Living in Wal-Mart happy fantasy world

[mightyart]

I lived there for a couple days, I must be to much of an optimist or forget reality to easily.
Anyways Wal-Mart happy fantasy world is the place we reside when we think Wal-Mart might actually be able to do something simple on the Vanagon, it's a place that doesn't exist.

Let me start from the beginning...

Needing new tires for the Westy I searched the internet, came up with the usual suppliers for Hankooks, then up popped Wal-Mart, go figure.
I was talking to my Uncle Bob (very much a car guy, taught me allot, he has a 76 spitfire he tinkers on), he said he do a search to. A couple days go by and my aunt and uncle offer us an early christmas gift, it seems they don't use their Wal-Mart charge much, and since Wal-mart can get them and they are down the street, they would purchase them for us. Well a gift we can use and saving us money of course I said an enthusiastic yes! Please!

Skeptical about Wal-Mart, but happy for the gift, we get tires from Wal-mart. Uncle Bob gets online and orders the tires site to store. Four new Hankook RA08's, Ordering went smoothly, email updates came about the progress of the shipment, and a couple days later the tires arrived at the store.

The shipping had when so smoothly, I started slipping into the fantasy world, what a wonderful place, but wait...
Are they really the really the right tires?
Back to reality, I'll believe it when I see it...

So forward a few days and we're ready to get them installed, go to Wal-Mart on Friday, park by the service bays and take in the reciet.
They don't have the tires there, they give us a cart and we go to the other end of the store to the site to store area, it seems Wal-Wart doesn't carry the tires, we ordered them from someone else.
Odd but Ok, I'll play along.
They give us the tires amazingly four new Hankooks, just the right size.
Back to fantasy land, we float back to the service department on fantasy clouds, happy with the thought the Van will have new tires soon.

I talk to the Wal-Mart man and told him what I need as far as mounting, which tire to save for a spare, showed him the spare in the van, (I took it out and layed it on a blanket on the floor, and told him to put the new spare there, easy enough I thought.
I showed him how to start it and how to put it in reverse, he seemed to be smart enough, gave him the keys, and went to shop in heavenly bliss while the new tires were installed.

We were happily shopping in Wal-mart fantasy world for a little while. The girlfriend looked though the service area window and the Van was up on the lift and he was working a rear tire. Wow what a wonderful place this Wal-mart fantasy land was!

We shopped more, she looked again, it wasn't in the air, it was sitting there
running, it must be finished!

I go talk to the smart young man that helped me...
We can't do it, sorry he says, What?!?
BANG! Back to reality real quick.
Yes we can't do it and we can't get the van in reverse to back it out of the service bay.
Ok I'll back it out, so I leave and he tells my girlfriend that they couldn't get the lug nuts off the front, they seemed to be soldered on or something.
Morons, they call those bolts. (no kidding, he actually told her that)

I go out and tell the tech the standard all the way left push down and up, let him try a couple more times, and just back it out myself.
He tells me they couldn't do it because he couldn't find the jacking points, I said they are right here, he said the van was so old it wasn't in his book and if it isn't in the book they can't do it. I didn't argue, we saw it lifted, I was done letting them touch the Westy, I was ready to go somewhere else.
My aunt and uncle were gifting them to me so I told them I'd take them off and carry them in.
I took the new tires to, I didn't trust them no more....

Took them off the van with no problems, and they managed to mount and balance them.

So the moral of the story is don't go to Wal-mart for service.

[Randy in Maine]

I sort of saw that one coming.....

At least you got the correct new tires.

[mightyart]

[bowtiebug]

Man you are a brave sole even thinking Wal-Mart could pull this off , lesson learned .


Even when using Discount tire ( a step or 2 up from wally world ) I always pull my own tires / wheels and take them in loose ..


Glad it all worked out ..
_________________
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlphaKnots

[Buenos Diaz]

I once took my conversion van to walmart for tires. They said no problem and it would take a couple hours so I wandered the aisles until they called to say it was ready. I paid, took my keys, and went out to the van which was parked in a dark corner of the lot. As I walked up, I noticed a bunch of greasy finger prints all over the driver side mirror. I reach up to touch the mirror and it fell to the ground. Apparently, the tech back the van into the side of the garage and knocked the mirror off and scraped the side of the van. I showed the manager and the tech, who said it came in that way. I told the manager that we had plenty of finger prints if need be. Long story short, they covered the repairs and a rental car. But the cherry on top of the cake was when I got the van home I noticed the right rear tire was the wrong size. Three tires were 215/75/15s, the fourth was 185/75/15. I don't even know how they got the tire to stay on.

Buenos
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1967 21 Window Bus
1965 Beetle
2019 Atlas

[crazyvwvanman]

I know a younger guy who works at a large Toyota Dealer. The shop guys doing tires and oil changes there are entry level guys hoping to work their way up. The real mechanics do the more complicated and bigger money jobs. He has mentioned several instances of oil drain plugs left loose, oil filters left off, lug nuts not tightened, etc. That sometimes means seized engines, wheels that fell off after the customer drove away, with big costs to the dealership to make things right. They have shop procedures in place where a second guy checks everything and signs off that they are all ok but it still happens. Humans are after all human, even ones working places other than Walmart. I take loose wheels into Walmart sometimes but there is ZERO chance I would let them put one of my vans in the air. That goes for just about any shop that does not work on Vanagons as a regular part of their operations.

Mark

[Vinzanto]

Ahahaha everytime I go to walmart I question why I went there in the first place. It never fails they are always out of at least 2-5 things on my shopping list.
_________________
1984 Vanagon Westfalia Wolfsberg

[MsTaboo]

Boycott Wal-Mart. The job you save may be your own.
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
Help the fight against Truth Decay.
Defend democracy, support Ukraine.

[0to60in6min]

here's another one to avoid...

Pep Boys

and many other places...

[vanagonjr]

[onemat]

The week our new Wally World opened they wrecked a guy's pickup by forgetting to put the lug nuts on the rear wheels after bought a set of tires. He drove out of the driveway, took a right turn and the wheels fell off.
_________________
'82 Vanagon GL with 2.0 4-speed. Long term plan is to turn it into a camper.

[70coupyel]

"If it's not in the computer I don't know what to do."

Auto Zone and Walmart (auto dept.) needs to get some tee shirts printed up for their "techs" to wear.
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[benandmj]

The ONLY things I've bought at Walmart were for our van. A plastic cutting board to make rear spring spacers and 2 cheap sleeping bags when we forgot ours on a trip.

We are going through a huge battle with a developer in our neighborhood over his plans to put a Walmart in adjacent to a huge new green space.

F Walmart.
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85 Westfalia Weekender
91 Syncro Westy

[levi]

Mightyart!
Hey what's up, I haven't seen anything from you in years....!
Glad to see you're still around.
....or maybe I just haven't been paying attention.
Nice tires though, glad it worked out for you.
A friend went to wally world a few weeks ago for an oil change with his 60 ' Fiat, they left the oil cap sitting on his engine block.

_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[liwesty]

paper towels n dog food only!
_________________
86 westy 2.5 subaru powered

[SCP_Austin]

Did you check with your insurance agent about the tires?

I always make sure I am covered...

[Phishman068]

I always carry loose rims in to walmart only.
One reason, they aren't allowed to deal with non factory rims on a vanagon!

If you have 15'' rims and their computer only shows 14'' rims....
They can't touch the car.


I have shockingly good luck with my local Monro Muffler for all my service needs (basically inspection only, but recently had them cut brake rotors and mount some tires for me).
Chains arent all the same. In my case i've literally taught the mechanics at My local Monro to not only appreciate Vanagons, but not to hesitate to ask questions. I stick around while they work on them and they constantly pull me in just checking on things.
I've even trained them to torgue the lugs with a torque wrench! They told me i'm the only client they do that for. : )
_________________
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=559766&highlight=winter+rust
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482402&highlight=sunroof+syncro
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569774
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6864936#6864936

"Along with the ability to go fast, one looses the desire to hurry."

[Bruce Wayne]

[carterzest]

Nice to see you around Mightyart.

My experience with WalMart was not much better, and, I did not even attempt to have them touch my car. I ordered my BFG AT 15" tires for the SyncWesty there as they price match other competitors. Saved me a bunch of money by printing out the tire rack quote and taking it in there. Seems when I was talking to the manager about the price match, the only other person in the tire area jumped into our conversation and demanded that he get a discount on his tires as well. What should have been an in/out, take my money and I run trip, turned into a 45 minute shouting fest where the guy demanded that they take the tires already mounted onto his rims, off the rims, and put his steel belts showing tires back on the rims. She was spending all of her time trying to void out that customers sale and her terminal was locked up so she could not take my money until another manager from another department came to give an override for the RUDE CUSHOLES transaction. I was livid.

But, I saved about $250 over what I could source the tires locally and I did not have to pay shipping for the TireRack BFG's=WINNING!!!
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Happiness=Portland, Oregon in the rearview mirror!

[morymob]

U think wallyworld is a screwed up mess, have u dealt with the other 'name's' auto dept, starts with S & 5 letters. Until i stopped not long ago of refurbing bugs and having my own ' fleet' of vehicles i used this store becausethey had what i needed and a good price..STORE POLICY change. I picked up my tires before as i'm tired of bent,scratched new painted wheels and do my own balancing. NOW i cant carry them out, they have to mount on a wheel!! I bring 4 mostly crusty rims, they put on wheels and I specify NO air and all is ok and i leave, after i explain this is my last set and why.Go home, remove and re-mount on correct wheels, never been in or purchased any items from this chain since, my ranting 2-cts, some things just flip my feathers in the wrong direction.