MIL was sold a set of new tires after a flat

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Hello:

An aggravating story regarding my mother-in-law. She has a 2015 Subaru Forester that she bought new. Just three months ago I drove up to where she lives and got a new set of tires put on it - Michelin Premier A/S. My wife was up to visit her this past week and my MIL mentioned that she had to get a new set of tires because she got a nail in the sidewall of one of them.

My MIL is 90 and drives only very rarely (she's actually in pretty good shape for her age, but yes, it's kind of scary to think she's still driving). I can GUARANTEE YOU that the MIchelins I put on it just three months ago had less than 1,000 miles on them. In all likelihood they had just 300 or 400 miles on them.

When I spoke with her on the phone she was adamant that with an AWD drive vehicle she had to replace all four tires. There was no convincing her. But also too, the tire store that RIPPED HER OFF, karma baby.

When I pressed for details my wife told me I was upsetting her mother and that I should drop the issue. I would not be surprised if my MIL's Subaru now has a set of the cheapest tires imaginable.

Frustrating!

Scott
 
I would call the tire shop and ask what they did with the $XXX worth of 3 month old 1K-mile tires, you want to get them back. Even if you get nowhere, you will make a point, especially when you say you're taking it to social media next.
 
Originally Posted by SLO_Town
Hello:
An aggravating story regarding my mother-in-law. She has a 2015 Subaru Forester that she bought new. Just three months ago I drove up to where she lives and got a new set of tires put on it - Michelin Premier A/S. My wife was up to visit her this past week and my MIL mentioned that she had to get a new set of tires because she got a nail in the sidewall of one of them.
My MIL is 90 and drives only very rarely (she's actually in pretty good shape for her age, but yes, it's kind of scary to think she's still driving). I can GUARANTEE YOU that the MIchelins I put on it just three months ago had less than 1,000 miles on them. In all likelihood they had just 300 or 400 miles on them.
When I spoke with her on the phone she was adamant that with an AWD drive vehicle she had to replace all four tires. There was no convincing her. But also too, the tire store that RIPPED HER OFF, karma baby.
When I pressed for details my wife told me I was upsetting her mother and that I should drop the issue. I would not be surprised if my MIL's Subaru now has a set of the cheapest tires imaginable. Frustrating! Scott


That may be true, but how old were they? Tires ought to be changed every 5-6 years as rubber ages and becomes unstable and may disintegrate while driving.
So if they were older than that the shop wasn't wrong only keeping your MIL safe. If they were younger than yes 'twas a rip-off.
 
You may be right.

Yet listen to your wife.

If your MIL thinks she did the right thing, leave it be. She's an adult and should be allowed to make her own choices. If she is unwilling or unable to listen to advice, then let it go.

Had she listened to you and something happened, even unrelated, you would forever be at fault.

Unless people ask for your advice, just let them make their choices and live with the outcome.
 
Originally Posted by Pelican
Originally Posted by SLO_Town
Hello:
An aggravating story regarding my mother-in-law. She has a 2015 Subaru Forester that she bought new. Just three months ago I drove up to where she lives and got a new set of tires put on it - Michelin Premier A/S. My wife was up to visit her this past week and my MIL mentioned that she had to get a new set of tires because she got a nail in the sidewall of one of them.
My MIL is 90 and drives only very rarely (she's actually in pretty good shape for her age, but yes, it's kind of scary to think she's still driving). I can GUARANTEE YOU that the MIchelins I put on it just three months ago had less than 1,000 miles on them. In all likelihood they had just 300 or 400 miles on them.
When I spoke with her on the phone she was adamant that with an AWD drive vehicle she had to replace all four tires. There was no convincing her. But also too, the tire store that RIPPED HER OFF, karma baby.
When I pressed for details my wife told me I was upsetting her mother and that I should drop the issue. I would not be surprised if my MIL's Subaru now has a set of the cheapest tires imaginable. Frustrating! Scott


That may be true, but how old were they? Tires ought to be changed every 5-6 years as rubber ages and becomes unstable and may disintegrate while driving.
So if they were older than that the shop wasn't wrong only keeping your MIL safe. If they were younger than yes 'twas a rip-off.


I think he said 3 months old in the original post.

Quote
Just three months ago I drove up to where she lives and got a new set of tires put on it - Michelin Premier A/S.
 
This makes my blood boil thinking of how the tire shop ripped her off.

Take care of the situation behind your MIL back. If you have the receipt for the Michelin tires, or you can get a copy from the tire shop where you bought them, confront the crooked tire shop and demand answers. Ask them why they took advantage of an elderly person. Advise them that you will let a local news station know about it. Perhaps mention the words "small claims court" and see how they react.

Also ask what tires they put on, and how much they charged your MIL. I am sure they found a buyer for the used Michelin's, gave them to a friend for an excellent price, or kept them for their personal vehicle.
 
can GUARANTEE YOU that the MIchelins I put on it just three months ago had less than 1,000 miles on them. In all likelihood they had just 300 or 400 miles on them. They probably charged her a disposal fee too. At the very least I would write the Mgr a nasty-gram.
 
Originally Posted by andyd
can GUARANTEE YOU that the MIchelins I put on it just three months ago had less than 1,000 miles on them. In all likelihood they had just 300 or 400 miles on them. They probably charged her a disposal fee too. At the very least I would write the Mgr a nasty-gram.

Agreed.

If the issue isn't resolved with the shop, make sure to leave negative feedback on any and all social media/feedback forums.
 
Better Business Bureau maybe. Also, do ask the manager there where the "old" tires went, if its not too late. Michelin Premiers are awesome tires.
 
I would ask for the money back and the michelin tires that had less than 1000 miles on them if they refuse I would tell them that the state AG division of consumer protection will become involved and that I have 2 tv stations just itching for a consumer news story. Also could leave a negative review on Google or Yelp although they probably dont care about reviews and negative reviews can be removed. Sounds like a bunch of crooks at that shop and they are not to be trusted. Probably not the first time they pulled that stunt.
 
I had a very similar situation with a girlfriend.

I spent a fair amount of time complaining up the food chain of the company, and eventually got an 80% refund, which was about fair. Don't bring it up with your MIL, who indeed could be genuinely upset. But pursue it and then get her money back.

People do take advantage of the elderly, and I have personal experience with a shop taking advantage of a woman by misrepresenting the facts. Get her money back and then make a gentle point about asking for advice on home repair, car repair, etc. Last year I saw an elderly neighbor with some borderline dementia issues ripped off by a fencing company. He needed a single post replaced. He ended up with a new fence.
 
This does suck and I feel for the MIL, but did SHE insist they replace all 4, or did the shop 'insist' on it? Pretty sure tire shops around me won't argue with you if you say you want to buy tires from them.

i'm with you though. My mom is 80 and I take care of all her car's maintenance because of the potential of the above.
 
I would be extremely irate as well. Go back to the tire shop and demand all 4 tires be returned. Then ask the tire shop to buy back the ones they put on. If they don't at least give you a very reasonable buy back I would take it to small claims or at least hit the social media about the problem. This is called elderly abuse and even the credit card company may put it in as a dispute if she went in that direction. This type of service is just wrong.
 
Unless she has a new set of Michelin Premier A/S tires on her vehicle, the shop should replace whatever junk they put on with what they took off - a new set of Michelin Premier A/S tires.

If there was sidewall damage, it seems reasonable that the damaged tire needed replacing. Did she have road hazard insurance?

If not the total charges after putting on that new set (or a replacement set) of Michelin Premier A/S tires could quite reasonably come to the cost to replace one tire. If not you should complain to the better business bureau, state AG division of consumer protection, local news, etc.

And if she "insisted" on replacing the whole set, was it after they warned her (ie scared the bejeebers out of her) that she was going to ruin the powertrain by using a mismatched tire. After 3 months and less that 300 miles! If so it was an uninformed decision after being provided misinformation. I think a judge would see it that way.

Ripping off old people has got to stop.
 
There's two kinds of old people. Those that get progressively more believing and easier to fleece, and those that get jaded and cynical. I'm in my mid seventies and quickly rushing towards the opposite pole. If I make it to ninety, they'll find me sealed in my house-- get off my lawn you stupid social workers."

Lots of people of that era were conditioned to listen obediently to men. My mother in law died in 2012 at age 95. Her husband told her in the early fifties to never turn the TV past channel 13. Probably because he was too cheap to pay the extra three bucks for the UHF loop on a set of rabbit ears. My mother, who died in the mid nineties gave me my cynicism genes-- thank you, Mom.

Except for upsetting your MIL , this looks like it could be the perfect evening news investigative reporter segment. Seems like the only news we have in our TV market are car jackings and consumer ripoffs against old people. Of course, then you'd get lots of blow back about "why are ninety year old's allowed to drive?".

We have a pretty good Better Business Bureau. If you have one, they might be of use.
 
No point in contacting the shop, they definitely don't care.

When working at a Meineke as a teen, just about every car that ever came into the shop, the owner was told it needed brakes.

Your average customer thinks, "omg my brakes are bad, am I gonna die?" They made a lot of money like that.
 
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I hate people that take advantage of the elderly.
I look after my wife's 91 year old grandmother's 88k mile Grand Marquis. I put a brand new set of wipers on a few years ago and two weeks later I noticed they had been replaced again. I asked her why and she claimed the ones on there were frayed and tattered. I assume either someone swapped their junk for her new.ones in a parking lot or wherever she had them replaced lied to her and showed her some junk to sell her new blades.
 
Originally Posted by SLO_Town

When I spoke with her on the phone she was adamant that with an AWD drive vehicle she had to replace all four tires. There was no convincing her. But also too, the tire store that RIPPED HER OFF, karma baby.

When I pressed for details my wife told me I was upsetting her mother and that I should drop the issue. I would not be surprised if my MIL's Subaru now has a set of the cheapest tires imaginable.

It's nice to have a MIL who is loaded and can afford to throw away and re-buy tires after 1000 miles.

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A couple good alternative points have been made. If the MIL is the one who insisted on new tires, then it's kind of hard to blame the tire shop. Various AWD systems did used to have warnings and scary stories about destroying the system if one or a pair of tires had even slightly different tread than the others. (Though the cheaper fix is to just shave down the new tire.) I can't think of any cars younger than maybe 2005 with such touchy systems, but some people obviously will still heed those old warnings even if driving a newer vehicle.

And if the MIL is stubborn and doesn't want to listen even if you could show her endless examples online as proof that she's wrong, well, what can you do but go do something else that doesn't involve so much banging your head against a wall.

I wrote that last part to then end with posting an emoji of the little smiley face banging its head against a wall, but, surprisingly, there isn't one on here.
 
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