When
I bought my SUV I had no idea it had not been checked out for things that
needed fixing. When I drove it home I couldn’t help notice the tires were
noisy. I assumed it was the brand of tire, and since it was just slightly noisier
than my Saturn wagon (that I had traded in), I didn’t give it a second thought. I should have become
suspicious when after 6 weeks the service light went on and I needed an oil
change. I brought it to a different dealer who did the oil change and rotated
the tires at no charge. That was great! I still didn’t get it.
I am
now on my third dealer and finally was told that the reason the tires were so noisy was because the
front end was out of alignment and the tires were cupping.
So I
went to Town Fair Tire and got new tires. Now I can hear the radio and have
conversations with passengers above the noise of the tires. What noise! There
is no noise.
Oh,
and the best part is, they asked me for the “wheel lock key.” The what? I never
got one when I bought the car.
Even
though it was a 1 yr old used car (a returned lease) I should have driven off
with a car whose front end had been aligned, the oil changed and with a wheel
lock key!
What
would have happened if I had a flat tire on the road? The tire could not be
removed. How happy would I have been?
The
only thing that provides balance to this sad tale is that the original dealer
was the only one around who had the car I wanted at a price I could afford. AND I found out about the
car through a set of circumstances that tells me I was supposed to have that car. It was one of the
hottest items in car dealership. There were very few used models and these were
gobbled up as fast as they came in. Mine had been there for 2 weeks before I
heard about it and snapped it up. Maybe others had looked at it and recognized
what was wrong.
I’m
happy to have a car I love. I just wish I didn’t have to wait three and a half
years to finally ride on quite tires.
All’s
well that rolls well (and quietly). (sigh)
