Sears Auto and Tire Center Mgr tried to scam me into buying a new tire when I didn't need one Atlanta Georgia

.. The tech 3 from Oregon is giving you valuable and correct information. He explained it in great detail. my compliments to him on his professioalism. The first store should have pulled the tire off the rim and looked at the inside. This tire may still be a problem to you. Is your life worth a $100. That is up to you.
Keep in mind the world we live in.. If Sears repairs the tire and you have a failure, you'll be at your lawyer's office as quickly as you can to sue them. So, it's your car, your tire and your choice as to what to do.
Good luck

After reading this entry, it is apparent to me that the customer service manager (CSM) in question was either probably having a bad day, or was lacking in knowledge regarding flat repairs. I am an employee of Sears Auto Center #6539 here in Medford, Oregon. My current assignment is Tech 3, meaning I am an individual who actually does the work, and one who has been properly trained by Sears in regards to the dos and don'ts of flat repair.

Rules of thumb regarding fixable tire damage would be: the damage cannot be on the sidewall, tire bead, or within an inch of the sidewall on the tread surface. Sidewalls cannot be reapired, as the structual integrity cannot be preserved. Bead reapir is impossible, since any modification to the bead would prohibit proper seating on the rim. Holes within an inch of the sidewall cannot be repaired due to the possibility of the patch "rolling" off of the repair and reexposing the damage, or worse yet, causing a blow out. Tires are rated by speed. The higher the letter of the alphabet, the better the speed rating. Each repair done to the tire drops the integrity, and speed rating down a letter. Sears policy states that no more than 3 repairs to a tire can be made, and each reapir must be no less than 3-6 inches apart from each other. In addition, the damage itself cannot be larger and .25 inches on a repairable surface, in other words the tread surface within that 1 inch boundery on either side of the tire.

Regarding the CSM's behavior, that particular CSM would benefit from the expert opinion of the technician actually doing the work. Since the opinion of the tech is ultimately what counts as to the repairability of the tire, that individual should be the one the customer should trust in advice about the condition of the tire. This whole matter would have never occurred if the CSM would have let the expert make the decision.

It sounds like that ultimately happened, the second time around, and I thank you for not giving up on Sears and their ability to satisfy you in this matter. But it should have happened the first time.

With regards to tire purchases, what happens if your flat IS unrepairable?? It is my suggestion as both a consumer and technician to, if offered, purchase the road hazard agreement along with your set of tires. This will tack on a few extra dollars to the purchase price, but can be WELL worth it if damage that is unrepairable happens to your investment of a set of tires. Too many times I have seen cases where an individual purchases a costly set of tires, an unfortunate occurence causes unrepairable damage to one, and the customer hasn't purchased the road hazard or "insurance" so to speak to cover the replacement of that tire, and ends up paying full price for a replacement when, if the road hazard was purchased, that same tire could have been replaced at little or no cost to the customer. And as we all know, quality tires are not cheap.

One other tip, if you have a flat, and all the air is gone, if at all possible, do not drive on it, even for ten feet. Inner sidewall damage can occur VERY easily, and would render that small nail hole unrepairable.

Hope this helps, and please accept my apology for inadaquate customer service.

Respectfully,

Auto Technician III
SAC, Medford, Or.