Pep Boys To Provide Service / Maintenance

[Craig]

Based on Elio's statement regarding service options, I think they will honor warranty work thru authorized service providers in areas with or without Pep Boys. If not I can't buy an Elio because I won't have a service option.
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Everyone is going to hate me for this, but this is the only service center that comes close to covering the world, let alone the U.S. If the car is so easy to work on, have all maintenance procedures online and let Walmart handle maintenance. They will have to increase the level of services they give now, but unless EM allows reimbursement of any warranty work (not PM) by anyone anywhere, they will have to authorize 5 or 10 different service centers to cover the U.S. alone. JMO

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=walmart near usa&ie=UTF-8&ei=6bNjU-2tJsiWyAHT8YGQAw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ

 

[goofyone]

Routine maintenance and servicing of any vehicle can be done by anyone. If you do not have a Pep Boys within reasonable distance it does not matter for routine maintenance as any auto shop, or individual, can follow the manufacturer recommended maintenance schedule. This maintenance schedule is normally included in the vehicle owners manual. Some people are always worried that not doing routine maintenance at a dealership may void their warranty but it's actually illegal to deny coverage simply because you had routine maintenance or repairs performed by someone else. Just keep serivce records and you are covered. For more info visit this site: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance

While I am sure Elio Motors will try and make routine maintenance access as easy as possible for as many owners as possible the big reason they need service partners to cover most of the country is for warranty service. Warranty service for most vehicles is generally only allowable at dealerships however the issue for Elio Motors is that unlike most automakers they don't already have hundreds or thousands of dealerships throughout the country. To resolve this Elio Motors will find enough partners to cover most of the country like a dealership network however you have to expect to have some holes in that network just like the holes in some dealerships networks. Suzuki, Volvo, Jaguar and Subaru all have dealerships throughout the country however they have relatively small dealer networks that can be few and far between in some parts of the country meaning owners of these makes regularly find themselves many hours from the nearest dealership.

 

[Lil4X]

You WILL want to rotate front left to right periodically.

If you don't want to reverse the direction of rotation, that's going to require unmounting the tire from the rim and reversing it, won't it? I guess that's not really big deal.

That leads to another question; what kind of life should we expect from the tires? Cooper tires are traditionally known to be manufactured with a rather hard compound - giving them superior life at some expense to grip. Considering the weight of the Elio, those Coopers will probably rot out before they wear out. If you look at the relative cost of the tire, again, it's no big deal.

Then comes a question I've been following on my minivans that have 14" and 15" wheels. 14" tires are limited to a couple of choices, thus are a bit more expensive than the same size tires in 15" sizes. I suppose with fewer 14" wheels out on the road, it's competition for the larger market that keeps the costs and selection for the larger tire much greater that of its smaller brother.

Example: According to Tire Rack, 14" tire choices are limited to two, Kumho and Hankook - at $59 and $72, while 15" tires are offered by 12 manufacturers - including Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Yokohama, General, Goodrich, Goodyear, and Firestone from $55 to $116 each. At least you have a choice.
​

Cooper is currently offering, according to their website, at least a dozen tire sizes and configurations in their "entry level" (or OEM) range, so EM at least has a range of choices available for front and rear fitment.

 

[Ty]

If you don't want to reverse the direction of rotation, that's going to require unmounting the tire from the rim and reversing it, won't it? I guess that's not really big deal.

That leads to another question; what kind of life should we expect from the tires? Cooper tires are traditionally known to be manufactured with a rather hard compound - giving them superior life at some expense to grip. Considering the weight of the Elio, those Coopers will probably rot out before they wear out. If you look at the relative cost of the tire, again, it's no big deal.

Then comes a question I've been following on my minivans that have 14" and 15" wheels. 14" tires are limited to a couple of choices, thus are a bit more expensive than the same size tires in 15" sizes. I suppose with fewer 14" wheels out on the road, it's competition for the larger market that keeps the costs and selection for the larger tire much greater that of its smaller brother.

Example: According to Tire Rack, 14" tire choices are limited to two, Kumho and Hankook - at $59 and $72, while 15" tires are offered by 12 manufacturers - including Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Yokohama, General, Goodrich, Goodyear, and Firestone from $55 to $116 each. At least you have a choice.
​

Cooper is currently offering, according to their website, at least a dozen tire sizes and configurations in their "entry level" (or OEM) range, so EM at least has a range of choices available for front and rear fitment.

Not to mention that they'll only be supporting 1,200 pounds! I haven't rotated a tire in 28 years (or had them done for me)... never saw the point. If they wear evenly, why bother? That was my mantra.

 

[Ty]

If you don't want to reverse the direction of rotation, that's going to require unmounting the tire from the rim and reversing it, won't it? I guess that's not really big deal.

That leads to another question; what kind of life should we expect from the tires? Cooper tires are traditionally known to be manufactured with a rather hard compound - giving them superior life at some expense to grip. Considering the weight of the Elio, those Coopers will probably rot out before they wear out. If you look at the relative cost of the tire, again, it's no big deal.

Then comes a question I've been following on my minivans that have 14" and 15" wheels. 14" tires are limited to a couple of choices, thus are a bit more expensive than the same size tires in 15" sizes. I suppose with fewer 14" wheels out on the road, it's competition for the larger market that keeps the costs and selection for the larger tire much greater that of its smaller brother.

Example: According to Tire Rack, 14" tire choices are limited to two, Kumho and Hankook - at $59 and $72, while 15" tires are offered by 12 manufacturers - including Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Yokohama, General, Goodrich, Goodyear, and Firestone from $55 to $116 each. At least you have a choice.
​

Cooper is currently offering, according to their website, at least a dozen tire sizes and configurations in their "entry level" (or OEM) range, so EM at least has a range of choices available for front and rear fitment.

Sorry for the re-reply but didn't someone from Elio say that the P4 had 14" wheels but that the production version would have 15" wheels?

 

[goofyone]

If you don't want to reverse the direction of rotation, that's going to require unmounting the tire from the rim and reversing it, won't it? I guess that's not really big deal.

That leads to another question; what kind of life should we expect from the tires? Cooper tires are traditionally known to be manufactured with a rather hard compound - giving them superior life at some expense to grip. Considering the weight of the Elio, those Coopers will probably rot out before they wear out. If you look at the relative cost of the tire, again, it's no big deal.

Then comes a question I've been following on my minivans that have 14" and 15" wheels. 14" tires are limited to a couple of choices, thus are a bit more expensive than the same size tires in 15" sizes. I suppose with fewer 14" wheels out on the road, it's competition for the larger market that keeps the costs and selection for the larger tire much greater that of its smaller brother.

Example: According to Tire Rack, 14" tire choices are limited to two, Kumho and Hankook - at $59 and $72, while 15" tires are offered by 12 manufacturers - including Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Yokohama, General, Goodrich, Goodyear, and Firestone from $55 to $116 each. At least you have a choice.
​

Cooper is currently offering, according to their website, at least a dozen tire sizes and configurations in their "entry level" (or OEM) range, so EM at least has a range of choices available for front and rear fitment.

I expect the Elio tires to be a hard compound for low rolling resistance and better mpg anyhow so between that and the light vehicle weight I doubt we will be replacing our tires very often. I doubt rotating the tires will matter nearly as much as keeping them properly inflated and aligned.

With proper air pressure maintenance that rear tire should last about as long as the car.

 

[Craig]

If you don't want to reverse the direction of rotation, that's going to require unmounting the tire from the rim and reversing it, won't it? I guess that's not really big deal.

That leads to another question; what kind of life should we expect from the tires? Cooper tires are traditionally known to be manufactured with a rather hard compound - giving them superior life at some expense to grip. Considering the weight of the Elio, those Coopers will probably rot out before they wear out. If you look at the relative cost of the tire, again, it's no big deal.

Then comes a question I've been following on my minivans that have 14" and 15" wheels. 14" tires are limited to a couple of choices, thus are a bit more expensive than the same size tires in 15" sizes. I suppose with fewer 14" wheels out on the road, it's competition for the larger market that keeps the costs and selection for the larger tire much greater that of its smaller brother.

Example: According to Tire Rack, 14" tire choices are limited to two, Kumho and Hankook - at $59 and $72, while 15" tires are offered by 12 manufacturers - including Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Yokohama, General, Goodrich, Goodyear, and Firestone from $55 to $116 each. At least you have a choice.
​

Cooper is currently offering, according to their website, at least a dozen tire sizes and configurations in their "entry level" (or OEM) range, so EM at least has a range of choices available for front and rear fitment.

It's been reported that Elio will have 15s

 

[Craig]

Routine maintenance and servicing of any vehicle can be done by anyone. If you do not have a Pep Boys within reasonable distance it does not matter for routine maintenance as any auto shop, or individual, can follow the manufacturer recommended maintenance schedule. This maintenance schedule is normally included in the vehicle owners manual. Some people are always worried that not doing routine maintenance at a dealership may void their warranty but it's actually illegal to deny coverage simply because you had routine maintenance or repairs performed by someone else. Just keep serivce records and you are covered. For more info visit this site: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance

While I am sure Elio Motors will try and make routine maintenance access as easy as possible for as many owners as possible the big reason they need service partners to cover most of the country is for warranty service. Warranty service for most vehicles is generally only allowable at dealerships however the issue for Elio Motors is that unlike most automakers they don't already have hundreds or thousands of dealerships throughout the country. To resolve this Elio Motors will find enough partners to cover most of the country like a dealership network however you have to expect to have some holes in that network just like the holes in some dealerships networks. Suzuki, Volvo, Jaguar and Subaru all have dealerships throughout the country however they have relatively small dealer networks that can be few and far between in some parts of the country meaning owners of these makes regularly find themselves many hours from the nearest dealership.

Sorry, my bad. I was not talking about preventative maintenance. Actually, I never saw PM work covered in a warranty unless added.

Not downgrading EMs choices of service providers or the current number. Just suggesting the possibility of an additional widely available service center to (fix something that is broke) that is covered by the warranty. JMO

 

[Kuda]

Sorry, my bad. I was not talking about preventative maintenance. Actually, I never saw PM work covered in a warranty unless added.

Not downgrading EMs choices of services providers or the current number. Just suggesting the possibility of an additional widely available service center to (fix something that is broke) that is covered by the warranty. JMO

Wasn't Midas also being considered @ one time?

 

[goofyone]

Sorry, my bad. I was not talking about preventative maintenance. Actually, I never saw PM work covered in a warranty unless added.

Not downgrading EMs choices of services providers or the current number. Just suggesting the possibility of an additional widely available service center to (fix something that is broke) that is covered by the warranty. JMO

No worries, I actually liked your suggestion. I don't really see Wal-Mart getting into heavier work but they would definitely have the widest service network around if they did. The post just happened to be after yours however was meant as a general point about the Elio service network.