Be very wary of where you buy your Tyres

[eaglem]

A day or two before we were due to leave on our trip to Exmouth I went to the Ian Diffen's Tyre Centre in Malaga to have the tyres checked for any damage and that the air pressures were correct as I do on a regular basis at that centre. I also buy my tyres there and have done for a long time. When I arrived at the Centre it was closed and 3 men were in the office. I knocked on the door and was told Malaga will be closed for a few days as they were renovating. I left without getting the tyres checked.

On the 21st of April we headed from Perth to Exmouth for an Anzac Day re-union with 2 Troop 1 Field Squadron Royal Australian Engineers. We got half way there and stopped at the Billabong Homestead Roadhouse overnight which we booked ahead. On leaving the next morning at around 7am we got about 7.5 kms north of the roadhouse when we blew the right rear tyre. I pulled to the side of the road, far enough to be safe from passing traffic to change the tyre. It was then I found out that at the last tyre rotation done at Ian Diffen's Tyre Centre in Malaga the person who did the rotation got over exuberant with the rattle gun and the lock nut was on so tight I broke the lock nut key trying to get it off. In this situation the only thing I could do was the ring the RAC to see what to do next. They sent a tilt tray tow truck from Geraldton.

We sat on the roadside waiting for 3 hours for the truck to arrive. After the truck arrived the driver assessed the situation and decided the only option was to load the car on the truck and take it back to Geraldton Ford to have all the locking nuts removed. We had a 3 hour trip back to Geraldton in the truck, the driver told us the car would be locked up in their compound overnight as it was Sunday and no one was at Geraldton Ford and we'd need to find a room for the night. Being in the middle of School Holidays and knowing rooms would be in short supply we asked the driver if he knew where we may get a room and he suggested the Best Western Hospitality Inn where we were lucky to get a room. The room cost $139.00 for the overnight stay. While there I rang the RAC to organise the second tow from the compound yard to Geraldton Ford as requested by the driver. The next morning at 8am we caught a Taxi to Geraldon ford to get repairs organised. The truck arrived near 9am to drop the car off. We were at Geraldton Ford for approximately 7 hours before the job was finally finished with a bill of $603.87 for which I have the receipt. The mechanic told me he had quite some trouble removing all the locking nuts due to them being exsessively over tight and also mentioned that locking nuts should not be tightened with a rattle gun but done by hand to avoid damage to the key. I also paid the Tow driver the $80 as was requested by the RAC. We rang the Billabong Roadhouse again to book a room as it was now 4.30pm and we would get there just before dark, so that was another $90.00 out of pocket that shouldn't have been needed.

We finally arrived at the Ningaloo Lodge at 2pm on the 24th of April ( I was booked in for the 22nd to the 29th so I lost 2 days) at least in time to march on Anzac Day with the guys from the troop I was in Vietnam with.

Once the car was repaired we didn't have anymore car troubles heading up or back. I went back to Ian Diffen's Tyre Centre but it was still closed and no one was around. I have no idea on what's going on at Ian Diffen's or how I can solve the out of pocket expenses they caused me to have, but I do wish to have this resolved.

I have since found out that the Malaga branch of Ian Diffen's City Discount tyres has gone into receivership and I was offered a chance to be included as an unsecured claimant which as we all know I would then have 2 chances of compensation, mine and Buckleys. So be wary where you get your tyres.