Car-On Auto Sales

Car-On Auto Sales responded

Hello Lindsay, Thank you for your review. Despite the fact negative reviews are never pleasant, we appreciate all customer feedback as it helps us improve our business and be more receptive to our customer’s issues In reading your review, I am forced however to bring light to a few facts as they relate to your vehicle. On January 25th , 2017, you purchased from us a 2011 Jeep Patriot. When you took delivery of your Patriot it was equipped Good Year Ultra Grip P215/65R16 Ice and Snow tires. May I remind you that you took delivery of your vehicle in the cold of winter and, fortunately for you, it was equipped with good quality Snow and Ice tires. Let’s address your first point that the tires “ were the incorrect size causing improper wear and tear essentially making it unsafe to drive” . If you open your owner’s manual or look at the label in the driver’s door jamb of your vehicle, you will see that the tires originally installed on a 2011 Patriot are 205/70R16. In Section 9 of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario safety manual, it clearly states that tires meet Ontario Safety Standards if the diameter is less than a 3% variance from the original tire size. I invite you to click on the attached link and input your vehicle information and you will easily see that the winter tires P215/65R16 delivered on your vehicle not only meet but well exceed the safety ratings on a Jeep Patriot. https://tiresize.com/calculator/ Based on those facts, unfortunately we believe you were not well informed on the matter of the tires “ causing improper wear and tear essentially making it unsafe to drive” A second point which we feel needs to be discussed, is that you drove through the spring, summer and right up until the time of this review, almost 9 months of warm summer weather on your “winter” tires. Please allow me to take 2 minutes and share the difference between summer and winter tire construction and why winter tires are not designed to be driven in warm weather. A summer/all season tire is made of a hard rubber compound that is designed to resist through the heat of summer on blistering hot asphalt that can often reach temperatures in excess of 160 degrees Celsius. The rubber is specifically designed to be hard enough to resist scorching heat while not decomposing and, at the same time, maintain ideal braking properties despite extreme heat. Conversely, a winter tire is made to remain flexible and soft enough to be malleable at -40 degrees and still grip on slippery surfaces such as ice or frozen asphalt. Winter tires are constructed of very soft rubber so that they remain flexible even in the harshest colds but are not designed to perform well in extreme heat. When the soft rubber of the winter tire meets 100+ degrees of the hot asphalt of summer it loses its shape because its rubber becomes too soft and it decomposes slowly layer by layer as you drive over hot asphalt. This causes premature wear on the soft rubber of the tire. A winter tire is not designed to be driven in the summer and that would easily explain why your tires showed signs of excess wear after the months of driving in the heat. I am shocked that the mechanic that has been maintaining your vehicle over the summer months, hasn’t recommended changing your tires nor has he warned you of the danger of driving on these tires until just now. On the topic of recalls, they are mandated by the Canadian Governments and are corrections that manufacturers must perform on their own products. The Canadian Government decides when a recall occurs and notifies the owners when the recall must be corrected and whom is responsible to execute the repairs. The vehicle must be returned to the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers and in your case, you needed to return to a “Jeep” dealer to perform the recall. The manufacturer and/or the Canadian Government control how recall are done and if they will or not provide a rental vehicle. That is not something we have any control over. We are very saddened that, after close to one year of owning and driving your Patriot, you feel that we have misled you. We strongly feel that the mechanic that has been maintaining your vehicle has perhaps ill –advised you. Maybe your unfortunate situation can be a benefit to people reading this review. Make sure the person maintaining your vehicle looks beyond just the oil drain plug and air filter when doing the maintenance. Proper maintenance is often much cheaper than the expensive repairs that follow. Lindsay, we understand and feel for your disappointment, expensive repairs are never a pleasant thing, especially around Christmas time. If we can help in any way, would be happy to assist. We would also like to remind you that you have an extended warranty until 200,000 km or 2021 on your Patriot and we have yet to see you in our service department since you’ve purchased the vehicle. As you know there is no cost for any warranty work at Car-On as we cover your diagnostic, fluids and deductible on covered components for the first 5 years while under warranty. We would be happy to perform whatever repairs are required to keep you vehicle in great condition for the next 5-7 years.