Flat Tires (rant)/ On Star (rave)

[jim]

During a pretty heavy snow I ran over one of those rubber bungy chord type things tonight, and both ends of the hook ended up in my tire. You get free OnStar for a year, so rather than use the ridiculous jack they gave me with the truck I thought I would give them a try.

Pretty good deal. Changing the tire was dangerous, with the hydraulic jack the guy had it slipped out on the snow and ice from him and the truck came crashing down. Scared the bejesus out of both of us. Made me glad I decided to call, because despite not being able to figure out how to even get the freaking thing out from underneath the seat, it probably would have been hard to change it in the snow/ice/dark.

So boo to flat tires, boo to crummy jacks hidden in parts of the vehicle that are not easy to even get to, but yeah of OnStar. I was going to cancel that thing after my free year, but I actually rethought things after tonight.

[cardinalkarp]

Did it do any damage to your truck when the jack slipped out?

[Leroy]

...and I thought you were a man's man...

[jim]

Did it do any damage to your truck when the jack slipped out?

Not that I can tell, but as he was trying to get the jack back from underneath the truck I was worried.

Took the tire into the local guy that I use, and he confirmed what I kind of thought about the weirdness of this flat. 30+ years in the business and he's never seen it. He's seen bungee chords in tires, but not both ends. And the way that they were in pulled the chord tight around the tire, almost like a rubber tire chain going with the tire tread instead of across. When I first was feeling around in the dark and snow to see what was going on I thought it was part of the tire. It was rubber, it was tight to the tire, and I couldn't really see it. I guess what must have happened was I punctured the tire with one end, and as the chord was flopping around I ran over it again and stuck it with the second. The guy that changed my tire said the same thing about never having seen that.

Lucky me. In snow. With wind chills of -20.

Really though, I'm rethinking that roadside assistance. I was too macho to ever think about that, but you know last night it would have been really dangerous for me to do that.

[clevername]

after I had to change a tire by myself on interstate 40 outside of Little Rock with 18 wheelers whizzing past me at 70MPH shaking my entire vehicle while it's up on the crappy jack that came with it and no one stopping to help (even several state troopers/sherriff's), I've bought in to AAA and won't change a tire again.

[jim]

after I had to change a tire by myself on interstate 40 outside of Little Rock with 18 wheelers whizzing past me at 70MPH shaking my entire vehicle while it's up on the crappy jack that came with it and no one stopping to help (even several state troopers/sherriff's), I've bought in to AAA and won't change a tire again.

I had that happen, right outside of Columbus, Ohio on 70 in rush hour traffic. And of course, you try to find level ground but there is always a crown to the road and you are leaning some.

The jacks they put in the vehicles are almost criminal. Long time ago I changed my wifes tire in our asphalt driveway in the summer in 100 degree temps. Jacked the car up, and it was so hot that the driveway had actually softened up to the point where the weight caused the jack to sink. I watched in amazement as the jack sunk slightly, tilted slightly, and then literally folded in half.

And besides the cheap jacks, just figuring out how to get the spare tire from underneath the vehicle, how to get the jack out that is under seats that I still don't know how to fold down is an accomplishment.

I'll look at keeping this service, either that or drop down some money on a real jack.

I have to give this OnStar thing credit though. I just pressed the button above the mirror, and that was about all I did.

[planet planet]

after I had to change a tire by myself on interstate 40 outside of Little Rock with 18 wheelers whizzing past me at 70MPH shaking my entire vehicle while it's up on the crappy jack that came with it and no one stopping to help (even several state troopers/sherriff's), I've bought in to AAA and won't change a tire again.

What's the cost difference between Onstar and AAA? I love my Platinum AAA; it's only $70 a year. I never understood the value of Onstar. Why can't you just use your cell phone? It doesn't provide free towing or AAA services, does it?

[cardinalkarp]

I've had to change a tire on my BMW once and it was a miserable experience. I got so frustrated that I said "the hell w/ it" I'll call roadside maintenance" against all of my manly instincts. They responded that they couldn't get there for a couple hours and this was on my way to work so I gave it a shot.

The jack they supply isn't your standard jack, it opened up into what looked like a sideways V (not your typical diamond shape), and was about as unsturdy of a jack I've ever seen. Not to mention changing a greasy ass tire on your way to work leads to alot of problems as well. Changing a tire sucks.

[clevername]

after I had to change a tire by myself on interstate 40 outside of Little Rock with 18 wheelers whizzing past me at 70MPH shaking my entire vehicle while it's up on the crappy jack that came with it and no one stopping to help (even several state troopers/sherriff's), I've bought in to AAA and won't change a tire again.

What's the cost difference between Onstar and AAA? I love my Platinum AAA; it's only $70 a year. I never understood the value of Onstar. Why can't you just use your cell phone? It doesn't provide free towing or AAA services, does it?

I'm not sure of the price, but I think Onstar does other things for you like directions if you're lost and they can remotely check your car's computer when check engine lights come on and such to let you know what's going on. So it's more than just road side service.

[jim]

after I had to change a tire by myself on interstate 40 outside of Little Rock with 18 wheelers whizzing past me at 70MPH shaking my entire vehicle while it's up on the crappy jack that came with it and no one stopping to help (even several state troopers/sherriff's), I've bought in to AAA and won't change a tire again.

What's the cost difference between Onstar and AAA? I love my Platinum AAA; it's only $70 a year. I never understood the value of Onstar. Why can't you just use your cell phone? It doesn't provide free towing or AAA services, does it?

I don't use cellphones much. Didn't have one on me last night, so it was nice just pressing a button. But Mrs. jim was so worried and mad at me that I may just have to change that strategy. She sent me out with one today, but I told her under no circumstances will I ever carry one to the stream with me.

The value of OnStar is that they can automatically detect a crash. If you deploy your airbags, someone is alerted and they notify local authorities. Plus they do the same thing that AAA does. You don't have to worry about a cellphone battery dying on you, you just press the button. I do not know the cost, I just know I get it 1 year for free. If it's reasonably priced, I'll probably reup.

karp - 2 hours seems a little ridiculous. It took 40 minutes for them to have a guy to me last night, and that was in a pretty good snowstorm. And at least you have a spare, the new BMW's have the runflats so you "don't need one".