He is absolutely correct in his frustration based on the time, inconvenience and lack of knowledge from the very source he is, at least, partially paying for to depend/trust in their "expertise"'. Now I hope he handles it
with class; quietly and politely but firmly giving them the opportunity to regain his trust by:
a. Installing the correct tires correctly
b. Compensating him for his time/inconvenience; oil change? Small additional discount?
Failing to meet these reasonable standards I would get in contact with the head of the dept. and quietly/politely restating the chain of events
It has almost always worked for me as quiet, polite and clear determination on his part will yield far better short term and long term results.....whew
Good Luck

 

Really? You guys are getting carried away with your analogies here. If a surgeon cuts off the wrong arm or leg, it isn't there any more. These guys put the wrong tires on the car, CAUGHT THEIR MISTAKE, called the owner to come in and check, and will be able to make it all right again. We don't know the final outcome yet, but there's no hint at all that they won't make it right. Now everyone is lining up with a string of "compensation" due the OP. Take a step back and ask yourself why you didn't go to someplace like Discount Tires in the first place. First, they are cheaper. Second, all they do is tires. This is a good example of a First World Problem.

 

 

 

You must not understand analogies.

The size is printed right on the old tires, and yet they were removed and replaced (with extreme effort) with the wrong size tires. As far as your "they caught their mistake" comment, the fact they wanted the owner to "come in and check" using your words, just means they were hoping to not have to make the situation right. Personally I couldn't care less about how or if they compensate the OP. I would never, ever go back.
You ought to know by now I would be the first person on here to take the dealers side if this was anything close to a typical mistake. Its not. This is a series of errors made by multiple people over time, who just don't give a ****.
Just to make you happy, ill change my analogy and say this is like taking a red car into the body shop for the fender to be repainted, and they paint it blue, then wonder if the owner will accept it.

 

As an x-motorcycle racer I know for certain that's exactly what they do, because the wrong limb has been operated on or amputated many times, although not to me personally.

You could also say that marking the limb is tantamount to the tire size printed on the sidewall.

 

I'm thinking maybe you don't. The problem here is that the amount of outrage expressed is not proportional to the amount of damage caused, which is pretty much zero, unless your time is so very valuable. Compared to the many stories of actual damage done by dealers expressed on this forum, this is over the top. It's unreasonable, IMO.

 

Having worked in a dealership setting, I have seen many many mistakes get made, and while theres no real damage here, this is indicative of a seriously malfunctioning service department. You just dont realize it.

 

Damage has yet to be seen. I doubt he climbed under the car to inspect his wheels.

 

So I got a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZPs so still a summer tire but better tread wear than Sport Cups so I am happier than I was this morning but not happy that I spent more than I originally wanted to. They didn't charge me for the mount and balance as previously stated, and they offered me a free detail by the dealership, which isn't a true detail, but I'll take it.

Car drove fine on the way home and everything seems to be where it belongs, although it was already dark so I had to go around the car with my iPhone flashlight to make sure the rims and car didn't have any scratches or anything. I also noticed some difference with the MRC update, but will take a closer look and drive it more tomorrow when the sun is out. At least the car is home in the garage parked next to his older brother all settled in for the night.

 

If the steering wheel is centered and it holds a straight line without too much driver input, then all is well.

 

 

Jeeze, I'd take another car on that trip and let them get the AS3's... unless you just want those short lived Cups and you track that car.

That's a far cry different tire from what you wanted. Those AS3's ride like a dream, they are also quieter, and no more cold weather worries!



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I got the Sports ZPs. They're rated at 300 tread wear so a little better than the Sport Cups which are 180. The AS 3+ are rated at 500. I'm good with it.

...and you wanna be my latex salesman??? Lol!!

I'm definitely making the move to Ross Downing. It's 25 minutes away but I'm just not happy with Hood. As some have said in previous replies, waaaay too many things had to go wrong to end up where I ended up with the wrong size tires on a high performance vehicle that they sell. Someone had to have noticed and just didn't care, and then they tried to see if I would actually take the car with the wrong tires. And then...all you offer is free labor on the mount and balance and a fake detail job...I don't think so. I'm not even going to bring it in for the detail. I'd rather do it myself.

BTW - I live right off of the Trace. My wife and I try to walk it everyday. Hate the winter time because it cuts in to our walks and out Vette time. At least we're not up north where they have to put them away altogether.

 

First buying all season tires for a Grand Sport living in LA?

Second, lucky the dealer knows much of anything about a Vette! They sure are not following the fact that Michelin has said they would have all-season wide tires since the Z06 was introduced in 2016 and it's taken to this year. They may not even be this readily available.

Doesn't surprise me that a service writer doesn't knows what size tire goes where but agree foolish to order tires and not have the year and model when placing it! And mounting them is even worse! Doubt who ever did it knew they now have the correct size. Heck if you really need all-season tires narrower ones will work better in rain and snow!

As you say, would never ask a dealer to order or mount Vette tires let alone the very wide ones for a Grand Sport or Z06. Around here the local large Chevy, BMW, Mercedes dealer sends all wide, low profile tires to the 12 bay Firestone Dealer to be mounted! They have about 20 Techs and only 2 or 3 are allowed to do them. I have watched and even with touchless tire machine it takes skill and doing enough to gain it. A car dealer an the best C7 tech don't do enough to gain that skill! If the dealer did mount them would sure check my rims!

 

My vette purchase was over 300 miles away so the search was on for a dealer.First step:How many corvettes do they sell? I believe it is mandatory from GM that If you sell Corvette, A Tech has to be schooled and updated.How many per sales per teck ratio i have no clue.
Picked a New Chevy Building,Hopefully Old Tecks.They had about 12 Vetts in stock.Before the appointment personally started quizzing them.Played stupid and got the right answers.
Because of Insurance reasons,Witch is To Me.I wanna watch the guy wrench.I payed i wanna watch,Right?
So ya gotta do a little Smuezzing.Hay So,How long you been a Service Manager?Yada,Yada.
Can i please see my car on the lift? It was lifted right.Oh,Could you please leave the drain plugs open a little extra to drain?I asked a couple questions (played dumb)The Teck had the right answers.I went to shake his hand.A Twenty was rolled tight.The transfer was made.Thumps up.
The next oil change was a F'N NIGHTMARE.I caught it.A different Kid drove the car in.RUT ROE,Gotta somehow watch.A small window was their.Saw some of the car.
A wall blocked half the car.I was able to hear and view the part counter.
The Kid was questioning how many quarts to put in that gray Vette over their? I hid around the Corner,Fuming and Listening for Todays big decision...

Finally,A voice yelled out so everyone in the Lounge area could hear.
What Kind of Oil are you putting in that Corvette??How Many QUARTS?
NO,You put in 9.And give me the 10th Quart.Ohh,By the way all instructions are on the cap.OHH...Yea OHH!
Next Dealer...
OP I'm traveling to the next Dealer.Hopefully you can find a good one?

 

[QUOTE=JerryU;1598349993] First buying all season tires for a Grand Sport living in LA?

Second, lucky the dealer knows much of anything about a Vette! They sure are not following the fact that Michelin has said they would have all-season wide tires since the Z06 was introduced in 2016 and it's taken to this year. They may not even be this readily available.

Doesn't surprise me that a service writer doesn't knows what size tire goes where but agree foolish to order tires and not have the year and model when placing it! And mounting them is even worse! Doubt who ever did it knew they now have the correct size. Heck if you really need all-season tires narrower ones will work better in rain and snow!

As you say, would never ask a dealer to order or mount Vette tires let alone the very wide ones for a Grand Sport or Z06. Around here the local large Chevy, BMW, Mercedes dealer sends all wide, low profile tires to the 12 bay Firestone Dealer to be mounted! They have about 20 Techs and only 2 or 3 are allowed to do them. I have watched and even with touchless tire machine it takes skill and doing enough to gain it. A car dealer an the best C7 tech don't do enough to gain that skill! If the dealer did mount them would sure check my rims![/QUOTE]

I agree with this post but especially that last paragraph. And the sentence in red is very appropriate. And with all due respect to the OP, I think this type of incident calls into question your confidence with their service for the previous 7 years at this dealer with your other Corvette.

It seems the service adviser (usually not an auto technician) and the person mounting the tires knew something was not right. They may have involved the Service Mgr., too, and possibly Parts Dept. Which means to me that at least two people---including possibly whomever is the "Corvette-trained technician", which makes three people---got it wrong and were hoping, or asking for YOUR input vs. knowing how to get the correct information BEFORE they called you, or you came in to get the car.

If it were me, I'd have a sit down with whomever is the real Service Mgr. and go over the ease of buying the correct size tires and how they got it so wrong. And, after this incident I would not be so confident in their knowledge or ability to solve a problem until they give you good reason to feel that way. Why? Just imagine if you knew nothing about tires, Corvettes or cars and they DIDN'T call you?

 

When I have to go to a dealer or tire store my MO Is to stand outside the service bay and usually don't say much other than when the tech sees me and says, nice car, I reply with I really take good care of it and if you a good job there will be a nice tip! Just being there is a big help, IMO. The last time I had a tire changed as only 2 or 3 of their 20 techs are allowed to do wide, low profile run flats the fellow who was taking his time said I know this is taking time and I replied take all the time you need I'm in no rush!

Alignment Experience:
The Grand Sport, I ordered from Kerbeck, went to the local dealer at 400 miles for an alignment. Had I just asked for a check, he would have put in on their fancy Hunter machine and fixed one toe as that was all that was in Red, out of spec slightly. But then I would be living with what turned out to be -1.6 degrees negative rear camber. You can drive a truck though the allowed GM alignment specs. It allows +/- 0.6 degrees. For the Grand Spot that is -0.5 to -1.7 degrees. I was at near max negative, OK for Tracking but not for best tire wear. I had given the service writer a spread sheet with the GM spec, min max spelled out in degrees and what I wanted. In that case -0.8 on the rear.

I watched them drive the car on the alignment rack, which they did with 2 techs, one driving and one watching my front carbon fiber splitter, which only cleared by about 1/2 inches. Stood outside the bay and mentioned I had given the service writer what I would like. I was pleased to see he had it, although I had another copy just in case.

After he got the initial settings he said come in and watch the screen that showed settings as he changed them. I said don't want to get you in trouble because as you say that is "not allowed." He said don't worry. Did a great job as it is iterative, change the camber the toe changes, change the toe and the camber may change! He did a great job and as usual I gave him a nice tip!

He could have spent 5 minutes and fixed that one toe out of spec. It took 30 to 45 minutes and all covered by GM, I just signed the warranty sheet.

 

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I'm glad it worked out for you!


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Yes...I like driving the Vette year round, and although rare, it does get cold and icy down here sometimes. Not to mention that we take a lot of road trips so AS would have been an appropriate choice. Plus they have the best tread wear rating.