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The $625 Flat Tire

Chief

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With this post I make it public - I'm in the middle of an incredibly nasty divorce.

So while I was laying in the hospital not receiving visits from my charming soon to be ex-bride, who wouldn't even bring my kids by to visit, she was out having a good time in my Avalanche.

Well suddenly she wasn't driving anymore and she decided to bag up all my clothes, but them in the back, drive the Av into the parking lot of the hospital, come up and give me the keys. And oh, btw - it had a flat tire.

A flat tire?

A flat tire.

What did you do.

I had them come out and they changed it.

Them?

Ya you know the button thing.

Oh, where did you get the flat.

It was flat in the driveway - just found it that way.

Oooooooo...

So yesterday at 4:30 PM I finally got out of the hospital. Now having a Z-71 I didn't want to spend a lot of time on the 16" rim (ya I know the o.d. is close). So I figured "a flat" Les Schwab (regional tire chain) here I come.

They get the tire down - no rim damage. Good.

Find the leak...good.

Find, oh wait a minute. Wait a MINUTE.

The inside of the tire where the sidewall meets the belts was blistered and heat damaged. On the INSIDE of the tire. The outer edge of the tire was heat blistered. The tops of the RWL were rubbed off. Translation - the fire was run flat, fast and hard for a distance.

Now because I had 29.4K miles on my Avalanche going for a single tire was no longer possible. Worse I have to run with what it is in stock because my need is now, my visions of 285/70R17 tires this fall evaporated.

So I got some Les Schwab brand Wild Country STX (XST or SXT or what ever) with the raised white letters. Les Schwab gave me $25 credit per tire for the stock Good Years (X3) which made me feel good - must be babying my ride to have that much usable tread that they think they could get $40 to $50 each.

So in the end it was $700 minus a $75 credit to have a grand total of $625 to fix a "flat tire."

So now I've got curiousity. The tire damage on the flat does not support the it went flat overnight in the driveway and gee I don't know what happened story. Thank goodness for OnStar. Of course they can't tell me the circumstances but they can tell me the location of repair. Second Avenue downtown Seattle by Benoroyal [sic] hall. Bingo, we're lying about the location so what else are we lying about?

I made the mistake of calling her bluff failing to remember that I am not dealing with a human being. When confronted with the hard fact that OnStar had all the information of the where she then declared. OK, I did lie. I did it because, because, because, I don't trust you!

What?

What kind of logic is that?

You see in the end it's not the principal of the flat. It's not the principal of the $625. It's not the principal that with no wiggle room I couldn't get what I wanted. It's the following:

1) While laying in the hospital and not visiting and moving divorce plans forward she is running around in my Avalanche.

2) When something went wrong while using it, she didn't stand up and take responsibility. She tried to explain it away that I should be thankful the spare was put on. Yes, I'm thankful that you didn't decided to walk 15.4 miles home - duh, you had the spare but on so you could get home. She's caught like the teenager that took off with the family care while the folks were away on vacation. One difference, the average teenager would bow their frickin' head and fess up.

3) I know you might be thinking married, wha? My wife and I have always kept seperate accounts and our credit largely seperate. When I bought the Avalanche I did it with MY money, MY credit, and I paid for it out of MY discretionary funds - not out of our "shared" funds for running the house. So although yes, married, I've always viewed the Avalanche as "mine"

4) If she is going to lie over something as simple as a flat tire - than what else is she going to and has already lied about.

Oh I'll be glad when this stinking chapter of my life is over.
 
WOW, it just isn't your year is it Chief! I just hope the Judge sees it your way and lets you keep your Avalanche!

Butch
 
Ugh..... Sorry to hear about your current problems... Hopefully you get out of that marriage soon.

I am having problems with my ex, so I can kind of relate. We never got married (thank god), but we do have a 15 month old daughter. So unfortunately I will be stuck having to deal with her anyway for the rest of my life (or at least until my little girl is grown up). The good part is she NEVER drove my Avalanche and never will!!!!

Just make sure you take care of yourself and get healthy. I am sure the wife issues do not help your health.
 
I've been through it Chief. :6: It's gonna suck, big time. Sounds like you're off to a bad start but above all else get yerself a good lawyer! I had a female lawyer who was a shark but I didn't always listen and thought being a 'nice guy' about certain things (like dropping multiple assault charges) would help in the end. Get a good lawyer and *listen to her!* Females are more vicious, as you're learning. Men are more emotional and it inevitably clouds our thinking.

And this won't last forever, it'll just seem like it. In the meantime I think you've got a universe of friends here. Feel free to PM anytime...
 
Don't walk away from this woman. RUN!
Hug the kids. Tell them they are loved, it's not their fault and things will be ok, eventually.
Change the locks on the AV.
 
If you can't get locks changed right away, try a lockbar. You can get one for about $50 at Walmart.
Traz
 
Been there, done that too Chief. I hope your divorce goes much better than mine did many years ago; financially destroyed, credit rating ruined, and the house cleaned out of almost everything. I could not see the end of it at the time and was in dire straits. In time, life eventually got much better than it has ever been. In the end, I won. I GOT AWAY FROM HER FOR GOOD!
 
Wow Chief, what a story! I went through a divorce many years ago with a "high school sweetheart". It was a pretty simple deal, of course we had no kids, we were young and both realized that we shouldn't have married. Flash forward many years, and it seems I too may be going thru something similar. She works in another city, I work and take care of the 4 year old. The wife might speak to the kid 5 minutes a day, and me 2 or 3. Then she comes home on the week-ends and complains about the house, yard etc. Basically makes it a miserable week-end for us all. The killer part is that after living like this a year and a half, if we were to divorce, she'd get custody of the child. There is no judge that would take the kid away from her. She knows it would hurt me, so she wouldn't give up custody. As I write this, she is sleeping inour guest room, after geting home a couple hours ago. I had gone to bed hopeing she'd come up, and then just signed on when I realized she'd gone in the other room. A lot of damage has been done. I don't know how to fix it, but I can't leave my daughter.
Thanks for letting me spout off. You aren't the only one Chief if that is any consolation. (The AV is in my name only!)
 
Chief said:
One difference, the average teenager would bow their frickin' head and fess up.


You got that right :). I would never hide something like that. It sure is hard to fess up and tell the truth but it sure is easier than hiding a big lie.

I am so sorry to hear about your misfortunes Chief. It's very difficult to read how much trouble you have gone through lately - I can't even imagine how hard it must be to be in your shoes :(.

I hope this chapter in your life ends very soon too. You deserve better.
 
I could tell you the insane stories of my Ex-wife but I neither have the time or computer memory for half of them. My son is now nearly 16 and I've fought to be near him since she left me 3 days before his first birthday. My ex lives in her own personal hell as do most women who leave loving, hard working Husbands. They may not realize it the first year but they always realize it eventually. My best bud is currently facing his first day alone (his wife packed up last night and moved out with the kids) his great crime was viewing a soft-core porn web site a couple of months ago at home. Yesterday his divorce was final, he was layed off from his job (to many distractions in his life) and his wife took the kids and moved out (all in one day). He's 45 starting all over again, what a kick in the bollocks.

My present wife tells me I carry a lot of rage around with me and its situations like Chiefs and my buds that remind me why I have so much anger towards my Ex. I feel bad for my wife, if she even acts like she wants out of our marriage I quickly point to the door. Don't misunderstand me I love my wife, she's my best friend but I doubt I will ever feel the need to hold onto a woman if she seems the least bit inclined to walk out the door. I have a good wife now and I know it, the big trick is not only knowing when you have a good wife (after suffering thru a divorce with a truly bad ex-wife), but being able to show your current wife how much you care. Guys if you haven't found that special some-one keep looking, don't give-up. I think its about time for Chief to start a singles Avalanche Enthusiasts dating forum. Just lock us old married men out of it.
 
Chief,

You have had more than your share of bad luck and problems. Hopefully, a year from now it will all be water under the bridge. Hang in there big guy.
 
It could be worse Chief.... I could live next door >:D

Keep the faith and know we are there for ya!
 
Sorry to hear about your divorce....but hey you have the tires I want. I still have not bought my new tires yet, but I will be soon and you will have to tell me how you like them.



sp
 
If you're patient, they will die, mine did...!(Not by my hands...)
 
I have a simple motto for life. When things are going bad, I just always remember that someone else is worse off than me. At least you're not living in a third world country.
 
hey Chief how do you like your new tires I am getting mine next week I think I found a large slit in my front tire and it is time for new tires and the sale on the Wild Country XTX ends on the 30th so I will get them be for then
 
wow what a great thread!!!

I doubt I will ever feel the need to hold onto a woman if she seems the least bit inclined to walk out the door

Hear hear!!!
 
Gee sorry guys. I've been marrried for 41 years, after going together in High School. Wouldn't have it any other way. :-*
 
"O" man benn there done that first wife just decided she didn't want to be married any more and locked me out, found out later what was going on so i served her first with papers and she got real upset about that(made her look real bad to her family) that was in 1980 got married again in 1989 to a good women younger then me ;D ;D been happy every day since
 
Chief, life is too short to spend time married to someone who doesn't cherish you.

Run, don't walk out of that relationship. And don't look back.

Get to a point where you can enjoy yourself and start looking forward to a new, HAPPIER life.

If you're like most people you will tend to blame yourself. Don't be too hard on yourself. It takes two people to make a great marriage and only one freakin' nightmare of a person to ruin it.

Good luck to you.

Now go do all those things you couldn't do because you were married.

Living well is your best revenge.
 
I know this pales in comparison, but we just had a tire story too. Pulled up to a red light perfectly fine, but sounded like one of the back tires had something big sticking in it when we pulled away. Turned out the tire ran over something that tore a hole in it right at the light, and it was flat by the time we pulled away.

A pain to change on the side of the road, and then it took a week and $175!!!!! to replace ONE Crapyear Wrangler HP OWL. The Av has 16k miles on it, so this junky rubber is already half gone--now one tire is new. By this time next year, it will probably be time to replace them all (except that damn expensive new one!), and it won't be Goodyears again.

So that's it--no divorce, no real horror story, just another pain in the you know where! :-X
 
Hey Chief, for what it is worth, you are not alone. I am beginning a not so friendly divorce. My downside is that since she does not work, we still have to live under the same roof. A month ago, she just moved into the guest bedroom. A couple days later she informed me I would have to move into something smaller, so I can afford to pay for her rent and car payment for a couple years. And if I can not find something smaller that accepts pets, I would have to bring the dogs to the SPCA. That is her interpretation of what she deserves. So hang in and it will be over eventually. Might take a year or two to recover financially, but it will be all ok.
 
Beach said:
So that's it--no divorce, no real horror story, ?. . .

[wise old sage mode=ON]
?. . . and I can only hope and pray that you never have to go through this "character building" exercise that many of us have. ?The only thing I can add is that when the bad stuff is over, you get a real appreciation for life, family, and friends . . . and you realize better just what the important stuff really is. ?
[wise old sage mode=OFF] ? ;)
 
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