Should Sears give me a discount for this?

[jlee]

I just paid Sears over $370 for new tires, alignment, etc. After I left, I noticed my steering wheel has to be turned slightly (but very noticably) to the right, or else the car goes left. This was with a ~$60 alignment..

Also, they made a mistake yesterday (when I had tires held for me)..they only had 3 Goodyears left, not four. So, they gave me other tires for the same price ($48.99 - non-sale price for Goodyears was ~$80, IIRC...these were $74.99..but the guy said the tire wasn't worse, and may have slightly better wet traction). Does good wet traction mean really crappy dry traction? My old Cooper tires were very worn (rear had about 1/4 life left, the front were barely within DOT standards..I think one tire may have been just under)..but these new tires don't seem any better; they actually seem slightly worse. Also much noisier in cornering, and they leave tire marks if I corner sharply (went behind the Publix I work at, and used the big empty lot)....is there a 'break-in' period for new tires, do I expect too much, or do they suck? I have a 1998 Corolla...I'm not expecting race tires, but a 25mph corner without sliding too much would be nice..

 

[datalink7]

I don't know much about cars, so I don't know if there is a "breaking in period" for tires or anything, but if you paid for alignment and it isn't aligned you should take it in and complain.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: CadetLee
I just paid Sears over $370 for new tires, alignment, etc. After I left, I noticed my steering wheel has to be turned slightly (but very noticably) to the right, or else the car goes left. This was with a ~$60 alignment..

Also, they made a mistake yesterday (when I had tires held for me)..they only had 3 Goodyears left, not four. So, they gave me other tires for the same price ($48.99 - non-sale price for Goodyears was ~$80, IIRC...these were $74.99..but the guy said the tire wasn't worse, and may have slightly better wet traction). Does good wet traction mean really crappy dry traction? My old Cooper tires were very worn (rear had about 1/4 life left, the front were barely within DOT standards..I think one tire may have been just under)..but these new tires don't seem any better; they actually seem slightly worse. Also much noisier in cornering, and they leave tire marks if I corner sharply (went behind the Publix I work at, and used the big empty lot)....is there a 'break-in' period for new tires, do I expect too much, or do they suck? I have a 1998 Corolla...I'm not expecting race tires, but a 25mph corner without sliding too much would be nice..

so you got 3 Goodyears and 1 bootleg tire ??

I would have asked for full Good years..

i dont know about tires.. but i dont think mixing em up is good unless it's 2 : 2 ~~~~
maybe the tire is what's causing your car to slightly turns left ?? ?
or maybe the whole alignment is off ?

 

[JC]

The tires are likely to be a little 'slippery' at first, traction will prolly improve with some wear. As far as the pull, switching the front tires side-to-side may fix that, or it may pull the other way, in either case I'd try to get them to fix that. Might need to replace one of those front tires.

JC

 

[etech]

1) Take the car back to Sears and tell them the alignment is not correct. Sometimes you get someone who knows what they are doing, sometimes you don't. Let them know that you want the job done correctly. Be polite but firm.

2) What kind of tires did you get? Check out tirerack.com for comments from people that have used them(assuming that tirerack carries them). I would have waited until they had the tires I wanted in stock or gone somewhere else.

Tires will not get better as they get older and will probably get worse. I'd tell Sears that the tires they sold you on exchange are unacceptable and request that they place the tires you ordered in the first place on your car. It would have been better if you had done that first but you may still get Sears to change them. You might not also but it's worth trying.

 

[jlee]

They're Bridgestone Weatherforce tires - all 4. Alignment seems fine (tracks straight), but they didn't adjust the steering wheel to compensate..

 

[JC]

After I left, I noticed my steering wheel has to be turned slightly (but very noticably) to the right, or else the car goes left.

edit: just saw your last post, I thought you said it pulled. They have set the toe-in incorrectly, that will fix the crooked steering wheel. Take it back.

JC