Discount Tire (and a few others!)

[Heidi Mull]

I'm not usually inspired to post shop reviews, but boy does this one deserve it!

So I went to Discount Tire for new tires. Walked in like "I have no idea what tire I want, I can't afford anything expensive, but I want something decent that will give me good stopping distance." I was too busy to do my own research.

The salesman went out and looked at the tires I had on there. I had bought them used several years ago with 95% tread for $300 total installed. He said they're premium tires, costing $200 each new!

Anyway, we go back in and he turns his monitor around so I can see it. They use an independent 3rd party program designed to compare the actual stopping distance, longevity, maneuverability, and comfort/road noise of every tire. He had us put those four categories in how we prioritized it (stopping distance is highest concern for me, followed by maneuverability) as well as our estimated yearly mileage. The program showed me which tires matched that, and then you could compare side by side. It had data on warranty vs. how long the tire tended to last in real life, as well as giving an estimated price per mile for each tire compared.

The salesman explained the entire purpose of the program was to take him out of the picture entirely, so that I can make an informed decision on what I want without him pitching me anything.

I found out that a $120 tire had better stopping distance than a $200-something tire. The salesman suggested I could go with a slightly larger tire for my van if I wanted to, might help reduce wear. Turns out that size was even cheaper!

Anyway, the story would have ended there. I'm happy with my tires and my experience at Discount Tire. The end!

Except I still needed an alignment. Discount Tire doesn't do alignments. I was handed a business card to a local shop called Alignments Plus, and told they "send a lot of people there". I balked at the $92 price tag for an alignment, but when I called about a dozen places and they all cost even more, I finally made an appointment.

It was a horrible experience. For starters, the van drove WORSE afterwards than when I brought it there. The paperwork even shows they didn't bother to align the rear wheels, even though it was needed. When I made the appointment they said it was a 4-wheel alignment, which is also what my vehicle needs because it's AWD. I couldn't take the van in myself, so my fiance was the one who got to deal with hearing all the claims they made about work that "HAD" to be done that didn't actually. Said my transmission fluid was "black and goopy" (no, it's reddish-brown and normal), said my struts and shocks were "old" (brand new 2 years ago) said all the parts around my timing belt were badly worn and needed replacing (no, my trusty mechanic, who sadly doesn't do alignments, checked them all over carefully when he did the timing belt the next day and said they were all fine!) Anyway, the guy at Alignments Plus was very pushy about getting the work done that day, saying he'd give him a discount and do it all for "only $750". It was all sorts of bad, all sorts of scammy, fishy, bullshit.

The guy didn't even write his name on the paperwork. The papers we were given, all stapled together and everything, did not even contain an invoice.

And my van was driving horribly.

I called them up and said I needed a refund. This was unacceptable, and I'm not comfortable entrusting my vehicle again to a place that attempted to scam me. The proof is on the paperwork we did get.

They refused me the refund. Argued with me that if I want the problem fixed, I should come back and let them fix it. A different person would work on my van. I insisted I speak with whomever could grant me the refund, which was the owner. They said he's really busy and might not be able to call you back. It's been over a week and he still hasn't.

So I went and got my van aligned, again, elsewhere. I tried to get in to a place that does free alignment checks (GoodYear), but when the guy was being inappropriate and weird during the phone call to set up the appointment (that's a whole 'nother story!) I finally just went with the one place that had nary a negative review and who treated me well over the phone, even if they were expensive. I needed this nightmare to be over.

Tru-Line found out the fasteners on my control arms were loose, which explains the mystery clunking noises the past few months since my dad replaced the control arms in December. Note that Alignments Plus failed to identify this. They also did far more intervention in the alignment than the other place, correcting by several millimeters in some places vs. fractions of a millimeter. The van now drives perfectly, in fact better than I've ever experienced.

Proof in hand that the previous alignment was done incorrectly, I stopped by Discount Tire to let them know the place they had referred me to had botched the alignment, attempted to scam me, and were now refusing me a refund.

Discount Tire refunded me on the spot.

Let me be clear: Discount Tire refunded me the full amount I spent at Alignments Plus.

They handed me cash for the entire amount and I walked out of there. They fixed a mistake that wasn't even theirs, because they had referred me and they felt responsible.

They requested to copy my documentation so they could reference it when speaking with the shop owner, and I was happy to let them do so.

I don't know if all Discount Tire stores in the chain are like this, but you can bet I'm going to feel comfortable going back there!

[Ballenxj]

Kudos to them. I've always had good luck with Discount Tire.

[Cammalu]

Wow! That's impressive!


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[sternwake]

I've gone into DT with a printout from an online outfit with the tire and the size I wanted +shipping costs, and they matched the shipped price. They did not even stock the tire I wanted but they acquired them anyway.

I liked how they started the lugnuts by hand and after some light burps with the airgun in the star pattern, came back with a torque wrench and tightened them to 100Lb/ft as I requested. Lots of these shops will just hammer the airgun and significantly overtighten the lugnuts, which not only makes them extremely dificult to remove, but can warp the rotors.

What DT did, which they have to do in California, is set the tires to the pressures indicated on the door placard. But my Door placard lists a passenger Extraload tire, where I used a slightly oversized light truck tire. LT tires usually have higher max infaltion pressures, and require more PSI to carry the same load. So 32 and 34PSI was underinflated for the tires I bought. I generally keep them at 40 and 42PSI.

My last tire purchase was not at DT, but occurred during a road trip to go see the total eclipse in Oregon, as the 6 year old Kumho tires did not like desert temperatures and could have failed disasterously. They were registering over 200F and out of round and looked like donuts, having increased in diameter almost 3 inches.

What is scary was that at 65MPH, it was difficult to tell anything was wrong. the back end seemed a bit squeamish, which I had attributed to having an extra 200Lbs of fuel in the tank compared to what i usually keeep in there.
It was not until I pulled into a rest stop that the tire failure became overwhelmingly apparent. Had I not pulled in to that rest area, a Blowout on 395 could have killed me and my father and perhaps other motorists, and I am ashamed that my miserly nature and 'lots of tread left' mentality made me think using such old tires was acceptable.

This shop who installed my new tires dangerously overtightened my lugnuts, some of them likely well over 200Lb/ft, and some were likely only 60Lb/ft on the same wheel. On my return to SanDiego, I had to buy new Lugnuts, as when i finally busted the overtightened ones loose requiring a huge breaker bar that I was not travelling with, the lugnut threads were badly damaged. Luckily the studs were not. I urge people to not simply trust a tire shop to not seriously overtighten the lugs, as if a flat happens in the middle of nowhere, you might not be able to remove the wheel, and a simple tire change can become a $erious ordeal, especially if the Studs snap off.
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Brownish red is not a good color for transmission fluid. One hopes the white napkin on which the dipstick is wiped is pink, and that it smells sweet/not burnt, and has no glitter when viewed in direct sunlight. One should also know whether their ATF level is to be checked with engine running in neutral, or not.

Heat destroys the lubricating properties of ATF, turning it red then brown then the transmission grenades at some point there after. Lots of post 2000 vehicles came with 'lifetime' synthetic transmission fluid, claiming it never needs to be changed and is good for the 'lifetime' of the vehicle. My dad had an '05 Audi a6, and the dealer and independent shops refused to change the TX fluid at a normally accepted interval. The Tx had recently started slipping badly and flaring a few hundred rpm during a shift, so the 'lifetime' fluid basically killed the car which was otherwise in excellent condition. Had it been changed every 50K miles he would not have had to lease a new vehicle. for likely another 50K miles. A new TX installed in that vehicle would have been close to 10K dollars, its bluebook value was 3.5.

Beware of shops offering/recommending transmission 'flushes'. A flush does not require the Tx pan be dropped and the filter changed. A 'flush' or even a 'fluid exchange' can clog this filter which then destroys the transmission. While opinions online vary widely, my opinion is it is better to do a pan drop and replace only the fluid which drops with the pan, even though it is likely well less than half the total fluid capacity of the transmission. Quickie lube shops and even Tx shops will also likely use a 'universal' ATF with an additive instead of the actual manufacturer spec'd fluid, which can be lethal for many transmissions, Dodge/ Chrysler and Honda in particular.

The maintenance minded are wise to install a drain plug in the transmission pan at that time, and after some miles drain the pan and fill with fresh ATF, diluting old ATF with New in a few stages.

It is also said a neglected transmission with brown and burnt smellng TX fluid should not be serviced as it will grenade soon after. The owner should just start saving either for a Tx rebuild or a new vehicle instead, if the TX fluid is allowed to be come that degraded.

Most Chryslers should get ATF+4 which is a high Quality synthetic transmission fluid, but almost every shop out there will say that their universal fluid plus an additive makes their low quality universal fluid into a high quality synthetic with the heat resistance and proper friction and viscosity qualities the transmisssion was designed for. This is obviously BS profiteering at the expense of the consumer and is a seethingly contemptible practice.

So anytime any transmission service is done, know beforehand which TX fluid your vehicle requires and ask them what they will use. If they go into their speil about their special fluid plus an additive being just as good, defecate on their front desk, as that is what they will ultimately be doing to your vehicle and finances.



ATF and transmission life is greatly extended by adding additional cooling capacity, instead of relying only the Original cooler usually located in a radiator tank. Especially on a vandweller type vehicle, which is likely more heavily laden, and perhaps seeing more mountain climbing duty, which can easily overheat ATF.

My overdrive dodge tranmission's OD unit is notoriously weak, and not really being able to do anything about that, I added a Derale external filter mount that uses a spin on Oil filter( same size as my engine oil filter) to my cooling line, so my fluid flows from the Tx to the radiator cooler, then through Aux cooler, then through the additional filter then back to the transmission.

Overkill, possibly, but Tx's fail from heat degraded ATF, and accumulated debris, and mine cost 2600$ in 2001 to rebuild with 130K miles on it. Now have almost 90K on rebuild with no issues since I got the correct fluid in there. The rebuilders(Aamco) used the incorrect fluid, causing bad shuddering within 10K miles of the rebuild which no doubt shortened its expected lifespan to some degree.

The External filter I use can filter with 99% efficiency at 25 microns, the stock in pan filter is often described as a 'rock catcher', filtering no better than 50% efficiency at 100 microns, and its total surface area for filtering is a fraction of that of the spin on filter. In pan transmission filtering is likely Good enough to get the vehicle past the drivetrain warranty, but likely not much more.

There are simple inexpensive magnetic inline transmission filters(Magnefine) one can easily install in the transmission cooler lines, but it is very important to plumb them in the correct direction. I had one on for several years, backwards, as I made a few incorrect assumptions about the direction of flow. When I opened up the filter all the debris was on the inside of the pleats, instead of the exterior. Luckily it was not so excessive that it restricted flow. The built in bypass would not have worked installed in this incorrect orientation and it could have grenaded my TX.

I need to get some more Neodymium magnets to line My external filter with, to help trap ferrous particles smaller than 25 microns.

As Always it is buyer Beware, and service shops can be extremely dishonest, or incompetent or both. Also the vehicle did not leave the factory designed for maximum service life, merely to last the warranty period, and small additions such as better cooling and filtration or more frequent service intervals, can greatly extend the service life of certain parts saving the owner, who intends to keep the vehicle for many years, many thousands of dollars.

[Cammalu]

Wow! That's impressive!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Heidi Mull]

What is scary was that at 65MPH, it was difficult to tell anything was wrong.   the back end seemed a bit squeamish, which I had attributed to having an extra 200Lbs of fuel in the tank compared to what i usually keeep in there.
   It was not until I pulled into a rest stop that the tire failure became overwhelmingly apparent.  Had I not pulled in to that rest area, a Blowout on 395 could have killed me and my father and perhaps other motorists, and I am ashamed that my miserly nature and 'lots of tread left' mentality made me think using such old tires was acceptable.

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Brownish red is not a good color for transmission fluid. 

I'm glad you're okay! Before I learned to check the date on tires, I once bought a van that was checked out by no less than 3 different mechanics, all said it was good to go and *particularly* that it has really great tires on it. Then I started having blowouts. After my 3rd blowout (I kid you not!) a new mechanic I took it to figured out that the tires were over 12 YEARS old. That's how I learned the importance of it!

Yeah, I know that's not a good color for transmission fluid. In the past 2 months I have got new control arms, the starter went out entirely so I got a new starter, got the timing belt changed (I was at 188K miles and it had never been changed), oil change, and got the new tires and the alignment. Oh, and the rear windshield wiper was a gift from my dad, because he noticed it was so bad it was about to start damaging the window.

Right now we do not even have money for groceries, we are living entirely off of food banks while we pay off all these recent repairs. Once we have money again, I plan to take care of the transmission fluid and front windshield wipers. All this stuff can get exhausting!

[Everyroadleadshome]

Wow Heidi,

That sucks you went through that alignment fiasco but awesome Discount Tire stepped up and reimbursed you for their poor work. Certainly not a story you read everyday and next time I need tires I think I know where i'm going.

[TWIH]

I second (or third) DT as a good place for tires. 

I didn't know they were tied into particular alignment shops. I've put 3 sets on my Prius (from DT) and never have had them "steer me" towards anywhere.

I do wonder why they would refund the OP on the spot unless they were seriously tied up with the other shop. I mean, a business cannot warranty another businesses work unless they are so linked together or owned by the same parent company that what's good for one outfit is good for the other. Good for the OP but that's a bit of a caution flag for me.

As far as only airing up tires to the door sticker, that's for liability reasons, but then you can go to a QT or some other station for free air. Or have your own 12v compressor. Here's an example of a well rated one (I dont own it) from Amazon:

EPAuto 12V DC Portable Air Compressor Pump, Digital Tire Inflator by 100 PSI
4.4 out of 5 stars

$34.87, FREE Shipping

[TWIH]

here's another well rated one:

Viair 00088 88P Portable Air Compressor
4.6 out of 5 stars 1,473 customer reviews | 215 answered questions
List Price: $65.95
Price: $61.50 & FREE Shipping
You Save: $4.45 (7%)
Get $50 off instantly: Pay $11.50 upon approval for the Amazon Rewards Visa Card.
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FREE SHIPPING

[sternwake]

I would recommend users who actually expect to regularly use an air compressor for their tires, get 12v airpumps that do not use a ciggy plug, but have alligator clamps to attach right to the starting battery.
Most all 12v compressors have short duty cycles, meaning it is easy to overheat them by running them too long, say pumping up 4 tires from 28 to 42 PSI. They will say something like 5 minutes on and then allow 30 minutes to cool down. I went through many less expensive compressors going from washboard road pressure to highway road pressure as it would take nearly 5 minutes to go from 28 to 42PSI and I am not spending 90 minutes on the side of the road simply to allow a cheapo air compressor to cool down between runs.

When these compressors burn out the piston cup, they still make the same noise, but do not pump any air, and might even allow slow deflation of the tire.

I bought the masterflow/tsunami 1050mf or MV-50 in 2007, which is a pretty burly 12v compressor which consumes at least 16 amps. The QC on these is not all that great though, but a little love and they can be made into an excellent compressor.

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Flow-MF-10...flow+mv-50

Mine is modified with better airhose and schrader valve attachment, and I put an 80MM computer fan blowing over the head. Thicker wire and better electrical connections insure higher voltage reaches the motor so it spins faster, and can pump faster.

I've not researched any more modern 12v aircompressor offerings, but I would still stress finding one without the ciggy plug, if reliability and performance is important to the user.

Many of the Jumperpacks available, will combine an air compressor and even an inverter, and these all in one products certainly seem awesome, in theory, but the inverter and aircompressor and battery charger within them are pure junk.