flyboyslc1

A couple weeks ago, I wrote of my experience with Tires Plus and my desire to temporarily patch a very old Goodyear run flat while I contemplated a set of new tires for a 1999 FRC that I bought two months ago. Here's the car.


A 1999 FRC that had about 23000 miles on it. That is less than 2000 miles a year. I guarantee I will do better than that.

The issue started when I ran over this:



A drill bit about 1/8 inch diameter, through the tread.

Should be easily repairable, right? The tire is original to the car, so 14 years old. I know I need new tires, just want to drive the car until I get them in a week or so. So I had the wheel off the car, and stopped at Tires Plus to see if I could get them to fix it. Their reply is "we do not fix run flats, at all, ever, doesn't matter if they are old, or brand new"

Well I thought this curious, since both Goodyear that I had, and Michelins that I was going to buy, potentially at Tires Plus, have published repair procedures for run flat tires.

I thought the position of Tires Plus was worth letting the Corvette community know about.

One forum member said "You should have spent the $8 and bought a tire plug kit and done it yourself...(I think he meant did it yourself)...in the time it took to post this here, you would have been done" and he said it with a smiley face, so I know he meant no disrespect.

But I think he missed the point of the post. I have learned SO MUCH in the two months I have been reading this forum. I have learned about column lockup, all kinds of electrical issues, and oh yes, really old tires that need to be replaced.

One gentleman reported "I used my local Tires Plus here in WI and was extremely pleased with their service and support" and I suppose he did get good service the day he wrote a check for probably about $1000 or so. But for me, service is what you get after the sale. Michelins on the car and out the door approach $1300. For Tires Plus to unilaterally, arbitrarily adopt a company policy of non repair of run flats is something anyone buying their tires should be made aware of up front, before the sale.

So I checked the price of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ZP run flats at my tire dealer that I have used for years. His price was really high, and he explained that they sold only tires made in the US and for him to buy Michelins they had to go through a third party. (incidentally, I learned about these tires from many previous posts, by others, on this forum)(I won't even bring up the run flat, non-run flat issue, but we know who is right, don't we VETJAZZ)

So I checked Tire Rack. The tire price for a full matched set, front and rear was 1,062. Shipping was 69, and my dealer said "no problem, I will mount em" for 120. So I pushed the "buy" button at Tire Rack, and three days later they were at my doorstep. My dealer installed them, and when I asked about repairing them, he said "No Problem, we do that"
What a huge difference in ride quality. They are QUIET. They are much, much smoother. I can now hear the engine instead of the road noise. I even noticed that my exhaust tips said Borla on them. Didn't even notice it before.

If you take a look at that tire, you will see it was wearing unevenly, so a full 4 wheel alignment is scheduled for Saturday morning, and then a long drive from Iowa over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mtn Park later this fall, if the road is still open. I have seen it snowed shut in August before.

So I would like to thank the community for taking the time to tell the story, to advise, to relate experiences. I have never thought time spent here was wasted time. Heck, sometimes it is downright entertaining.

kybilt

IMHO, you chose wisely. You gained some valuable knowledge: where to get excellent customer service, and where to avoid!

strand rider

Thanks for the insight. I never asked much about tire repair at the time of purchase before, but now think I will cover that subject carefully before I make a buying decision.

I don't suggest this as a better approach , just the way I would have done it, for contrast.

It's a big tire, so I would probably have purchased a couple of cans of spare tire in a can and driven it from there, instead of stressing about what is probably a very firm decision resulting from a lawsuit. Of course, I also would have gotten the regular brew Michelins.

Enjoy the top tires. I also went for a cool cruise when I got a fine first alignment.

Vetteman Jack

Glad you got things to work out and that you have a tire store that will take care of you.