EngulfingFlame

I need a little bit of opinion form you guys on this one. I went to Big O Tire today to get a set of tires put on my freinds 88 NA Z. they wanted to put 3 of one type of tire and one different type tire on the car. They are all falken tires and all the same dimensions, treadwear, temperature rating, and speed rating. However, 3 are a "discontinued" Falken 502 and the other it the new Falken 329. He assured us that it would be fine since all the dimensions and rating are the same yet i smell something fishy. He put the oddball tire on the back of the car too, maybe so that we wouldn't notice the difference as much? I was always told to keep the same type of tire on each side of the car and that it was alright to run 2 different types of tires as long as they were a pair in the front and a pair in the rear but never 2 different tires on the front or the back of a car. After inspecting the vehicle after service it turs out that the tires are indeed very close accept the tread pattern is different. The Falken 502's turbned out to be directional tires while the 329 is not a directional tire. What to you think? Did i get ripped off? Will this cause any harm or odd drivability issues?
Thanks,
EngulfingFlame

RodMoyes

Damn it! Where do you live and what Big O was it?
As owner/operator of a Big O franchise, this pisses me off. What they did was to get rid of an oddball set of 502's (which are a really great tire) and managed to salvage a sale. This is just plain wrong. You can't rotate your tires now... Ever. This will roast the two on the front. 502's are notorious for edge wear as it is. You go 15K with no rotation and they will be toast. Big O bought up all the remaining stock of 502's a couple of years ago. The new tire is equally good, but very different. You need to go back there and tell them to either get you another 502 (Which they can easily still find one doing a store search through the warehouse) or put four of something else on your car that is equal or better. This is bullshit. I would never pull that crap on one of my customers. Do not wait. Go back ASAP so they can pull that 329 off your car and still be able to do something with it other than "Eating" it. They flat out yanked your chain. Don't let them get away with it. What size did you get? I can do a search right now and tell you if there are any available.

Rod.

RodMoyes

If they are the stock size 215/60HR15's, there are 2 in the Ontario California warehouse, and 1 in Seattle.

Rod.

EngulfingFlame

OK so this guy is an ******* and the owner of this Big O Tire who needs to die His name is, Larry Dunkle, 801 west platte Ave, Fort Morgan CO 80701, Phone: (970) 867-3601, Fax: (970)867-3602. Yeah so that sucks, is there any way that i can get his *** into a frying pan for that? I would love to see him pay for this after all of the bullshit that he told me. I knew i shouldn't have listened to him. Yeah he got rid of the 502's for $10 less each and i was dumb enough to go for it. Thanks for your help. I know that he doesn't have another of either tire in stock. What do you think he would be willing to do do fix it so that i didn't **** up his business? Could he exchange them for other tires at no charge or something? Or would another Big O Tire be willing to fix that for us? Now as far as the car is concerned can the difference cause any damage to the differential? I have to say that youhave already been a great help and I would really appreciate anything else that you can tell me.
Thanks a lot.
EngulfingFlame

RodMoyes

Go back there first thing in the morning and tell him that he needs to get you another 502. Tell him "A Friend" knows for a fact that there are two in Ontario Ca. and one in Seatlle. If he goes on the Big O extranet, he can see that for himself. Tell him you'll take a "Donor" or used tire in the meantime. He may ask that you pay shipping on the 502... go for it if he say's so. Tell him if he had been straight with you in the first place, he wouldn't have to deal with removing the 329 from your car and going through all of the hassle. If he refuses, tell him you will go through with calling Big O Corporate. As a franchisee, they can't "Make" him do anything, but they can apply a great deal of pressure. Even if you have to pay a few extra bucks to get the 4th 502, it will be worth it for both of you. No, it's not going to hurt your differential. This is just a bad situation. He's also in Big O's home state of Colorado, so he should certainly mind his manners. If he gives you any grief over having put a few miles on a brand new 329, tell him that's not your problem... again, if they had been honest with you up front, they wouldn't have to. He can re-sell that tire to someone else at a discount. Tell him that he either has an opportunity to make you a customer for life, or a person who will tell all of their friends never to shop at Big O... That's the sort of thing that get's to them. The store owner may not even be aware of the problem or the situation yet. You probably were dealing with a salesman/service writer, or a manager. Make sure at the very least you deal exclusively with the manager... But, ask for the owner if he's at all available. Let them know that if they refuse to help you, you will find another Big O that will and that in the meantime, you will do all you can to persue it with Corporate. I hope you get it squared away. Good luck. Most store owners are more than willing to be cool and work with you when they know what the situation is.

Rod.

EngulfingFlame

Yeah thanks alot for the advise. Too bad i am already dealing with the store owner who personally ****ed me over. I know he is going to tell me that he can get another 329 which he says is the direct upgrade from the 502 which i find to be bullshit becuase apparently the 329 is a Big O exclusive and the newer version of the 502 is the 512. I just hoope that i can get him to make things right. Bad news is by the time the car gets back here it is going to have 1,400 miles on it. I wuill see what i can do as far as being civilized but i doubt that he will go out of his way to make things right. Thank you for all of your help and you have helped to resore my faith in the franchise.
Thanks a bunch,
EngulfingFlame

RodMoyes

Glad if I can help. Just remember, they were the dishonest party here. You did nothing wrong other than trust their "Expert" advice. The 502 and 512 and 329 are all completly different tires. The 502 was a staple in the Falken line-up for a long time. They cut a deal with Big O a few years ago that gave Big O exclusive rights to it. This is a very common practice. It's like you can go to any tire store and buy a Yokohama Avid, but at Discount Tire it's called the YK420... same exact tire, just with a special sidewall molding exclusively for Discount. Remind him that by putting you in a situation where tire rotations are not possible, they will have to give you warranty credit against the 30K treadwear warranty on the front two tires at about 15K... Not your fault they can't be rotated right? Just be cool. You catch more fly's with syrup kinda thing. I know it's hard to be civil when you fell like you got raped, but it's your only hope of seeing satisfaction. I know that when someone comes into my store with a problem... right or wrong, if they act like a hard on I'm not going out of my way to accomodate them... Neither would you if the tables were turned. Be Cool If you can't get the car there tomorrow, at least go down there and deal with it first thing. The longer you wait, the lower your chances are.

Rod.