Ever Been to an Off-Road Tire Circle-Jerk?

[Cappy_TX]

Just got home from one!

You may have seen this topic ( http://www.jeepz.com/forum/cj-yj-tj-jk/27562-airing-up-while-off-road.html ) where I broke down and ordered a set of 5 Goodrich 31X10.50-15 T/A KM Mudders. They were promised to be in town from Dallas 90 miles away by noon today. About 11:30 am I called the dealer and he said that although they weren't in yet, he had just talked to the in-bound driver and he was less than 30 minutes away. So my wife and I took off shortly thereafter with two cars for town 11 miles from here. We dropped the Jeep off at the dealer and went on our way to do some grocery shopping. The tires hadn't arrived yet (12:10 pm) but it didn't really matter, we'd be back in an hour to pick the jeep back up and it would be ok if I need to wait a short while.

Much to my pleasant surprise (short lived) when we returned (1:15 pm) the jeep was sitting out front. "It must be done, already" ... I thought to myself. As we pulled up next to it I was shocked to see my old Goodyear Wranglers were still on the Jeep. When I went inside the manager said the driver called in and had been delayed but would be there any minute.
With that said I told my wife to head on home in her Van since she had frozen foods in the car. "I should be home fairly soon and we'll take it out for a trial run through a pasture" ... I said to her with a slightly boyish grin.

Fast forward to 3:10 pm ... despite my pacing and obvious irritation in for waiting around for 3 hours, the delivery truck from Dallas finally pulled in. By then, just to appease me, they had already put the Jeep on the lift and removed and broke down all four tires and the spare, and were ready to balance and install the replacements the second they arrived.

The tires came off the back of the truck and were quickly wheeled over to the Jeep. The first one was grabbed and the service guy asked if I wanted the white lettering to the inside or out. I told him outside ... but wait .... those do NOT look right. I walked further into the shop (customers aren't supposed to be there) took a closer look at the tires and ... HOLY CRAPOLA ... ATs ... NOT mudders. I was livid.

The owner of the dealership went out and looked and said ... "I'll be damned ... they did send the wrong F______g tires, didn't they"? I took a deep breath and in the calmest voice I could muster I said ... "I suggest that you call your warehouse and have someone drive the correct tires up here in a car first thing in the morning as I will not wait for another weekly delivery, period".

He went into his office and called the warehouse. I couldn't hear much of the conversation except the part when he said "What the hell you mean that's what I ordered? Bull s___ I ordered Mud terrain KMs and you even confirmed there were 22 in stock at the time."

The long and short of it is that Goodrich will NOT give the dealer the MT at the TA price they claim they quoted and my $618 purchase has now turned into just over $1,000 if I want them. The local dealer does NOT feel obligated to honor his quote to me. If I was a little younger or willing to spend time in court, I'd sue him for breach of contract and seek specific performance plus damages, including 4-1/2 hours of my life wasted. Or else I'd settle out of court if you know what I mean. I told him to shove his tires and left.

I just got off the phone with the local Goodyear Tire dealer and he's installing five 31X10.50-15R MT N/A Federal Couragia 6 ply mudders for me Thursday. $722.80 out the door all inclusive. Hunting season begins Saturday. Maybe I won't still be PO'd about it by then

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Cappy I’m feeling your pain here and don’t want to sound insensitive but who orders tires from a stealership? I’ve never known a dealer to be the best price on anything and when it comes to honoring their word, forget about it, it isn’t going to happen. To many trips though the tulips for me to get stung by that bee ever again.

 

[xt master]

I feel for ya,but I would have stuck to my guns and made them get me the correct tire for the price I was quoted.Not my fault if he can not read and quotes the wrong tire and orders the wrong tire.

 

[Cappy_TX]

ST ... We live in a rural area, 11 miles from the closes town that has a population of under 10,000 and declining like most rural small towns are. We do our best to try to support the local businesses that are struggling. Most of the things we buy in Dallas or on the net are simply not available locally.
Having said that ... I only get fooled the first time.

XT ... At 68 I'm not too old to learn ... please tell me just HOW you would have "stuck to your guns" so we'll both know how to do it next time. 8)

 

[Saddle Tramp]

I feel for ya,but I would have stuck to my guns and made them get me the correct tire for the price I was quoted.Not my fault if he can not read and quotes the wrong tire and orders the wrong tire.

I don’t think you can hold them to it if it’s not a written quote and even then most places will say they have the right to correct errors. However, they should have made some concession to correct the problem in the interest of fair play and to hold down on the bad mouthing from a disgruntle customer. If it had been a reputable tire shop that may have happened.

 

[xt master]

What I would do would depend on what you have done all ready.If I am ordering some thing I normally have it written on paper and pay for half up front.This way I have a written contract to prove on what I am getting.In smaller towns it is even better if you threaten to bad mouth them.It normally takes 10 new customers to make up for 1 mad customer.So in smaller towns they will normally bend to help you out more.At that point some negotiation can go on.Maybe meet him half ways on the cost or something.You still get the tire at a cheaper rate.Although for tires I would have mail ordered them myself and then had them mounted by a local garage.

 

[Cappy_TX]

What I would do would depend on what you have done all ready.If I am ordering some thing I normally have it written on paper and pay for half up front.This way I have a written contract to prove on what I am getting.

There was no dispute about the price quoted. Ken, the owner of the local tire service for 25+ years here, completely agrees that he quoted me the BFG Mud Terrain T/A KMs. He doesn't dispute it at all. In fact, he still had the info on his quote pad from the day he did it for me and recalled that there were 22 in stock in Dallas when he placed the order when I mentioned that to him. It was the Goodrich wholesale distributor who mis-quoted and then shipped the T/As. They DENY they made the mistake and refuse to provide the mudders at the AT price, especially since they were on a discontinued T/A closeout. I found it interesting that they told Ken they couldn't tell how many of the mudders they had in stock when Ken placed the order. That smells. Ken said he'd lose over $300 not counting tax and labor if he honored the price he quoted me, and he wouldn't do that. He feels the resposibility is entirely Goodrich's.

Since there is no dispute about the price he quoted, mine would be a slam dunk motion for summary judgement if I brought an action suing for "specific perfomance". Verbal contracts are fully enforceable in every state of the Union provided that the terms are not in dispute by the parties, and even then a judge will often hear the case and rule on any disputed terms.

What are the requirements for a Specific Performance lawsuit?
A complaint for specific performance must allege: (a) the making of a specifically enforceable type of contract, sufficiently certain in its terms; (b) adequate consideration, and a just and reasonable contract; (c) plaintiff's performance, tender or excuse for nonperformance of the contract; (d) defendant'sbreachof the contract; and (e) inadequacy of a remedy at law.

I easily meet everyone of those legal standards in this instance. Just not interested in hiring an attorney, paying a minimum of $500 in costs and fees to prosecute a case that will take many hours from my remaining years to recover a couple hundred bucks ... at best.

In smaller towns it is even better if you threaten to bad mouth them.It normally takes 10 new customers to make up for 1 mad customer.So in smaller towns they will normally bend to help you out more.At that point some negotiation can go on.Maybe meet him half ways on the cost or something.You still get the tire at a cheaper rate.Although for tires I would have mail ordered them myself and then had them mounted by a local garage.

Threatening to bad mouth the dealer to the public is a small community is generally not a good idea. It is at best a form of extortion, and at worst potentially actionable against me as slander, defamation and/or libel depending on what one says, how they say it and to whom. Since he didn't feel the error was his and didn't want to sell the correct tires at a loss, the negotiations ended. That's why I suggested he commit a physically impossible act with himself, and I left. :roll:

I've now had over 12 hours to cool down and reason it through with the help of some of you folks here. The fact of the matter is that the price was almost too good to be true in the first place. That should have been my first clue. If the dealer had called me back BEFORE the tires came in and said that Goodrich caught their own error, and if I want those particular Mudders it would be almost $400 more for the five, I would have been disappointed and gone elsewhere.

 

[jps4jeep]

$1000 for 5 31" tires is an absolute rip off. not sure if it was a circle jerk, but someone was tugging your member. 5 35" mud terrains might be $1000... Might, but not 31" mt's. I think there might be something else going on here, bait and switch maybe to move tires out of inventory or something.

 

[piratessoul]

I think your Dealer Manger guy and his Distributer worked out an "I'll blame you, you blame me" deal to brush you off. You may never know who really made the mistake.

It's a shame that businesses don't work for customers, anymore!

 

[HiHood]

I don't fare well in those types of conditions at all. I once had a GM dealer call the police on me when they refused to fix a truck I once owned under warrantee.

Sorry to hear of your nasty experiance.Post pics of the tires you do finally end up with.

Did the Manager look like that car salesman that sold Chevy Chase the "family truckster"?

 

[tow_hook]

awaaa km2's...... we mail ordered the wifes via internet, and was happy with the 1000$ to the door, any local place if they could get them was 20-30$ over per tire, and i work at a dealer so i mounted them my self. not the 60$+ that some places get..... that was back in april.. so i'm sure the demand is high, and the price will stay the same...

285/70/17 on the wifes wj

 

[bluegrassjeep]

Just take a deep breath and gently squeeze the trigger on that big ole buck cappy.

It's just tires and you did the right thing. Sorry it didn't work out to your agreement but I'm sure the Federal Couragia 6 ply mudders will be just swell.
Here's a review and most all reviews shown favorably on the tire:
Anonymous Review Date: Wed June 10, 2009 Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated | Rating: 0
Pros:
Cons:

i have a set on my 97 Z71 (285/75).these tires took me places that my truck would normaly not go. they pull hardder than supper swampers... trust me i know from experience because my cousin has the same truck i do and he had a set of swampers and he had to lock it in 4x4 were i went in 2wd... they are the best mud tire i have ever owned


Now post a pic of that monster buck......I'm waiting.

 

[Cappy_TX]

Now post a pic of that monster buck......I'm waiting.

He he ... well, since I am a 68 year old former Deer and Elk hunter (killed my share) I now find that sitting in a comfortable duck blind with my wife and two yellar dawgs is much more to our liking and diminished abilities. Alas ... Father Time is the great equalizer on jeeps and people both.

Yesterday I used our JD 790's (garden tractor) front end loader bucket to haul some of the decoys and gear over the 3/4 mile from the gate to the farthest blind. Pulled a 12' Jon bottom behind us with the rest our stuff through the sloppy pasture that still has standing water in a good part of it (and we have up to 3" more rain forecast for today). If only the Jeep with new Federal tires in 4WD would do nearly as well as the JD 4WD did! Never slipped at all but left a few minor ruts here and there.

As far as pics are concerned, hopefully I'll post one of a few full limits of ducks Saturday with two happy hunters, two tired yellar dawgs, and a filthy muddy Wrangler. Either that or a pic of the JD pulling the Jeep from where it bogged down. BTW ... we left the jeep up at that property yesterday. Not because we don't have confidence in it and new tires ... but because we may need the JD to haul hunters and dawgs Saturday. Not going to miss the duck opener because of a little mud!

BTW ... almost forgot ... I'm picking up these Black Mountain wheels this morning for the new tires ... Pretty good price, huh? Black Mountain Wheels / Rims

Last year's opening day ...

 

[piratessoul]

That's a couple nice friends you've got there!

 

[Mooseknuckles]

$1,000 for the KM? Ouch... I'd have gotten you out the door for well under $700...

 

[Cappy_TX]

$1,000 for the KM? Ouch... I'd have gotten you out the door for well under $700...

Ummm ... $700 div by 5 = $140 ea less 8% tax = $129 ea + balance and mount? Where would you have done that?

The best price I found anywhere was $157 for the KMs and that doesn't include tax, balance and install. tires-easy.com - Details: BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM 31x10.50 R15 109Q 6PR RWL

 

[SteelHeadz]

You'd be surprised what's out there Jim on deals with tires and wheels. You just gotta look around and talk to the distributors. A few years back when the Ramunition and the Raminator was brought in to Fredericksburg for the 4wd jamboree, i talked to a few distributors and manufacturers about their products, i ended up walking away with a set of four Pitbull Krawlers for my Jeep for under $800.00 . It was tagged for over 2200.

 

[Cappy_TX]

Well ... we got the five tires and five wheels today. Got them installed with a slight problem, The dealer's mechanic buggered the thread on 2 studs so bad that they couldn't be chased back down with a die set. So I'm driving two of the wheels with 4 studs only. I have to take them back next week sometime and they'll replace the bolts.

Here's after we made the first pass through the pastures and wetlands this afternoon as we were loading the blinds for tomorrow morning.

They worked just great and went through areas that even the tractor got a little squittely in. Off to a good start. 8)

 

[HiHood]

Hey, them tires look pretty dang good to me, I wonder how they do in the desert, ain't much mud over this way you know.

 

[Heep72]

Hey, them tires look pretty dang good to me, I wonder how they do in the desert, ain't much mud over this way you know.

I agree, aggressive looking shoes ya got there! Nice job!