BEWARE OF "PRICE MATCH"
BEWARE OF "COMPARABLE TIRE DEAL"
BEWARE OF THE ADVERTISED "FREE FRONT-END ALIGNMENT"
I started researching for tires on-line and found a Goodyear tire that had great reviews and reasonably priced at $115 each.... Total $460 (free shipping).
I went to TownfairTire.com to see if they had it, and they do, so got my keys and off to TownFair tire in Nashua.
Curt let me know the tire I wanted wasn't in stock, but he had a "comparable tire" - the "Mastercraft Stratus A/S". He showed me the tire and explained how the side channels on the tread helped to divert the water away from the tread ... made sense- but I questioned how these side channels were not even 25% into the tread ... I asked how he felt it would perform once the tread was worn down through the 25%...and those side channels were worn off ....his response was "well thats how all tires are made".... Right then I knew I was dealing with someone that knew nothing of the "technicals"... just a sales person. It did seem like a decent tire.... Good tread ... All Season Tire... but how much ? Curt said they were $130 each ... I said "no thanks as I would rather get the Goodyear quality I was familiar with, and at a better price" ... he was quick to say he would match the price of the Goodyear tire that I was originally looking at - I am always enticed by a deal, so again I accepted his offer to reduce the price.
We also talked about the 4 wheel alignment, but I know my car well ... and also could see my rear wheels wore very uniformly, so I waived the "4 wheel alignment at $55.00", and wanted just the included free front wheel alignment done. Curt was quick to let me know that doing just the front could be mis-aligned with the rear wheels ... he mentioned the tires would be "Dog Tracking"....I do a lot of work on cars and had never heard of such BS. He also gave me that coined phrase "The manufacturer recommends 4 wheel alignment, and without it it would void the warranty on your tires" ... a typical passive aggressive sales pitch.... I was fine with only the front-end be aligned. He again pushed letting me know that the front-end alignment uses only the steering wheel as a reference, and still could be mis-aligned with the rear wheels... (sorry -not falling for that BS)
The installation was quick, but not without an issue. My car has a pressure sensor in each wheel, (as most cars do these days) so TownFair tire doesn't provide the advertised "free Valve Stems", but they do replace the internals of the valve ... ( a $3.79 part for 4 at Walmart) ... but they broke the sensor when removing one, and replaced it with a bare Valve Stem (no sensor). Now my display panel would be warning me of "Low Tire Pressure", until it would be replaced. Curt said my car only used Chrysler specific sensors, and TownFair doesn't carry them for my car ... they only carry the "generic sensors", if I wanted them to get one from the dealer they would order it for me. I asked how much it would be, and Curt let me know it would probably be around $120 -if I bought it , they would put it in for free. (gee thanks) I said I would buy it on my own, and would have them put it in when I got it.
I got out my credit card to pay, and Curt handed me the invoice that showed charges for "Computer Balancing", and "Valve Stems" .... and extra $91.60 ... because he saved me $60.00 by "price matching" .... READ THIS AGAIN ... it cost me $91.60 to save $60.00 !!! ... but it gets worse !!!
I purchased the OEM sensor for my tire at AMAZON for $37.00 ( not sure where Curt got that $120 estimate from)- I brought my car back to have the sensor put back in. They couldn't find the work done on my Pacifica ... but on a "Town and Country"- it looks like the original order wasn't entered correctly ... now I am wondering if the correct tires were put on my car... luckily Nick was able to confirm that the tires would be fine on my car (still not sure if these are the tires for my car). Nick was great to get the sensor replaced fairly quickly. He provided an invoice showing the work and no charge. I then asked if I could get the print-out for the front-end alignment as it wasn't included the day it was done, and I like my records to be complete..... I was now told that when the "price match" was used ... the "free" services are no longer provided - WHAT !!!
So - because I purchased a lesser, since it was in stock-
and for reducing the price by $60 on the 4 tires ("price match")
-the free services were no longer provided ... including the free front-end alignment !!!
So now an added cost of $91.60(balancing and valve stems) -and "front-end alignment" -wasn't even done ! -deceitful !
Worth repeating !!!
By reducing the price of the 4 tires by $60 total, I now had to pay for the normally "Free Services") ... and additional $91.60) (AND GOT LESS ... NO FRONT_END ALIGNMENT)... what a scam !!!
....I still had to also purchase a pressure sensor that THEY broke !! read more