"Tire"d of privacy issues?

[rslade]

So, you go to the store to buy something, and they ask for your name.  Or phone number.  Or driver's licence.  Generally, I refuse.  Sometimes I get told they need my phone number so they can add to my record.  Then I really refuse.  (Unless they're giving points, right?  I mean, I'll tell them anything if they're going to give me points.  It's like getting kudos ...)  (But I digress ...)

So, this guy wants to buy tires, and they want his vehicle permit and proof of insurance.  So he leaves and goes somewhere they don't ask for all that.  Later they say it's all a mistake.  But I don't buy the "VIN" stuff: you don't need the VIN to get tire specs.

[Flyslinger2]

I have to disagree a bit. I owned a sports car that required the VIN to get the very specific tires engineered for that vehicle.  When I found that out I panicked.  Only Michelin and had to be shipped from France. There were Zero tires for that vehicle in the U.S. of A.

-.-

Needless to say I'm driving a 15 year old American made car now!  My financial exposure has gone way down.

[CISOScott]

As a part-time mechanic I can understand why some of the requirements were asked for. Early in my youth when I didn't understand much about cars I bought a Porsche 944. I went to one tire store and tried to get them to put some cheap "special of the week" tires on it. They refused. Two other tire shops refused also. They said my car required the sporty "speed rated" tires due to the specifications (and they were right) and they could not install the cheaper ones. So the VIN I can see, but not permit and insurance info. The VIN would be able to tell them what the original specs of the car were.

It is due to the financial liability. If the shops would have put the cheap tires on and then I took a corner at excessive speeds. If the tires gave out because I pushed them past their normal range, I (or my estate) could have sued them. If I got into any accident I could have sued them for "putting the wrong tires" on my vehicle.

If you ever have a store that will not let you get out without giving a phone number (If in the US) just use the number from Tommy Tutone's hit "Jenny" 867-5309. Just add your area code on the front. It works for almost any grocery store reward program (I wish I had the foresight to register that as my number).