I was out of town (hunting in the backcountry and generally unable to communicate) last week and my wife had a flat. She went to Discount Tire to have it repaired. They informed her that the tire had been previously patched and that the patch was installed incorrectly, presumably in their opinion. As such, they refused to patch it.

She asked them just to put it back on so I could deal with it when I returned. They refused.

She asked if they would install the spare. They again refused, saying it was over ten years old.

They did not have a replacement tire in store, so they installed a "loaner" until they could get a replacement tire the next day. She didn't want to bother me while I was out of town, so she just went along with it.

How is this acceptable business practice?

Maybe it's in the fine print when she signed to allow them to work on the vehicle.

Pretty damn despicable in my opinion.

I stopped shopping at Discount Tire years ago because they are a dishonest company, in my experience. This sure doesn't change my opinion of them.

If she had a flat and the spare wasn't on the car how did she get to Discount in the first place

Slow leaker.

Sounds like a liability issue. I understand your frustration, but I would not want my wife driving on a hazardous tire. Also a good habit to replace your spare tire every 7-10 years. I don't know of any professional business that would install a bad tire on a vehicle.

They can't knowingly put back on a damaged tire. Think of the liability they take on, if she has a blowout on the way home. Discount Tire has always done right by me, and everyone I know.

I am in no way defending your local Discount Tire as I have no direct dealings with them. I have used them almost exclusively since the early 90's or so, with no issues.

However, I think I can lend some insight as to why this happened to your wife, and I do not think they would hold her hostage so to say because they are trying to get over on you or her. Discount has a very set standard on what they can and will patch (sidewall is a "NO"). Their standards are likely determined by a corporate policy that is designed to reduce or eliminate liability. If they observed a patch that is outside of their standard, then they likely did not do it, but knowing it is there and possibly not a safe patch, putting the tire back on actually says they were OK with putting your wife on the road with a potentially dangerous tire. Huge liability. The same probably goes for the spare. Tires have date codes on them, and tires do have a useful life span whether they were actually in use or not. 10 years likely exceeds the corporate standard, again, for liability.

They did put your wife a loaner on the vehicle, which is the nice thing to do without a manager or employee losing their jobs for breaking a policy likely born from reducing/eliminating liability.

If you are that mad at them, go get the tire you want where you want and drop the loaner off and give them a piece of your mind.

I just don't think they'd do that out of spite or attempting to force your wife into a buying position.

Hope it works out for you.

Discount tire is in business to sell new tires, generally 4 at a time. The llantas shop is in business to fix flats, install takeoffs, and sell used tires, generally $20 at a time.

I'm sorry, but isn't your wife a fully functional adult? It seems she did a good job here and got a good resolution considering the situation.

Discount couldn't do any of the things she asked and yet they gave her a loaner in the interim. Seems more than fair and not at all despicable. Discount has been honest and offers fair value and has for the 20+ years I've dealt with them.

I'm thinking the previous responses probably aren't what you thought they would be….

Explain how they held her ransom if they looked out for well being and provided a loaner?

Some of you guys have some emotional instability issues.

Alternative thread -

"Discount tire put a tire they knew was bad back on my wife's car and now she's in the hospital! How can a company that specializes in tires let a woman leave their shop driving a tire they KNOW is bad and likely to blow out!"

I'm sorry your wife had a bad experience. Thank you for reminding me why I avoid Duscount Tire and always just bring in my wheel instead of my vehicle when I need tire work done.

Last fall after about 30,000 miles I ripped the sidewall out of one of my BFG tires and went to Discount for a replacement because I had purchased the hazard warranty. A month later I went back because I had somehow managed to run over a screwdriver and the plug I put in had a slow leak. They said the would replace the tire because it already had a plug in it and while they were at it they were going to replace another one because it had two plugs in it as well. I went ahead and purchased a third tire that day and rotated the other 30,000 mile tire into the spare position because the current spare was 12 years old. So I got four new tires plus a new(er) spare for the cost of one tire. They will keep my business. I wish they would build stores up along the east Coast were we do a lot of traveling.

Discount changed their corporate policy a few years ago to esentially eliminate any tire repair, they want the answer to be alway "buy a new tire".

They arent anywere close to the same company they used to be. I go other places now when i have tire issues.

AginNoCo said:

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I'm thinking the previous responses probably aren't what you thought they would be….

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I posted my opinion of our experience. I don't Facebook, so I ended up on a discussion forum on which I've participated for longer than some of you have been alive. Everyone on here is entitled to their own opinion. I didn't come looking for your or anyone else's approval.

I fully understand the liability concerns. I also contend that it's my tire and my vehicle and they should just simply have done as we requested.

They didn't, therefore I will take my business elsewhere. Those of you who are happy with DT should continue to give them your business. Hooray for capitalism!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have clouds at which to yell!

schmellba99 said:

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Discount changed their corporate policy a few years ago to esentially eliminate any tire repair, they want the answer to be alway "buy a new tire".

They arent anywere close to the same company they used to be. I go other places now when i have tire issues.

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Not my experience. In the last year I've had Discount patch two different tires free of charge with no question asked.

I've defended multiple tire and lube shops who've been sued by personal injury attorneys for millions alleging negligence and gross negligence for merely not identifying a problematic tire and allowing the vehicle to leave even when the tire in question wasn't within the scope of services provided . Even when the actual cause of the subsequent accident was reckless driving by the plaintiff, not a tire failure. In case you haven't noticed, the courts and jury verdicts are getting worse. No way in hell a competently-run Discount is going to knowingly put an at-risk tire on your vehicle, even if you agree to "assume the risk". Blame the personal injury lottery system (and the judges/lawyers/jurors/legislators that foster it), not the shop.

OTOH, this is justification for those $45 certificates or whatever they're calling them now.

I've had multiple times where their sales guy says they cannot patch a tire and I need to have it replaced.

I'd gladly have the tire replaced with new vs patched.

I can't imagine any tire outfit would put a 10 year old donut on a car.

schmellba99 said:

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Discount changed their corporate policy a few years ago to esentially eliminate any tire repair, they want the answer to be alway "buy a new tire".

They arent anywere close to the same company they used to be. I go other places now when i have tire issues.

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My son got a tire patched there last month. No issues.

They didn't try to sell him anything. He had a slow leak due to a screw in the tire. Aired it up. Drove over there. They patched it.

No problem.

Todd 02 said:

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AginNoCo said:

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I'm thinking the previous responses probably aren't what you thought they would be….

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I posted my opinion of our experience. I don't Facebook, so I ended up on a discussion forum on which I've participated for longer than some of you have been alive. Everyone on here is entitled to their own opinion. I didn't come looking for your or anyone else's approval.

I fully understand the liability concerns. I also contend that it's my tire and my vehicle and they should just simply have done as we requested.

They didn't, therefore I will take my business elsewhere. Those of you who are happy with DT should continue to give them your business. Hooray for capitalism!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have clouds at which to yell!

---

Here's a little story that pertains to your comment. A long time ago, I was in mgmt for Montgomery Ward in one of the auto centers. Policy was that we couldn't let a customer leave with an unsafe car. MW lost a lawsuit in CA for letting a car out of the shop with bad brakes.

My shop had a Ford van come in for a brake check. The pads were down to the backing plate, and the rotors were down to the vents on the inside. In 1980 dollars, the repair quote was almost $2,000. The owner went ballistic and refused the repairs. We told him we had to tow it to his home due to liability. He called the cops because we were "holding his vehicle hostage". Cop shows up, hears everyone out, says tow the van to the parking lot, and let the guy have it. Done deal. As soon as the guy moves the van, the cop stops him, writes a few tickets, and has the van towed away. Worked out great for MW.

Recap: regardless of your wishes for them to do what you want, in today's litigious society, liability exclusion rules the day.

OP, what kind of haircut do you have?

Todd 02 said:

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AginNoCo said:

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I'm thinking the previous responses probably aren't what you thought they would be….

---

I posted my opinion of our experience. I don't Facebook, so I ended up on a discussion forum on which I've participated for longer than some of you have been alive. Everyone on here is entitled to their own opinion. I didn't come looking for your or anyone else's approval.

I fully understand the liability concerns. I also contend that it's my tire and my vehicle and they should just simply have done as we requested.

They didn't, therefore I will take my business elsewhere. Those of you who are happy with DT should continue to give them your business. Hooray for capitalism!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have clouds at which to yell!

---

As someone who lives on and works on a functional ranch, with all manner of dangerous things, I can say you SHOULD take your business elsewhere. They aren't your company. I deal with repairs and people every day of the week who do stupid things and half ass fixes. These things are "probably" ok. Until they are not. You want to weld up a PTO shaft without a balance or test and let your 15 year old run the equipment, you can do that **** somewhere else.

One thing I know is that people are HORRIBLE at risk management, and physics, and safety, and doing things the right way when they cost a lot of money.

If your tires are older than 5 years old, they should be replaced. Now. If you let your wife drive on them, you should stop. Now. If you would allow a company with safety guidelines to tell you what you should be doing and save you from possibly actively killing your own family and then proceed to do otherwise, again, you should probably just go somewhere else.

Perhaps the El Llantas Ahora, where you can have that jalopy of a tire patched up and when your wife blows out a tire and rolls the car into another family of four killing everyone, you can head back over and see your boy who all of a sudden will respond with "lo siento, no hablo ingles" and you can hold the bag to whatever the max liability on your part will be.

Discount tire isn't in the business of half assing your repair and opening themselves up to liability because you're too cheap to do a job the right way.

I know I come off as a huge *******, but it irritates me when people who have little knowledge of a subject proceed to bash a company because they think they know better. Again, it might be ok to do what you want but I cannot fathom why anyone would put their own family into a situation where they "might" not die.

It blows my mind.


Discount tire will not mount a 7 year old tire on my John Deere gator that goes 15 mph. They will not mount a 6 year old tire on my tractor that is used for cultivating at 11mph. They have a policy. If I need that done, I have to go to my Ag shop who will do what I want because they are the professsionals in that arena.

And they won't mount an old tire on a car or truck, either because it's dangerous and stupid.

I know it's hard to deal with but we have professionals for a reason and we have policies for a reason and that reason is usually because others aren't versed enough to do it correctly.

And for a discount tire anecdote displaying MY STUPIDITY, they tried to sell me a 50 dollar set of lug nuts because mine were hard to get off. They said they swell. I said the same thing the OP did until I went home and talked to some other Ags smarter than I am and it turns out, discount is right. They do swell and I noticed they were hard to get off as well. So I replaced them. Knowledge is power.

schmellba99 said:

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Discount changed their corporate policy a few years ago to esentially eliminate any tire repair, they want the answer to be alway "buy a new tire".

They arent anywere close to the same company they used to be. I go other places now when i have tire issues.

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Bullchit. My son had a screw removed and patched for free a few weeks ago. They have been getting my business for many years and will continue to get my business.

Held hostage? A little dramatic. They gave her a loaner and released her without killing her. I'd say this was a hostage story with a happy ending.

Love discount tire
Loyal for 25 years

BrazosDog02 said:

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Todd 02 said:

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AginNoCo said:

---

I'm thinking the previous responses probably aren't what you thought they would be….

---

I posted my opinion of our experience. I don't Facebook, so I ended up on a discussion forum on which I've participated for longer than some of you have been alive. Everyone on here is entitled to their own opinion. I didn't come looking for your or anyone else's approval.

I fully understand the liability concerns. I also contend that it's my tire and my vehicle and they should just simply have done as we requested.

They didn't, therefore I will take my business elsewhere. Those of you who are happy with DT should continue to give them your business. Hooray for capitalism!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have clouds at which to yell!

---

As someone who lives on and works on a functional ranch, with all manner of dangerous things, I can say you SHOULD take your business elsewhere. They aren't your company. I deal with repairs and people every day of the week who do stupid things and half ass fixes. These things are "probably" ok. Until they are not. You want to weld up a PTO shaft without a balance or test and let your 15 year old run the equipment, you can do that **** somewhere else.

One thing I know is that people are HORRIBLE at risk management, and physics, and safety, and doing things the right way when they cost a lot of money.

If your tires are older than 5 years old, they should be replaced. Now. If you let your wife drive on them, you should stop. Now. If you would allow a company with safety guidelines to tell you what you should be doing and save you from possibly actively killing your own family and then proceed to do otherwise, again, you should probably just go somewhere else.

Perhaps the El Llantas Ahora, where you can have that jalopy of a tire patched up and when your wife blows out a tire and rolls the car into another family of four killing everyone, you can head back over and see your boy who all of a sudden will respond with "lo siento, no hablo ingles" and you can hold the bag to whatever the max liability on your part will be.

Discount tire isn't in the business of half assing your repair and opening themselves up to liability because you're too cheap to do a job the right way.

I know I come off as a huge *******, but it irritates me when people who have little knowledge of a subject proceed to bash a company because they think they know better. Again, it might be ok to do what you want but I cannot fathom why anyone would put their own family into a situation where they "might" not die.

It blows my mind.


Discount tire will not mount a 7 year old tire on my John Deere gator that goes 15 mph. They will not mount a 6 year old tire on my tractor that is used for cultivating at 11mph. They have a policy. If I need that done, I have to go to my Ag shop who will do what I want because they are the professsionals in that arena.

And they won't mount an old tire on a car or truck, either because it's dangerous and stupid.

I know it's hard to deal with but we have professionals for a reason and we have policies for a reason and that reason is usually because others aren't versed enough to do it correctly.

And for a discount tire anecdote displaying MY STUPIDITY, they tried to sell me a 50 dollar set of lug nuts because mine were hard to get off. They said they swell. I said the same thing the OP did until I went home and talked to some other Ags smarter than I am and it turns out, discount is right. They do swell and I noticed they were hard to get off as well. So I replaced them. Knowledge is power.

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Had the same thing happen to the lug nuts on my Ford. Evidently it was a manufacturing defect (don't know why Ford didn't recall them).

Just wanted to pass this on to you. I have an Aggie uncle who is a regional manager for DT. I showed him your post this am at church.
He read it very carefully and handed me the phone back. He said he was glad to know at least that the employees at that store followed protocol. Said welcome to his world....and said we could thank sue happy justice system and lawyers.

Steeltoe05 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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Discount changed their corporate policy a few years ago to esentially eliminate any tire repair, they want the answer to be alway "buy a new tire".

They arent anywere close to the same company they used to be. I go other places now when i have tire issues.

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Not my experience. In the last year I've had Discount patch two different tires free of charge with no question asked.

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I have had them refuse to mount UTV tires because the DOT date was too old.

They refused to rotate the tires on my truck because they were different size than the factory tires.

They also tried to tell me one of my tires was worn so bad that they couldnt even touch it unless i bought a new tire. That tire wasnt even close to worn out.

Talked my wife into buying two new tires that we didnt need also with the same BS of not being able to rotate them because y were worn.

Nope, they arent the same company at all and my personal experience is that they want to sell new tires for every issue.

You like them, more power to you. I go other places these days.

Had issues 1 time. They fixed a flat and did not do it correctly and tried to charge me again for the road hazards on the new tire. They eventually waived the fee.

And multiple other people have had good experiences.

Congrats on your one customer viewpoint and anecdotal evidence that "proves" they are no longer the same company?

I mainly do business with the store in Kerrville and north San Antonio. My company does the entire fleet of their trucks through the DT in east Texas.
We do all our ranch trucks, horse trailers, stock trailers, equipment trailers with them.
They have always got us in quick and have bent over backwards to take care of us on anything..... repairs, rotating, balancing etc.
They have never pushed new tires on me.
Guess it probably depends on the store. I travel for a living and have used them everywhere... always met or exceeded my expectations.

One of which is they were too old! No reputable place will install old tires

bam02 said:

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Held hostage? A little dramatic. They gave her a loaner and released her without killing her. I'd say this was a hostage story with a happy ending.

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You're obviously suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

Steeltoe05 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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Discount changed their corporate policy a few years ago to esentially eliminate any tire repair, they want the answer to be alway "buy a new tire".

They arent anywere close to the same company they used to be. I go other places now when i have tire issues.

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Not my experience. In the last year I've had Discount patch two different tires free of charge with no question asked.

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They also patched 2 tire for me…free.