Originally Posted by Jazzmeson

Sorry everyone. I know they aren't exactly the type of vendor or seller that deals primarily with RX-8s, but I just wanted to let my frustration out trying to deal with these guys for the last week. I only went to this place because of a friend of mine who happens to work there.

I first got a flat on my nearly bald Bridgestones and had to do a quick run to this place before the situation got worse. I asked to get it patched and they concluded that my tread is far too low to do the work and told me they will sell me a used tire for forty dollars, okay fair enough. So I went on with it and the guy clearly states that if I come back within a few days and buy a set of new tires, they will refund me back my money and take the used tire back, sounds good right?

Not exactly. I came back within two days to purchase myself a set of Hankook Ventus V12 Evos, had the price matched and everything already; my friend even told the manager to waive the installation fee since he knows me and he agreed. I appreciate the fact that he helped me save a bit of money from labor.

I brought up the statement on how I'll be able to get my forty back as soon as my tires arrive, and they told me that yes, I should be able to get a refund towards the purchase of a set of new tires. So I come back within three days because my tires finally arrived to get them installed, unfortunately my friend wasn't working that day.

Everything seemed to be fine, new tires were on and mounted ready to go after about thirty minutes of waiting. I asked them about my refund and all of a sudden they refused to refund the used tire I bought. They started coming up with excuses saying my friend waived the installation fee so they can't afford to buy the tire back anymore. The rep kept telling me that I'm getting a good deal on the set already and thinks it is unnecessary to refund me my used tire; he even told me twice that they will refund it before I had them installed!

So I was fine with it and just decided to keep it as a spare. I also brought up on how Hankook has a Great Catch rebate and asked them about it and the guy tells me that I didn't buy the tires at the suggested price and told me not to fill out the rebate form because they will deny my request anyway which is a load of bullshit.

So as I left the shop, I went to a coin-op car wash five minutes away from the place and noticed that my rear left valve stem was crooked. I sprayed my wheels with the hose gently and suddenly the stem snapped in half and started leaking air quickly, they even forgot to cap two of my wheels so I had to quickly grab the other cap to cover the leak until I get back to the shop.

I came back and started complaining about how I'm going to need a new TPMS and deserved to be compensated for the damage they did. The manager came out and started saying that I need to buy a new TPMS from them for $40 which instantly made me lose my temper. I started arguing that this happened within ten minutes I left the store and it was already bent and leaking air before I went to wash my car.

The manager started bringing up that they are not responsible for any damage done once you leave the store and told me that I have no proof that I can hold them liable for it. After repeatedly yelling at him saying that I didn't cause any of the damage to happen, he tells me that it is either I buy a new sensor or put in a normal valve stem and deal with the light or talk to Mazda and tell them their sensors are defective, what the hell?

He even brought up the topic that I got a good deal on the tires because of my friend again and told me that they need the money from the TPMS to pay the workers for labor. I was so infuriated hearing all these excuses trying to guilt trip me. I regrettably ended up buying another sensor to get the problem over with and the guy tells me to remember to come back within 5,000 miles to get your free rotation. I was angry for a while and couldn't stop thinking about the situation and finally decided to let go.

All of a sudden, yesterday my TPMS light went on again, I checked my tire pressure and this time the right rear tire was running low on air. I didn't want to go back to America's Tire and decided to get it checked at another local tire shop to see if there was a leak. The guy from Mexicali told me that the leak is coming from the valve stem and told me he couldn't fix it because it is slightly cracked and I would have to get a new TPMS.

I instantly referred back to my situation with America's Tire and knew that they fucked up on not one, but two sensors. I ended up buying a new sensor somewhere else and had it fixed because I refuse to give them anymore business after all the hassle I've dealt with. It has been really frustrating that such a big company would screw up and lie and manipulate your thoughts when it comes to their own faults.

Right now, I've been thinking about how I can take course of action with them, but the chances of getting compensated for all this trouble is highly unlikely... That's pretty much how everything happened and I would encourage fellow members around here that live near Simi Valley to stay away from that place.

Originally Posted by godesshunter

Fixed to make it legible. On topic, Its hard to argue with someone who didint own up to making the mistake to begin with. Being in the tire business myself, I know how easy it is to break those sensors if an untrained person is doing the job.

Unfortunately you just have to suck it up and remember to never go back there again. I would suggest giving a close inspection to the remaining 2.

And in response to your first line, its not RX8 specific. It really isn't acceptable. TPMS, in one form or another, is on every car sold in the US after 2007. Bolt in sensors like our cars have is the most common setup.

Originally Posted by Grace_Excel

Sorry to hear that you had to deal with this kind of ordeal. I have been a long time customer of America's Tire Co. aka Discount Tire Co. for more than 10 years and have been to both locations in the San Fernando Valley; on Balboa in Granada Hills and in North Hollywood. They've been pretty careful handling both my OEM and the RAYS wheels I have when I needed them to install new tires.

I would try contacting the location on Balboa [1(818)831-5802] and ask them about the rebate for your Hankook tires, you may get a better response than the sales guy who gave you the run-around in Simi Valley. They operate under the same company so your profile will be in the system.

Originally Posted by TeamRX8

is there a Cliffs Notes version?