Well, I finally ordered 4 new tires for my van. I decided to get the Yokahama's from Tirerack. I ordered them Thursday and had them Tuesday, excellent service. I had to go by Sears anyway so I decided to have them mount and balance them. I had one flat tire in the back of the van and I was using the spare, which was the only decent tire on the van. I asked the service manger to make sure that the spare ( Michelin ) was left alone and the flat tire was replaced. I even made sure that he wrote it on the job ticket and highlighted it. I was told " We are very careful with these kind of things, stop back in an hour to pick it up."

The van was on the lift with all wheels removed. Two tires, including the good spare, had been removed from the wheels and were headed towards scrap. The flat tire was still in the van 6' in the air. After explaining this to the mechanic ( I'll use that term loosely ) , he apologized and agreed to remount the spare. I requested the self adhesive wheel weights and went back to the waiting room.

The "mechanic" returned and explained that he could not use the adhesive weights, they wouldn't stick to the wheels. " We could use them, but we would have to clean the wheels. " NO SH*T !" I agreed that the could use the other one's as long as they were the right one's for alloy wheels...

Next the "mechanic" was having trouble balancing a wheel, so he brought "mechanic #2" over to offer his expertise. Mechanic #2 informed me that they could not balance this wheel because it was severely cracked, he said I would have to scrap this wheel. Surprised, I went to check the wheel. I explained to him that it was road tar, and showed him other spots on the surface of the wheel. He only hesitantly agreed with me after I removed the "crack" with my fingernail. Mechanic #2 was no longer interested in helping.

When the balancing was finally complete, I saw mechanic #1 reach in to turn the steering wheel and noticed that the door wouldn't shut properly. I looked under the van to see where the lift was staged, right across the rear of the gas tank. Needless to say, I quickly pointed out to him that he had crushed my gas tank in two places. "oh, really? It's not leaking." I walked away frustrated.

A few minutes later the van was back on the ground. The mechanic greeted me when I came back out " I checked your tank, it's fine. It popped right back out when I put it down." So I looked to confirm what he said. The drivers side cross member was pushed up into the tank, about 1" higher than it should be. The passenger side was almost back where it should be, but there was a nice fresh crease about 1/4 -1/2" deep and 3 - 4" long. I asked him to look again. "Oh, I'll see if the manger is here." The assistant manager came out but was physically unable to look under the van. He asked mechanic#2 to give his opinion. "It's not leaking." He was also quick to point out that there was a dent towards the front of the tank and I had probably bottomed the van out on some big rocks. I agreed with him that there was a dent, but also showed him the "fresh" creases on both sides of the tank. My point was that the tank was not crushed when I arrived, it shouldn't be when I leave. "It's not leaking, it'll be ok." I could have made a scene but I was reassured that the manager would call me to straighten things out the following day.

I also arrived home to find that I had 3 black valve stems and 1 chrome. They also hadn't removed any of the stickers off of the tire tread. I know it's purely cosmetic, but irritating all the same. For $68 worth of nothing but mounting and balancing, you would at least hope it was done well.

On a positive note, The tires are excellent. Also the manager did call on time and promised to pay for a replacement tank. I learned once and for all to avoid the big chains...overpriced and sloppy to say the least. It pays to watch these clowns, I wouldn't have noticed this tank if I didn't look over his shoulder. All it cost to mount these tires was $68.00, 2+hours, and a gas tank...and that wasn't even on sale.