On the subject of the gentleman from Glendale, who had poor service from Mr. Lopez, I just think the whole recent idea of best tires on the back is a real hoot. So, this is not "hearsay", as Eucommia so eloquently suggests. Also, it's not about buying four tires if the person can only afford two at a time. How about considering the individual here, for once, and not trying to speak for them. The economy is poor-and has been-for many of us. Such a line as Eucommia's "buy 4 tires and there won't be any issues" is of no consideration, therefore, and
neither, then, is his opinion. I worked in tire & auto services for years. That was in the "ancient" times when we actually thought that the best tires should go on the front, since the front takes all the wear and tear, curves, and the average everyday front-wheel drive being the center of control. How crazy we really must have been, huh? Another gentleman here mentions hydroplaning and how placing the best tires on the back controls this-and traction. True, however, by doing such happens not to control the hydroplane and traction of the front, which is where your power, again, is located. If I'm sliding on ice or snow, do I want the better tires on the front or back? Ask yourself such a question. A little fish-tailing in the back is hardly going to cause an accident. By placing the best on the back, we're putting the sled before the dogs ... literally. If you look up the statistics, such reported accidents have risen nationally SINCE this "regulatory" measure. Another thing about this is how the companies are relating the whole thing to government regulating. This is not true. The government only suggests such, this isn't a law. The reason why so many tire dealers are copping out on it is because, well ... it sells more tires. The front tires always receive the most wear, so if you find new reasons not to replace them, the wear will only increase, of course. However,
so does the danger of driving on them. However, even when we were placing the best on the front, the customer had the right to decline. This tactic is just another one of those being used to push the consumer into purchasing. The only problem is that this is exactly what doesn't work, when it comes to winning over customers. I recently stopped in our local Omaha Costco. I've only had good service from this store. In fact, I've had better service in this location than
any other Costco in any city I've frequented and the staff is very courteous. So, here's the story: I have a used Chevy Impala and knew it was going to need tires when I recently purchased it. I hadn't
noticed the really poor shape of the rear ones, though, which were actually worse than the front. My bad. So, when I asked if I could have a rotation, since I'd noticed the fronts weren't in the greatest of shape, they declined, due the shape of the rears. Just call me Mr. Myopic. They told me that they could only rotate these if I replaced the rear, as they should have said. So, this is completely justified. Again, my bad. The car is front-wheel drive, of course, and I wanted good tires on the front. Due to budgeting, I was going to have to wait a bit to replace the the other set. So, they replaced the rears ... and then told me that the best tires have to stay on the rear-??? Wait, but you just said ... . Confusing? Yes, a bit. So, I was being misinformed. They sold the tires to me, but were less than straight about how they'd be handling this situation, giving me the idea that I was going to rotate after replacement. So, I had to take this, now being stuck (yes, to all you non-believers - stuck!) I had great tires on the back and, still, the less than so on the front. Back to square one. Costco - 1 Me-0 A snow hit right after this, though, and what do you think happpened? Well, I had no traction, was hydroplaning, couldn't get through at all, cars passing me, my car sliding all over. After twice getting caught in the snow on a side street, I was able to pull out but had to back up about a block, which was okay, since there was no traffic. The back tires
handled this reverse fantastically well! Too bad I just can't drive in reverse everywhere-and it's not even a rear-wheel drive!!! Costco still says it did the right thing and won't switch them. Blah! Blah! Blah! Oh, the tangled web we weave. I used to get angry with such things. Now, I just get back, which is why I'm writing this, in the first place. Since I am economically challenged at the moment, I'm driving my old Honda, which has old tires, all still working better than the Impala's mix of old and new. Oh, and I'm not shopping at the Omaha Costco anymore. As much as I'm NOT a Sears fan, by any means, I may need to use 'em a bit more ... at least for tires. That is where I'll be
buying the second pair, in case Eucommia would like to know.