I got a roofing nail in my left front tire. No loss of air pressure while driving. I noticed it while parked in my garage. I pulled it out a little ways and I could hear the air hissing out. So I removed the wheel from my car and put it in the back of my Honda wagon and went off to the Goodyear store for a proper patch job.

The store manager tells me that Goodyear charges $125 for these EMT tires due to insurance reasons. Wait a minute! This is a loose wheel and they don't even have to use a lift bay for my job. Goodyear makes the tire and GM/Corvette insists on installing it on the car from the factory. What do they charge for mounting replacement EMT tires??? Let me do the math for the manager $125 x 4 tires = $500 plus the cost of buying new tires. This is

While waiting for them to patch the tire I call another local Goodyear tire store. They quote me $27 for patching and balancing the same wheel!!

After the tire is patched and balanced I have a talk with the manager and he calls the General Manager on the phone. I told him I don't mind paying a premium for a shop that avoids damaging my rim, but I don't want to get hosed either. They should mount ALL tires with good workmanship and due care.

$50 for a little roofing nail seems high to me. $125 would have been a robbery scene. All my other vehicles have had nail holes in the tires patched either for free or for $10. I explain this basic business practice to the young store manager. I continue to explain that if I choose to buy all 4 Goodyear replacement tires when these wear out I will be spending $1600 and he should be looking forward to my future business, not scaring me away on my first visit to his store for a simple patch. He needs to learn about customer service how to build customer loyalty to his store.

Maybe GM/Corvette should consider an alternative tire such as Firestone.

I wonder what the local Chevrolet dealer charges for the same patch on an EMT. I tried to call them, but they are closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Anybody else have a bad experience like this with a nail in a Goodyear tire?

 

I have always been fortunate that my tire problems were with replacement tires that had road hazard warranty...
I can't believe what they charged you... it's obscene.

 

I wouldn't be suprised if it was a franchise store rather than a corporate store. $125 is so far out of line it's actually funny! The store manager may not have wanted to have to deal with run flats and especially Vette wheels with pressure sensors. "Insurance reasons" probably means that they would have to pay for a tire pressure sensor if they broke it and their insurance would have to cover it. Lots of high performance tires get a patch (rather than a plug) and they are still used for high performance driving.

Any reputable tire shop can dismount and patch any tire that can be repaired. Discount Tire would have been a much better bet for a off-the-wheel tire repair.

Buying new Good year tires at a Goodyear store should include mount and balance. I can understand a slight upcharge for wheels having sensors but what this guy quoted didn't make sense at all. What did the GM say about the price and did you mention that you called another GY store while you were waiting and got a believable price quote?

I wouldn't think that Firestone could be any different; they have corporate and franchise stores both. I for one would not even consider a Firestone tire for my Vettes and from stories that I have heard about the local Firestone store, they are a nightmare to deal with and their service sucks.

 

I told the store manager that I called another local Goodyear store. He relayed this to the Regional General Manager. I had to wait while the GM called the other local store to confirm my story. He was mad at the other store and said that he (the GM) issued a memo to all stores in his region to start charging Corvette owners a $125 minimum to work on these tire/wheel combinations due to "insurance reasons".

Sounds to me like Goodyear should revoke their license to use their name.

 

First off Larry, nothing says you have to keep going back to the same people... especially stealerships/GM/GY flag waiving shops. Eventually, you'll see that you know/care more about your car than they do.

Tire shops are more than plentiful, so look around and you'll have better luck. Any tire shop can get you any tire. It pays to shop around and talk to people you know.... ask them who they use.

I had a nail in my LR EMT... when I first went to the almighty GY shop, the guy tells me he doesn't have the machine to do EMT's anymore. I said WTH? You guys sell those things and don't want to work on them? He said, "We used to. But they took the machine out after a few people had rims crack on them." I shook my head and asked if he thought it was the machine or operator error AKA ID-10-T error and walked out, never to return or refer anyone. He probably never figured out ID-10-T error either :

Two other shops I've dealt with have been more than professional, trained and equipped to work on my wheels. I just got 4 new tires on Monday... no issues... plus a nice "friends discount" that got me the set for just over 1k

Find a good tire shop (ask you friends for referrals) and stick to it.

Dave Q.

 

Nope I haven't had that problem with my Goodyear Tires, but I always call first and get pricing before I get any work done. I've also been lucky that I have found a few good shops that I do repeat work with that I don't have to worry about getting taken on a simple tire repair. I would find a new shop and one you can trust at a fair price. I would not blame Goodyear for one store. I have had real good luck in my area when dealing with the local Goodyear store.

 

It pays to shop around and ask tire service shops for their experience in dealing with C5's, what mounting and balancing machines and equipment are currently used at that specific location, liability and road hazard. A colleague of mine went into a local tire service store with his C5 to purchase and have installed two new front tires. And, was immediately asked by the rather young manager to sign a waiver that would then waive any liability to the shop (manager) of the cost of replacing the wheels and sensors, if their technicians damaged and broke anything during service. Needless to say that my friend was smart enough to run the hell away from there.

 

I go to a shop... that the local Chevy dealer sends all their business to.... I get the tires... mounted and balanced for $12.50 And they know how to keep from breaking sensors... At this price it makes sence to buy used tires.. from people who no longer want Runflats...

 

Is there a Discount Tire near you? I've had very good luck with them. I take all 3 of my cars to them for service.

Yesterday I noticed that my '94 Bravada SUV DD was losing air in a tire so I took it to them. They fixed the flat, balanced it, and rotated all 4 tires at no charge. I was surprised and pleased.

Didn't even get those tires there. I did, however, get my Michelins from them 2 months ago for my Vette. Maybe that had something to do with their generosity.

 

Sorry to hear, but most of the Goodyear stores in this area are independently owned and each store sets their own prices. Same is true here for Firestone and some of the other name brand stores. As others mentioned, shop around next time for best price. Good luck in the future.

 

plug it yourself next time. Whole kit is less than 25 bucks.

 

My pops lives in south central Ga. and he had a similar problem, first off he played hell even finding a store that would patch and EMT tire and when he did finally it cost him $90 to get it done.

 

This gets me more of a reason to replace my runflats with something other than Goodyear! Thanks for the post!

 

You need to find a new shop and never return to that one.

 

You're right, that Goodyear store is ripping you off. Yes, there are certain safety procedures that Goodyear recommends when working with EMT tires and I can understand them charging a premium for these tires (they are a PITA to work with), but that is just obscene. Find another shop and get the work done. Good luck.

 

I had a screw in my EMT this weekend. I called my regular mechanic (Firestone) and he said they don't have the equipment to do it. Understandable. I called a local Goodyear shop. They said $16.xx to do it. Great! They have one guy that can do the EMT's. I was glad they understood the special care needed. They never mentioned anything about insurance. They even balanced it for free. I was very happy with my local GY shop.

I knew from the Forum that prices can vary greatly. That is why I called in advance for pricing.

 

Its good to hear other stories, puts pricing in perspective as well as the need to shop around.

I would let the store owner you are talking his prices and putting his service in the trash where it belongs.

 

All my tire business goes to America's Tire (same as Discount Tire).

 

Same thing happened to me, cost me 109 to patch a tire. Tired came with car but id never buy a GY anyway!

 

Just obscene.