Last night, I noticed a tick-tick-tick coming from under the car while driving. I located a screw sticking out of the rear tire. No big deal, it happens. I have centerlock wheels, so I figured I’d run down to the dealer this morning and get it resolved.

Dropped son #1 off at school, quick drive to the dealer. Learned something interesting, they are not allowed to repair tires. Okay, I could argue that either way, but I get it.

Me: “okay, so I have to buy a new tire. I have wheel and tire insurance”
Service Associate (SA): do you have that info with you?
Me: no, don’t you have it in your system?
SA: no
Me: well, I need to get the tire replaced so can you just do it?
SA: I have to check with parts to see if they have the tires in stock

Putting aside the issue of tracking what your customers purchased with a new car (Mercedes does it, they have all my coverage detailed in my customer record), the bigger issue is the tire availability. If you have a propietary wheel that requires customers to use the dealer for service, you should also require that dealers stock the tires to support customers in need. They didn’t have the tires in stock but were expecting 2 later today that were not spoken for.

So I drove back home and when I exited the car in the driveway the tire was hissing at me. The screw had gone from an annoying tick-tick-tick to a full on puncture. The tire was flat in 20 minutes. At 2pm I called the dealer to check on status.

Me: did you get the tires for my car?
SA: Our internet has been up/down all day and I haven’t been able to track the truck, but it’s a 3 hour process to change the tire.
Me: okay, so let me get this straight... a flat tire that would otherwise be a simple repair now has me disabled and you can’t replace the tire or give me a loaner car (I didn’t schedule my flat tire, hence no cars available), and it’s not clear when you will have a tire or a loaner car.
SA: you could call roadside service, it’s provided by your warranty.

I’m condition RED on frustration at this point, but I went to my happy place and breathed through my eyelids. I called roadside service and they sent a tow truck out to transport my car to the dealer. Tow truck shows up, I gave him the keys, signed something and left to pick up son #2 from school. I return home and the tow truck driver calls me to tell me that the bumper snagged on his truck but he put the plastic strip back on. Blink... return to happy place. “Okay, thanks for telling me. Click”. For the 3rd time today, I call the dealer.

Me: I just got a weird call from the tow truck driver
SA: Yes, was your bumper strip hanging off the car when he picked it up?
Me: Uh no, the car is perfect... it’s only 2 months old.
SA: Okay, we saw him catch it on the truck and try to put it back on. We need to get the car up and inspect it to see if there is any additional damage. Your tire will be here tomorrow.
Me: (calm voice) okay, so my flat tire is now taking at least two days and I have a damaged bumper to go with it... awesome.

Wow, you went to your happy place a lot today. If it was me, I would have blown a gasket. Kudos to you and hopefully tomorrow is a better day. t.

That sucks.

Very bad experience. Parts department normally do not keep spare tires from what I was told. Anyway, I am curious. Why did you drive your car with a screw in the tire? On my second drive in my new car, i found a small screw that had only gone in about a quarter of an inch in the flat part of the tire and not the tread. I pulled it out. The tire was fine. I left it in the garage for a day and noticed no loss of pressure. Drove it carefully for the next few days and did not notice anything untoward. The screw had just added a small and very shallow hole in the tire.

New dealer time.

I keep tire plugs in all my cars and have a spare set of wheels/tires for the centerlock and the big 3/4in torque wrench.

Of course, I don’t have the actual car yet ....

You Tube

I also could have just filled the tire from my compressor and taken the 15 minutes to drive it to the dealer, and then take an Uber home. At this point in the process, I look at it as their problem to solve. Insofar as any damage from the tow... also their problem to solve given that it was organized by roadside assistance. Sure, it’s an inconvenience but I have other cars to drive and Porsche now has to make it right.