Pretty & Shiny is NOT Always Better!

I have been trying really hard to get my winter tires taken off. We wanted to keep them on until after our trip to Italy just in case we hit snow as we crossed through the Alps (we did). Since coming back, I have taken my car in twice to get the winter tires taken off, but, alas they are still on.

The first time I took it in, I was under the impression that if I left it the night before, they could fit me in for a simple tire change and oil change (because this is what I was told last Fall), only to find out that fast-forward six months later, I needed an appointment, which they couldn't give me until the next week.

Well, next week was this past Tuesday. I dropped it off the night before and got a call as I was on my way to the gym at the 9 AM hour that there was a big problem and those tires weren't coming off.

It turns out that my chrome valve stem caps have completely rusted onto my tires! With as much snow as we had here in Germany and the fact that road salt is used so much, it makes sense that corrosion occurred. It also turns out that my car has a Tire Pressure Monitory System (TPMS). In order to get those caps off, they are going to have to use a lot of force and will most likely break all four of the tire sensors...which they don't have in stock.

So, I found a new set of sensors at amazon.com ($139). Only they (the company) won't send it to my mailbox out here. So, I opted for overnight shipping to my mom, where she will then go to the post office and send it to my mailbox. And it will take at least 6 days to get here. Once they arrive, I will take my car for a third attempt at getting the tires switched. What a pain in the neck!

Therefore, a piece of advice, if you have chrome or metal valve stem caps, consider replacing them with the cheap, basic plastic ones. That's what we had to begin with and the only reason we replaced them with the shiny, pretty ones was because the plastic valve stems didn't get replaced during the last oil change so we bought what was available at the first store we went to.

Until later,

Emily