Sears jacked up my wheels!!

eyeguy1 · 09-26-06, 06:00

A couple months ago my wife took my Mazda6 to Sears for new tires and when she came back I checked the tires out and I had paint gouged from the wheels. I brought the car in and showed the manager and he talked to the guy that changed the tires. The nut job admitted up to screwing it up. Why he wouldn't say anything in the first place is beyond me. So today I get my "new" wheels and I've got horribly painted, used, refurb wheels. The two wheels don't even match each other much less the ones on the car. The wheels match. The paint doesn't.

I know some folks would just have the wheels put on and call it a day. (Well, probably no one on this forum!) I don't know what course of action to take with Sears. I didn't buy my car with used wheels and I wouldn't buy a car with different color wheels either. The car has factory wheels in good shape and I think it's reasonable to expect to the same.

These "new" wheels look like they were painted by my 5 year old. You can tell these wheels probably belonged to some other poor soul who had their tires changed at Sears and ended up in the same situation I'm in. The wheels have dings under the new paint, paint on top of foam to mount the lead weights (they couldn't even take the foam off?), and one wheel still has the weights still on it (I guess it came pre balanced).

What I need to know I guess, is what should I expect from Sears? I'd like to have brand new wheels since my wheels looked new even with 60 some thousand miles on them. I'd settle for used wheels that looked as good as mine with a factory paint job. Has anybody ever dealt with anything like this before? What should I do?

Feels good to vent sometimes I guess. Thanks

tdekany · 09-26-06, 06:34

do you have any recent pictures of your car? Print it and show the manager what wheels you want to see on your car. I wouldn't have driven out of sears if I were you with those "new" wheels on. There is no more customer service at large stores.

eyeguy1 · 09-26-06, 07:06

There sitting in the back of the 6. After what they did to the original wheels there's no way I'm going to let them mount another set of tires! I can say without a doubt those wheels will NEVER be mounted on my car. I have a feeling they'll tell me to take it or leave it. I really don't want to go to small claims court over this either. I'd be fine with them reimbursing me the cost of used factory wheels. But what they've done so far is unacceptable.

Deanski · 09-26-06, 08:03

I know some dealers offer wheel repairs. I know my dealer has a vendor show up and they do an impressive job as I've seen the work and you can't tell new from repaired on any Porsche wheels they do. I'd ask around to find a wheel repair shop and see the work they do. If you do go that route, return to Sears and inform the service manager that the ones you received are unacceptable due to the poor match etc. Inform him he can have those back once you get your originals repaired and ask for Sears to pay for the repair, which should be quite a bit less than new/refreb wheels.

Sears is one place I refuse to do any business with no matter what it is. They also hosed me on a range delivery several times.

Bottom line, as long as you work with the manager and act in a professional way, you'll get a better chance in him seeing your point. Would he accept the same wheels on his own vehicle? As long as you keep informing him that all you want is to have your wheels repaired and paid for and in return they get the ones they gave to you for damage back to them to do with whatever.

If by chance they turn into real tools, don't waste your time. Leave, have your wheels repaired and be happy with them. Then, seek the amount back in small claims court, obtain a sheriff and have him (manager) and Sears served with papers.

Good luck!

Regards,
Deanski

DETAILKING · 09-27-06, 07:21

Write a letter.....

This happened to me at firestone last yr. He agreed to replace the wheel and the same thing happened, he bought remanufactured wheels from BEKKERS and they looked like crap. He tried to use the line that he was replacing "used wheels with used wheels" but my wheels were mint! I rejected them and left very disappointed.

I wrote a letter describing what happened, and included some verbage of all the car clubs I belong too and being an enthusiast how MINT I keep my cars. I CC'ed the store manager and the VP of customer relations and faxed out the letters. I basically gave them 2 options.....either give me the cash to buy a wheel at my dealership, or basically supply me with a brand new wheel (and I gave the part number). I said if they do this I will drop any current or future litagation regarding the matter, and if they didn't do this I would use every legal resource at my disposal to obtain my new wheels.

The next day I got a phone call and they said my new wheel would be arriving in a day or so.

Good luck! But write that letter and get it out ASAP.

BostonDirtDog · 09-27-06, 07:58

File a complaint here:
http://www.wvago.us/frameset.html
It will save you the aggrivation of filing an action against them.

Danase · 09-27-06, 10:24

That sucks. Sorry to hear that. I, for one, would not let Sears touch my car. It's like going to Wal Mart for tires in my opinion.

eyeguy1 · 09-27-06, 05:37

Well, my wife took the 6 in today for a recall and showed the guys in the shop and they kind of laughed at the job that was done. So we'll see how the manager reacts when I give him the part # and the $700 price tag for both wheels. I would be happy for a used set in excellent shape at any price. Who knows, when I show the manager the wheels he might be as disgusted as me. The guy seemed real nice and willing to take care of me. Then again he may say tough luck.

I think I'm a fairly reasonable guy and not asking too much. We'll see what happens when I talk to the manager. The sales guy didn't seem to care too much that they didn't match, so I won't be dealing with him. I may just buy the wheels outright and have them foot the bill.

evo77 · 09-27-06, 06:48

I totally feel where your coming from. A few years ago I had Sears Auto mount brand new aftermarket 18" wheels and tires. As I was anxiously waiting for them to finish I happen to walk by the door to the shop and to my horror I see two guys trying to pry on the tire with a bar on my new wheels!!! I just about died. These knuckleheads couldn't get the tire mounted on right even though the tire was a 225 going on a 7.5" wide wheel. As they finished the second wheel I just had to go in there and look to see what I was fearing the most...

*SEE ATTACHED PIC*

This gouging was the same on the other wheel and there was also some scrape marks around half of the lip.

I'm glad I stopped them on the 2nd wheel because they would have surely ruined all four. I complained immediately about it and had to wait until the next day to talk with the store manager. To make a long story short, I was lucky that Sears carried the brand of wheel I had (although I purchased them elsewhere) and got two brand spanking new wheels the NEXT day free of charge. I ended up taking them to another wheel shop for mounting.

twitch · 09-27-06, 07:31

Good luck with your situation. This is unfortunately not the first bad story I've heard regarding a Sears shop.

It totally floors me how inconsiderate people can be towards others items. Like evo77's story. I can't believe the jacknuts would actually take a crowbar to the wheels and not even care that they damage them. It's truly disgusting.

This is one reason that I DREAD having to bring my car anywhere for anything!

BostonDirtDog · 09-28-06, 07:37

Solution #2: You might want try calling corporate directly. 847-286-2500. Dealing with the store manager is a waste of time in my experience.

eyeguy1 · 09-28-06, 07:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by BostonDirtDog

Solution #2: You might want try calling corporate directly. 847-286-2500. Dealing with the store manager is a waste of time in my experience.

I may just call them in the morning. I was too busy to talk to the manager today. If I were any more picky, they'd be replacing all 4 wheels. The tool they use to pull the tire from the wheel has left scratches on the circumference of all 4. They're not deep and not too noticeable, but they can't be buffed either. I'm willing to let something like that slide, so I don't think I'm unreasonable. If I get time tomorrow, I plan to talk to someone. I'll start low and work my way up the list if needed. My plate is so full right now that this is the last thing I need to deal with.