F9K9's Tire Troubles - BFG Dealers

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:50 pm

Okay.......update time for the BFGs. To bring you up to speed, I purchased 5 ofthe 33/10.50x15 BFG AT/KOs in late May from Summit Racing. I was/am haiving a problem with vibration from 2 of the 5 tires. When buying tires online warranty issues, are dealt with by local tire dealers. MY first BFG dealer told me that I had 2 bad US Wheel Daytona rims so, I purchased 2 new ones. The rims were replaced and t he dealer told me that the tires were bad but, since I didn't buy them from him that the paperwork wasn't worth the trouble for him to honor.

I contacted BFG customer relations and they provided another dealer's name locally. I went to that dealer yesterday and was told that my rims were too narrow to ever have the problem solved. Mine are seven inches wide. BFG's site did not provide the recommended wheel width but, "tirerack.com" stated that 7-9" width was recommended. I emailed BFG this info and they agreed that the 7" width was within their requirements.

BF Goodrich Customern Relations wrote:
Mr. Wetter,

Thank you for your email. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

You are correct, the 33X10.50R15 All Terrain T/A KO tire requires a 7 to 9
inch wide rim. If they are mounted properly this rim should be appropriate
for this tire.

We would recommend returning to the dealer to inspect your tires and then to
call our office at the telephone number listed below. We should be able to
adjust any tire that is causing this problem.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

If your questions have not been answered to your satisfaction, please call
me at 1-877-788-8899 (toll-free) between 8:30AM and 6:00PM Eastern Time
Monday through Friday.

Mike
BFGoodrich Tires
Consumer Relations Department

(Please Do Not Delete the line below.)
Email ID: 1623852

BF Goodrich appears to be a solid upstanding company but, my local dealers must see "Screw Me" tatooed on my forehead when I walk into their establishments.

The tires do not rub when you follow Brule's instructions and are excellent.

Waterfowl hunting season is now 24/7/365 where I reside

Thought this issue deserved it's own topic. Reed, feel free to edit the title to your liking. -W

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:22 am

I walked back into the second dealership last week (the one that incorrectly told me that 7" rims were too narrow) and the same service manager never bothered to walk out of the show room before advising me that there wasn't anything wrong with my tires. I promptly and politely called "BULLSH_T"! and left. I contacted MIKE at BFG via email, related the most current events to him, and asked for assistance on deciding my next step.

Mike called me today. He has spoken with the dealership and they suddenly want to examine my tires again.

So far, BFG (i.e, Michelin) is looking good in my book

bwenny247 · Post by **bwenny247** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:46 pm

nice follow up on getting a raw deal at the tire shop!

I'll have to call BS on that rim to narrow for a 10.50 tire excuse.
I ran 12.50's on an 8" rim....difference of 4.5"s
you're running 10.50's on a 7" rim a difference of only 3.5"s
and this guy off the BDS site is running 12.50's on what look like stock rims (i may be wrong), that would be a difference of 5.5"s

http://www.bds-suspension.com/pj/pj_rec ... php?pri=88

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:11 pm

bwenny247 wrote:nice follow up on getting a raw deal at the tire shop!

Thanks

But, you know me

I do hold a grudge! After my phone call with Mike at BFG, I visited the dealer. I guess a 3 day beard, Levis, boots and a ph call from BFG makes a little difference.

The following email describes the events;

Reed wrote:Mike, After your phone call today, I decided to visit Philpot Tire while "Tim" was still there. I explained the issues to him once again and he was a little more receptive after your call. I dropped off my spare (one of the two tires in question) and asked him to reexamine it. I told him that I did not care if weights were 360° around my tire but, I wanted it balanced for highway speeds. If, Tim determines that this new rim was faulty then I wanted to see it on the balancer without the tire. He wanted to test drive it to check the other tire on Wednesday but, I advised him that he was welcome to ride with me to feel the vibration and he agreed. He was still very hesitant to perform any work honoring your warranty without seeing money up front. I had to assure him that I would pay for any work performed despite what BF Goodrich decided.

Your assistance in this matter is deeply appreciated and has been passed on to several online forums.

Thanks,

Reed

gairbear · Post by **gairbear** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:08 am

f9k9 wrote: Going off road then I think I am borderline in size and width. I have a ride coming up on sunday and it should tell the tale. I wish I had my front sway bar discoed but, no time now.

Sooo...how'd it go????

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:01 am

If, you are asking about last months ride, it went great!

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:17 pm

The visit to the BF Goodrich dealer was a nightmare. They only looked at the spare, tried it on another wheel and the lead technician told the manager that the tire was bad.

I updated Costomer Relations last night and have not heard back from them. I am getting bummed and losing faith. This is what I wrote.....

Reed wrote:Mike,

More wasted time. I overheard Tim's lead tech tell him my spare was bad. He wouldn't check out the other bad tire. He then told me (after I insisted that he call the number you provided) that he wasn't going to be a part of any adjustments because I didn't purchase the tires there. Tim advised me that he would tell your consumer relations person that. Well, he did tell Alvin(?) just that. Alvin asked to speak with me. Alvin was very apologetic and suggested a couple other dealers that I was unfamiliar with and that BF Goodrich would pay for the two tires and their installation. I asked for him to email me their names and addresses but, I haven't heard from him.

I lost more time from work and had to pay Tim for refusing to honor the
warranty.

I'm not going to another dealer without someone from Consumer Relations contacting a dealer making sure that they will honor your warranty. I'd also would like it confirmed that they have two of the latest generation 33/10.50 x 15 AT/KO on the premises. Not many local dealers stock them and ilf, they have a couple, on site, then they are probably not the latest
version.

I have really bragged on you guys in several online off road forums but,
today was a severe disappointment. I know you're trying to work with me and I will not pass judgment until we see what happens next. London's two largest retailers should have your entire product line cut off and new dealers should agree to honor the warranties of the products they sell.

Thanks,

Reed

WVHogRider · Post by **WVHogRider** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:06 pm

Sorry to hear you are still having problems!

Hopefully it will still work out.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:25 pm

WVHogRider wrote: Sorry to hear you are still having problems! Hopefully it will still work out.

Thanks

It just seems to be my luck

Worse case scenario is I am not going to be able to do a 5 tire rotation. That spare is terrible and I couldn't handle it on trips over an hour with it on the ground. It's not Goodrich, it's these jerks that are unable to accept people ordering stuff online, bypassing the "good ol' boy" BS and beating their prices by almost $200 for 5 tires.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:51 pm

Sometimes you have to "play the game" with them. I have a receipt for the tire purchased locally. The other four were bought online. I am very sure if I need any warranty service it will be the one bought locally that has the problem

With a five tire rotation it is kind of a shell game, I guess.

It may be one more reason to build a good relationship with a dealer. I have a little leverage with the local dealers since I do buy for the fleet. Even if that were not the case , I would like to think that I could still find a way to have "a friend" in the tire business.

It might be worth posting the saga on TXZR2.com. I think one of their members may have some influence with Discount Tire

Post by **Walt** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:14 pm

Reed, I had some similar trouble once with Midas. I've never gone back to one of their shops. I hope everything works out though. Is Wal-Mart considered to be a BFG authorized service center? That might be something to look into. I know many people don't have a high opinion of the local TLE, but mine has been really good to me.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:32 pm

It shows up as a dealer in some sites but, the official BFG/Michelin Customer Relations don't mention it. This "Alvin(sp)" asked about a Sears Auto Center being in my area but, the closest one is close to ninety miles away. I really like the tires and they perform well. I'm just wondering if, this "newest" generation hasn't got all the bugs ironed out.

I suspect you are located in a smaller town and might want to check out your dealers before ordering online in case you have a problem. I am well over $100 in my 3 balances so far, $110 in wheels and maybe five vacation hours burned up.

My trusted Firestone/Bridgestone dealer's owner (he handled all of our gov't work) was the first to alert me of major problems with those two tires. I had them originally installed by him. I forget which Bridgestone ATs I ran on full size SUVs but, he claimed he had them in 33/10.50s. I would look at them next time I buy.

Unless you run a fleet of rigs through a shop like Brule does, I wouldn't count on a small town dealer wanting to work with you on adjustments if, you have a problem.

The sad thing is that I have four all season yokohamas sitting here for Mr's Hoff's car and don't even want to "go there" yet. I got them from TireRack and they have never failed me in 2+ decades.

It could just be my luck, who knows? I know that I was respectful to both dealers but, maybe my yankee accent ticks them off.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:40 pm

My AT KOs have been really good, and my wifes Cavalier has been running the Yokos for quite a while now

Things will work out

Post by **Walt** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:00 pm

Brule, Reed, now that you both have put some miles on the BFG's, how do you think they measure up to the Yokohama AT's?

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:06 pm

HenryJ wrote:It may be one more reason to build a good relationship with a dealer. I have a little leverage with the local dealers since I do buy for the fleet. Even if that were not the case , I would like to think that I could still find a way to have "a friend" in the tire business.

I have an excellent contact with the Firestone/Bridgestone dealership. I just can't cover all brands

HenryJ wrote:It might be worth posting the saga on TXZR2.com. I think one of their members may have some influence with Discount Tire

Although I like most of the members there, I can't get over the owner's attitude and don't know if, I'd join if, I had a ZR2 again.

Besides, I no longer have any family that are members there. Give it a few days and we'll see what happens.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:14 pm

Read that again ^

TXZR2.com

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:21 pm

My bad! I apologize

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:53 pm

Walt wrote:Brule, Reed, now that you both have put some miles on the BFG's, how do you think they measure up to the Yokohama AT's?

If, the Yokos had the size we need.........I'd be all over them!!!!!! Having said that I must say that the AT/KOs are awesome. I wish they could be compared side by side in the same size. I would think the Yokos would be lighter in wgt than the AT/KOs. If, I still had a stock Z and needed tires in 31/10.50s.............Yokos....definitely!

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 3:24 am

Ditto.

The Yokos perform very well. Had the size been available, I would probably have a set.
I think they would be heavier though, and I am worried about some strange tread wear later in their life. The BFGs don't show irregular tread wear, but may be pretty hard. Traction may suffer as they age. The Yoko looks much more aggressive, in comparison. The BFG may ride a little better, but that may just be a characteristic of the size difference.

You will not be displeased with either.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:08 pm

Well, looks like BFG was unable to flex their muscle with the independent dealers. I got a phone call and this email,

Mr. Wetter,

Thank you for your email. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

We again apologize for the way you have been treated by our BFGoodrich
dealers.

If you would like to purchase two more BFGoodrich tires, we will reimburse
you for the tires for goodwill.

Thank you for using BFGoodrich tires.

If your questions have not been answered to your satisfaction, please call
me at 1-877-788-8899 (toll-free) between 8:30AM and 6:00PM Eastern Time
Monday through Friday.

Mike
BFGoodrich Tires
Consumer Relations Department

Now if, I can just get them to tell me the reimbusement procedure, it looks like I'll be sitting pretty with a total of seven(7) 33s for the price of five

I'm happy that they are handling it this manner and backing their brand name.

BADs Crew · Post by **BADs Crew** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:58 pm

GOOD DEAL !!

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:11 pm

The check arrived today from Michelin. Case Closed!

WVHogRider · Post by **WVHogRider** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 3:10 pm

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 6:10 pm

WVHogRider wrote:

I needed a "high five".....Thank you, Sir!