My mom lives in Florida and has a Camry that's 3-1/2 years old. She drives it a few times a week locally, it's only got about 5,000 miles on it.

She brought the car in for an oil change, and was told her tires were worn and ended up buying a new set of tires for $500. The guy in the shop told her the Florida heat causes tires to wear quickly, especially because she doesn't drive the car every day and it sits in one place in the sun.

I think she got ripped off. Is there any truth to what she was told?

 

the concrete roads eat them up, but they should last more than 5k, i have had tires here that were High performance go up to 20K, even the turnzas that the loaner tls have have lasted longer than 10K here. She got ripped off. Which dealer was this?

 

Not sure which dealer, I know it wasn't Toyota. She usually goes to Jiffy Lube or the like for the oil change.

Nothing I can do about it now, but it's really frustrating. She's 80 years old. I keep telling her not to let them do anything to her car without speaking to me first, and then she calls to tell me this. I asked her if she checked her treads and she asked me what a tread is. Oh well.

 

Your mom's experience doesn't sound encouraging. "Heat" from the climate should have almost no effect on tires-- tires heat up well beyond 100*F when they are driven on the road for more than a few miles.

In California, there are laws against financial abuse of senior citizens.

My guess is that the shop sold your mother some marked-up POS cheap tires and is re-selling her tires (likely decent HR rated tires) to some other poor victim.

You have the right idea- she should talk to you or someone you both trust before making decisions that cost much money. G/L.

 

No way would heat wear out her tires in 5,000 miles. She definitely got conned.

Unless she takes her car to the track.

You may want to report them to the BBB or the state's attorney general.

You (she) may also want to read this, or just call the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and let them know what happened.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I don't want to make a big deal out of it because it'll upset her. I just told her again to talk to me or get a second opinion before she does anything to her car again.

Thanks guys.

 

I guess since you don't want to make a big deal out of it, and she already paid for the tires, just think of it this way.. It's probably a good idea to replace the tires every few years (probably ~5 yrs) since the rubber themselves will age, even though there's little mileage on them. 3 1/2 years is a bit too soon, but better to be safe.