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April 26, 2008
I went to my scheduled appointment at Meckes Tire. My fiancée drove my Dodge Ram with my new tires in the back, and I drove my Mercedes Benz SLK32. I waited until the last job they were on was finished, and I pulled my car into the garage. Two employees I had not seen there before removed my wheels, unmounted the old tires, and mounted the new ones. They remounted the wheels on to the car. The two front rims were done on the machine farthest from the office, and the 2 rears were done on the nearest machine.
My fiancée and I noted and discussed how the youngest worker was having problems just getting the tire back onto the car, as well as how much slower the work was compared to previous visits. I also noted that only one employee that I had known from previous visits was there, and the owner was not.
When the car was off the jacks I was told it was ready to go. I noted that they had NOT used a manual torque wrench to final torque the lugs, and asked them to do so. One of the workers said the torque value to the other, 110 lbsft. This is the correct value per my owner’s manual. I went in to the office to pay.
I’ve spent several thousand dollars here over the years on everything from patch-plugs for flat tires, to snow tires, to my last set of Goodyear F1 GS-D3 tires. The F1 tires were what they were removing, and replacing with my new Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season tires. I purchased this set from Tirerack.com, because Meckes Tire pricing was more than just a little high for these tires.
Although we planned on leaving one vehicle behind, and taking my SLK32 to register for our wedding, I didn’t feel comfortable knowing that they would not have remembered to torque the lugs if I hadn’t mentioned it. We drove back home, and I double checked a few lugs by loosening them, and retorquing them to the correct spec. The ones I checked seemed to be correct.
At this time I also checked the tire pressures. I find I prefer higher values than those that the employees set it at. As my tires wear I generally lower pressure a little. All tires were within a pound or two of the pressure specified on the door plaque by Mercedes Benz. I decided I’d leave them there for now, even though it is a little lower than normal for me. I had not ever had this particular tire before, and thought I’d see how they worked before adjusting to my own preference.
I drove the car to work, and noticed that steering was heavy. Maybe this was just a new tire thing, feeling different that the old worn out tires I had. There was a slight pull to the right, but not enough to always pull. On some road surfaces it was not noticeable. I checked pressures and noted a decrease on April 29. On May 1, on the way home the pull to the right was more pronounced. I rechecked pressures on May 2 and added air again. It seemed more air was required than previously.
The car was not driven.
Needed to add a lot of air in morning. Right front was so low it wouldn’t register a pressure on my gauge. Tire was flat at work before leaving for home. I added pressure at work before going home. I put the pressure at 40 psi.
In the morning the pressure was just over 10 psi. I called Meckes Tire and made an appointment for the afternoon, the earliest possible time they had open. I left work early and after adding air from out shop compressor, I drove my car to Meckes Tire.
I assumed I would have a nail or something, and would need a patch-plug. I do not get plugs, only patch plugs, whenever possible. I bet I had Meckes Tire patch-plug tires for me 20 times in the last few years.
I drove the car into the shop, and one of the employees removed the left front wheel. He inspected the wheel and tire visually. He laid it on the tire machine, and sprayed soapy water on the outside bead. Finding nothing, he sprayed inside bead. He said he found the leak, and pointed to the crack. He confessed he didn’t know what could cause that. I immediately knew what happened and said the tire machine cracked the rim. I told him to take the other front tire off and look at it too. While he was removing the second wheel, I took a picture of the first one, still with soap bubbles. End result was that we saw 2 cracks in the right front rim, and one on the left front rim. These cracks are obvious enough that they could be noticed easily.
I talked to the owner, Natalie. Their most experienced employee seemed very irate and claimed it was pothole damage. Natalie also claimed it was pothole damage. I didn’t argue. I left, driving the car home from Meckes Tire where I parked it in my garage and walked away.
After work I removed the front wheels from the car. This was a major endeavor, since I needed to find and retrieve my second floor jack that was behind a lot of storage in the garage. I took more photos of the wheels, marking the cracks and other points of interest in white paint marker. I studied the location of the cracks, and also the dent that is in an outwards direction. I looked for other evidence of severe pothole damage. I found nothing to support their contention that it was road damage. Everything pointed towards an interior force pushing outwards. I put the rims in my truck, for the next day.
I planned to return to Meckes Tire, hoping that we could work out something. I wrongly thought that they would value a loyal customer, one that has always told people to go there for tires or puncture repair for years. I have no doubt that I have sent at least as much business their way, as I myself have done there. I already knew what direction it could go though, from my experience on the day the cracks were found. I decided that if Meckes Tire was not going to be fair, then I would put up an internet site to tell my story. Meckes Tire didn’t have one yet, and www.meckestire.com was available, so I purchased it.
I left work and travled to Meckes Tire. I asked to see the owner. One woman said she was the other owner, and I explained the situation to her. She contacted Natalie, who I originally spoke to, who would come over in about 10 minutes from her home. While waiting for Natalie, the most senior employee decided it was his duty to yell at me, berate me, and he continued to express his belief it was my fault, and that I had either brought them bad rims, or that I slammed hundreds of potholes since they put the tires on. He was verbally abusive, and his aggression eventually got me to his volume level. When I realized this, I backed off, and waited for Natalie. During that time, I got to hear wonderful snippets of wisdom from the employees. For example: “If you can’t afford to drive it you shouldn’t have bought it.” Nice example of prejudice towards someone based on the assumption that if you drive a Mercedes Benz, you must be rich, and that if you are rich it is OK to pay for the mistakes of someone else.
Natalie’s first comments to me, was that I had no right to yell at her employees. I informed her that they yelled at me first.. she apologized with a half hearted attempt. She refused to admit any failure or error by Meckes Tire or its staff. She yelled more than talked. She wouldn’t do anything for me. I told her that left me with no choice except to take the next step, perhaps small claims court. I then asked her if she had a website. After he puzzled look, she said no. I said “You do now.” Her tone changed during the time I walked from the passenger rear, to the driver’s door.
After that we had an adult and normal volume debate, ending in my accepting her offer to repair the rims and pay half, if Wheel Collision Center in Bath, PA said they could fix them. Although I certainly didn’t feel I should pay for a the inexperience of a Meckes Tire employee, I felt that this cost was likely worth the lower stress level compared to small claims court, and I’d certainly get my car back on the road sooner.
At the prodding of a friend, I called my insurance company. His reasoning was, it’s a sudden and unexpected loss. That’s what insurance is for. Well, yeah, I guess it is. I just never think of insurance except from collisions or if a tree falls on the car…that kind of stuff. So I called…They do have lawyers, that I don’t have, and much more experience and resources than I could ever come up with.
I also talked to Natalie at Meckes Tire. She said I needed to drop off the rims at Meckes Tire, for Wheel Collision Center to pick up. I also asked her about the rear rims. At this time, they seem to hold air, but I have been unable to remove them from the car to check them for any cracks. They may be damaged, and I wanted to make sure that if they were, we would have the same deal with the rear rims. I still didn’t feel that I should have to pay for their poor performance and negligence, but at least I’d get my car back on the road soon. We got off of the phone with no resolution.
I received a call from Natalie, and she expressed to me that I pissed her off by mentioning the possibility that the rear wheels may be damaged too.. She told me that she has “done her research too” and has pictures that show that my rims were road damaged. She told me that she will not do anything for me at all. I told her that I would have to take it to the next step then.
My insurance company returned my call promptly and I made an appointment for the next day, May 13, for someone to look at my rims and take pictures.
The adjustor took photos and information, and agreed that the damage was not pothole or road damage related. He also said that the deductible on my insurance, though I have to pay it up front, may be recouped after subrogation. I decided that even if it wasn’t, Meckes Tires cost me my deductible, but at least I would not have to go through the stress of small claims court. I also figure they will have a better chance of winning than me.
I had contacted the person in charge of my case once in June, and then again today. The first time they were waiting for a response from the other insurance co that covers Meckes Tire. Today, I received a call back and the message was that the claim was denied by their insurance (oh, surprised?) and that my insurance company is pursuing arbitration.
I imagine it will take awhile before this is resolved. My insurance co paid for the claim, and minus the deductible I have 2 new front AMG rims, just like I used to have before sloppy work cracked them.
I contacted my insurance company, and was informed that a date of September 23, 2008 was set for arbitration. The person I talked to suggested it may take 2 weeks after that date to get a verdict.
Arbitration was scheduled for Sept 23rd. I expected to have received something by now on the outcome of arbitration. Since I had not, I called and was notified that it was rescheduled for November 13th. I was also informed that it could take 3 months to get a verdict from arbitration, after that date.