Discount Tire

Words can't express how thankful I am for Jim and his team! I was stuck in Vegas with four bald tires, trying to drive back home to south jersey on such a tight budget. Him and his team were so generous and kind and got me on my way so quickly. They showed concern for my safety and I can't thank them enough. I'm truely blessed for what they have done for me. Great work!

Warning: Do not go into a Discount Tire alone if you are a woman.



On Saturday, July 14th, I was in Las Vegas at a convention when I came out to my car to find a flat tire. I searched the internet and found that I was near the Discount Tire store on 2741 East Tropicana. My initial response to the store was good. It was clean and looked to be like Vegas version of Les Schwab.



I waited 30 min or so for my turn and was informed that bad news, there is a nail too close to the sidewall of my NEW (6 months old) tire. While it was actually in the tread, it was rubbing on the inside of the tire cutting into the sidewall of my tire. I was told that the damage was not visible from the outside, but that the inside was all shredded.



Next I was directed to a computer screen to shop for the new replacement tire. They couldn’t match the tread as it was a non-standard brand. I told him that I was 200 miles from home where I could easily replace the tire. NO CAN DO. My van has all wheel drive. (Something I foolishly corrected the employee about when he told me it didn’t. Stupid me.) Company policy won’t allow them to put a non-matching tread on just one wheel. “It is only 200 miles to home.” I point out. No good. Discount tire doesn’t want to be sued by an unhappy customer who’s burned up a transmission due to tire treads not matching. Why could I not sign a stupidity disclaimer or something?



Now I need to replace ALL 4 of my 6 month-old tires. ALL 4.



I tell him I will go elsewhere. Then he tells me that no one in town will change just one tire on an AWD vehicle. “You’ll drive around all day looking for some UNREPUTABLE place to do that sleazy job.”



I get out my phone to call my husband. The tenor of the employee is starting to change as he realizes that I have a back-up plan. He needs to talk to a supervisor, to see what he can do for me. He can give me a discount on the 3 practically NEW tires, remove fees, and brings the bill down around $450. $450.00! For one nail in a tire?



My husband is the voice of reason. I tell the Discount Tire employee to put my “shredded” tire back on. I’m leaving. After he does a song and dance about my certain brush with death, he says he’ll have to talk to a supervisor to see if he can do that. You can put it back on or put on 4 new ones, but I am not paying you a dime. You pick.



So, my tire and nail go back on my car and I head to Costco. Costco won’t replace just one tire. What? It’s 200 miles. I didn’t bother having them remove the tire.



My husband calls me. He just passed the perfect spot. A bright yellow building with wide-open stalls just boiling over with the noise of mariachi music. The place is swarming with Hispanic men ready to help you change any tire you want. I pull in wondering if the parking lot is full of nails and other things to insure customer dependence. The very kind ESL tire technician got me in right away. He removed the tire. Found the TINY nail (couldn’t have been any bigger than a finish nail.) about ½ inch from the sidewall in the tread. Before pulling it, my husband asks him to leave it in. He wants to see the inside after the tire is off the wheel.



The inside of the tire showed no damage. The nail is too small to reach the sidewall. NOT A SCRATCH. Not even a scuff. Nothing. He removed the tiny finish nail. Patched it from the inside, remounted, balanced it, and put it back on my car. $15. It was a $15 repair.



A far cry from the $450 Discount(?) Tires where nail repair is free, and $550 Costco requirement. What a crock!



I could have just strung up the Discount tire employee. Did he even bother to look at the tire before he lied to me about the extent of the damage? Why did he let me believe he had and tell me it was shredded?



My best guess is my gender. I was a stranded woman and that’s all the excuse he needed. It’s just wrong.