It seems like there's always a company out there that is ticking me off. This is especially true when dealing with cars and car repairs. Over the past couple of weeks, Tire Discounters has broken that trend.
We presently have a 2005 Ford Freestyle; it's on lease*. Our lease was up back in July, but we ordered a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid and we have had to wait for it to come in; we've had to extend the lease on the Freestyle until the Escape comes in.
A few weeks ago, we had a tire go flat on the Freestyle. It wasn't completely flat, but it was only holding about 10psi. That tire had done that before, but in the past, filling it back up would take care of it for several months; not this time. Kelly took it up to Tire Discounters to have it looked at. These are the original/factory tires, and we'd never previously taken the car to them, but we've always used them for tire replacements and repairs on other cars.
The serviceman reported that the low tire had a bad valve stem. He also found that the other front tire had 3 screws in it. They replaced the valve stem on the bad tire and they removed the screws and tested the other tire to make sure it wasn't going to have problems. When we asked how much we owed them, he said, "No charge. We never charge for valve stem replacements and the other tire was not punctured." We walked out very happy!
We got the call last Thursday that our Escape is in, and we've scheduled to pick it up on Saturday. But today, another tire went flat -- this time a rear tire. Kelly got the car to limp back up to Tire Discounters (it's only a couple of blocks away, through side streets). They found that there was a screw in the tire and they patched it. Kelly had mentioned to him that we only had the car for a few more days, and he remembered having seen us with the other problems. He fixed the tire and didn't charge us a penny!
I'm in awe at this service--they've fixed 3 factory tires for free! We will be writing a letter to Tire Discounters expressing our gratitude. And of course, we'll continue to give them our business.
* I'm not typically a fan of leasing cars, but it was a special case where it made perfect sense. We are purchasing the new Escape and not leasing it.