Tire Replacement PSA - Verify Everything

[CHeil402]

TL;DR - I got a flat tire, Pep Boys said they could get it for a good price the next day, they lied, I had no car for a week. Avoid Pep Boys.

So unfortunately I ended up with a nail in my rear right tire after 13,800 miles. Thankfully, @kennelh 's awesome widget is actually what alerted me to this Thursday night as my car sat in my garage slowly leaking air since otherwise I wouldn't have noticed until Friday morning trying to drive somewhere when I turned on the car to get the in-dash alert. I went and looked and sure enough I had a nail in my tire and was down to about 5 psi. The nail was in a questionable location as to if it could be patched, but I suspected it couldn't.

I called Tires Plus near my house which I have a long standing relationship there and brought it in Friday around noon. They agreed that it probably wasn't patch-able and said that since I have AWD that they would really need to replace both rear tires. I asked that if we replaced it with the same stock tire (Michelin Primacy A/S 225/55R19) would that work and they agreed it would based on my minimal tread wear. However, they said they don't normally stock Michelin tires so it wouldn't be there until Monday and would be around $320. I pointed out that Pep Boys around the corner had it listed on their website as $242 and available by noon Saturday, so I ended up going there since I needed my car for work on Monday.

So I went to Pep Boys and I showed the tech their own Pep Boys website on my phone and he ordered the tire and said that if he could patch it he would but would be best to order the tire in case it couldn't be. So I leave my car there Friday. I don't hear from them Saturday and when I called before they closed they said it was strange that the tire didn't come in yet but he would keep an eye out for me and that they do get deliveries on Sundays. I get a call Sunday that the tire didn't come in yet, but that he in fact could patch it and it was holding pressure. Great! So I drive around keeping an eye on the TPMS and lo and behold, I get a new alert Sunday evening from the widget. It's slowly leaking again, although not as bad as before. Once I realized I called Pep Boys but they didn't answer and closed in 8 minutes.

I called Monday and they said they still hadn't seen the tire but would call the distributor to find out what's going on. I get a call on Tuesday and they said they tracked down the tire and it would be there that day at noon; however, the price was actually about $300 and not $242 despite that actively being there on their website because he had to special order it. That's not what was discussed on Friday when I ordered it and he said that they probably aren't carrying that tire anymore, but the website will still show it until their inventory is wiped out and that it may be at a location across the country. Despite arguing that they are actively advertising the price and availability (which is the only reason I went there in the first place) and that I showed the tech that as they ordered it they refused to sell it at anything below cost from their distributor or they would lose money. I called my local Ford dealership and they have it for $250 and could get it next day. I called back Pep Boys and said that unless they would honor their advertised price that I didn't want. Long story short I'm now getting it from Ford a week after I had the flat and Pep Boys has an oddball tire with nobody to use it on and somehow that's better than "losing money" on the sale.

</end rant> So I emailed Pep Boys corporate about it, but am not really expecting anything out of it. But I wanted to share this story for others to avoid this pitfall. Despite it still being listed as available next day at $242... https://www.pepboys.com/michelin-primacy-a-s/tires/2647977

Sponsored

 

[Nklem]

If you need 1 tire due to an issue be sure to check Ebay. I have found identical wear and date coded single replacements for less than $100 and free shipping, free returns. Many places tell folks if it’s AWD you need to replace all 4 when 1 is damaged. So those other perfectly fine tires are typically sent to a reseller.

 

[RickMachE]

Ford dealers nationwide... use your rewards points and earn more.

 

[voxel]

My Ford dealer told me it would take 3—4 weeks to order that tire but Discount Tire found one in one state over and expedited shipping to FL. All the same price as Ford dealer would have charged.

Also, you should confirm they are using the correct load index tire (103) that tire has lower index variants.

 

[Discount Tire]

My Ford dealer told me it would take 3—4 weeks to order that tire but Discount Tire found one in one state over and expedited shipping to FL. All the same price as Ford dealer would have charged.

Also, you should confirm they are using the correct load index tire (103) that tire has lower index variants.

Thank you for your business! Glad to hear our store took care of you.

 

[MachGT]

The matching tire thing is overemphasized with EVs. Since the front and rear axles aren't mechanically connected, and the differentials are open, there is no way to damage the drivetrain from a very very small difference in tire diameter. Not to mention, some audis run almost a 5% size difference in diameter between the front and rear (R8). The bro at the tire shop ain't going to know that though.

Sorry you had a bad experience. Par for the course at most shops anymore.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

TL;DR - I got a flat tire, Pep Boys said they could get it for a good price the next day, they lied, I had no car for a week. Avoid Pep Boys.

So unfortunately I ended up with a nail in my rear right tire after 13,800 miles. Thankfully, @kennelh 's awesome widget is actually what alerted me to this Thursday night as my car sat in my garage slowly leaking air since otherwise I wouldn't have noticed until Friday morning trying to drive somewhere when I turned on the car to get the in-dash alert. I went and looked and sure enough I had a nail in my tire and was down to about 5 psi. The nail was in a questionable location as to if it could be patched, but I suspected it couldn't.

I called Tires Plus near my house which I have a long standing relationship there and brought it in Friday around noon. They agreed that it probably wasn't patch-able and said that since I have AWD that they would really need to replace both rear tires. I asked that if we replaced it with the same stock tire (Michelin Primacy A/S 225/55R19) would that work and they agreed it would based on my minimal tread wear. However, they said they don't normally stock Michelin tires so it wouldn't be there until Monday and would be around $320. I pointed out that Pep Boys around the corner had it listed on their website as $242 and available by noon Saturday, so I ended up going there since I needed my car for work on Monday.

So I went to Pep Boys and I showed the tech their own Pep Boys website on my phone and he ordered the tire and said that if he could patch it he would but would be best to order the tire in case it couldn't be. So I leave my car there Friday. I don't hear from them Saturday and when I called before they closed they said it was strange that the tire didn't come in yet but he would keep an eye out for me and that they do get deliveries on Sundays. I get a call Sunday that the tire didn't come in yet, but that he in fact could patch it and it was holding pressure. Great! So I drive around keeping an eye on the TPMS and lo and behold, I get a new alert Sunday evening from the widget. It's slowly leaking again, although not as bad as before. Once I realized I called Pep Boys but they didn't answer and closed in 8 minutes.

I called Monday and they said they still hadn't seen the tire but would call the distributor to find out what's going on. I get a call on Tuesday and they said they tracked down the tire and it would be there that day at noon; however, the price was actually about $300 and not $242 despite that actively being there on their website because he had to special order it. That's not what was discussed on Friday when I ordered it and he said that they probably aren't carrying that tire anymore, but the website will still show it until their inventory is wiped out and that it may be at a location across the country. Despite arguing that they are actively advertising the price and availability (which is the only reason I went there in the first place) and that I showed the tech that as they ordered it they refused to sell it at anything below cost from their distributor or they would lose money. I called my local Ford dealership and they have it for $250 and could get it next day. I called back Pep Boys and said that unless they would honor their advertised price that I didn't want. Long story short I'm now getting it from Ford a week after I had the flat and Pep Boys has an oddball tire with nobody to use it on and somehow that's better than "losing money" on the sale.

</end rant> So I emailed Pep Boys corporate about it, but am not really expecting anything out of it. But I wanted to share this story for others to avoid this pitfall. Despite it still being listed as available next day at $242... https://www.pepboys.com/michelin-primacy-a-s/tires/2647977

Friends don’t let friends buy tires from Pep Boys. Discount Tire or America’s Tire, dealer, Tire Rack, anywhere but Pep Boys. Especially if you want your wheels to stay unscuffed/scratched.

 

[Xadion]

Tires are a big pita...

The best place I have ever been to is this used tire shop by me. I gave them the wrong tire size, they move them from their other shop to mine and I brought it in.

They apologized for the issue, never blaming me, but it was me. I ordered 60% tread bridgestones. Cheap just a decent tire to get me to my mach-e arrival.

they got me 90% tread perillies for the same price and the proper size.

Not always are the big name chain places the best.

Sponsored