Mazda RX8 Keith Hawthorn Mazda on Franklin Blvd in Gastonia, NC

Mazda RX8 Keith Hawthorn Mazda on Franklin Blvd in Gastonia, NC

Sonny Hancock Mazda / Keith Hawthorn Mazda

Franklin Blvd in Gastonia

Sonny Hancock is on the right southbound and Keith Hawthorn is on the left southbound. I purchased a Mazda RX 8 from Sonny Hancock Mazda in January of 2004. I was told @ the time of purchase that for purchasing the vehicle I would get free tires for life (as long as I owned the car) if I had all the service work done through their dealership. I complied with this because the cost of the tires are approximately $346.00 Each tire. I was informed that Bridgestone was the only tire mfg that Sonny Hancock had a contract with that made the specialty tires for the 2004 Mazda RX 8. I called to make an apt to have my car serviced at the Sonny Hancock Dealership and was told that they were bought out by Keith Hawthorn. I took my Mazda to the new establishment, Keith Hawthorn Mazda service center for service work and tire problems. I explained to the manager Danny that 2 of my tires had protruding bubbles on the side walls. He informed me that the free tires I was promised from Sonny Hancock was not a part of the agreement when they purchased the dealership from Sonny Hancock Mazda. He also told me he was aware of this because quite a few consumers that had purchased their vehicles from Sonny Hancock had complained as I did because they were promised tires for life as I was. He advised me to go back to Sonny Hancock to resolve this. Sonny Hancock which is now know as Sonny Hancock Hyundai told me I would have to deal with Keith Hawthorne on this. Both dealerships are giving all the consumers a run around on this. One week later my husband had a blow out in the Mazda and was stranded on the road for over 2 hours because the Mazda RX 8 is not sold with a spare tire. You can not put any other tire on this car. Bridgestone is the only mfg that makes the Mazda specialty tire. It comes with a tire repair kit. This is suppose to be a special tire that is guaranteed not to blow out. The blowout did undercarriage damage to the wiring harness for the sensors in the tires. The complete wiring harness was ripped out from underneath my car when the tire blew out. Keith Hawthorn said this was not covered under my warranty and they would fix it for $240.00.

Bridgestone would not pay the repair cost because they said this was a common road hazard and they were not responsible. I had to purchase a $346.00 tire. Now I have to pay for the repair because neither of the dealerships or the Bridgestone Mfg will own up to their consumer responsibilities and promises they made to the consumers that purchased these vehicles. I am out tires for life of my vehicle for as long as I own it, I have to purchase 2 tires for the defective ones and now on top of that I have to pay for the damage the tire blowing out caused. I purchased a $32,000 dollar car with a promise I would never have to buy a tire for as long as I owned the car. We took the Mazda back up to Keith Hawthorn with the blown tire and asked them to call Bridgestone due to the defective tires. Bridgestone and Keith Hawthorn told us that they would not replace the two defective tires. We were told that the only thing they would do is mount a spare tire in the truck in case it happened again.

How can they get away with this??? Please help me and all the other consumers out there like me resolve this.

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Lee M

Charlotte, NC 28214 M, Bridget Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: Email User Consumer