Worth it to go from OEM 18s to 19s/ 20s?

[sleepless]

would there be any warranty coverage from Michelin??? you drove less then 1K ? right..... did u scrape on any curbs w/ belgian blocks, ?? That happen to me once in a audi coupe...

[StanF18]

Doubt it on the warranty. I asked my SA whether it's out-of-pocket for me, and he said unfortunately "yes". I'll double-check with him when I pick up the X. I might need to swallow the cost on this one. If it happens just one more time though, I'm going to ask him to take it up with the warehouse. This should not be happening with 1-week old tires. I'm not driving on nail beds after all.

[cmyX6go]

Originally Posted by StanF18

Well, wouldn't you know it. I drove around on the 18" Energy MXVs for 40,000 miles, not a single problem. As soon as I pop on the 19" Latitude Touring: BAM, the left front tire started dropping pressure by 3 psi every day. Finally took it back to the dealer and they found a 5-inch gash in the sidewall. .

That sucks, how the hell did you do that? I ran 132s with staggered 19" Michelin Diamaris for 3 seasons and never had a problem with blowouts or sidewall damage here in NJ/NY boros...

Good luck

[StanF18]

No idea. SA said on the phone he'll show me the gash when I come in.
Of course, in retrospect, I should've gotten Road Hazard coverage. I want to see if I can buy the coverage my local discount tire center. It might be worth it, so I don't keep shelling out $$$.

[StanF18]

WOW.
This whole situation just went from bad to worse. My stealer told me I have cracks in 3 out of 4 of my sidewalls! They replaced the tire with the biggest crack in it. Which, by the way, is out of MY pocket. But the guy said there is no need to replace the other 2 because the cracks do not go all the way though to the inside.

I told him the whole situation smells VERY funny. I can understand getting unlucky with one of 4 new Michelin Latitudes, and getting a gash in one of them. But 3 out of 4??!! In less than 2 weeks time? Come on!

I was trying to be nice, without the usual "let me speak to your manager" escalation. But I'm really at a loss for what to do. I've now been "double-dipped" for 1 tire, and 2 out of the remaining 3 have cracks in the sidewall, which were not replaced because he said the service guys checked the depth of the cracks, and they're "not very deep".

I asked him where they get their tires from and he said Tire Rack. Anyone seen any issues with Tire Rack in NY/NJ area?

I think I need to escalate this to the Service Manager. I don't feel like riding around on what are supposed to be spanking new Michelins with cracks in the sidewalls.

[cmyX6go]

I'd definitely go to the service manager. 4 brand new tires with gashes, something is not kosher.

[sleepless]

Hey Stan,

this is definitely not kosher....if they actually got the Mich from tirerack then tirerack should definitely be able to replace the tires w/ the cracks.... Tirerack is very good in Service.... matter of fact if you bought tires from them and have problems with say balancing or have bald spots from parking they will usually replace the tires.... U R case is much worse then what I just described...... you should not have to pay out of U R pocket when the tires are less the 2wks old..... if SA won't budge then contact Tirerack directly .... I would stop payment w/ cc... that's absurd... U just dropped over 3k to get some defective tires w/ gashes..... no way bro...

I just order my Bridgestone from tirerack.... arrived today getting fit to 18" 58's this wknd, the guy sent me another 58's to replace the bad one.....

[motordavid]

I'm with L and Sleepless...
if the stlr balks, take it to their distributor and the mfg.

Utter bs, imo.
GL,mD

[StanF18]

OK, looks like the e-mail I sent had the right effect. The service manager got involved, they will replace the 2 rear Michelins at their expense. I told them I want the new rear tires examined with a fine-toothed comb before they mount them.

I am also trying to get FULL CREDIT back for the left front, which they replaced earlier today. I told my SA that I do not buy the road hazard argument for that 1 new tire, when the 2 rears also had cracks in them. Funny enough, he's still resisiting me on that, claiming I must've hit a pothole. Anyway, he's going to talk to his service manager about it. I'm not letting this one go. I should not have to double-pay.

I guess the bigger question is: where did they get these tires from?? Now he's saying they came from BMW, which is like saying cow's milk comes from the supermarket.

[StanF18]

OK, I'm hoping this is the end of the cracked "new" tire adventure. The stealer replaced all 3 of the "compromised" tires at their expense. The service Manager was directly involved on the 2nd go-around, so I'm hoping this is the end of it.

I'm sure that my throwing so much $$$ at this dealer over the past 18 months played a role in their "good will". I was very respectful to both my Service Advisor and the Service Manager throughout the process, but I stood my ground. By the way, their Michelin distributor IS indeed Tire Rack. I know that plenty of folks here get their tires from Tire Rack, and I don't want to bad mouth Tire Rack. But this was a very strange experience for me and I thought it was important to share it. Hopefully mine was the exception.