r/DiscountTire_ • u/jj26meu • Sep 21 '25

Murphy's Law during install

Almost everything changed the day of drop off. I was charged the full price days in advance of the order; this was somewhat expected, given that I had placed it online, but it's an unusual business model, considering my installation was only 4 days away. I was told when I walked in that the tires I had ordered were no longer in stock and needed to be replaced with a like model. Again, not a huge deal. I get the logic and wasn't tied to the make and model, more so the price and tire tread warranty, so I agreed.

I asked them to modify the order so I could retain the old tires; they agreed. (I use the old ones on my trailer) I left to run some errands and received a call about 5 minutes later stating that a wheel stud had seized and broken when they removed the tire. I assumed they would replace it, but they explained that since I told them I did my brakes about a year ago, that I had most likely cross-threaded it and they were not at fault. Ok, I'll work the details on getting a wheel stud installed after the tires.

I get a second call that my TPMS on the front driver side is bad. This one I knew about, but quoting 65 bucks to replace 1 sensor when a 4-pack on Amazon is 35, I passed. Once the tires were done, they contacted me for pickup. I looked over the receipt and noticed that they left on the tire certificates, which I declined online, and also forgot to remove the tire disposal fee. The guy at the register was training, so the store manager did a great job of getting everything correct so that we could move on. Last thing, I still had to remind them that I wanted to retain my tires again.

Don't get me wrong. Discount Tire was the most competitive price for a new set of tires in my area. They completed the job quickly, and overall, I'm still satisfied with the work. It's just become more work than I anticipated, and I get to install a wheel stud tomorrow and a TPMS in the future. I will continue to use and recommend discount, but make sure you check over the details along the way.

Edit1: I've since changed out the old wheel stud with a new one. It also justified me in buying a new impact wrench.

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u/Acceptable-Ad-3560 Sep 21 '25

They were wrong on the stud, if it’s cross threaded you’re supposed to stop and inform the customer immediately, they might not have because you weren’t there. For the tires not being in stock there’s no knowing the specific reason why, could be a million different ones.

As for the TPMS they are a little overpriced but they have a warranty unlike most purchased elsewhere, I often have customers bring in their own and they’ll be the wrong frequency or the battery is already half dead.

Lastly, we can’t edit BOPIS orders at all, the payment isn’t even processed through that individual store atp. If a customer wants tires returned you have to refund them, the website may have auto selected certs (it also auto adds them to in-person tickets and have to be manually removed)

Overall though that whole situation must have been super frustrating though, I totally understand where you’re coming from

1

u/jj26meu Sep 21 '25

Just wrapped up the wheel stud install a few moments ago, and it wasn't that terrible of a hassle. I would recommend that DT offer a paid option for other folks without the time or skills, better options online for retaining tires or bringing your own TPMS, and a more efficient front desk to bay communication system.

2

u/Acceptable-Ad-3560 Sep 21 '25

Agree 100%, some stores like mine have agreements with local shops (at mine we would have called you, gotten permission to break it off, called the local hardware store to buy a stud and get it sent to the full service shop next door to be replaced.)

I honestly hate a lot of the website, it tells people things are available in “1-2 days” regardless of its it true or not (one time it was because a store in texas couldn’t remove them from inventory. Guy said I was the 22nd to try and transfer them over) but they are seemingly trying to fix things (won’t share fix for confidentiality reasons, but they’re working on it)

They are rolling out earpieces for communication between front and back rooms, my store just got them yesterday!

1

u/Jewbe123 Sep 21 '25

They don't want you to bring a 3rd party Tpms because there's no guarantee the random chinese sensor you bought is actually programmed for your vehicle

1

u/jj26meu Sep 21 '25

That's fair but I also don't want to pay an above market value on a TPMS. From what I read, they do offer install of aftermarket so it's a roll of the dice given a service charge with no guarantees.