Maximus1000

For those that dont know, I recently (last Friday) got a set of SSR Compeition 17" by 8" rims with Kumho 235/45/17 Z rated tires. I had the local Sears Auto Center put them on and do an alignment. A day later I'm in Huntsville and notice a loud thunking sound and very bad vibration. I get out and jack up the front of the car thinking that I have a bad CV Joint. I'm aghast once I find that the wheel is very loose and I can easily wobble it around once the car is jacked up. WTF!!!!!!!!! So I tighten all the lug nuts and find one of them stripped. To make a long story short, I marched up to Sears this evening with a letter from my employeers (trial attorneys) and tell them how serious I'm taking this. The manager tells me they will do whatever it takes to make me happy. I think an equitable solution is them replacing all four wheels and tires with brand new (heck, the ones on there are only five days old) wheels/tires since my lug nut holes are scratched up as well. So, I guess I'm going to sell the ones I have now once the new ones are in. I'll take a picture of some of the mild scratches and post them and will take offers as well on these.

Craig Mack

Tell them to buy every regular maxima.org forum attender a set of eagle alloy 17x8 rims

Just get new rims of your choice with free warrenty and everything and i'd take that if I were you.

BTW, Nice 1/4 with your max. Many many many other car enthusiasts would never believe it....it's mustang GT territory..

RKS

Post some pics when you get the SSrs back on. How much are ya going to sell the scratched ones for?

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

don't forget to have them replace the studs too!

Maxima:Driven

Make sure to get a couple of coupons for free oil changes & free wheel alignments. That's if your willing to let 'em mess with your car again. Well, you could always go to another Sears AutoCenter & hope they are more experienced & careful.

VeeTec

Personally, that would be my last visit to any Sears Tire Center. BTW Ed, my car is home.

Maximus1000

Its about time. I keep checking the weather for Steele Sunday and it keeps getting better (less chance for rain). I posted on your beloved www.3si.org board under 'war stories'...check it out...

I'm not sure how much I'll sell them for. Keep in mind, its not like they are defective or anything, and the scratches aren't that bad either. Just some mild scratches where the studs go into the wheel and a small scratch where they removed one of the weights (on the inner part of the wheel) with a screwdriver. If I had put these scraches on there, I would have just muttered under my breath, and forgot about them. I'll try to post pics. Its no secret that this wheel/tire combo from tirerack was just over $1900.00, but I'll let them go for a good bit cheaper. Anyone interested, just e-mail or PM me. I already have a couple of offers.

Uh, I think Sears (anywhere) has seen the last of me.

Frank Fontaine

That Sears needs to man-up. You show them a letter and now they're gonna replace 5 day-old rims? Your employer should be familiar with a term called unjust enrichment. Corrective justice would probably dictate that they slap some hub centric rings on the vehicle. If the person who supplied the rims didn't include them, they should have.

Blackgums100

I somewhat agree. The manager at Sears has allready stated he will rectify the situation. That does not mean he will buy you HREs.

Max2000

what's hub centric rings ??

finny

i remember sears screwed up one of my friends rims a while back and they just replaced the damaged one. so unless every one of your wheels is scratched up i doubt theyre gunna hook ya up with a whole new set

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

Sorry guys, I have to agree with frank. I think they should replace the dmaged rim, and replace the stripped studs. Sorry to hear about your bad experience with sears, but just because an accident happend doesn't mean that you should profit from it. I hope you don't carry around business cards for you employer and hand them out at car accidents. Taking people to court with the purpose of padding your wallet just seems a little wrong.

Maximus1000

Perhaps you guys have failed to read the entire story carefully...
1) Sears was extremely negligent in the fact that did not tighten the lug nuts tight enough. This over the course of ONE DAY caused the wheel to begin to shudder and displace itself. Had I just been ignorant and thought, 'oh well, I'll just take it back next week', the wheel could have completely detached itself and caused a very serious injury or death from the subsequent accident.
2) Sears performed poor work and incomplete work when they stripped one of the studs/lug nuts.
3) Sears damaged merchandice owned by me by scratching ALL four wheels. The wheels were less than 24 hours old when they were damged and this has degraded their value, especially to me since I am a perfectionist.

As for the business card situation....uh, it is my own personal business card that lists my position within the firm. I gave it to the manager so that it showed that I am serious and wont just be pushed over or around. I dont hand them out at accidents... . It was just more convenient for me to give them a business card so they could contact me at work.

As for unjust enrichment.....why dont you research your legal terms before you throw them out? Unjust enrichment would be if I complained about trauma or distress from the incident if say I was so scared from it that I couldn't drive anymore and wanted $$$$$$ for compensation. Perhaps my title was misleading, but I'm only being compensated for four scratched wheels, four new tires (since the front are now showing uneven wear according to the manager), and the replacement of the stud that is stripped.

I dont need lectures on filing frivilous lawsuits. I know all about that. I'm merely seeking compensation for damaged merchandice and the resulting damage caused my poor work.

RKS

Actually that recovery would be for negligent infliction of emotional distress (tort issue usually)which maybe a viable claim but has nothing to do with unjust enrichment(contractual issue usually). But don't take my advise as proper legal guidance, I am not an attorney (yet )

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

So you are going to make an issue out of what COULD have happend?
ok so there is a need to replace a stud.
I assume these are a deep scratches that might MIGHT or COULD cause fracture sites and MIGHT or COULD cause further damage to the car and yourself...right?
In your first statement you never said anything about a card, so whats the real story? You used your work connection to try to get results-nothing wrong with that. But it was convenient to have a letter drafted from your lawyer friend?

This all sounds pretty important
This is coming from the guy who flamed us for not reading HIS post correctly.

Maybe you just need a lesson in ethics. You want 4 new rims because one is scratched? 4 new tires, because 1 has uneven wear? You drove on it for 1 day and the tire is bad? Did you drive 500 miles in that one day? Look I'm not a lawyer, and I barely got by in college(yes I got a C- in english and a C in typing ) But you really should be asking for a replacement rim for the damaged one if its pretty bad, or all if they all are pretty bad(I don't think that compensation for your personality is in order). A new tire if that one is destroyed, if its minor scuffing that will come off in rotation of the tires and a new stud installed and a fresh alignment. Don't get all poopy on us because you didn't relay your true thoughts on your thread. PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING.

maximus75

iTrader: (5)

Wait, I'm confused. Did they leave all the lugs loose on all the wheels or just one wheel? How did all the rims get damaged?

Maximus1000

Uh yes, I do plan to make an issue out of what 'could have' happened. That is how you bring things to peoples attention. Maybe, according to your logic, I should just tuck my tail between my legs and 'get over it' and not care. Maybe I should just let someone else get killed when there wheel does fall off. What should I care????

Well at least we agree that the stud needs to be replaced.

Uh, perhaps you dont care about the appearace of your car, but I care about mine seeing how the car is not even two months old. When my wheels are scratched (however minor) due to someone elses negligence, I plan to take issue with that person. Maybe if I justed tightened the lug nuts on your aftermarket rims like a gorilla and scratched them up you would say, "oh, dont worry about it man. They aren't going to fracture so its okay. I dont care that they are scratched up because of you". I'm not like that. If someone causes damage to my car, when I'm PAYING them to work on it, I plan to take issue. Sorry if my level of damage isn't enough to warrant your concern, but it is enough to warrant mine.

As for me flaming...I dont believe thats the case. I'm merely trying to present my account of what Sears Auto Center did and the action I'm taken. I'm not a push over, nor am I a money hungry 'lawyer guy' that wants to sue over any and everything. I was more than cordial to the manager, but expressed to him how serious I took this and how I expected them to take responsibility and make reparations for this.

As for the 'drafted letter', that was a precaution. I've had several bad experiences with people thinking that since I'm 22, that I'll 'just get over it'. Its best to expect the worst and be ready for it. Thankfully, the manager was nice enough to work with me. As for the card........sorry I didn't include that in my first post....I didn't see it important. Whenever anyone wants to know where I can be contacted, I typically give them a business card.

I'm not trying to be 'poopy' or all high and mighty. I'm sorry if it appears that way.

Jon91SE

Did you read the fine print, after getting work like that done at any place your "supposed" to bring it back within a certain amount of time to have the lug nuts tightened again for saftey.........

Maximus1000

I understand that, but this was done on a Saturday and the incident occured on Sunday, the following day.

Chris91SE

iTrader: (1)

Just as an FYI and I encountered this yesterday on the track. With certain lugs they NEED to be retightened at the the 50 and 100 mile mark. We had a shop put my buddy's Cobra rims on his stang the other day and we were BS'g about going to the track that night etc. The guy reiterated they needed to be tightened...something I already knew about. Yes they're negligent by not letting you know to check the lugs after a certain time...good luck

shane

I use to work for a tire store and when wheels were sold the salesmen told the customer to tighten the lugs after 25 miles.Why would Sears let you have 4 new tires anyway maybe the 1 but not all 4?Please be fair with them bc we all will be affected by the this later on by paying a higher price or so i would think

Frank Fontaine

Doesn't the subject of the thread, "now I'm about to make a profit" say alot? Then the rims are already for sale while the description trivializes the scrathes.

What is really weird is if one got a package from say the Tire Rack, why in the world does one need Sears to install it? Many of us prefer to handle rims ourselves as well as hand-torquing and rechecking them. Common sense says one has to pay close attention to the centering rings on aftermarket rims.

As I said, if I were that Sears location I'd tell my crew to man-up.

BriGuyMax

iTrader: (1)

WOAH...way too many lawyers in this thread!!!


How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb?????
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The real question is: How much can the light bulb afford to be screwed for??

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

It's funny how words can get things all fouled up. Say like when someone yells FIRE, and everyone panics... Or when you say... "its a stick up" in a bank and you get thrown to the floor by security... Yeah you were really telling the teller about the new glade airfreshner you saw in the store, but look where it got you.

I guess your subject of your thread got you the same "wrong" responses as the fire and stick up incidents. You have presented yourself as a get something for nothing quick kid. So I guess you can expect how people have turned towards your thread and posts negatively.

Yes I would've pursued compensation for the damaged items, and there are valid points for the reasons why you want this done. The reasons why you want them done, or atleast the ones you've suggested are pretty weak. You're a perfectionist, so you want 4 new rims? Thats FU-d up-if you want 4 new rims because they've damaged them, thats reasonable. Do you see where I'm going with this? You work in a law firm, what ever you capacity is there I would assume that communicating your thought is crucial.

I got upset as I mentioned before because you have came across as something for nothing(which only screws it for the next guy[me]). I guess this is really a compensation for damages matter, and I wish you the best. Like someone else posted, be reasonable. If you don't want something damaged, do it yourself.

Maximus1000

Well, I'm glad we are both being more level headed here. I talked to the manager there again and we agreed that they would reimburse me the costs of the four wheels (not just one was scratched...they all were to some extent on another) as well as fix the stud problem. As for the tires, I told them that was fine and that they would not need to be replaced, just that I wanted the manager to personally oversee the rebalancing and aligning so that the tires would last. Actually, I'm not a 'get something for nothing kid'. Through the power of savings and investments I was able to buy the car that I have now and the mods that I have for it as well. I am a fanatic about the appearance of my car (ask any board member who has met me) so that is why I was so upset that my four rims were scratched up and they were less than a day old when it happened. I am a law clerk for a group of attorneys in town so that is why I was looking at this through a legal point of view. I didn't mean to come away from this as a stereotypical lawyer brat guy. Not the case. Trust me, from now on, I'll be doing the work myself if I have the capacity to do so.

SLC I30t

iTrader: (1)

Not to turn this into a Kodak moment...

But its good to see that you got your issues dealt with. Sorry for being presumptious, I need to learn how to click the little 'X' on the screen instead of reply sometimes. Take care.

maximus75

iTrader: (5)

Nobody answered my question.