I’m sad to report a terrible experience with a local small-business. Pat Rimmer Tires, a Les Schwab in Burlington, WA. They operate several Les Schwab tire franchises in the area, including Sedro-Wooley, etc.

I had a tire problem on way way from Bellingham, WA to the Keystone ferry. I called ahead and asked Pat Rimmer Les Schwab in Burlington, WA if they could help. They said they could and I arrived, purchasing four new tires from them. Two if not three of the tires I had on the car when I arrived were still in excellent shape, and being that they were expensive performance tires I asked to have them (the three old tires) bagged and put into the back of my car. I was told by the attendant working on my car that he would do that for me.
In my haste to make my ferry, I didn’t check to verify that he had put them in my back seat. No less than five minutes after leaving I called Pat Rimmer Les Schwab and asked that they hang on to them for four days, until I returned to Burlington. I told them specifically when on what I day I would be returning to pick them up. The person on the phone apologized for them not being put in the back as I originally asked, and assured me that they would be available upon my return.

When I returned to pick them up, exactly when I said I would, the tires were mysteriously missing. The person I spoke to on this occasion told me he had seen my tires sitting out, marked for me, but wasn’t able to find them. Someone went ‘out back’ to ‘look for them in the truck,’ but returned empty handed.
This particular Les Schwab stores their used tires (ones they are reselling) out front between the garage bay doors. I found it mighty peculiar that the first place every single person I asked (while I was there) looked was in that spot. It was almost as if they had resold my tires, or expected that someone had.
I was told they would keep looking and call me in a couple days, whether or not they found them. I waited two weeks and received no calls from Pat Rimmer Les Schwab. At this point I was beginning to understand how they treat their customers. I think when a person working for a business makes a mistake the business needs to stand behind their employee and make sure the customer is well taken care of. Pat Rimmer Les Schwab was shaping up to be a big disappointment.
After waiting two weeks for a call ‘in a couple of days,’ I called Pat Rimmer Les Schwab and asked to speak to the owner. After waiting on hold for more than 5 minutes I was given to Ed, a manager who I had met on at least one of my previous visits. Ed told me he would look into it and call me back. He also told me he would “wait for another couple tires in that size to come off a vehicle and save them for me,” and that “that other front tire (my original tires) was shot anyway”. In all honesty I didn’t know whether the front tire he was referring to was damaged, but being that he is the expert and I didn’t recall I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. What he said about getting tires to replace mine off of an older vehicle concerned me, however. I know my tires were used, and I didn’t expect new ones in return. However, I had high performance, expensive tires that they lost, not just some cheap junk off another vehicle. I waited a week and never heard from Ed. Again, Pat Rimmer Les Schwab failed to make their mistake right, and in the most cowardly way possible.
I called Ed again, and got him (again after a long hold). He told me he was looking for new tires for me, but I would have to wait a bit for something to come in used off another vehicle. I said okay, I was patient, but that was before Christmas 2010. As I write this it is April 7th, 2011.
I am done waiting for Pat Rimmer Les Schwab to make this right. Les Schwabs are all franchised, and I hate to speak ill of a small business, but other people have a right to know the facts. The entire time I was waiting on them I had the overwhelming feeling that my tires had just disappeared in the back of an employee’s car one day.

From Ezra Moore

…with Cash For Clunkers.

I really thought I liked the idea until I watched this video.

That car doesn’t look old enough to participate in the program to me, and it seems like instead of taking old beat up buckets of bolts off the road, they’re taking decent used cars that people could either use or scavenge parts off of. I realize that this whole program is designed to ‘stimulate’ the business of selling new cars. However, I can’t help but feel that they are ruining the business of affordable cars for young or disadvantaged people who can’t afford a new vehicle, even with CFC rebates and other discounts. On top of making affordable cars harder to access, they are ruining plenty of parts that could be used to maintain older cars, or repurposed by enthusiasts.

I’m not buying into the environmental angle either. PLEASE! Watch that video and tell me if you think standing by with a fire extinguisher putting out engine fires is promoting environmentalism.

When this program was promoted by similar legislation in other countries it sure looked like people were turning in clunkers, not perfectly good, running Volvos that were obviously FAR from being worn out.
What a joke.

From Ezra Moore

Scrap went in to Motorsport last Thursday. Luckily, it doesn’t appear that he has a busted ringland, or any other sort of imminent threat. Worn rings, was the diagnosis. I’ve always noticed a little a blow-by when opening the oil-fill cap while the motor was running, which, since the WRX requires an even more compact compression tester than most flat fours, was how the issue was diagnosed. Prognosis; unless you want to throw money at it, don’t worry about that.

In that vein I loosened the wastegate actuator arm, and remapped the car to bring the boost back up to normal stage II levels.

Parts have been ordered for maintenance and updates:

1. Spark Plugs. One step colder NGK Iridiums. NGK BKR7EIX Iridium IX Spark Plug (Amazon Link)
2. JazzyEngineering 02-06 Subaru Aux-in Retrofit Kit. It will be nice to listen to my iPod again at a higher quality than tape or FM modulation.

I still want to get my hands on a black Samco or Perrin underhood hose kit. I really need an intercooler Y-pipe hose out of silicone, the PVC Subaru ones just aren’t cutting it. I think I have a boost leak.

More soon.

From Ezra Moore

… the autos are bathing!

Yum!

From Ezra Moore