'Why Would the Dealership Not Tell Us?:' Woman Gets Free Tires When She Buys Ram Truck. Then She Gets Bad News at Discount Tire

Perhaps the only thing better than the feeling of driving off of a dealership lot in a new vehicle is getting a freebie that makes the car look even better. For Arizona mom Jamie Moody (@jmoody_xoxo) an upgrade turned into a dangerous problem.

Especially when she took it to Discount Tire.

Blonde hair cascading over her shoulder, Moody talks about her recent car purchase. One she was, until very recently, thrilled with. In her recent viral social media video, she asks her audience’s opinion on a murky situation.

Tire On, Tire Off 

“About four months ago we purchased a used Dodge Ram truck from the Dodge dealership,” Moody says. The truck Moody was purchasing had some “really cool tires,” but the guy who was trading it in wanted to keep them. So the dealership was going to put stock tires back on.

“It was literally going to change the whole look of the truck. So we asked if they could put those same tires they were taking off, back on,” she recounts.

“In order to make the deal, they said yes.”

Then She Goes To Discount Tire

Fast forward four months. One tire went flat. So into Discount Tire they rolled. Moody says an employee told them, “These tires are not appropriate, they cannot handle the weight of the truck.” 

That means all four tires had to be replaced. That’s an unexpected bill in the range of $800-$2,000.

“Yes we asked for those [larger] tires,” Moody admits. But she wonders why they weren’t told that those tires were wrong for the vehicle.

It was a well-known dealership, she says, not “like a random little dealership.” The implication? Not only should the dealership have known better, it should have done better.

Tik Tok users quickly weighed in.

“A dealership will sell you an [expletive] box full of rust,” wrote J.W. Despain, “they will sell you the cheapest tires they can.”

“Stealership,” quipped Wise Window Cleaning. 

Others suggested she get additional opinions: “Discount is wrong more than they are right,” said another user. Moody replied, “This is true, so we got three opinions.”

Safety First

Choosing the right tire is about more than just bold looks. Usage, environment, driving style and terrain all play a role.

One quick indicator of tire health is treadwear. You can also check the sidewall of a tire. Consumer Reports offers a guide for choosing the right tire that's worth bookmarking.

No research will make an underperforming tire safe on an overweight vehicle.

If you find yourself in a similar situation as Moody, start by checking what kind of tires the manufacturer recommends. Typically this information is on a sticker on the inside of the driver’s side door, or in the car manual.

Be aware that if you’re sizing up, larger tires can impact everything from fuel efficiency, to driving safety, to the speedometer’s accuracy.

If you’re making changes post-purchase, you also might want to compare plus-sizing tires versus up-sizing. Plus-sizing means installing wheels with a larger diameter but using lower-profile tires that keep the total tire diameter similar to the original.

Up-sizing is a little more complicated. It entails changing both the tire and wheel size and may require recalibrating the speedometer or updating your vehicle’s electronic systems. This also might put added weight on brakes and suspension.

Check and Double-Check

However, if you’re sitting in the dealership ready to ink a deal, you might want to take a moment to check the load index of the tires — and compare it to what’s on the vehicle.

If the tires seem suspect, ask the dealership to replace them as a part of the deal. Follow up with any service guarantees they offer. Alternatively, research the tires you want and deduct that price, or a portion of it, from the agreed upon price of the vehicle. After all, it is a negotiation.   

In an email to Motor1, Moody said that after she posted several detailed reviews of her Dodge-buying experience, she got a response. “I ended up leaving some really bad reviews on Yelp and Google and they reached out today to contact the GM. So tomorrow I am going to call and see.

Motor1 will keep you posted with any updates she shares.