Tire repair appears to have been dishonest - what should I do?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Near the beginning of the year, one of the tires in my car had a slow leak, and I took it to be repaired.

A few months later, the same tire leaked again, and I took it to be repaired again.

And, again, a few months later, I took it to be repaired.

Each time, the tire shop told me that it had been punctured by a nail. The third time, the guy told me that if it got punctured again, they’d have to replace the tire, since a tire can only be patched three times.

The fourth time it was low on pressure, I got suspicious of the first place, and took it to a second shop, which repaired it, and told me that there was only one repair spot on it, which was leaking.

So, I’ve spent about $75 on repairs that were faulty, and the first shop has, at best, been misleading with their comments. An honest shop would have pointed out that their previous repair had failed.

What should I do? Obviously, I’m not going back to the first shop. Could I reasonably expect a refund from them? Should I report them to the FTC or some other watch group?

2

I’d contact the shop manager, explain the issue, and give the business a chance to make it right. For me, making it right would be a full refund. If I weren’t satisfied with how they handled it, I’d file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. It’s unlikely I’d get work done there in the future, but how they handle it determines whether I shout from the rooftops how untrustworthy they are any chance I get to everyone and his/her mother or I shrug it off as ‘lesson learned, move along’.

3

not that you should have to do this, but you could have visually inspected the tire for visible problems prior to taking it in.

not that they had to do this, but if you were waiting while they were doing the repairs they could have shown you the problem.

did you wait while they did the repairs? if so, did you witness the tire coming off the car?

it’s entirely possible the tech was being sloppy, dishonest, or otherwise with his work & his communication with the service adviser, so the guy you spoke with may be less complicit than he appears. however, it’s his responsibility to be in control of what goes on in the back, so whoever you spoke with is ultimately responsible, regardless.

whoever told you tires can only be patched 3 times pulled that number out of their ass. I’m not saying they should or shouldn’t be, I’m saying there’s no industry rule that 3 times is all you get.

was it discussed what the statistical odds were of one tire only getting a nail in it 3x and the other tires none? I’m not a statistician, but it’s got to be pretty fricken high.

where were those $75 spent? all total, both shops or ?

how old/ worn are your tires?

how long has it been since the most recent repair?

with no more knowledge than what i have now, i think them refunding your charges sound reasonable. (not what the other shop charged you, just their charges)

depending on your answers & their willingness to work with you would help to answer if the BBB should be involved.

4

Give the shop the chance to make it right, don’t expect them to do so. This is a pretty common scam, imho.

5

About 15-20 years ago I ran into a variation of this: I had a slow leak, so took my truck to a chain store. I was told the leak was in the side of the tire, which couldn’t be patched, so I had to buy a new tire. Fine.

Some time later, maybe within a year or two, I had a slow leak in a different tire. I took the truck to a different store of the same chain. Same diagnosis, I had to buy a new tire.

Maybe all of it was true, who knows. But I was suspicious enough that I’ve never gone to that chain again. And I’ve never had a leak that wound up being in the side of the tire again.

6

did they not show you where they found the problem? that’s just a common thing to do if the customer is in the store &/or is remotely interested in what they found.

the way it sounds is it’s also quite possible they did exactly what you asked them to do & you’ve shunned them for no reason, just saying.

  • was ASE mechanic at my families auto repair shop for years, also ran a competing shop for years, worked in a tire shop when i was younger.
7

I used to work in a tire store, and we did get it from above not to patch a tire more than three times. The thing we told people, which had some truch, was that it was probably the case that the steel belting was compromised just a little with each puncture, to the point that at three punctures, it was as stressed as it could be. More to the point, most people had been driving around on low tires, and after having done it three times, had compromised the sidewalls too much.

The fact was, that when it was our own tires, sometimes we patched them more than three times, if the patches were well-spaced, or the tires very new, because we knew exactly how much driving we’d done with the tires low, and just how low.

If you are driving some place where you are picking up a lot of nails, you might want to buy a $10 plug kit and a pair of pliers to keep in your car. You can repair nail holes yourself. Keep a spray bottle with soapy water to spray the tire so you can find the leak, and invest in a $15 air compressor that plugs into your cigarette lighter to fill up low tires without having to drive to a gas station on a low tire.

I always fix my own tires.

Anyway, RE: the shop. You can go back and tell them that the other shop said they saw no evidence of the previous work, but they may claim it’s not the same tire, or something. It’s worth a shot, though. I doubt they will give you cash back, but they may give you credit. You can threaten to call the BBB, and demand that if they are going to give you credit, you want double. That would allow you to get something actually done for free, like an oil change. I don’t know how much you trust this shop, though, especially to do work after you’ve given them a hard time.

8

I would say more a second-rate shop than scam but pretty close to the same thought runs through my brain.

9

I did not wait. I did not ever see the tire.

Interesting, since the second tire shop also told me that.

No, but that was what made me suspicious and take the car to another shop. Four random tire punctures all being on the same tire is 1 chance in 16, which isn’t exactly winning the lottery, but it’s surprising enough to look into.

They’re the tires that came with the car, which was only about 6 months old when the first (and what appears to be only) puncture occurred.

]About too weeks.

Evidence suggests that I’ve only picked up one nail, ever, but that’s not a bad idea :slight_smile:

10

No four random tire punctures in the same tire is a 1 in 64 chance. I suspect you said it’s (1/2)^4, but it’s not a yes-no. If you get a puncture randomly each tire has a one in four chance of getting it. So the second being in the same tire as the first is 1/4. The third and fourth being the same are another 1/4 each so (1/4)^3.

Each tire may not have an equal chance though. If you’re going straight, I suppose a front tire has a greater chance of getting the nail assuming you’re going forward. I also suspect, there’s more junk curbside, so the right tires might be more likely to get a nail.

11

Just wanted to thank you for this great idea. It had never occurred to me to do this.
mmm

12

Honestly, there is no point is filing a complaint with the BBB. They are a totally powerless, if not corrupt group. They don’t actually do anything.
But yes, definitely, plugging a tire is about a 5 minute job, if that. The worst part, is that to get the plug in, you often have to jam a screwdriver in the hole and actually widen it some. That is nerve wracking the first time.

13

Another thing you may want to consider, if you keep losing air in the same tire, is that your wheel has gotten slightly bent out of shape (maybe from hitting a pothole too hard) and the seal around the rim is not as tight as it should be.

14

Yes, you are of course right, on both counts.

15

It’s not a continual leak. The tire would be fine for a few months (I checked it regularly), then it’ll start losing a few pounds a day.

16

They most likely didn’t want to admit that the first patch was bad so they told you it was a new hole. Some of the techs get paid by the job so it was in their interest to find a new hole.

17

i clearly need to bone up on how to reply to multiple quotes and replying line by line, hopefully this makes sense.

it’s unfortunate you didn’t see the tire problem nor somewhat the repair. it is what it is.
i can see them agreeing with the other tire shop on that rule, i can see them having their own rule which corresponds. it sounds like a reasonable rule of thumb to me as well. what i didn’t find, nor am i aware of existing, any set in stone rule governing that anywhere. i looked here https://www.tireindustry.org/ and found nothing. maybe someone else could find something on that topic? I’ve been wrong before.
i do agree with the other poster that mentioned curb side front tires would be more likely to have a problem over the others. i also agree with what was said about the patch not being done correctly & holding the first time. the other tire shops findings, or lack of, seem to confirm this.

it does sound like it’s fixed now. I’m happy for that.

in conclusion, what i would probably do is chalk this one up to learning & just not go back to shop A. you could go to get your money back, and they might oblige you. you also might find it more hassle than its worth.

also, tire plugs & patches are two very different repairs. for 99.99% of the population, they could never, ever do a patch at home - you are a part of that crowd.

plugging a tire people can do at home, sometimes. i plugged a tire last week that i don’t personally know a woman who would’ve had the strength to do it. not that they aren’t out there, i just don’t know them.

beyond it being sometimes very hard to do you’re going to need a air compressor.

you’d want someone to show you how, but even if you have the right tools, be prepared to not be able to do it always.

18

I think this is a Hanlon’s/Heinlein’s razor sort of situation. Unlikely a tire shop would trade its good name in the pursuit of a lucrative $18 a pop tire patch scam.

19

Until this car and tire, getting a tire patched is something I’ve only done like once in a decade. Certainly not worth me spending time to learn how to do it to save an hour and ~$20.

It was the curb-side front tire, by the way.