Tire Store Said NO !!!

[Powerdriver1958]

 I'm just wondering if I have found an odd part of the country .

I'll have to bring you in to my world for a bit so you can understand why this has worked out this way . I work heavy Construction . That means long hours and I'm 40 miles from the shop to begin with . So I have to send my wife to get some things done on the cars and trucks .

Had my wife take her car to the giant discount store based in Bentonville Ar . I wanted 225 15s on the back of this car . That was what was on it . She calls me and said they won't do that  . I asked why not . I was told that tire size was not on the chart or an option and they can't do that . So because the sticker and their book showed that size of tire was not on a list . They refused to do what I wanted . I flashed , "Get out of there right now "..... Sent her to a local tire store . Same action , Almost word for word the same reply .

I suppose this comes from a lawyer or insurance company after something went sideways but what happened to the customer is always right .

 So after a while I have learned to play a little game when it comes to tires , Send them the tires and wheels loose in the back of something else . If they ask what they come from the standard reply is " A Hay Wagon "

I hate that they have turned us into liars to get what we want .


The best one came from a stand alone quickie lube place . I checked my oil and it was a quart down and just like clockwork I looked at the speedo and it has 3,000 miles on the oil change . I had changed oil at a quart low for 3 years in this thing so I never gave it a thought . Wheeled it to this place that advertised a Pennsylvania Crude brand of oil .

1st thing this guy did was check the oil and got a frown on his face . He said " Sir we can't change your oil until you sign a waiver " 

You have to remember that I drive truck for a construction company sooooo after a few minutes of discussion I was asked to do bis elsewhere .

 This dude acted like a quart low meant I was pure evil and hated all things mechanical . Again it was prob insurance or a dang lawyer that started the wavier deal .

Surely I can't be the only one going thru this ??

[zieg85]

Indiana Walmart, same thing on the tire sizes.  Don't even put 17's on it... What a joke this is turning out to be.  Never heard of the wavier about 1 quart low though.

[KWKENUF]

I have been running into that in West Michigan more and more.  Luckily there are still shops around here that will still do what I want,  without the waiver routine.  The one local shop here will mount any tire on any wheel,  within reason of course.  The drawback is their tire changer is old and they are uncomfortable doing "nice" wheels.  But they tell you that up front so you know,  and even recommend another tire shop to get it done at.  The whole part about the oil change is just dumb.  I had my local oil change place do mine in the dead of winter and they tried to up sell a coolant flush,  transmission flush,  and "you probably should come back for your brakes in a month or two".  They had "samples" to show me,  from my car and how they were "supposed" to look.  Funny thing was I had just done the coolant two months earlier,  the transmission maybe six months earlier,  and the brakes only a week earlier.  Straight up told them to quit F'in around with me and wrap up my car so I can get out of here and never come back.  I also told them I was going spread the word of how crooked they run stuff to everyone in the area and beyond.  When the bill came it was half of what it should have been.  I asked why and they said they should not have tried to pull that stunt.  I gave them the full original amount and said good luck in the future.  They are no longer in my town and nobody misses them!

[Blazin]

Wal Mart, & several of the local tire chains are like that in the northeast. Buddy of mine tried to get 265s on his 02 Chevy 2500. Nope, won't do it, that truck came stock with 245s. Then he said fine, I will just buy the tires, & have my buddy ( me )mount them at his shop. Nope, can't sell you the wrong size tires knowing your going to install them on that truck. Its a safety issue. Gave him the could raise your center of gravity speel, make it a lot easier to roll over etc. Then tried to give him the guilt trip. " what if your wife was driving it? " & " Your grandchildren ride in it too. "! What are they the tire police? They are gona save us all from ourselves!!

[nlauffer]

I used to work at a Napa store right out of high school.  I always used the 1036 filter in place of the 1040 filter.  It is longer and easier to get a hold of.  It only holds maybe a pint more, so not really the deal there.

I was going on a long trip in the middle of summer and forgot about changing the oil.  I would have been about 1000 miles over on oil change when the trip was done, but it was 100+ degrees.  I was leaving town in less than an hour and decided to go to Walmart to have my oil changed.  I had my own oil and filter just not the time.  I knew I probably couldn't bring my own oil in, so I chose the same Valvoline from them and told them I had the filter in the passenger seat.  While waiting for it to get done, I was told they couldn't use that filter I brought and was going to have to use their Fram brand.  I told them no, and explained the difference in the filters, but they still refused.  They couldn't say for sure if the filter would work and wouldn't take my word.  The girl didn't think about me being the one selling her parts the previous week and had to drag it out of her what she wanted, because she knew nothing about vehicles.  I folded and let them put the Fram on there, but quickly changed it when I got back.  Some of these places have a hard time hiring quality help at the prices they pay.  On top of that, some jack@$$ has sued them for something he wanted done and ruined it for every one else.

[thirsty]

In my area we don't have many places to buy tires off the shelf. So a new tire store opens up one town away (Tire Warehouse). I decided to stop in one day and pick up a couple of tires for my wife's caddy. I couldn't remember for sure the size so I told them what they were going on. All they had for that car was expensive michelins. I didn't didn't like the tires or the price so I didn't buy them. All along I am thinking that they should have more of a selection right before winter. I went out to my truck saw the sign with a phone number and called them from my cell phone. I asked if they did cash and carry and told them what I wanted. Low and behold they had just what I wanted for a good price. Even though I was not into giving them my money I wanted to go in and show them that not everybody likes being taken advantage of. In front of the same customers as 5 minutes before I went in and told them I just called called about the same tires I wanted for the caddy. They didn't want to sell me the tires. Had to get a manager's approval. The manager was a stand up guy and sided with me and even knocked some off the price for them.

[Irish_Alley]

its all about liability. even when i worked at autozone if we did any work we couldnt except any money cause then we take responsibility for our work. and some ov those employs are idiots
<<<<<<<<<<<< not pointing any fingers lol. but take this for example. my 2004 impala ss 3.8 s/c, came stock with a tire speed rating of "W"  168mph. its limited by the speed limiter just like all american cars to 112 mph now this can be removed but then i think im limited by friction why would i need that tire. some places look at the speed and load rating also when you want a tire. same deal about reading codes with a code scanner at autozone. they cant erase them idk why. was told its because people would forget what their code was and call back asking

[DrDaryl]

Once at a S--m's club I asked them to mount my best old tire on the rim for the spare, was told they couldn't do it.  After a few minutes I asked one of the young men working there if a $10 bill would make that tire jump on that rim when the boss wasn't looking--sure 'nuf it did!

[Irish_Alley]

now thats weird. when i put new tires on my 94 i had two sets of rims old steel ones off a 79 c10 that i had thrown on my 94 cause the old tires we old and worn. but i think 2 where still good. so i had them remove the two good ones and place them on the old steel rims. regretted not marking what i wanted done on the tires but sure enough the tire changer saw what i wanted and changed them with no problem they just charged me a little more but i didnt pay as much cause i kept my old tires lol

[74k20]

I'm adding a small lift to the wife's SUV tonight.  YEP-I had to take my wheels to them since they are larger then stock size.  Actually works out best this time, as I may have to do some fender mods to make them fit.  But at least I'll be home and not in the tire store doing the adjustments needed.  This is in Oregon at our local WalMart store.  I've never purchase tires from them before, but they had what I wanted at a decent price, and was local.

[Engineer]

A local guy told my son it would cost him $25,000.00 for exhaust on his mud truck.

Claimed that is what the fine would be for not having cats on it.

It is for a truck that cats don't matter. Oh well. Son just did it himself.

[78 Chevyrado]

If you guys get told something silly or you don't like, that's not the guy to work on your truck.

[Greybeard]

A local guy told my son it would cost him $25,000.00 for exhaust on his mud truck.

Claimed that is what the fine would be for not having cats on it.

It is for a truck that cats don't matter. Oh well. Son just did it himself.

Draggin this one outa of the grave ...

I have never heard of anything like whats been said in this thread! Is this for real!?? Blazin said they wouldn't put a tire two METRIC sizes bigger on a truck? WOW! There's a lot to be said for living in the country I guess. And nlauffer said wally's wouldn't put on a non standard oil filter? This I can almost understand, the tire thing makes no sense. But folks have been conditioned to not take responsibility for their own actions.  I spose I can't the blame the stores for covering their....lower backs...

BTW-- what's a cat? Mine make meowing type noises and puke everywhere. 
Hehehahaha 

[Olicat77]

I work at the giant discount store based in Bentonville Arkansas...unfortunately their policies have become more and more strict probably because people keep suing them. I'm in no way defending them but it has become the norm of other shops too and people just need to accept it or move on or do it themselves. They will keep making money whether you go to them or not unfortunately. But I agree with you that the best thing you can do was just bring in your rims.
The shop you went to should have been able to put the tire size on your truck that you already had on there....that is how my shop runs. If you have 225/65R16 on there and even though the vehicle doesnt call for it, they will still put that size on there for you. It is weird how even though it is a giant discount store that the policies will change from store to store and supervisor to supervisor. Sometimes they are just lazy and don' t want to do the work so they will turn it away. They don't work on commission so they can do what they want and still keep their job but it is bad business!
As far as waivers yes they are getting more prevalent that I have seen. At my shop we only require you sign a waiver if your vehicle is not registering any oil on the dipstick at pre-service check which I believe is fair...if the customer has let it run without checking on their oil levels from time to time why should a shop be liable for you ruining your engine?!?!
What I have learned from my job though over time is that if you complain enough (not enough that the cops get called of course) and you bring in the store manager  that you can get just about anything at a discount or for free....might as well give it a go but it doesnt make you a liked person amongst the employees...let's just say they remember things like that...

[mike357]

I took my '78 Celica to the Arkansas big box store for an oil change. The guy came out with his little hand held thing and started entering the VIN. Then he told me that they couldn't change my oil because there wasn't enough digits in the VIN.
I said "Sure ya can, it's the same procedure as changing the oil on a car that has a 17 digit VIN." He went in and asked and they told him to add 0000 to the VIN in his handheld thing.
So after it was done I decided I would have them change the oil in my '80 truck. I took it up there and another kid with the same handheld and same story. I let him mess with it a few minutes and told him to add 0000 to the VIN. He pulled my truck up to the door and got out. Then him and another guy popped the hood and looked at the motor. The other guy called me over and told me that they couldn't change my oil because that wasn't the original motor. I asked "Why not? This is a 350, it came with a 350." He really didn't have a good answer, then told me that if he changed the oil that he would only be able to put in the amount of oil that his computer or book would tell him. I told him that if his computer told him that he was to use 5 quarts, then I was good with it.

Then I asked for Mobil 1.