
actually representing a higher treadwear rating of 700.
larry moe 'n curly - 17 Aug 2006 16:26 GMT
> I live in Phoenix. I have purchased at least 10 full sets of tires from
> Discount Tire over the past decade or so, for various cars my family
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
> He said, "well, that was in the past, and we don't do that today". 2
> MONTHS AGO IS "THE PAST"?
That guy is a liar, and I'd call their district HQ and file a complaint
at www.bbb.org.
The only problems I've had with Discount Tire have been with their
extended warranties (about the only extended warranties I ever buy, the
others being for central A/C and laptop computers): when a tire is
nearly bald, some of their stores say it's worn out, while others will
cover it under warranty. I've used their Metrocenter and W. Bell Rd.
stores.
corning_d3 - 30 Aug 2006 19:00 GMT
I get my Dayton ZR's and Yohohama's fron Plaza Tire Service..

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