Wednesday, November 21, 2007

So Close to a Tire Solution

I thought I was "in" the tires. My tow business friend thought he had a set my size in a wrecked car that were in good shape. I was racing the clock by this time. I had an invite to Thanksgiving dinner in southern Oregon, with my brother and his family. But my tires are really too bald to make such a long trip.

There was a tire store in Albany willing to mount and balance the used tires, if I could get the tires there by 4:30. So, my friend pulled them off the wrecked car for me and left them outside his business. I ran over and got them and threw them in the back of my car. They had lots of tread, almost like new. That made me smile.

I made it over to the tire store a little late but before closing. He took one look and said they were a size too big, that they'd mess up my car and besides that, any bounce over a bump and they'd rub the wheel well.

I needed 185's. These were 195's.

Thing is, when I told my tow company friends what the tire store man said, they said "He was lying to you." 185 designates width not height. 195's would have fit just fine. That man either didn't want to put them on or wanted to sell me new tires, knowing I wanted to go someplace Thanksgiving, thinking he had me against a wall. He did show me tires, that were $120 EACH, the same tires Walmart sells for $45 less per tire. I suppose he didn't know I'd shopped around. I suppose he didn't know I already didn't trust him.

Finding honest people in this world is rather difficult. So anyhow, I still have these great used tires, I just have to get them mounted somewhere. I'm driving a borrowed Escort to Thanksgiving dinner.

Beware out there, folks. Tire stores, mechanics, some of these businesses are owned or staffed by liars. If you find an honest business in these lines of work, stick to it. You are lucky.

On a good note, the woman who adopted Little Miss Sunshine brought me a turkey. It is a butter basted turkey they bought by accident. Her husband is extremely lactose intolerant. Butter would make him sick. So, she brought me their turkey yesterday when she came to adopt Little Miss Sunshine. It's in the oven now.

2 comments:

  1. That really sucks about the tire thing. I'm lucky in that respect, I know at least as much about the brakes and front ends/general suspension of my cars as any mechanic (was on track to be ASA certified myself but cocaine was much more fun). There's nothing I like more than ripping into a liar in front of his buddies at a shop.

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  2. Wish you'd been here.

    ReplyDelete

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