MIL was sold a set of new tires after a flat
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I guess it is true you don't want tires of different diameters on an AWD car. Yet, those Michelins were nearly brand new.
Rule: Try to keep the same tread amount on tires on the same axle at least, and the tires with the most tread goes up front.
Yet that rule doesn't apply if the tires are new.
Originally Posted by GZRider
If it were my parents, I'd thank the shop owners with a few well (redacted) to their merchandise plus the tires and the paint on whatever douche mobile they personally drive using a (redacted) (redacted).
Thats got more redactions than the Mueller Report.
Rule: Try to keep the same tread amount on tires on the same axle at least, and the tires with the most tread goes up front.
Yet that rule doesn't apply if the tires are new.
Originally Posted by GZRider
If it were my parents, I'd thank the shop owners with a few well (redacted) to their merchandise plus the tires and the paint on whatever douche mobile they personally drive using a (redacted) (redacted).
Thats got more redactions than the Mueller Report.
In fact i bet they left the other three on and just put a new one on or even just patched the flat. Those that are dishonest are typically lazy too.
Well, if MIL was adamant that all four needed to be replaced in the event of an unrepairable puncture in one, then the shop only did what she told them to do.
Somebody got four new Michelins for the price of one.
Was the shop less than honest?
Yes, in that they could have told her that the difference in tread depth between a new tire and the other three was well within the FSM recommendations of Subaru and they certainly could have confirmed this with whatever online service software they use.
Did they take advantage of this old woman?
Yes, but there's really nothing you can do about it, unless you're up for dragging the responsible manager out back and wearing him out.
Somebody got four new Michelins for the price of one.
Was the shop less than honest?
Yes, in that they could have told her that the difference in tread depth between a new tire and the other three was well within the FSM recommendations of Subaru and they certainly could have confirmed this with whatever online service software they use.
Did they take advantage of this old woman?
Yes, but there's really nothing you can do about it, unless you're up for dragging the responsible manager out back and wearing him out.
Really I think you may have a good case here for age discrimination.
I had dealership take advantage of my mother on a battery. 2012 Implala battery light came on so I checked out and no charge as in 11.2 volts cause she was about 5 miles from home and drove home. Next morning wrecker company started car then loaded on truck. Got call needed battery. I questioned this then he stated I needed to leave it to tech as times have changed and load test are no longer done. I told them put battery if don't fix they eat alternator then I get call alternator went out because of battery. Mother stated just put battery so she could get her car back. The didn't even fix rear defroster. 2 weeks and only installed battery and alternator then tried to charge for alternator since battery caused problems. All other warranty problems ignored which I fixed over time.
Originally Posted by tiger862
I questioned this then he stated I needed to leave it to tech as times have changed and load test are no longer done.
I've run into that. I tell them the laws of physics haven't changed. An independent test of the battery is an independent test.
I had an exchange with a battery place about "float charge" and their blanket statement that an alternator cannot fully recharge a very low battery. I described voltage thresholds with non-self-exciting alternators versus self-exciting and the rep just repeated himself over and over and refused to engage in an actual discussion. He is another victim of over-simplified education. The real answer to that discussion is "depends" (on alternator type and/or battery voltage) but he had to take the party line and say impossible.
I questioned this then he stated I needed to leave it to tech as times have changed and load test are no longer done.
I've run into that. I tell them the laws of physics haven't changed. An independent test of the battery is an independent test.
I had an exchange with a battery place about "float charge" and their blanket statement that an alternator cannot fully recharge a very low battery. I described voltage thresholds with non-self-exciting alternators versus self-exciting and the rep just repeated himself over and over and refused to engage in an actual discussion. He is another victim of over-simplified education. The real answer to that discussion is "depends" (on alternator type and/or battery voltage) but he had to take the party line and say impossible.
Thanks all for your comments. I agree with all of them.
Yesterday my wife returned home from her visit. She told me to drop the issue. Couple that with the fact that my MIL lives 5 hours away round trip, I'm done with the issue. And that's part of the thing that makes me angry. Three months ago I made a 10 hour round trip drive just to help her out with her new tires. I ordered them from the Tire Rack and hauled them up loose our Honda Element. I also researched online and went to a tire shop that had good reviews, and that shop was 30 or 40 miles from her house. So that was more time in the car. My MIL lives in a very rural area in the Sierra Foothills, away from all but the smallest little towns.
As I said, my MIL is in really great shape for her age. The amount of push back she gave me when I spoke to her one the phone makes me want to drop the issue as well. She was ADAMANT that she needed to replace the entire set. If the tires were just a week old she might have done the same thing!
I asked my wife to take a picture of her new tires, just to see what junk the tire store put on it. But my wife didn't even do that, just because she knows it won't make any difference and in all likelihood with further annoy both her mother and me.
Scott
Yesterday my wife returned home from her visit. She told me to drop the issue. Couple that with the fact that my MIL lives 5 hours away round trip, I'm done with the issue. And that's part of the thing that makes me angry. Three months ago I made a 10 hour round trip drive just to help her out with her new tires. I ordered them from the Tire Rack and hauled them up loose our Honda Element. I also researched online and went to a tire shop that had good reviews, and that shop was 30 or 40 miles from her house. So that was more time in the car. My MIL lives in a very rural area in the Sierra Foothills, away from all but the smallest little towns.
As I said, my MIL is in really great shape for her age. The amount of push back she gave me when I spoke to her one the phone makes me want to drop the issue as well. She was ADAMANT that she needed to replace the entire set. If the tires were just a week old she might have done the same thing!
I asked my wife to take a picture of her new tires, just to see what junk the tire store put on it. But my wife didn't even do that, just because she knows it won't make any difference and in all likelihood with further annoy both her mother and me.
Scott
I put on a brand new set of lifetime shocks, including spring assisted rears to lift up a sagging rear end for a female relative. She took it in a week later to her local mechanic because of a rear clunk (it was clunking before I changed the shocks. He pulled out the new shocks and charged her a small fortune for 4 new shocks without the integrated lift springs. It still clunked after his hard work.
This kind of scenario happens in all the business trades. Older people get new furnaces when a simple part will fix the problem for example. Taking advantage of the elderly is a huge and dastardly problem.
It sounds like the solution here is to drop this case but always offer to help whenever something happens.
It sounds like the solution here is to drop this case but always offer to help whenever something happens.
Originally Posted by SLO_Town
As I said, my MIL is in really great shape for her age. The amount of push back she gave me when I spoke to her one the phone makes me want to drop the issue as well. She was ADAMANT that she needed to replace the entire set. If the tires were just a week old she might have done the same thing!
In your MIL's defense, I wonder if the tire shop gave her a decent discount on the new tires in exchange for letting them keep the barely-used Michelins. Getting all new tires was still unnecessary, but if she got a decent deal on her trade-in tires instead of paying them a disposal fee on them, that's less bad.
Also, an internet search on this topic will show a lot of frightened people scared of driving their Subaru around with even a very slightly mismatched tire. I assume such people get their tires rotated every 1000 miles and constantly check the tire pressure and vehicle weight at each corner and never put anything heavy in the trunk so all the tires are always exactly the same height. Actually, I don't assume they do that, because that sentence was written sarcastically.
Probably the only chance you have of helping your MIL be less tire strict in the future is if you find a Subaru vehicle manual that specifically says all the tires don't have to be replaced under her strict conditions.
Or if Consumer Reports says it. Old people love Consumer Reports.
Speaking of Consumer Reports...
shaving-all-wheel-drive-car-no-replacing-all-four-tires/
For example, Subaru warns owners that mismatched tire circumferences can cause serious mechanical damage to a car's all-wheel-drive system. Drivers with an AWD vehicle should refer to their car's owner's manual for specific guidance on tire replacement. Buying four new tires may be needlessly expensive for drivers who only need a single tire to join the three other moderately worn tires. But you can buy a single new tire from TireRack.com and have the company shave it to the tread depth that matches the depth of your other tires.
Anyway, if your wife thinks your MIL is so well off that there shouldn't even be a discussion when she replaces four new Michelins every 500 miles, that's great. And it's a good thing to remember in the future if either of them ask you to help your MIL in some financial or money-saving way.
As I said, my MIL is in really great shape for her age. The amount of push back she gave me when I spoke to her one the phone makes me want to drop the issue as well. She was ADAMANT that she needed to replace the entire set. If the tires were just a week old she might have done the same thing!
In your MIL's defense, I wonder if the tire shop gave her a decent discount on the new tires in exchange for letting them keep the barely-used Michelins. Getting all new tires was still unnecessary, but if she got a decent deal on her trade-in tires instead of paying them a disposal fee on them, that's less bad.
Also, an internet search on this topic will show a lot of frightened people scared of driving their Subaru around with even a very slightly mismatched tire. I assume such people get their tires rotated every 1000 miles and constantly check the tire pressure and vehicle weight at each corner and never put anything heavy in the trunk so all the tires are always exactly the same height. Actually, I don't assume they do that, because that sentence was written sarcastically.
Probably the only chance you have of helping your MIL be less tire strict in the future is if you find a Subaru vehicle manual that specifically says all the tires don't have to be replaced under her strict conditions.
Or if Consumer Reports says it. Old people love Consumer Reports.
Speaking of Consumer Reports...
shaving-all-wheel-drive-car-no-replacing-all-four-tires/
For example, Subaru warns owners that mismatched tire circumferences can cause serious mechanical damage to a car's all-wheel-drive system. Drivers with an AWD vehicle should refer to their car's owner's manual for specific guidance on tire replacement. Buying four new tires may be needlessly expensive for drivers who only need a single tire to join the three other moderately worn tires. But you can buy a single new tire from TireRack.com and have the company shave it to the tread depth that matches the depth of your other tires.
Anyway, if your wife thinks your MIL is so well off that there shouldn't even be a discussion when she replaces four new Michelins every 500 miles, that's great. And it's a good thing to remember in the future if either of them ask you to help your MIL in some financial or money-saving way.
Originally Posted by DejaVue
Also, an internet search on this topic will show a lot of frightened people scared of driving their Subaru around with even a very slightly mismatched tire. I assume such people get their tires rotated every 1000 miles and constantly check the tire pressure and vehicle weight at each corner and never put anything heavy in the trunk so all the tires are always exactly the same height. Actually, I don't assume they do that, because that sentence was written sarcastically.
And never go around ANY corners, because THAT will cause uneven tire rotation speeds front to rear and side to side as well ...
Jokes aside, this whole scenario just hurts ... Either the tire shop took advantage of an elderly woman with scare tactics about all wheel drive, OR the elderly woman was mis-informed about tire replacement and all wheel drive, and made an expensive mistake.
However, if both the wife and MIL have said leave it be, then leave it be. The harm is done, pushing the issue when asked / told not to won't make anything better.
Also, an internet search on this topic will show a lot of frightened people scared of driving their Subaru around with even a very slightly mismatched tire. I assume such people get their tires rotated every 1000 miles and constantly check the tire pressure and vehicle weight at each corner and never put anything heavy in the trunk so all the tires are always exactly the same height. Actually, I don't assume they do that, because that sentence was written sarcastically.
And never go around ANY corners, because THAT will cause uneven tire rotation speeds front to rear and side to side as well ...
Jokes aside, this whole scenario just hurts ... Either the tire shop took advantage of an elderly woman with scare tactics about all wheel drive, OR the elderly woman was mis-informed about tire replacement and all wheel drive, and made an expensive mistake.
However, if both the wife and MIL have said leave it be, then leave it be. The harm is done, pushing the issue when asked / told not to won't make anything better.
The Subaru AWD system is the most fragile in the business so the shop was more than likely covering their [censored], because it would be blamed on them when/if the car breaks.
I wonder if the CVT models are stil finicky with Tire rolling diameters. Subaru has at least 10-15 different AWD systems out there. Some more mechanical bliss and others electrical systems and clutch packs.
Not condoning taking advantage of anyone at all but this is all that matters:
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.
The mother-in-law appears to be okay with the situation. Everyone is speculating on all sorts of other things and it's irrelevant.
Demand the tire shop give the "old" tires back ? Tell them to refund the money for the new tires ? These kind of comments are downright laughable.
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.
The mother-in-law appears to be okay with the situation. Everyone is speculating on all sorts of other things and it's irrelevant.
Demand the tire shop give the "old" tires back ? Tell them to refund the money for the new tires ? These kind of comments are downright laughable.
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