Alternative Tire Stores

Stinky

Stinky

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Anybody buy tires from Sam's Club?  

In my town we have Big O, Discount, Walmart, Sams and some small independents.  I have a HFt manual machine, so Tirerack is a possibility too....not sure how Id do the balancing.

Walmart is a pain, busy and to few workers.

Big O is always digging for work....your car needs A,B, C and D.

We bought tires in Las Vegas and Discount took my spare out.  They teach their workers to immediately check the tire's date code, but they cant count to 5.  Dont know if you've ever been to Vegas (I'm sure that you have), but in every direction, there is a bunch of desolation, like 100 miles of it, and they wanted to send me off w.o a spare...grr.

The other day, I put my spare on and go in for 2 tires.   The salesman comes out and does all his measurements and super secret computations.  He says, you should change these 2....look at this tire....ohhh, it doesnt match.  He looked at me funny when I said that was my spare ( as if they wouldn't screw that up)....OK we'll change the front 2 as they have tread on them (normally they want to put new ones on the back).

While we're at the car, a cone.head almost hits my door, then he puts his car in P while still moving.  When he took his foot off the brake, his car rolled backwards as the pressure was released.

I'm thinking this will be quick, 2 open bays, parking lot sorta empty....then an 18 wheeler pulls in...where the heck does that guy think that he is going...he is gonna get stuck in here.  Then he backed up to a bay...5 guys came out and unloaded it....while I waited.

The conehead got out an hour before me and at least 2 persons jumped ahead of me (I think they messed up the work rotation).

2.5 hours later....I double check their work.  I still have the ratty tire that they were supposed to take, and I dont have the best tire from the car.

Last time.I was in there, same deal, they had to go look for tire that I wanted.

Am I the only the that keeps tires for just in case?. They act like they aint seen dat b'for.

They don't want to replace the tire from my truck (it bounces at 45, and pulls).   I cant just drive my truck in there as they are snow tires and they wont work on them in the front (bigger BFG ATs in the back)....and I cant pull the tire off in their parking lot.   I have to carry in.  They say switch the tire to the other side and see if the pull changes (a directional tire).  The pull did change.  They've rebalanced it 3x (last time .5 oz off, whoop.de.do).  1 or 2 times ago, they turned it on the rim, to theorectically match the high spot on the rim w.the low on the tire (which acknowleges that it is not round).   Sooooo, what good does it do to buy Road-Hazard, if they wont replace a bad tire?

 
Stinky said:
Anybody buy tires from Sam's Club?  

In my town we have Big O, Discount, Walmart, Sams and some small independents.  I have a HFt manual machine, so Tirerack is a possibility too....not sure how Id do the balancing.

Walmart is a pain, busy and to few workers.

Big O is always digging for work....your car needs A,B, C and D.

We bought tires in Las Vegas and Discount took my spare out.  They teach their workers to immediately check the tire's date code, but they cant count to 5.  Dont know if you've ever been to Vegas (I'm sure that you have), but in every direction, there is a bunch of desolation, like 100 miles of it, and they wanted to send me off w.o a spare...grr.

The other day, I put my spare on and go in for 2 tires.   The salesman comes out and does all his measurements and super secret computations.  He says, you should change these 2....look at this tire....ohhh, it doesnt match.  He looked at me funny when I said that was my spare ( as if they wouldn't screw that up)....OK we'll change the front 2 as they have tread on them (normally they want to put new ones on the back).

While we're at the car, a cone.head almost hits my door, then he puts his car in P while still moving.  When he took his foot off the brake, his car rolled backwards as the pressure was released.

I'm thinking this will be quick, 2 open bays, parking lot sorta empty....then an 18 wheeler pulls in...where the heck does that guy think that he is going...he is gonna get stuck in here.  Then he backed up to a bay...5 guys came out and unloaded it....while I waited.

The conehead got out an hour before me and at least 2 persons jumped ahead of me (I think they messed up the work rotation).

2.5 hours later....I double check their work.  I still have the ratty tire that they were supposed to take, and I dont have the best tire from the car.

Last time.I was in there, same deal, they had to go look for tire that I wanted.

Am I the only the that keeps tires for just in case?. They act like they aint seen dat b'for.

They don't want to replace the tire from my truck (it bounces at 45, and pulls).   I cant just drive my truck in there as they are snow tires and they wont work on them in the front (bigger BFG ATs in the back)....and I cant pull the tire off in their parking lot.   I have to carry in.  They say switch the tire to the other side and see if the pull changes (a directional tire).  The pull did change.  They've rebalanced it 3x (last time .5 oz off, whoop.de.do).  1 or 2 times ago, they turned it on the rim, to theorectically match the high spot on the rim w.the low on the tire (which acknowleges that it is not round).   Sooooo, what good does it do to buy Road-Hazard, if they wont replace a bad tire?
Click to expand...
Put a screw in the very outer edge of the tread.  They can't fix it.

 
I usually avoid these problems by replacing tires as a set, and rotating them often so there aren’t any I want to keep anyway. :biggrin:

I also make sure there isn’t any rubber left when I get new ones. Doing my part to reduce landfill and all… 

image.jpeg

 
I have not had any issues with Discount in the 30 years Ive been using them.  Most of their stores are uber busy & the waits are always longer than I want, but they have never done me wrong or not done what I have asked.  Ive done every kind of tire there. 

FWIW, I HATED the BFG's on my 99 Ram.  I could not wait for them to wear out to get a different tire on there.  they rode crappy, they wore crappy, they were unpredictable....  HATED them.  Ive got 250K on this truck and have had a few sets of tires on it.  the best tire Ive had on it, were Bridgestone Revo's.  Ive had 3 sets of them.  for the first time I have Michelines on there now & they seem to be pretty nice as well, but they are not an AT/MT type of tread like most of the tires Ive had. 

 
Bobalos said:
I have not had any issues with Discount in the 30 years Ive been using them.  Most of their stores are uber busy & the waits are always longer than I want, but they have never done me wrong or not done what I have asked.  Ive done every kind of tire there. 

FWIW, I HATED the BFG's on my 99 Ram.  I could not wait for them to wear out to get a different tire on there.  they rode crappy, they wore crappy, they were unpredictable....  HATED them.  Ive got 250K on this truck and have had a few sets of tires on it.  the best tire Ive had on it, were Bridgestone Revo's.  Ive had 3 sets of them.  for the first time I have Michelines on there now & they seem to be pretty nice as well, but they are not an AT/MT type of tread like most of the tires Ive had. 
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Me neither.  They've been like Inn N Out for me: perfect every time.

 
Where do you live?  If in Phoenix, try Westside Tire and Service.  I use them, and I am in the extreme East Valley.  Small shop that does appointments and gets you in when they say they will.

 
Grand Junction, CO.

Rockwood...I am of the same opinion.  I had about 1/32 worth of tread left.  I wouldn't have even thought of it, but one of the front was screwed up from bad alignment and it vibrated.  On this FWD, the fronts wear out so much faster and the backs have tread left.

 
Stinky said:
Grand Junction, CO.

Rockwood...I am of the same opinion.  I had about 1/32 worth of tread left.  I wouldn't have even thought of it, but one of the front was screwed up from bad alignment and it vibrated.  On this FWD, the fronts wear out so much faster and the backs have tread left.
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word. I've had FWD cars for most of my driving and rotation is definitely key.  Current car and the last one are RWD staggered fitment, so rotation side to side only.  Just need to keep an eye on them and rotate often as well as make sure to tailor the inflation for your normal driving (not just what's on the door sticker since that's fully loaded inflation pressure).  Couple of minutes with a tread depth tool (or a penny) checking front to rear wear and across the tire will catch alignment and inflation wear issues before they cost you a set of tires.  Lots of tires also have wear marks in them to tell you what's wearing first and adjust:

45856d1501518933-new-nitto-motivos-install6_26_127.jpg


Either way, once they're worn, the set is done for me, just not worth the couple hundred to deal with it, and I don't think you save much anyway since keeping the same set on the rear of a FWD car means they'll probably age out before they wear out.  Used tire shops will often pay cash for the underworn pair to recoup some of the cost.

I rotate while waiting for the oil to drip out on an oil change.  Give suspension parts a tug, inspect belts, etc.  

 
Might come down to the managers. Just like a restaurant or a bar. The employees are only as good as the manager demands. 

There are 2 discount tire stores here and one is really bad with rude guys. While the other store is amazing and the manager remembers us. 

Havnt been to the rude store in years. Maybe they improved.

 
wopachop said:
Might come down to the managers. Just like a restaurant or a bar. The employees are only as good as the manager demands. 

There are 2 discount tire stores here and one is really bad with rude guys. While the other store is amazing and the manager remembers us. 

Havnt been to the rude store in years. Maybe they improved.
Click to expand...
Managers generally rotate shops in the region, so likely has changed since then.

 
10 minutes ago, or thereabouts.  I'm sitting here at the computer and there is a knock at the door.  A fair-haired damsel of good complexion (think 180 out from that) damsel in distress was there...

Do you have a jack...

We might need a 4-way too...

I see her car, about 75 yards away, a white Kia SUV....fairly new.  It is on the ground on one side.

I grab the stuff and walk over there.  She has a dog.  She says that it is a boxer...no more than 50%.  The other 50% has a bad name and is outlawed in some cities. 

I change the tire.  No sweat.  Her spare is partially flat...like drive in the sand and then the highway.  You have an air compressor?  Yes....grrrrr. 

She got a flat because the tread had worn thru to the steel.  Then the steel had worn thru to the rubber and then the rubber had worn thru.  The rears looked like new.  If I was guessing, that they bounced the front off something....curb, maybe, and the front end is tweaked as the tires had rubber on the outside...sorta, racing slicks.  But, twas 1/16" more, something, than on the inside.

A common theme...enough money to buy a nice car.  But, not enough money to take care of the nice car.  Don't buy a car from them.

 
Stinky said:
10 minutes ago, or thereabouts.  I'm sitting here at the computer and there is a knock at the door.  A fair-haired damsel of good complexion (think 180 out from that) damsel in distress was there...

Do you have a jack...

We might need a 4-way too...

I see her car, about 75 yards away, a white Kia SUV....fairly new.  It is on the ground on one side.

I grab the stuff and walk over there.  She has a dog.  She says that it is a boxer...no more than 50%.  The other 50% has a bad name and is outlawed in some cities. 

I change the tire.  No sweat.  Her spare is partially flat...like drive in the sand and then the highway.  You have an air compressor?  Yes....grrrrr. 

She got a flat because the tread had worn thru to the steel.  Then the steel had worn thru to the rubber and then the rubber had worn thru.  The rears looked like new.  If I was guessing, that they bounced the front off something....curb, maybe, and the front end is tweaked as the tires had rubber on the outside...sorta, racing slicks.  But, twas 1/16" more, something, than on the inside.

A common theme...enough money to buy a nice car.  But, not enough money to take care of the nice car.  Don't buy a car from them.
Click to expand...
Surprised it had a spare.  My GF's Kia Souls (yes, plural) didn't have spares.  Just a small 12v compressor and some fix a flat.  Had room for a spare, so I put a full size one in there.

 
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It had a space-saver spare.  But, it was about 30" tall.  

Helped a gal w/a rental car.  Twas a mini-van.  It had a small spare, and a compressor.  At about 60#, the tire popped out and became a tire.  Twas real weird when it popped out on one side first and then another 5 minutes it popped out all the way around.  It takes a long time for a compressor to get that much pressure built up.

 
the biggest problem of this is that it completely removes the option to put a regular size tire in there.  Our Grand Marquis had a mini tire in it & I was going to replace it with a real tire, because we put miles on that car at a time.  I cant imagine being ½ way to Vegas  (or idaho or Utah... ) & having to trust the mini for 100 miles, in the heat, with 4 adults in it & luggage…….. 

 
Bobalos said:
the biggest problem of this is that it completely removes the option to put a regular size tire in there.  Our Grand Marquis had a mini tire in it & I was going to replace it with a real tire, because we put miles on that car at a time.  I cant imagine being ½ way to Vegas  (or idaho or Utah... ) & having to trust the mini for 100 miles, in the heat, with 4 adults in it & luggage…….. 
Click to expand...
Do like the Jeep guys do and build a swing out carrier :biggrin:

 
Stinky said:
Anybody buy tires from Sam's Club?  

In my town we have Big O, Discount, Walmart, Sams and some small independents.  I have a HFt manual machine, so Tirerack is a possibility too....not sure how Id do the balancing.

Walmart is a pain, busy and to few workers.

Big O is always digging for work....your car needs A,B, C and D.

We bought tires in Las Vegas and Discount took my spare out.  They teach their workers to immediately check the tire's date code, but they cant count to 5.  Dont know if you've ever been to Vegas (I'm sure that you have), but in every direction, there is a bunch of desolation, like 100 miles of it, and they wanted to send me off w.o a spare...grr.

The other day, I put my spare on and go in for 2 tires.   The salesman comes out and does all his measurements and super secret computations.  He says, you should change these 2....look at this tire....ohhh, it doesnt match.  He looked at me funny when I said that was my spare ( as if they wouldn't screw that up)....OK we'll change the front 2 as they have tread on them (normally they want to put new ones on the back).

While we're at the car, a cone.head almost hits my door, then he puts his car in P while still moving.  When he took his foot off the brake, his car rolled backwards as the pressure was released.

I'm thinking this will be quick, 2 open bays, parking lot sorta empty....then an 18 wheeler pulls in...where the heck does that guy think that he is going...he is gonna get stuck in here.  Then he backed up to a bay...5 guys came out and unloaded it....while I waited.

The conehead got out an hour before me and at least 2 persons jumped ahead of me (I think they messed up the work rotation).

2.5 hours later....I double check their work.  I still have the ratty tire that they were supposed to take, and I dont have the best tire from the car.

Last time.I was in there, same deal, they had to go look for tire that I wanted.

Am I the only the that keeps tires for just in case?. They act like they aint seen dat b'for.

They don't want to replace the tire from my truck (it bounces at 45, and pulls).   I cant just drive my truck in there as they are snow tires and they wont work on them in the front (bigger BFG ATs in the back)....and I cant pull the tire off in their parking lot.   I have to carry in.  They say switch the tire to the other side and see if the pull changes (a directional tire).  The pull did change.  They've rebalanced it 3x (last time .5 oz off, whoop.de.do).  1 or 2 times ago, they turned it on the rim, to theorectically match the high spot on the rim w.the low on the tire (which acknowleges that it is not round).   Sooooo, what good does it do to buy Road-Hazard, if they wont replace a bad tire?
Click to expand...
i keep all good tires, period, at one time I had 3 sets and 4 trailer tires in storage lol. finally gave them away on clist to someone who needed them. half those guys probably take home the good ones anyways.

 
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