This is my first post and I have only had my Crossfire for three weeks, but I wanted to share my recent tire drama. Thought it might help others.

I am from Birmingham, AL and I had taken a road trip to Connecticut to take in a U.S. Soccer match. I had stopped in Baltimore to visit friends and on Tuesday morning (Aug 3) I got up early in the morning to begin the long drive (12 hours) back to Birmingham. I had a wonderful trip so far and had fallen in love with my new car. I was happy that I had beaten all the D.C. traffic and I decided to stop in Northern Virginia to get gas. When I was getting back on the on-ramp, I could see an item about 4 inches by 5 inches. I quickly turned the wheel to avoid it, but my back passenger side tire hit it. I could hear the thud as my tire spun it off and it hit under my car. I quickly looked at the tire pressure monitor and prayed that the object had not caused me to have a flat tire. After about 10 seconds, the light came on. I saw that the next exit was 1 mile and had to make a decision whether to pull over or make it to the next stop....my biggest concern was damaging the wheel (because I had read the cost of those on this forum). Well, I decided to make it to the next stop.

I got out to survey the damage and figured I would try the fix-it-kit in the trunk. I was a 29 year old female traveling alone, so I had several Southern gentlemen come up and try to help :-) The kit did not work, but one of the gentlemen told me of a local tire shop. When I called, the man was very helpful but said he did not have a 19" tire. He said he would call around and call me back. After about 30 minutes he called back and said the closest one was in Harrisonburg, VA and could not get there until the next morning. I called Chrysler towing (which was very helpful) and had them tow me to the tire shop. The tire guys were able to patch the tire, however it kept losing pressure. Then they saw that the object I ran over had punctured right through the tire and into the wheel. For the next 6 hours, the tire shop tried to work with Chrysler and the Chrysler dealership in town to get me a wheel. This was Tuesday and Chrysler said the only one they could find was in New York but they could not get it to me until at least Friday, but maybe not until Monday....WHAT????? Even though I said I would pay overnight shipping they said there was nothing they could do to expedite it. So I got a rental car and checked into the local hotel. I called Chrysler customer service on Wednesday and Thursday and kept getting the run around. They said they could see the tire had been shipped (from Orlando - not New York) but there was no way they could track it for me....WHAT????? So after being stuck in this town for three days I decided to drive 35 minutes to the closest Kinko's and get on the Internet and check EBay. Sure enough I found a wheel. I frantically tried to get in contact with the seller to see if he could ship it overnight. I spoke to him the next morning and he said he could help me out. I got a wheel (with a small scratch) AND a new tire (thought I better get an extra even though mine was successfully patched) for $250. UPS charged $195 for overnight guarantee by 8:30 am, but it was worth it. Got the tire and wheel the next morning and had it put on. Then I called Chrysler to tell them I had taken care of it myself. I am extremely frustrated with Chrysler and their Customer Care, but when I got back into my car to finally head home (after being stranded in a small town for 4 days) I realized that despite it all I LOVE my Crossfire. I was never happier to be reunited with anything in my entire life! LESSON LEARNED: When in need, check E-Bay :-)