Date: Sun, 07 Sep 2003 23:42:10 GMT From: milt brewster <milt73nopsamc.net> Subject: Re: Saab Complaint
In article <lzJ6b.20$9I6.42325nopsam.uswest.net>, manopsamchboard.net says... > milt brewster <milt73nopsamc.net> wrote in message > news:MPG.19c3bcc144d18818989db6nopsam.sonic.net... > > In article <3F58F854.F40BE131nopsamfitter.com>, > > johsnopsamfitter.com says... > > > > > > milt brewster wrote: > > > > > > In the United States, Ford Motor Company is in a world of hurt > > right now, because they 1) sold SUVs with bad tires a few years > > ago, and then 2) refused to make it right. Their sales have not > > recovered three years later, and Ford is losing court cases by > > the bunch to very angry customers who can easily establish that > > Ford knew about the problem. > > Those "bad" tires you are talking about were made by a Japanese > company, Bridgestone [owns Firestone]. > > > > > > While Michelin makes the tires, Saab 1) made the decision to > > equip their cars with Michelins, and 2) decided to not make it > > "right" with me. I suggest further, that 3) Saab knows that these > > Michelins are a safety hazard and doesn't want to admit it; just > > like Ford did. > > Michelin and Toyo are generally regarded as the highest *quality* > tire manufacturers. If you abandon Michelin, you'll likely be taking > a step down in quality. Thanks for the feedback. They still could have made a bad run. > Also, I hope that you have learned that you should never buy > tires at a dealer repair shop. If they weren't going to do it under > warranty, then take it somewhere else. Always get a price quote > from the dealer before they do anything, and don't be afraid to > say "Don't do the work, I'll take it somewhere else". > > Your dealer if a rip off. This is very, very good advice, but not quite as practical as it appears on the surface. It is just too easy for an industry or product "expert" to make a general statement like, "do the research and get quotes," and just walk away. The real world is a lot more complicated than that. For instance, we often need to repair our cars because of some pressing emergency, or we are far from home, or the repair must be made under Warrantee, or we can only go to where our Insurance company directs us, or we need parts that are too complex or proprietary for us to research adequately -- or perhaps we have no choice in parts in the first place. It is therefore important for people working in the auto industry to maintain high ethical standards. It isn't OK to overcharge people in a jam, or people who have no parts choices. People with money to make purchases have long memories and lots of friends. For instance: Everybody in this newsgroup now knows that B&B Saab in San Jose, California charged me $275 and took two days to replace an OEM Michelin tire worth maybe $75. mb
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