"R B S" > wrote in message
...
Had my 2003 LS 200 in for service this past week and was informed by the
head Svce Manager that Saturn wants the tire rotation every 3000 miles.
That is insane. That is $20 a pop. Why should i be penalized for their
lousy noisey tires. ( Firestone Affinity ) Has anybody out there been
told the same outrageous story?
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I have noticed that tire manufacturers are demanding short rotation
intervals on tires for which they claim an unrealistically long service
life. When the tire fails to perform as advertised they can point to your
failure to rotate the tires as per their schedule and use this to deny
warranty for less than advertised tire life.

I purchased two GM jacks from a wrecker ($5.ea) so I did not need to remove
the jack from the spare mount and could jack up two wheels at a time. I
also purchased an extra set of wheel rims ($25. ea) So I can keep two sets
of tires, one newer set for winter and one more worn set that I use for
summer. Use anti-seize lubricant on the wheel studs and the $20 is added to
the money I save by changing oil myself. Recheck torque after 50 miles.
There is no real saving but I get to inspect the car regularly and the
saving is in other repair and inspections saved. I do not rotate tires at
3000 miles as it is more of a seasonal change job with rotation at mid
season. The rotation interval ends up more like 5,000 miles. I did get
85,000 miles out of the stock Firestones that everyone here seems to hate, I
thought this was pretty good service.

Just my .02