Wal-Mart Auto Tire Scam
pv4...@hotmail.com
going
on at Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express stores.
Wal-Mart has agreements with tire manufacturers such as Goodyear and
Michelin/Uniroyal/Goodrich (same company) to exclusively sell certain
tires from these manufacturers. These include the Goodyear Viva/Viva
II/Viva Touring, Uniroyal Radial A/S and others. However, the
manufacturers DO NOT provide their normal warranties for these tires.
If you search on these tire names on the manufacturer's websites, you
will find that they specifically disclaim warranty coverage for these
tires, and say that warranty coverage is only available through
Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart provides no such disclaimer in their advertising,
so there is no way to know this without going to the manufacturer's
websites. Customers are led to believe that they are buying
national-brand tires with a national warranty, when they are not. It
appears that these manufacturers are simply allowing their names to be
used so they can sell a high volume of lower-quality tires through
Wal-Mart.
However, the problem is much more serious. Wal-Mart still advertises
mileage and defect warranties for these tires, but in fact, they WILL
NOT provide copies of warranties to customers, nor are they available
in the stores or by mail. These warranties apparently DO NOT EXIST.
This is a violation of Federal Trade Commission regulations under the
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which requires advertised warranties to be
provided to customers or be available in stores. (See "A
Businessperson's Guide To Federal Warranty Law" at www.ftc.gov). It is
also a violation of federal and state laws for deceptive sales
practices.
I have tried for nearly a year to get a copy of the warranty for some
tires that I purchased at Wal-Mart, and they will not send it to me.
The Wal-Mart managers and customer service people seem oblivious to the
requirements of the federal regulations. Even worse, an automotive
consumer radio show on KKZN radio (760 AM) in Denver has reported that
Wal-Mart is not honoring these advertised tire mileage warranties.
Obviously, if they won't give you a copy of the warranty, it makes it
impossible to enforce it's terms.
This same sort of scam is going on with various manufacturers of other
products such as car batteries. For example, Exide batteries will not
honor warranties for their auto batteries sold through the now-defunct
Country General farm supply stores.
Michelin/Uniroyal/Goodrich and Goodyear are well aware of this
situation and disclaim any responsibility. I will not buy any
Michelin/Uniroyal/Goodrich tires or Goodyear tires so long as this
nonsense is going on.
I would suggest that, whenever you buy tires, ask for a copy of a
MANUFACTURER'S warranty in advance, before you buy the tires. Don't
settle for a store warranty or verbal promises. If the warranty has a
list of tire models that are covered, make sure your model is listed.
If you don't have something in writing, you've got no warranty.
Mike Hunter
lawyers that works for a contingency fee, not posting in a NG ;)
mike hunt
<pv4...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1144446844....@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
gad
considering a set of Michelin X-Radials from Sam's because they were well
rated by Consumer Reports.
At least now I'll know to check the warranty, so thanks.
<pv4...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1144446844....@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Steve W.
I have a copy of the tire warrantee for the tires I got from Wal-Mart
right here. The difference is that Wal-Mart themselves provide the
support NOT the tire company. This is the same thing with ANY item that
is a custom store item. Like the Compaq computer you buy at Staples/Best
Buy/Wal-Mart or any other store. That store is the one providing the
coverage NOT the company that made it.
Yes the tires that are sold are different, Guess what so are ANY other
tires sold at chain stores that rebrand tires. They provide the
coverage.
Maybe you should actually find out the truth before you spout a bunch of
rubbish.
The warrantee that Wal-Mart shows IS what comes on the tires they sell.
It is available right at the tire counter in the stores and is posted
behind the counter as well.
--
Steve W.
<pv4...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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gad
indicate it is fully warranted by Michelin like any other tire they make.
<pv4...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1144446844....@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Cool Jet
> I checked the Michelin website about the X-Radial DT sold at Sams, and they
> indicate it is fully warranted by Michelin like any other tire they make.
Yep, I just checked it out too. Here are the two links:
pu...@webtv.net
Nonsense!
Dave S(Texas)
Adam
purchased a set of Douglas X-Trac tires and walmart has stood behind every
set I have bought from them.......Take ur false complaints to somplace else!
<pv4...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1144446844....@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Rich B
shop anymore there but I belonged to Sam's Club for over a decade and I
know that both WalMart and Sam's will stand behind what they sell.
Report the store to the home office.
Group: alt.autos.gm Date: Sat, Apr 8, 2006, 9:01am From:
ab...@verizon.net (Adam)
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Sometimes, when you're up to your butt in alligators, it's hard to
remember that the intial objective was to drain the swamp."
~ Unknown ~
Mike Hunter
the manufacture. Ford is the only automobile manufacture to do so. Ford
provides the warranty so that their customer does not need to argue with the
manager at the local tire store if a tire is not up to snuff. You can rest
assured they will get reimbursed by the tire manufacture when they buy the
next 100,000 tires. My guess WalMart does likewise LOL
mike hunt
"Steve W." <Dugd...@what.com> wrote in message
news:1144458...@sp6iad.superfeed.net...
pv4...@hotmail.com
Steve W. wrote:
> What a load of BULL.
> I have a copy of the tire warrantee for the tires I got from Wal-Mart
> right here. The difference is that Wal-Mart themselves provide the
> support NOT the tire company. This is the same thing with ANY item that
> is a custom store item. Like the Compaq computer you buy at Staples/Best
> Buy/Wal-Mart or any other store. That store is the one providing the
> coverage NOT the company that made it.
> Yes the tires that are sold are different, Guess what so are ANY other
> tires sold at chain stores that rebrand tires. They provide the
> coverage.
> Maybe you should actually find out the truth before you spout a bunch of
> rubbish.
> The warrantee that Wal-Mart shows IS what comes on the tires they sell.
> It is available right at the tire counter in the stores and is posted
> behind the counter as well.
You are confused, as are some of the other responders. Wal-Mart has
what they call the Wal-Mart "protection plan." This is NOT the tire
mileage warranty. For $10 the protection plan provides lifetime
balancing and flat repair. It is not the mileage and defect warranty.
Go to www.ftc.gov and read the document I cited or go to
www.uniroyal.com to see the legally required sections for a mileage and
defect warranty. I then invite you to go to your local Wal-Mart and ask
to see a copy of the Wal-Mart MILEAGE AND DEFECT warranty for the
Uniroyal Radial A/S or any of the Goodyear Viva-type tires. I then
invite you to write to the address given on the Wal-Mart website to
obtain a copies of the warranties for these tires. Your requests will
go unanswered. Why don't you try all this and get back to us.
Listen, I've been dealing with this for many months and have talked to
a Wal-Mart shop manager, store manager, district manager, customer
service people, and a representative fromn the Wal-Mart corporate
office. They are well aware of the problem, but seem unable to solve
it. As I mentioned, the "Automotive Troubleshooter Show" on AM 760 in
Denver broadcast a story in December about Wal-Mart not honoring an
advertised treadwear warranty, and the customer was also not given a
copy of the warranty in that case.
Your point about the store warranty is also bogus. Obviously, a store
CAN warrant their own tires that they purchase from a manufacturer.
That is what Big O tires, Discount Tires, and Peerless Tyres all do.
And they actually give you a copy of the mileage and treadwear
warranty. But they don't call them Goodyear or Uniroyal tires, they
have their own store brands. On the other hand, if you buy a
national-brand tire from these places, it is covered by a national
warranty and can be serviced by any shop that the manufacturer
authorizes. Some of the national-brand tires that Wal-Mart sells ARE
warranted by the manufacturer, but some are NOT. That's the problem.
They don't tell you this. And the only way to find out is to go to the
manufacturer's website and search on the name of the tires. Go to
www.uniroyal.com and www.goodyear.com and do search on the Uniroyal
Radial A/S and Goodyear Viva or Viva II or Viva Touring.
By the way, Wal-Mart, Sears and other retailers buy their batteries
from various manufacturer's including Exide, Johnson-Controls, and
others. But they use the Wal-Mart brand "EverStart" or Sears "DieHard"
and they make it very clear in the warranty book that these batteries
are only covered by the store. You can also get a copy of the
warranty; it's in the battery catalog, available in the store. If they
followed this practice with the tires, there wouldn't be a problem.
pv4...@hotmail.com
on their website is NOT a mileage and defect warranty. That is why
they tell you how you are supposed to be able to get a copy by mail.
Those requests go unanswered. A legal warranty has these sections:
1. What is Covered: This can include defects in materials and defects
in materials or workmanship (like treadwear separation), installation
errors, as well as wear-out coverage.
(Note that my Wal-Mart receipt does not tell you how long the treadwear
wear-out pro-rating is good for on the particular tire. I guess you
are supposed to remember that).
2. How Long Coverage Lasts: The warranty must tell you specifically how
long the warranty lasts.
(Are defecfts in installation, materials and workmanship covered until
the tread wear bars appear?. This has been an issue in a number of
fatal accidents over treadwear separation. What you cite says nothing
about defects and how they are covered.)
2. What is not covered.
3. What The Company Will Do
4. How To Get Service
5. How State Law Applies
Adam
out Kmarts Penske Service Center and other low end service centers? Not
only do their prices beat the competition, but their service does also most
of the time.
Now as far as the milage warranty, they have replaced my tires after they
have not made it the 40k milage the tire warranty has, I've taken a set of
Douglas x-trac back with the wear indicators showing at around 30k and they
replaced all four of them at no cost to me.
"Rich B" <AutoHo...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:6976-443...@storefull-3218.bay.webtv.net...
Steve W.
here. It has on it what is covered, for how long and what to do if I
need to have a tire repaired or replaced. It says that tire defects are
covered for the life of the tire and will be covered if they are not
user caused. The tread wear states that they are covered for wear for
40K with a prorated coverage schedule. This is NOT the protection plane
which is a road hazard plan and covers flats and other problems that
might happen while your driving which are not a result of improper tire
construction or defects in the tire itself.The warrantee I have shows
all of this and was given to me when I got the tires.
--
Steve Williams
<pv4...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Adam
thats all I have to say. Weather its the tire milage or the protection plan
they offer they stand behind it.
"Steve W." <Dugd...@what.com> wrote in message
news:1144543...@sp6iad.superfeed.net...
Charles U' Farley
guy spreading nonsense. It's Ok if you hate Wal-Mart, but not to lie about
them.
"Adam" <ab...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:_IudnQhwRIn...@comcast.com...
pv4...@hotmail.com
Steve W. wrote:
> Not confused at all I have the tire warrantee for the tires I own right
I have talked to a number of Wal-Mart managers and people at the
corporate office who have all told me that NO such document cuurently
exists. As I said, it is not available at any of the Wal-Mart Tire
and Lube shops in my area. However, I am told that the Wal-Mart legal
department is now "examining the problem." If you really have such a
Wal-Mart warranty, it should have a document number and date printed on
the bottom. What are these? Also, perhaps you will just post the text
of the document here; then I can e-mail it to Walmart, they can copy
it, and start sending it to customers as their website says they will.
Or perhaps not.