I have noticed that a number of people are complaining about the significant damage that most local tire stores (in Los Angeles, California at least) are causing on our rims.....

I read another post somewhere on NAM today where it "broke some guys heart" all the damage they caused him.

I saw first hand some HP Evo's that look like a different tire store, put face down and let them roll and slip on concrete just for laughs.... 3 of the 4 tires were significantly damaged....

I got nitrogen in my tires a couple of months ago, primarily for tire wear, but also for "the science factor". These guys were very upfront they could not be responsible for ANY damage to my factory perfect rims on my 05 MCS.... I had to watch them like a hawk...

So, I ask all you experts, and Tire Rack if they can chime in... what's the deal... I want to do business with a company I can pay in Dollars and be satisfied , not in Banana's and be mad...

Comments & Observations please ....

 

Pick your tire guy like you pick your doctor. Find out what equipment they use and what experience they have.

I go to a local place that caters to the nicest cars in town. The owner is a sponsor of the Porsche club and I always see stacks of race tires being prepared for customers.

 

I just dont understand why there are so many minimum wage "monkeys" (read - one banana.... maybe a new ranking system here)

In my area it seems special care has to be taken...

People don't seem to want to be responsible for their actions...

 

As a shop mgr. for the last 10+ years I have seen wheels progress from 15" performance tires up to the current 20" and bigger sizes. The problem, most of the time, w/ tire mounting damage is because no one took the time to properly train their people on performance tire mounting/dismounting. W/ the advent of the ultra low profile, ultra wide, run flat technologies, comes the need for retraining our people on the proper use and handling of the wheels that naturally must be used to facilitate these tires. Has any of my guys ever accidentally messed up a wheel? Yes, it has happened, and in such instances it is nice to have a reputable wheel repair shop nearby. But, these cases are rare and here in the S.F. bay area, we see a lot of custom wheels. Generally, if a customer expresses concern (or I see that look in their eyes as we take the keys to their baby) I'll have myself or my lead tech. take the car and offer to let the customer watch while we mount the tires. I feel for you guys if your experiences w/ local tire/repair facilities has been bad. Keep in mind, just like the previous poster said, pick out a shop like picking out a doctor. Your car is usually your 2nd most expesive investment, so it pays to have the right people working on it. Sorry to ramble.

Later

 

Your not rambling in the least....

If I lived anywhere near you - you'd be my shop...

Just amazes me that people can be in business and not have a better handle on this...

As you suggest, it must be simple disregard for training on the ever changing tire technology. Must be enough people that just want wheels on their older or non-cherished cars that businesses can not care about the work skills?!!

I am absolutely going to take YuccaPatrol's advice and scope out a responsible shop before I need their help.

"Remember, it's a jungle out there"

 

I used to have all of my tire mounting done by a fellow racer in my SCCA region who has his own tire mounting and balancing equipment. He had good prices and I used to live close to him (5-10 miles away), but we moved 30+ miles away from him a few years back, and he scraped up a set of my wheels fairly badly. I wasn't too concerned with superficial damage to beat up race wheels, but when it came time to get some Falken Azenis tires mounted on some new 16" SSR wheels last year I didn't want to take a chance with him anymore.

I went to a local Discount Tire chain store here in Columbus, Ohio, and talked to a salesman/manager and had a look at their equipment. They were a newer store with all brand new state of the art equipment, and several experienced employees. I went ahead and had them do it, and they've had my business ever since. They know I race and take extra care with my wheels and tires. I've been back at least 7 or 8 times since (only bought one set of tires from them though) for mounting and balancing, and because I'm such a good customer, they've given me three of the last four mounting/dismounting and balancing for free! It probably helps that I almost always bring in the wheels and tires loose so they don't have as much labor involved as if they had to remove the wheels/tires from the car.

They've taken very good care of me and I occasionally take donuts in for the guys at the store and always recommend them to my friends. Even if I had to pay full price there, they'd still have my business because of how they treat me and my wheels.

-Keith

 

Charlie,

I did business with Yucca's guy in Birmingham, Alabama on my roadtrip last year and they were absolutely top-notch!

I've only heard good things about Discount Tire, too. Maybe there's one near you? Remember to take a bunch of bananas as a goodwill gesture, tee hee!


Clover