Dealers put the brakes on customers seeking new tires

By JEFF HARRINGTON

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 11, 2000

For Tampa Bay area drivers, Day Two of Firestone's massive tire recall was an even bumpier ride than the first one.

Despite ads that promise "no appointment needed," Firestone service centers were putting droves of customers on waiting lists. Some were told they may have to wait up to three months for replacements for the apparently flawed tires on their SUVs or light trucks.

Other tire dealers throughout the area refused to deal with the problem, saying that they did not have the tires in stock and that customers would have to go to a Firestone center for a free replacement anyway.

Equally frustrated were those who took it upon themselves to pay for new tires. Firestone said it was putting together plans to reimburse people who went out and bought new tires shortly before the recall was announced Wednesday but was making no promises to pay those getting tires on their own now.

Trying to get a reimbursement for four recently replaced tires turned into a futile quest Thursday for one Ford Explorer customer, Irene Riley of Brooksville.

Riley was turned down by WalMart, where she had paid $299 for the replacement tires on Monday. Then she was rebuffed at the Don Olsen tire outlet that sold her two of the now-recalled tires about one year ago.

As a last measure, she went to a Firestone service center, which said it was not authorized to dole out refunds. "They give you an 800 number to call but it's always going to be busy," she said.

Despite the hassle, Riley felt she did the right thing in switching tires as soon as she heard the allegations that the tires were susceptible to sudden shredding.

"I had to do it," she said. "I have two grandchildren and a disabled husband. . . .. I can't even take a 1 percent chance of something going wrong."

Ken Welch, an accountant at Florida Power Corp. running for the Pinellas County Commission, felt the same way. The Wilderness tires on his 1997 Ford Explorer are not included in the recall because they were not manufactured at the Decatur, Ill., plant being targeted as a potential source of problems. But Welch didn't want to take any chances.

"I'm taking a family trip to Disney tomorrow, so naturally I ended up doing what many other Ford Explorer owners are doing: I drove to Sears and paid full price for a new set of Dunlop tires," Welch wrote in an e-mail describing his experience. "I will, and I mean will, get a refund from Firestone."

Don't count on it, says Firestone.

Firestone spokesman Matt Wisla said customers have to wait their turn if they want to be guaranteed a free ride. Once the recall was set, he said, customers who deviated from the outlined procedure by paying for new tires elsewhere are not guaranteed any reimbursement.

"The tires need to be collected as part of a recall," Wisla said. "Those numbers need to be reported back to the Feds."

Mike Rubio, assistant manager at Firestone Tire and Service Center in Miami Beach, spent Thursday putting customers on queue for replacement tires.

"We are putting people down on a list, and when the tires come in, people can come and pick them up," Rubio said.

Michael Davis, 33, of Miami Beach put down his name for four Firestone Wilderness AT tires for his Ford Explorer.

"We are No. 60," Davis said. "It's an inconvenience."

In Dallas, motorist Steve Balogh visited several sold-out Firestone outlets. Because he will begin driving his two children to school Monday, he decided to buy Michelins and seek reimbursement from Firestone later.

"The thing that's foremost on my mind right now is safety," Balogh said while lounging in a National Tire and Battery waiting area with a novel and a cup of coffee. "The cargo I'm carrying is just too valuable, so it's worth the wait. They said there are about six or seven Explorers in front of me out here, so it's going to be a little while."

Customers who replaced the tires before the recall have a better chance of getting their money back if they have kept receipts and other paperwork. But even that process is still fuzzy.

Firestone has not yet decided how far back it will go in reimbursing customers but said the timing may be tied to the May launch of the federal investigation.

Wisla said it was unclear whether Florida customers will have to wait days or weeks for replacements, but he doubted it would take up to three months. Florida is part of the first phase of the recall, slated to be completed by October.

In announcing the second-biggest tire recall ever, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. said Wednesday that drivers in Texas, California, Arizona and Florida would get attention first because of indications that hot weather may contribute to the tire problem.

The second tier includes Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma and Tennessee. That recall will be effective in the fall and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The third phase covers the rest of the country and is expected to be completed by the end of 2001.

- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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