Totally Pi$$ed Off - Just need to vent

My wife and a friend (visiting from Texas) went o Asheville (two hour drive from home) to see the Biltmore Estate on Tuesday & Wednesday. When the came out of the Biltmore on Tuesday, my wife noticed the right rear tire on her CLK seemed low on air. Went to filling station and had it checked out. They could not find any leaks. Next morning tire was low again, so she took it to MB dealership in Asheville. They found a stress crack in the wheel, but since there was a small scrape on the rim of the wheel, not covered by warranty. Also, the tire was toast. She got the new wheel, and went to tire store and got two new rear tires (Michelin Pilot Sport). Today, on the way to work, I run over something that looks like a pipe and it slices a big gash in the left rear Pirelli P-Zero with 5,000 miles. Tire is toast! Discount Tire in Concord calls Pirelli and they are shipping tire here. Should arrive Friday, I hope! This is not how I wanted to spend $1,100 this week! Oh, I forgot one other thing. My wife and her friend are now at Kiawah Island just outside of Charleston, SC. I was going to drive down tonight and join them so I could play some golf on Thursday and Friday. But that option is off the table now, too! Paid for two friggen trips and didn't get to go on either of them! ... %#(&^!>*(#)... and..... %^#<!(*&^$% There, I feel MUCH better now! Thanks for letting me vent!

oh man Tim, that sucks. Sorry to hear all the bad news.

Thanks, Kirby. I appreciate that!

I feel you pain. When I was in college, I had to replace three tires in one weekend!!! Three seperate events, with one at 2 am in Marion Ma with heavy rain! Worst Weekend Ever.....

I know how you feel. I got 3 flats in the first 6 months I had my car. The worst flatt occured the day before a DE.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the commments.

There there Tim......you know you can always come vent to the forum. We will listen with an empathetic ear since most of us have had one of those days. Next time you are in Vegas let me know so we can hit the links! No go drive the P-Car and call me in the morning

Dell - can't drive the P-car with the little doughnut on the rear! Actually parked it in my friends garage near work. I live 28 miles from work. Will get the new tire mounted and change the tire back myself. Driving this tank for the next day or two. LOADS of fun driving it!

Tim, I am rolling on the ground in stiches b/c I can't just help thinking of that quote that Cruise says in a Few Good Men....."and the hits just keep on coming". Man, I feel for you. If you were local I would swing by and let you drive my car for a bit to just get your fix and feel better. Maybe go fix a nice martini and head to bead.

Dell - Thanks for telling me you were laughing 'cuz it made me laugh. Now, if that tank in my garage (trying to impersonate my P-car and doing a REALLY poor job of it, I might add) weren't so Butt Ugly, I could take it for a drive. But even it the dark, I hate to be seen in it! Thanks for the offer to let me drive your car! BTW, you DID mean your P-car, right?!?

Dude, you are out of control!

Of course the P-Car! I am being serious too. I know just how much the fix needs to be satisfied and who am I to get in the way of another addict like myself.

You have my sympathy. I walked out to a flat and couldn't bear to drive with the donut except to replace them. Hang in there : )

Tim I am flabergasted that you don't practice drifting with that teeny tire on back. They smoke like crazy too. Sorry about the run of bad luck. That golf course kicked your butt last time anyway. Your wife is having fun and you know she's safe on the drive with 2 new tires on board. You are going to be okay, I promise. Cocktail and some TV sounds like a good remedy. I would let sleeping dogs lie as far as the scratch on you honey's wheel; if you know what I mean. That's how my wife parks. You guys are lucky my typping sucks or i'd be on here screaching about all kinds of stuff........Hope they send the right tire.

Yeah, crap happends. This is the reason I have a few used tires around. Don't understand why the CLK rim is cracked but not in warranty. How much did you pay for that?

My wifes S 55 looks like she haAs gone 4 wheeling. AND Ashe saYAs she wants new wheels. I 'll get right on it honey...

They told my wife it could be a stress fracture or could have been damaged by impacting with something. Stress fracture = MB replaces it under warranty. Driver damage = I pay. Small scrape on edge of rim so they conclude crack must have been caused by impact. $300 for a 17" CLK wheel!

John - Drifting, hell!! I was afraid that little spaghetti thin tire was going to fold over every time I had to turn a corner. Yeah, the course kicked my butt last time, but I was willing to pay for THAT abuse again! My wife's wheels have more pock marks on them than a 16-year old kid with acne! Do you think "curb feelers" would look too tacky on a Mercedes? Oh, and thanks for the last thought! It hadn't even occured to me that they could send the wrong tire!

I was on my second weekend with my new 996 in Hershey at the Parade when a late night cruz with the top down turned into a pain. I picked up a sliver of aluminum about an inch long in my brand new tire at about midnight on a Saturday. No one is even close to being open to help with a purchase or repair. I pull out the limper and the freakin' lugs are on so tight couldn't break them. With the tire hissing like a rattle snake, I scramble and find an Advanced Auto Parts open late, buy break-free and a star wrench to help. The break free winds up staining my wheel, but I swap the tire out. A Pep boys is the only think open the next morning and they crap their pants and dont want to even touch the wheels let alone try and save the tire. I finally convince one of the guys to attempt it while I coach him, the entire shop stops to watch for over an hour but it gets done. The cost? They didnt even want to charge me, they said they had too much fun learning about the car and the tire has held the plug for quite a while now. I was only out about 3 hours of the Concours that morning. Lesson learned; make sure the lugs are to proper torque settings.

I know how you feel. I put 4 new tires on my Honda and ran them about 200 miles one winter. Saw that big snow turd in the semi-plowed road on the way home from work (ah just a snow turd)...BAM!..ended up being a chunk of cinder block disguised laying in the road as I cruised over it at 50 mph and took out the passenger side front wheel... Needless to say I made it about another 100 yards with a split new tire, a crunched rim, a $500 tab. Put new seats in my old Carrera and hopped in one morning to drive to the office...I forgot to adjust the driver door mirror down with the seats 2" lower now...being half awake upon backing out of the garage I proceeded to drag the driver's side rear fender flare against the steel garage door track. Heard this claaaaaaaaank...&*&*%^&$^...oh well. Another 1/8" of an inch I would have cleared the stupid door.. Ever heard about the guy blowing along in his big rig one night that came upon the refrigerator box? Wouldn't that be fun he thought... until he blew through the box, and found the refrigerator still in it...proceeded to take out the fiberglass front end of his new Freightliner...

My wife is absent minded professor type. Very pretty, very smart very funny. She backed the car out of the garage with the door open so she could see better. You can guess the results. I also have found the hand mixer in the refrigerator, milk in the pantry. We have 7 sets of keys to her car. My sey is OFF LIMITS to her. She has thrown away her cell phone, Twice. She got a new bluetooth ear thingy; lasted 1 day before it went to the abyss. I do nothing wrong; yeah right. I let the dog steer my truck and took out a kiosk of 6 mailboxes, she no longer drives. Friend and I were push starting my old 280Z, we needed more speed; so I opened the door and got out to help, the car was moving and I ran over my heel. All this is funny; time and money cures all wounds.

My wife is absent minded professor type. Very pretty, very smart very funny. She backed the car out of the garage with the door open so she could see better. You can guess the results. I also have found the hand mixer in the refrigerator, milk in the pantry. We have 7 sets of keys to her car. My set is OFF LIMITS to her. She has thrown away her cell phone, twice. She got a new bluetooth ear thingy; lasted 1 day before it went to the abyss. I do nothing wrong; yeah right. I let the dog steer my truck and took out a kiosk of 6 mailboxes, she no longer drives. Friend and I were push starting my old 280Z, we needed more speed; so I opened the door and got out to help, the car was moving and I ran over my heel. All this is funny; time and money cures all wounds.

My ex-girlfriend used to say that all the time. It's weird because I don't think she ever saw that movie. hmmm, but she was always kind of psychic. Speaking of my ex-girlfriend and having a problem starting cars, I pused my old Porsche out of my garage once so I could get to the battery charger that I stupidly put in the attic above the garage. My mom was over and so I had her sit in the car to apply the brake once the car was outside of the garage. She hit the clutch instead, which did nothing, of course, so the car plowed right into my ex-girlfriend's car. It didn't do much damage, though, and my ex wasn't mad. She was pretty cool in a lot of ways especially when things like that happened.

Tim: First thing, sorry to hear this happened to you. And I'm glad it was easy stuff to replace and nothing more. And with regards to the freaking tank you're driving in the meantime, I am assuming it is a rental... and if so... you should drive it like a "rental". I suggest you find an empty parking lot and burn some of the tank's rubber, or better yet find a road with loose gravel and take that thing through its paces. Namely where it has never gone before You know... anything your 911 wouldn't be subjected to. I know this will not replace the lost tee time, but it would at least bring some form of guiltless entertainment. And let us know what that tank is capable of doing

Guys - Thanks to all of you for your comments. Some of the stories like Fishmans "mother hit the clutch" and StanSophs "let the dog steer my truck" and "ran over my heel" had me in stitches! (John, I must admit, it made me cringe thinking about getting your heel run over) In that light, I'll bet that when you give your dogs the "HEEL!" command, they probably run for cover! Hell, I know I would! Maybe my tire will come in today and I'll have my baby back again this evening! Thanks again to all of you for your comments and commiseration. I really do appreciate it! It's all good here on the Forum!

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Tim, I feel your pain. Just had to replace a tire on my wife's CLK 2 months old. The tire had a slice on the inside sidewall. No marks or scratches on the rim. Not under new tire warranty, no answers to what happened, just give up the cash.

Had a similar thing happen where I holed the rear rim and tire, twice. Odd story in that I did it first w/ my Audi where I hit a 2x4 skidding across the freeway. I called my insurance company. This is the important part: "Was the object flying when it hit you?". I answered NO because I ran over it. How could it be flying. WRONG. That is collision, not comp. After arguing w/ the underwriter, she finally gave in and covered it under comp. The irony is it happened again on my 996 a few weeks later. Holed the rear tire and rim. This time I answered yes and even better, I got the same underwriter who remembered me. No problem. The repair was $1250 for tire and rim at the dealer. Lesson: "Was it flying?". As high as a kite...