7 On Your Side: Surprise gift falls flat due to tire troubles

SOUTHAMPTON, Long Island (WABC) -- The dad still gets choked up when he thinks about the 17 year promise.

It was Y2K and he just won a brand new truck in a contest. But instead of driving it, he waited until this past year to give it to his son. But the surprise gift went flat, until he called for 7 On Your Side.

It was a few days before Thanksgiving and Mike Mosolino ordered from Blackstone Offroad in Southampton a Christmas present for his son's truck.

"He wanted special rims and special tires," beamed Mosolino.

It was a gift 17 years in the making. The Masolino's won the Silver Chevy Tahoe in a Coors Lights Sweepstakes.

The Silver Bullet came delivered with a cowboy from Colorado and everything. It was the year 2000. His parents made a promise to the son they were expecting

"We decided to save it and keep for our son," recalled Michael. "When he turned 17 we would have a brand new vehicle for him."

So they garaged the truck for nearly two decades. When their son Andy got the keys, he upgraded the old truck with a new tire and rim package ordered at the local garage.

Owner Frank Devito, shown on his company's Facebook page, told us the wrong tires and rims were delivered. But, instead of troubleshooting, we found the owner was on vacation in Hawaii, posting beach shots on his Instagram page.

Michael was told he couldn't get a refund until the shop got a credit back for the items it ordered and returned. But a week after we visited the Southampton shop?

"I'm relieved," said Mosolino.

He picked up a cashier's check for the full amount, $2,300. And Andy was able to buy his tire package.

"Thanks to 7 On Your Side we got our money back. All is well and lessons are learned," said Mike.

The owner apologized, admitting he dropped the ball with this customer telling us he couldn't give Mike a refund until after he got a credit back for the tires and rims he ordered and returned.

The big takeaway, if you're making a down payment, don't use cash. Instead use a credit card. That way you have some recourse if there's a problem.

And don't pay too much up front. Mike paid more than 80 percent. Ideally - he should've paid 40-50 percent tops.