RolexBenz190E
New Member
Bare with me, this might be a long story.
To start off, I had a flat on my Rover and I couldn't get the wheel off the car with the stock tire changing tools that they give you. So I had my vehicle towed to a tire company. At that time I told them that I wanted my spare tire put on and one of the tires checked for nails (they were doing free nail repairs at the time). I paid and signed before the services were performed.
They replaced my flat with my spare (which is the same exact tire, make, model, size and everything... plus the same rim). They also decide to check ALL the tires for nails. They found nails on all three remaining tires and repaired only two tires. They explained to me that one of the tires had TWO nails in it and that they were too close together to repair. The problem is that they had already removed one of the two nails putting an even bigger hole in my tire than before. They refused to repair it.
I asked if they had any tires in stock of the same size, make and model. They said that they didnt have it in stock in any of their local locations and that they would have to order it while I leave my vehicle there till it comes in. I told them I couldn't leave my vehicle there because I needed to be in Phoenix 2 hours ago (150 miles south of Flagstaff). Since they refused to repair my tire and they dint have a tire available, I was in a bad situation.
I told them that since they can't immediatly replace my tire, they shouldn't have taken the nail out in the first place and make the tire non-usable. So I told them to go find the nail in the trash can and put it back in, because I had to be places. The manager said he didn't feel comfortable with me driving to phoenix on that tire. So he offered to give me a "loner tire". When they mounted it I noticed that this loner tire was extremely larger then my other tires. I told them multiple times that my vehicle was an ALL TIME 4x4 vehicle and that I only wanted the same exact size, make and model as my other tires. I had also told them numerous times that I was driving to phoenix to the dealership. They insisted that I could drive this Phoenix as long as I changed the tire when I got to the dealership. Well, they are the proffesionals, not me. So on their words of advice to change the tire at the dealership when I got there, they printed me up another thing stating the situation and that I knew it was a different size and then they sent me on my way. I DID NOT SIGN THIS.
My friend and I get 20 miles south bound from Flagstaff and all of a sudden "BOOOOM!"... Smoke everywhere, I cant see a dang thing. My friend and I were in a panic! There was the initial explosion and smoke following a loud grinding noise and rapid deceleration in just under 4 seconds (was traveling at about 65mph at the time of the incident). We successfully were able to veir the the right shoulder of the road and called for road side assisstance. Fortunately for my friend and I, we weren't hurt along with other people driving around us.
I had to get towed the rest of the 130 miles to the nearest dealership. By the time we arrived, they were already closed. So we had to drop the vehicle off in the middle of the lot. We couldn't push it into a space because the differential was locked and the transfer case was jacked up. So there it was in th middle of the lot blocking ALL traffic from entering or exiting. I drop the keys off in the overnight drop box with a description of what happened. I got a rental car, and then drove to a hotel and payed for a few days until my car was done.
At the time, I had no idea why the Rover exploded, but I was under the impression that my vehicle's warranty would cover it anyways (they honor car rental, lodging, etc. as well). The next morning I get a call from the Land Rover dealership saying that the whole drive train needs to be replaced and that it was the different size tire that cause the explosion ("different size tires makes the wheels rotate at different rates, seizing the differential and destroying the transfer case"). ESTIMATED repair cost is $4,800 not including tax.
I was shocked to find out that the negligence on behalf of the tire company caused my vehicle to be out of commission! I was even more shocked to find out the warranty didnt cover it because of the negligence. So i immediatly called my car insurance to see if they would cover it. I filed a claim but they said it didnt fall under the any definitions that they cover. So then I called the tire company and requested that they file a claim with their liability insurance. They did so and I waited patiently for a call. I get a call at the end of their business hours by their representative in corporate claims and all she asked me was if any one was hurt and where the vehicle was located at that time. She then stated that the employees at the facility i went to witnessed that I wanted the nail put back in my old tire and that I wanted that tire to be put back on so that I could drive to Phoenix. She also said that the inventory list stated that there WERE tires in stock at that time (even though I was told that there weren't any in stock). She said that they would have to review and then they would call me back.
The next day i wait even longer than i did the day before, still racking up lodging costs, vehicle rental costs, etc. because I'm now stranded due to this situation. The same representative calls and tells me that in no way is the tire company at fault, that I knew the loner tire was a different size tire on and that I they are going to only pay $2,500 towards the repair.
I told her
"If I would have known that a different tire size would cause such catostrophic failure or ANY damages to the vehicle, I would have NEVER drove with that tire on. I told your professionals that this vehicle was an ALL TIME 4x4 vehicle and that I was driving to the Phoenix dealership... on multiple occasions I stated that. I'm not the car/tire expert, that is why I went to your tire facility. In no way did I know that this was going to happen while driving on that off-size tire."
She transfered me to her manager, but the manager stated the same thing and that I should have just bought a tire because they were in stock (even though I was informed that they WERE NOT in stock on the day in question).
They left the ball in my court as to whether or not to accept their $2,500 or to not. I told them I would have to speak to my attorney and that I'm not refusing the offer, but I am also not accepting it. I told them that I would prevail and that their negligence would be known, that I would contact the media and let them know that their actions almost caused the lives of my friend and I along with people driving around us, that the media would eat that up and that I would keep feeding it to them until the tire company payed up for their mistakes.
Now, what I said in the last paragraph was probably a bad choice on my part. But in no way did I raise my voice, they were the ones raising their voices at me and telling me that I should have just bought a tire.
Do I have a case here? Am I really at fault here because I'm not the tire expert and that I should have known the tire was going to cause catostrophic failure? Please, I need some advice. My attorney is actually my dad's attorney, but i just found out that he only deals with my dad unless I'm put on the policy. I really need to know if I should persue this case or if I should except the $2,500.
Thanks!
To start off, I had a flat on my Rover and I couldn't get the wheel off the car with the stock tire changing tools that they give you. So I had my vehicle towed to a tire company. At that time I told them that I wanted my spare tire put on and one of the tires checked for nails (they were doing free nail repairs at the time). I paid and signed before the services were performed.
They replaced my flat with my spare (which is the same exact tire, make, model, size and everything... plus the same rim). They also decide to check ALL the tires for nails. They found nails on all three remaining tires and repaired only two tires. They explained to me that one of the tires had TWO nails in it and that they were too close together to repair. The problem is that they had already removed one of the two nails putting an even bigger hole in my tire than before. They refused to repair it.
I asked if they had any tires in stock of the same size, make and model. They said that they didnt have it in stock in any of their local locations and that they would have to order it while I leave my vehicle there till it comes in. I told them I couldn't leave my vehicle there because I needed to be in Phoenix 2 hours ago (150 miles south of Flagstaff). Since they refused to repair my tire and they dint have a tire available, I was in a bad situation.
I told them that since they can't immediatly replace my tire, they shouldn't have taken the nail out in the first place and make the tire non-usable. So I told them to go find the nail in the trash can and put it back in, because I had to be places. The manager said he didn't feel comfortable with me driving to phoenix on that tire. So he offered to give me a "loner tire". When they mounted it I noticed that this loner tire was extremely larger then my other tires. I told them multiple times that my vehicle was an ALL TIME 4x4 vehicle and that I only wanted the same exact size, make and model as my other tires. I had also told them numerous times that I was driving to phoenix to the dealership. They insisted that I could drive this Phoenix as long as I changed the tire when I got to the dealership. Well, they are the proffesionals, not me. So on their words of advice to change the tire at the dealership when I got there, they printed me up another thing stating the situation and that I knew it was a different size and then they sent me on my way. I DID NOT SIGN THIS.
My friend and I get 20 miles south bound from Flagstaff and all of a sudden "BOOOOM!"... Smoke everywhere, I cant see a dang thing. My friend and I were in a panic! There was the initial explosion and smoke following a loud grinding noise and rapid deceleration in just under 4 seconds (was traveling at about 65mph at the time of the incident). We successfully were able to veir the the right shoulder of the road and called for road side assisstance. Fortunately for my friend and I, we weren't hurt along with other people driving around us.
I had to get towed the rest of the 130 miles to the nearest dealership. By the time we arrived, they were already closed. So we had to drop the vehicle off in the middle of the lot. We couldn't push it into a space because the differential was locked and the transfer case was jacked up. So there it was in th middle of the lot blocking ALL traffic from entering or exiting. I drop the keys off in the overnight drop box with a description of what happened. I got a rental car, and then drove to a hotel and payed for a few days until my car was done.
At the time, I had no idea why the Rover exploded, but I was under the impression that my vehicle's warranty would cover it anyways (they honor car rental, lodging, etc. as well). The next morning I get a call from the Land Rover dealership saying that the whole drive train needs to be replaced and that it was the different size tire that cause the explosion ("different size tires makes the wheels rotate at different rates, seizing the differential and destroying the transfer case"). ESTIMATED repair cost is $4,800 not including tax.
I was shocked to find out that the negligence on behalf of the tire company caused my vehicle to be out of commission! I was even more shocked to find out the warranty didnt cover it because of the negligence. So i immediatly called my car insurance to see if they would cover it. I filed a claim but they said it didnt fall under the any definitions that they cover. So then I called the tire company and requested that they file a claim with their liability insurance. They did so and I waited patiently for a call. I get a call at the end of their business hours by their representative in corporate claims and all she asked me was if any one was hurt and where the vehicle was located at that time. She then stated that the employees at the facility i went to witnessed that I wanted the nail put back in my old tire and that I wanted that tire to be put back on so that I could drive to Phoenix. She also said that the inventory list stated that there WERE tires in stock at that time (even though I was told that there weren't any in stock). She said that they would have to review and then they would call me back.
The next day i wait even longer than i did the day before, still racking up lodging costs, vehicle rental costs, etc. because I'm now stranded due to this situation. The same representative calls and tells me that in no way is the tire company at fault, that I knew the loner tire was a different size tire on and that I they are going to only pay $2,500 towards the repair.
I told her
"If I would have known that a different tire size would cause such catostrophic failure or ANY damages to the vehicle, I would have NEVER drove with that tire on. I told your professionals that this vehicle was an ALL TIME 4x4 vehicle and that I was driving to the Phoenix dealership... on multiple occasions I stated that. I'm not the car/tire expert, that is why I went to your tire facility. In no way did I know that this was going to happen while driving on that off-size tire."
She transfered me to her manager, but the manager stated the same thing and that I should have just bought a tire because they were in stock (even though I was informed that they WERE NOT in stock on the day in question).
They left the ball in my court as to whether or not to accept their $2,500 or to not. I told them I would have to speak to my attorney and that I'm not refusing the offer, but I am also not accepting it. I told them that I would prevail and that their negligence would be known, that I would contact the media and let them know that their actions almost caused the lives of my friend and I along with people driving around us, that the media would eat that up and that I would keep feeding it to them until the tire company payed up for their mistakes.
Now, what I said in the last paragraph was probably a bad choice on my part. But in no way did I raise my voice, they were the ones raising their voices at me and telling me that I should have just bought a tire.
Do I have a case here? Am I really at fault here because I'm not the tire expert and that I should have known the tire was going to cause catostrophic failure? Please, I need some advice. My attorney is actually my dad's attorney, but i just found out that he only deals with my dad unless I'm put on the policy. I really need to know if I should persue this case or if I should except the $2,500.
Thanks!
