my discount tire experience...........

[squirt'nmyload]

so i decided to get my tires rebalanced and rotated today while my woman was at the mall and boy was that a mistake. waited almost 2 hours and the idiot stripped 4 of my studs and 1 of them is on sideways and stuck in the wheel :mad: and i never even got the work done because he couldn't get the last wheel off!!! after it happened, they basically told me to hit the road, they couldn't fix it and not to drive it, and wouldn't give me a strait answer on what was wrong. they wouldn't even direct me to the "kid" that was working on it to get the full story about what was wrong. it was a terrifying trip home due to me wondering if my wheels were going to fall off! it took a phone call to the regional manager to get it straightened out and actually get the story on what happened. the kicker was that after they told me not to drive it, they told me to drive across the street to get it fixed, then come back!!! after talking to the regional, they are paying for the repairs and any possible damage that may of occured. when i made the appointment with the repair shop they use, they told me that they get at least 5 VEHICLES A DAY that discount fukks up!!!!!..any other time i would've rotated them myself but i had to get them rebalanced cause some of the stupid stick on weights flew off......for you peeps in phoenix it was the shop at country club & baseline..........rant over :D

[wolfie]

Hell of a discount, eh????
We have a Les Schwab here. They're great. I take all my cars there and have the tires rotated. They do it for free and pretty damn fast as well.
They get all my tire and alienment biz.

[LuckyStrike]

JUST SHORT OF An A.J>
DRIVING RIGHT THRU THE FRONT DOORS:D :D

[roostwear]

So it sounds like they had a problem getting the lugnuts off? How did they F up the studs taking them OFF?

[squirt'nmyload]

JUST SHORT OF An A.J>
DRIVING RIGHT THRU THE FRONT DOORS:D :D
lmao....i told the jerkoff that even if the wheels fell off i would still turn around and drive right through the fukkin showroom :D :D

[squirt'nmyload]

So it sounds like they had a problem getting the lugnuts off? How did they F up the studs taking them OFF?
that is what they claimed...i wasn't watching so i don't know for sure...i'll tell ya though after it happened they didn't want to tell me why, they just wanted to get me the hell out of there. that is what pissed me off. i tried to break them loose when i got home and i couldn't even budge them by hand.

[Rexone]

My guess is some jackass had the impact wrench on tighten instead of loosen, hence why you couldn't break any loose and why some were broken off. :)
They certainly wouldn't break off being loosened unless highly corroded or rusted on.

[squirt'nmyload]

My guess is some jackass had the impact wrench on tighten instead of loosen, hence why you couldn't break any loose and why some were broken off. :)
They certainly wouldn't break off being loosened unless highly corroded or rusted on.
none actually "broke" off. i have 1 stud that a lug wont go on, 1 that is stripped on halfway and the rest i can't freaking move. i think that he had the impact gun on full bore when he was trying to loosen them and that is how they maybe got messed up :confused: at this point i really don't believe what they told me since they wouldn't deal with me when i was there. i'll be happy again when it is fixed and i will never go there again.

[257]

I'd say that manager and employee are history,
uh right to work state u think he got over
$3.00 an hr

[GunninGopher]

I did the same thing today at the Discount in Kearny Mesa, San Diego, off Convoy. I've had problems and successes at other Discount Tire outlets, but this one kicks butt. I was in and out of there in 45 minutes for a balance and rotation. I was pissed I took an hour off of work to do it because I could have gotten away with it on lunch time.
At least they are making it right. Hopefully the corporate management will straighten someone out. Sometimes it is more telling on how a problem is handled, than that there was a problem at first.

[roostwear]

My guess is some jackass had the impact wrench on tighten instead of loosen, hence why you couldn't break any loose and why some were broken off. :)
They certainly wouldn't break off being loosened unless highly corroded or rusted on.
Or the last tire jockey rammed them ON.....

[Moneypitt]

none actually "broke" off. i have 1 stud that a lug wont go on, 1 that is stripped on halfway and the rest i can't freaking move. i think that he had the impact gun on full bore when he was trying to loosen them and that is how they maybe got messed up :confused: at this point i really don't believe what they told me since they wouldn't deal with me when i was there. i'll be happy again when it is fixed and i will never go there again.
Would you believe there is actually a torque spec for wheel studs on disc brake rotors?.........If the torque is exceeded by a bunch, the rotors could be warped/distorted......I know, I know, no one really uses the spec, but there is one.......MP

[squirt'nmyload]

I did the same thing today at the Discount in Kearny Mesa, San Diego, off Convoy. I've had problems and successes at other Discount Tire outlets, but this one kicks butt. I was in and out of there in 45 minutes for a balance and rotation. I was pissed I took an hour off of work to do it because I could have gotten away with it on lunch time.
At least they are making it right. Hopefully the corporate management will straighten someone out. Sometimes it is more telling on how a problem is handled, than that there was a problem at first.
i am really pissed about it because of the way i was treated after it happened, like it wasn't their problem. i have the appointment to get it fixed tomorrow morning at this other place so we will see how it goes. i also should thank my service advisor Bruce Jarvice at Coulter cadillac/gmc. i called him immediately after it happened cause i thought i would have to get it towed to him. he was friends with the guy that helped me get this somewhat resolved.

[Spotondl]

Had a Discount Tire jockey back a pickup truck alongside and into my Mercedes leaving a 2 foot crease where the trucks bumper ran along the side... The knew he hit my car but drove the truck away to another parking spot and went back to work like nothing had happened. Fortunately I saw this happen. Waited about 10 minutes to see if the guy would go to his manager but nothing... so I did... Needless to say I became very well acquainted with their corporate personnel and their insurance paid for the damage...
Burbank & Victory store...

[Xlration Marine]

Funny. I had the bimmer in getting a roatation. The jack off's bent the piss out of my hub centric rings. They had none in stock. Driving with a nasty vibration for a week (dobson & chandler- discount tire). Just bought new tires for the wifes ride, from Vulcan tires on line. I'll take them to a good shop for the mount and balance. That one on basline sucks, went ther years ago when they were on the "other" corner.

[YODA]

I have one word for discount tire stores....... "theycansuckmyahole".........

[smoker]

Sucks big time. The Discount Tire up here in Murrieta is great. They start them with a gun and finish with a torque wrench. Bought a dozen set of tires from them and never had a problem. Good prices too. Even wipe the wheels and rims down after there done. Glad they got it right for ya.

[SmokinLowriderSS]

So it sounds like they had a problem getting the lugnuts off? How did they F up the studs taking them OFF?
It doesn't happen coming off. At one time in my youth I used to work as a mechanic in a gas-station/repair shop. Changed/balanced/installed a tire or hundred.
If anyone has actually PERSONALLY screwed up a lugnut on removal (badly rusted is another matter), I'd like to hear of it.
What fuknutz did was put the lug nuts into the impact socket TO START THEM when going back on. Guaranteed to trash them.
Only one way to guarantee to start on the threads properly is to take 10 secconds and spin the nut on 1 or 2 turns by hand, just to start it. Then bring the gun on and you are OK (unless you overtorque the snot out of them and break the studs (always possible).
I also ALWAYS use a dab of anti-sieze every time here at home.

[squirt'nmyload]

Dude that sucks, I've been using Discount in Az since 1998, both in Tucson (Oracle Store-Mike was Mgr) and Discount on Power & Superstition Springs since i've been in Mesa, always delt with Jason M, now at Baseline & Green filed, awesome Mgr.
When we had our 93 vette the superstition store accidently damaged one of the rear rims, fell against a tire machine gouging it, Mike C the mgr took care of it asap by oredering a brand new wheel, and still gave me the old one to keep as a spare.
I've bought some 20-30 sets of wheels and they've never done me wrong, what store did you use ??
Scott
i've got tires from them in the past and never had any issues, but now i will think twice about going back to that store. it was the one on country club & baseline. i just found out that the guy (john) from discount that helped me is actually the manager at the mclintock & southern store also. he called over to step up for me and try to get this resolved. if i ever need to go to discount tire again i would go to see him at that store since he helped me out :)

[cave]

Huh, I always get great service there. Must be the Glock that I pull out of the Tahoe. :D No BS. We can carry here:jawdrop: Legally.

[PaPaG]

We go through roughly 8-10 sets of tires for our business vehicles a year and all through discount tire. We mainly deal with 2 different ones because of locations...Sucks you had such a bad incident..even worse that they did not man up and tell you the details right from the start and insist on fixing the issue right away instead of going through all that crap and having to call a regional.....Gives them a bad name...Don't they know if you screw up with a HB member a few hundred will hear about it within hours :D

[squirt'nmyload]

It doesn't happen coming off. At one time in my youth I used to work as a mechanic in a gas-station/repair shop. Changed/balanced/installed a tire or hundred.
If anyone has actually PERSONALLY screwed up a lugnut on removal (badly rusted is another matter), I'd like to hear of it.
What fuknutz did was put the lug nuts into the impact socket TO START THEM when going back on. Guaranteed to trash them.
Only one way to guarantee to start on the threads properly is to take 10 secconds and spin the nut on 1 or 2 turns by hand, just to start it. Then bring the gun on and you are OK (unless you overtorque the snot out of them and break the studs (always possible).
I also ALWAYS use a dab of anti-sieze every time here at home.
apparently it is a mystery why it happened.

[Some Kind Of Monster]

Does that PISS YOU OFF dude?

[squirt'nmyload]

Does that PISS YOU OFF dude?
hell yes!!.....everyone messes up every once in a while...hell, i've destroyed a few cars in my day when i first started in the auto glass world. difference being i would tell the customer what happened and assure them it would be fixed. it's about manning up!!!!!!!

[kronikenergy]

Like most things I'm sure it depends on the quality of the employees at the shop. There is a discount tire by me in Bonita. Once, I noticed that my valve stems on my enclosed trailer tires were falling apart, some were cracked and one had actually popped off releasing all of the air (the tires were only two years old but that's another story).
I jacked up the trailer, removed the tires and had my girlfriend take them to discount (that could have been the key) but they removed the tires from the rim, replaced the valvestems, replaced the tires and balanced them for free. They didn't even let us pay for the nice new metal valve stems.
I thought that was pretty cool.

[CVX20]

I work for NTB as a chassis tech and have over 25 years of service with the company. We are a part of the TCB family of automotove service centers. Tire Kingdom stores down south. NTB and Merchant stores on the east coast and Big-O tire centers out west. We run into the same thig every day. Wally-World and Sam's Club have young kids installing tires that have ZERO automotive knowledge and ZERO automotive background. They send stripped out and screwed up lug nut jobs our way every day. We welcome the business but my question is how long can this continue before someone is hurt or killed. Our company has a strict wheel torque policy. First lugs are torqued with an air gun that has a torque reduction extension on it that matches the torque spec for the vehicle . We call them or torque sticks. Finally the lugs are hand torqued to vehicle spec with a torque wrench. This step is done by a second person. Sign off on first and final torque is a must by each tech. If we were to ever have a wheel off situation it would l result in the loss of each of the tecs jobs even if the tec had 25 years of service with the company. Tires and wheel are not to be taken lightly. You really need to think about who you take your vehicle to for tire work, chassis repairs and wheel alignment. Please try to remember that modern cars and trucks take much longer and are much harder to work on unlike vehicles from the 70's and 80's. Keep this in mind when you have your service done and give the techs some X-TRA time to do a good and do a safe job. Just my 2 cents on the subject from an old school tire and alignment man ;)
Thanks

[squirt'nmyload]

I work for NTB as a chassis tech and have over 25 years of service with the company. We are a part of the TCB family of automotove service centers. Tire Kingdom stores down south. NTB and Merchant stores on the east coast and Big-O tire centers out west. We run into the same thig every day. Wally-World and Sam's Club have young kids installing tires that have ZERO automotive knowledge and ZERO automotive background. They send stripped out and screwed up lug nut jobs our way every day. We welcome the business but my question is how long can this continue before someone is hurt or killed. Our company has a strict wheel torque policy. First lugs are torqued with an air gun that has a torque reduction extension on it that matches the torque spec for the vehicle . We call them or torque sticks. Finally the lugs are hand torqued to vehicle spec with a torque wrench. This step is done by a second person. Sign off on first and final torque is a must by each tech. If we were to ever have a wheel off situation it would l result in the loss of each of the tecs jobs even if the tec had 25 years of service with the company. Tires and wheel are not to be taken lightly. You really need to think about who you take your vehicle to for tire work, chassis repairs and wheel alignment. Please try to remember that modern cars and trucks take much longer and are much harder to work unlike vehicles from the 70's and 80's. Keep this in mind when you have your service done and give the techs some X-TRA time to do a good and do a safe job. Just my 2 cents on the subject from an old school tire and alignment man ;)
Thanks
good to hear someone cares :) i was in the wholesale aftermarket wheel biz for a long time and know what you are talking about.

[whiteworks]

I have a theory, the average IQ is 100. 75 or below is considered retarded. so theoretically if the tire jockey who worked on your car is running an IQ of like 76 he is not technically retarded but more like high functioning retard. not quite slow enough for cart duty at the depot. you should be able to spot this guy by the embroidery on his gloves "righty tighty lefty loosey":D the 76-85 crowd is in the work force so beware

[Baja Big Dog]

Not just an AZ thing...Yorba Linda has one staffed by dick head!!!:mad:
Wouldn't let them change a wheel barrow tire...

[rerfert]

Would you believe there is actually a torque spec for wheel studs on disc brake rotors?.........If the torque is exceeded by a bunch, the rotors could be warped/distorted......I know, I know, no one really uses the spec, but there is one.......MP
Some do.........Something like 85 ft pounds right?

[Classic Daycruiser]

FYI.....Nobody puts grease on your lug nuts before they are torqued to spec. We boaters see a lot of water, and the threads will rust without grease. If they would have used WD-40 (a mans product:D ), before attempting top zip off the nuts with an inpact wrench, I bet all would have been well.
Remember to have your mechanic lightly lube the threads before reinstalling the tires. Also, if your using a 4 way tire iron to tighten your tires, it is really easy to snap them off as well. Use only a torque wrench to set tightness, use 4 way to loosen.
I do not believe in rotating tires, just rebalancing. I believe there are studies that show rotating puts the worse tires on rear, and most tire blowouts that include fatalities, the tire is located on one of the rears:idea:

[scooooter7]

I do not believe in rotating tires, just rebalancing. I believe there are studies that show rotating puts the worse tires on rear, and most tire blowouts that include fatalities, the tire is located on one of the rears:idea:
Last time I had my Expedition at the Ford dealer, they said they couldn't rotate the tires cuz the ones in front weren't good enough to go on the rear. I still got tread but am due for new ones.

[HemiDude]

Geez...
I have used Discount on my fleet for years, however, recently I have had numerous problems. Worst being I bought a set of new BFG Radial TA's for my 59 El Camino that is stored as it's being restored. They forgot to replace the valve stems on the Corvette rallies it's sitting on that I pulled out of my backyard. All the tires went flat while against a block wall in my warehouse. It's still sitting there. Manager at 43rd and Bell in Phoenix promised to take care of them, however, he will need to do it when I GET THE TIME TO. Hope he's still around when I pop back in with this issue. I am sure that these tires are toast after a year of sitting on the rims.
Total incompetence on some young newbee's part. Stupid me for not catching it. :sleeping: :sleeping: :sleeping:

[OverKill]

Squirt-N. I was up in that area all day. We were at the mall at Almaschool and the 60. Should of given us a call.. Thanks for the heads up I will not be going there for service.
I had the same problem with the one in Fountain Hills. They put Passenger tires on my boat trailer rated for 1400 max. I had that fixed a Wrangler Trailers on Southern and Lewis.

[Rexone]

none actually "broke" off. i have 1 stud that a lug wont go on, 1 that is stripped on halfway and the rest i can't freaking move. i think that he had the impact gun on full bore when he was trying to loosen them and that is how they maybe got messed up :confused: at this point i really don't believe what they told me since they wouldn't deal with me when i was there. i'll be happy again when it is fixed and i will never go there again.
Sorry I didn't read close enough. Some good posts here though particularly on thread lubrication, starting by hand, and proper torque. I do all my service myself with few exceptions, don't trust the average chain store mech / tire jockey, that's for sure. There are a few techs out there that I know, know their shit, and I trust them, but it's a short list, locally anyhow.

[pvhca]

Sorry about your experience with Discount I have worked with them as a vendor to them for over 12 years and have always known that they offer awesome C.S., however in this case someone dropped the ball big time. The tire buster should have manned up and told a manager what had happened, as someone stated earlier studs don't strip coming off just going on, should have greased the studs and started by hand, I will say this if the buster felt the lugs coming off hard he should have stopped and reported this ASAP, it could have been from a previous install. I can assure you that corporate will fix your issues and then some, someone stated earlier that these kids do lack experience and thats the problem. Hope all works out and as we all know its hard to find a perfect place for anything

[Some Kind Of Monster]

Squirt-N. I was up in that area all day. We were at the mall at Almaschool and the 60. Should of given us a call.. Thanks for the heads up I will not be going there for service.
I had the same problem with the one in Fountain Hills. They put Passenger tires on my boat trailer rated for 1400 max. I had that fixed a Wrangler Trailers on Southern and Lewis.
Dude, If you are in our end of town, you should give us a call.. :confused: :D

[HM]

Some good posts here though particularly on lubrication, starting by hand, and proper torque. I do all my service myself....
Take this homo stuff back to the BR!!!

[superdave013]

Funny. I had the bimmer in getting a roatation. The jack off's bent the piss out of my hub centric rings. They had none in stock. Driving with a nasty vibration for a week (dobson & chandler- discount tire). Just bought new tires for the wifes ride, from Vulcan tires on line. I'll take them to a good shop for the mount and balance. That one on basline sucks, went ther years ago when they were on the "other" corner.
you should have bought those tires from that good shop that you want to mount and balance them. That way they might still be around when you need the next set.

[HM]

you should have bought those tires from that good shop that you want to mount and balance them. That way they might still be around when you need the next set.
The last few times of buying tires, I ended up buying them online and taking them to a decent shop to have them mount and balance them. The reason is that I was able to buy the tires I wanted. I usually want something that is different and the shop tries to talk me out of them. I was a lay-down sale walking into the shop...and end up leaving without buying. I can't tell you how many times that happens in general. Because of this, I started shopping online and also found the price difference can be quite large. I understand if they stock the tires, they should get a premium for having them. But most of the stuff I want is special order...so I should pay extra $$ for something they don't stock after having to put up with a $10/hour counter monkey trying to sell me something I don't want?

[creepingcharlie]

For you the people that are talking about the Discount tire in AZ. That is a national chain. For the ones in CA that is a different company. The one in CA is Discount Tire Centers/DTC which is here in Cali only and as far north as Fresno CA. Discount tire the national chain store are call America's tire here in Cali. One way to tell them apart it that DTC building colors are purple and whitish gray and Discount/ Americas is red and tan. Hope that clears it up a little.

[Sherpa]

I changed a tire on a minivan just last week when their tire decided to kill
itself sending shrapnel like a IED right infront of my truck..... oh well, we all
survived and I made some ladies very happy by helping..
point was, this late 90's minivan had alloys on it, and the wheel with the tire
that blew must have been tightened with a 1" impact running off a compressed bottle of CO2............ I could not loosen those lugs by pulling up, so I had to jump on the wrench....... all 285 lbs worth to bust them
loose...........
even if they knew how to change a tire, there's no fricken way they could
have gotten that rim off.....
I told her to find a new tire shop, and make them torque them next time by
hand, and not with an airgun...
--Sherpa

[Sleek-Jet]

This is why I try to remove and install my own wheels.
I've got a couple floor jacks, some jack stands, an impact, and a torque wrench all right there in the garage. It takes 15 minutes to get the car up on the stands and the wheels pulled. I'll drop them off and the go to Hooters for a while till the tires are done, then stop by the shop, and then home.

[squirt'nmyload]

got an appointment to get it fixed at 2.30.......then we'll see how much damage was actually done :mad:

[squirt'nmyload]

alright....so, 2 studs on the drivers left front wheel were stripped and 1 on each of the others was also stripped. discount tire was billed for the work,
situation resolved

[Classic Daycruiser]

alright....so, 2 studs on the drivers left front wheel were stripped and 1 on each of the others was also stripped. discount tire was billed for the work,
situation resolved
We want to see pics....to see if youe really telling the truth:D :D :D

[squirt'nmyload]

We want to see pics....to see if youe really telling the truth:D :D :D
i tried to yesterday but the camera had a hard time trying to focus on the lugnuts in the hole on the wheel. and if i stood back to take it you could not really see what was wrong....they are not the factory wheels :yuk: :D :D
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k265/squirtnmyload/DSCF2192.jpg

[OverKill]

Dude, If you are in our end of town, you should give us a call.. :confused: :D
Ya that would make a little more sense wouldn't it??:D .
OverKill

[speeddmn]

squirt'nmyload where did you get it repaired at? What shop?

[speeddmn]

Hey squirtn'tmyload I was wondering if you took it to one of my shops to get the studs repaired and if so how did they take care of you?