[In the voice of Professor Farnsworth, Futurama] “Good news, everyone!”
First a little background:
- I got a flat tire on the Toyota last Saturday, which is the first since 2010’s “the year of flat tires.” It’s been a good seven-month run of no flat tires, but it was bound to happen again. I planned to go to our local Toyota dealership to replace the tire.
- Saturday night, Josh got a stomach virus, and was sick all night. He was still a bit sick on Sunday, so I’d stay home with him, to allow him more time to recover.
With these two facts, I watched Josh on Monday, and took him with me to Toyota to get the tire replaced. I was hoping to get the tire replaced under Toyota’s tire warranty program, but with getting all four tires replaced last year, I didn’t know if I could make a convincing argument to get this one replaced as well. After many wheel balancings, who knows which tire was purchased at what Toyota dealership, which was an original new tire, and which was a replacement for a replacement. I didn’t want to plunk down $275+ for a new tire, when we’re trying to save up money to replace the rear brakes. This was “rear brakes” money!
Ah, well, we could’t drive around with no spare tire all this time. I picked up some McDonald’s for Josh and me, and we sat for over two hours in the customer lounge, waiting on the tire change. Around 4pm, two hours later, Toyota changed the tire. And? They were able to cover the cost under the tire warranty program, so no cost to me. I said hey, that’s great. You know, since the car is up, can I get the brakes done? Also, I forgot my $25 off coupon for brakes (I did forget), so what should I do? They said, no problem.
So another hour passes, and $250 later, the car is done. Rear tire completely replaced, and I got the rear brakes done. Sweet! I have to give the folks at Dayton Toyota credit, because the sales/service rep was very helpful, and the Toyota tire warranty is a big help for Toyota customers, especially this one. With the Highlander, I’m a first-time Toyota customer, and this has certainly impressed me.