![]() 12/02/2018 at 22:44 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
Pic of sexy blue boostang as a buffer for my rant...
Friday on the way to work I got a flat and posted about it.
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Saturday morning on the way home I stopped at NTB to hand them the loose wheel and have the tire patched. I only picked them over Discount Tire because they open at 7 and are closer to my house. I picked it up on Saturday afternoon before heading back to work, but at the time they couldn’t get me in to put it back on the car. Sunday afternoon I got up and swapped on the bronze wheel before driving in to work.
I didn’t make it to work on four matched tires. I was no more than 5 miles from home when the same tire went out again. After I stopped and put the spare back on I looked it over and was unable to find any new punctures, so I’m guessing that they did a shitty job patching my tire. The puncture from Friday was in the outer tread block, about two inched from the side wall, so I’m going to guess that they just did a shitty job of repairing it.
When I was in, and they saw the puncture I got the usual speech about “well, it’s kind of close to the sidewall, we may not be able to fix it”, which is bullshit. I told them up front that I won’t be buying any tires, and that remains true. I’ll be back in there in the morning and if/when they tell me that I need to replace the tire I already have a plan.
Back in May I busted two wheels and in all of the drama that followed that I ended up with a pair of brand new tires, mounted on wheels that don’t quite match what’s on the car. They’re black instead of bronze. One of those has been my spare. If they swear that they can’t fix it, then they’re going to swap the new tires I already have onto the bronze wheels, so at least the rears will match each other. (They’re entirely different than the ones on the car, I won’t do one mismatched tire.)
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I just want them to do the job I paid for. Fix the flat. Dammit.
![]() 12/02/2018 at 22:56 |
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I’ve had hit n’ miss luck with patches even on solid newer tires in the tread area. The original Goodyears I had on my last car would just pick up nails for some reason, (had them patched atleast 4 times.) A couple of those patches ended up with slow leaks...
![]() 12/02/2018 at 22:58 |
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That definitely sucks. I haven’t dealt with NTB, instead always with discount tire. I wonder if they just used a plug, instead of a plug and patch combo. Sometimes the near sidewall punctures can be tricky. Especially if they don’t use a patch and plug. You know discount doesn’t charge for flat repairs, so if you just went there on Monday, you wouldn’t be out any extra money. I can understand the principle of it all and going back to NTB, but sometimes it’s better to cut your losses.
![]() 12/02/2018 at 23:03 |
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I refuse to give ntb another dime of my money. They fucked up a valve stem and refused to admit it, after it went flat 3 times in three days. Paid someone else to redo the valve stem and never had another problem. They also put my car up,then left it in gear without the brake, so when the guy stepped out it tried to drive itself off the ramp. Never again.
![]() 12/02/2018 at 23:09 |
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I’ve seen them do it. They use the plug/patch combo. I just don’t think they got it seated properly. We’ll see.
![]() 12/02/2018 at 23:11 |
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Oh, and yeah, going back to NTB is the principle of the thing. I’ve been to some locations where they bend over backwards to help you out, and this this one, local to me, let me down. I’ll get them to make it right. Honestly I’d rather go to Discount, but their hours are less convenient, and they’re never open on Sunday, which seems to be when I have the most tire problems.
![]() 12/02/2018 at 23:33 |
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Really liking that color combination.
![]() 12/02/2018 at 23:41 |
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DT > NTB
![]() 12/02/2018 at 23:42 |
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true
![]() 12/03/2018 at 00:10 |
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D iscount Tire sucked badly when I used them. I may have just gotten unlucky, of course, and I guess it’s still possible NTB sucks even harder.
![]() 12/03/2018 at 04:24 |
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I’ve had nothing but good luck with DT. I guess mileage will vary.
![]() 12/03/2018 at 10:19 |
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The reason that almost anyone who does anything at all with tires won’t patch near sidewalls is that a) because sidewalls are constantly flexing it’s difficult to get a good seal there and b) because a puncture there, at the junction of the tread belts and sidewall belts, can compromise the tire’s integrity.
Will it work most of the time? Yes. But not every time, no matter how good you are at patching tires. And the liability of it not working properly (read: angry customers having to come back later) is too high to bother. I would do it on my own car, but not for a client unless I know them and they fully understand it may not hold or as a temporary measure because their tire size isn't readily available.