Tires have made me TIRED...and frustrated

For the past 4 weekends I have been going to numerous tire stores to get new tires on my car before my long trip home. After many attempts and various tires places and WAY too many phone call I got new tires.

Here's the whole story...

So I thought I would be able to go to one place and walk in get new tires on my car. Oh I was SOOOO wrong! I researched a little online and decided to go with Costco because I would get a warranty and there are Costco's in Mesa too. I wanted to go to a chain because I would usually get some type of discount and I would have a warranty or something that they would honor back in Arizona. So I drove to Queens and went in and told them what kind of car I had. They gave me a price that was higher than I thought. They took a look at my tires and said I would definitely need to change 3 tires, one of my tires didn't look that bad but they would recommend changing all the tires. The guy was a little bit of a jerk and treated me as if I knew nothing. Throughout this whole fiasco of getting tires it has been interesting/frustrating the way mechanics talk to girls than they do with guys, even if the girl may know what she is talking about. I felt as if they were trying to teach math to a preschooler. It was very annoying. So this was my first time actually at a store trying to get tires. I decided not to get tires that day.

The following weekend I called a few more places and decided to go to Pep Boys because they had a sale for buy 3 tires, get the 4th free with a mail in rebate. I called and found that a Pep Boys in Jersey had my tires for a Honda Pilot. I went to Pep Boys only to find out they actually DON'T have my tires. The following week I go to another Pep Boys to be told that the tires that are on my car are NOT stock tires but are after market tires, which means the previous owner put new rims and tires on my car. It also means that they did not have those tires in stock and they wouldn't be in until Thursday of the following week. I knew I had after market rims on my car but I had no idea that the tires would be different. Now I know a lot more about tires and I really didn't know anything before. So, the two previous places I had been to had not realized that my tires were different then what Honda originally put on my car. Both of these people LOOKED at my tires and did NOT read the size of the tires which are on the side of the tire (which I know how to read now). Now you can imagine how frustrated I am at the point but it get worse if that is possible.

I couldn't get tires on that week and I decide to wait the following week for the tires to come. I couldn't get back to the Pep Boys until Saturday and they couldn't save the tires for me even though I was willing to pay for them at the moment, but they thought they should still have them Saturday morning. They were getting 6 tires and I needed 4. So Saturday morning I go back with my friends because I was also going to get my oil changed and some other work done all at once so I had a couple friends come to keep me company. There is a mall across the street so we were going to go shopping while my car was getting fixed. I didn't call before I left because I had a good feeling that they would have them in stock still. Boy that was a mistake because you can imagine what I felt when I realized that they were OUT. Well I got my oil changed and everything else anyway because I was there and it needed to be done. While we were at the mall we had lunch and after lunch I called around to find my tires. I was calling places miles away. I finally found a Pep Boys about 30 miles away that had 3 tires. They were going to call around and find a 4th tire for me or they would get one for me the following day. I was willing to go but I made a couple more calls and found a Costco that had my tires in stock, however they were a little bit more pricey but they had all 4 tires in stock. I decided to go to Costco so I can just be finished with all of this. We make the drive which took forever because of traffic and just to add misery to my day it had been raining all day so it was just a gloomy day. It was a Saturday so of course there was no parking at Costco. I left my car with my friend and I ran in to see how long it would take and make sure they had my tires. Well they had 9 of the tires that I currently had on my car in stock, HOWEVER they couldn't put those tires on my car because they weren't recommended by Costco/Honda. He came out to my car to look at the tires and told me he couldn't put those tires on my car. It was raining on me as he was telling me this and I was so close to tears. I had one week to get tires on my car and I was running out of time and everyone I talked to had some reason they COULDN'T put tires on my car. I was so frustrated. I was in New Jersey at the time and one of my friends had to get back to Manhattan and so I had to go back to drop her off. I took her back and decided to go to the Costco in Queens. Don't ask me why, I wasn't sure what to do or where to go. I ended up not even going into the tire center because the line was too long. Again, I have no idea what possessed me to go there in the first place but I just needed to do something. I had been calling my mom, my dad, my brother, anyone to see what they thought I should do. I called a Honda dealership to see what they recommended doing and all they could say is they never recommend to change the rims on the car, they were super helpful (that was said with sarcasm). So now I had to decide if 1) I put the same size tire as I currently had on 2) Put the tires that Costco/Honda recommended to put on 3) Wait until my dad made it to New York and we stopped somewhere after Palmyra to get tires 4) Take my chance and keep my current tires for the drive home (this was not my first choice but I was ready to give up). I talked to my brother and he called a few places and went to the tire place my family has been going to for years, since I was a baby. They are like family. My brother went and asked them what they would do if I had brought my car to them and they said to stay with the same type of tire that I currently had on my car. And then my brother called a few places around here and found 4 tires for me at Wal-Mart of all places. I really hadn't even thought about going there but I didn't care where I went as long as I got tires. The problem was this place was in Jersey so I had to go back to Manhattan and then over to Jersey. I got there and I was expecting to be turned down because that was just they way it had been but I got to Wal-Mart and they took my car. They didn't talk to me like I was stupid, they didn't ask questions I didn't know and they TOOK MY CAR!! YAY!! I also knew a lot more about tires this time than I did the first time. I decided to do some shopping to pass the time and got some things for the ride home and some other things I needed. I didn't want to check out until my car was finished so I left the shopping cart right outside the area where you can wait for your car. I wasn't in there very long before I came back out to find my cart was gone. Seriously!! One of the workers who had just come to work didn't realize it was mine and had started to put everything away. Luckily, I found most of the stuff that hadn't been put away yet but I still got my tires and that was all the mattered. I am so glad this whole thing is over. As I was driving home in the pouring rain I was actually a little scared by the amount of rain and almost stopped by the side of the road but I had to get back to Manhattan for my friend's birthday party. I can say that my Wal-Mart tires did really well in the rain and I made it safely home. Last Saturday I left my house at 9:15 and I got back to Manhattan right after 9. It took me just less than 12 hours in the ONE day. Add to the all the other times I had gone places and the phone calls and research I did online and I spent WAY too much time trying to get these tires on my car. That day I was so tired by the end of it all both physically and emotionally. I'm not sure how I would have been if Wal-Mart turned me down, thankfully never had to find out.

That's the full story, it's the long version but the short version just doesn't do it justice. I am so happy it is all over and I leave in 3 days. My parents are already on the East Coast. They are just 3 hours away. Is it weird that I can almost feel them? I feel so much safer just knowing they are close.

I have still not finished with my packing and I have NO idea how I can fit all this stuff in my car along with my parent's stuff. I wish we were like the Jetsons and we can push a button and our briefcases (or suitcases in the case) could fold up small enough to fit in a pocket. I took pictures of everything I need to pack and I might post them soon. Now that I took 2 hours out of packing and it is getting late I think I need to do something productive...but I think I might just go to sleep. :)

FYI here are the dates that I am going to be in Arizona

November 8-11
November 24-30
December 18-FOREVER (or that's my plan but who knows where life might take me)

Hope all is well and I can't wait to be home for a little while.

-Jeni