Tire Shop Wrecked My Volks... Need Help!

Nopstnz8

Nopstnz8

Member
Hey guys... So on Saturday I went to America's Tire Co. in my area to get my new Advan AD08's mounted onto my Volk GTS wheels. I had called around and found out this was the only place within 30 miles that did touchless mounting, so I drove all the way out there to get it done. Before hand, I had cleaned my wheels and taped the lips with painters tape as a precaution to try and prevent any scratching during the mounting process. When I got there, they told me the tape would cause more of a hassle, and potentially cause more damage because it could come off and catch onto something, which I called BS on, but I was in a sense pressured by the workers because they all said the same thing to me and pretty much insisted on my approval to remove it. So I said fine because they're the experts, right? Also, before I chose the shop for mounting the tires, I called and asked if they said they could guarantee that they could mount the tires without scratching the lips, since Volks are really fragile. The guy was like "Oh we work on high end cars all the time and have never had a problem." I also asked once more the day I arrived, just to make sure they could still keep their word. Again, the guy said it shouldn't be a problem. I stood there the entire process to make sure they didn't cause any careless damage, so I expected they were being really careful. In the end the tire mounting guy said "all finished, and no scratches!" Turns out this was later BS because when I got home today, I noticed that there were scratches surrounding the whole outer edge of the lip on all four wheels. IDK how I didn't notice this then, but I haven't touched my wheels since I was there, and the scratches are uniform on all four wheels, so I know it was definitely from the mounting process.



I've been talking to a few friends because I'm really upset how I was basically lied to about shop's service because they said they could do it without any damage, which I now realize I should have had in writing, and now all four wheels will need to be refinished to remove the blemishes.



I am going to call them tomorrow and speak to the manager to display my dissatisfaction with their service, and hopefully make them pay for the damage they caused. I can't go down there till Thursday at the earliest, and will tell the manager this, but I am also planning to bring my friend because then I'm less likely to be taken advantage of.



Anyways, I'm really just looking for some honest and helpful advice for resolving this because all my friends, that I talked to individually, say I need to set them straight that I'm not going to just let this go, and the shop needs to own up to their mistake, because I shouldn't have to pay for damage they promised wouldn't happen because if I had known in advance, which I was lied to about in reality, I would have just gone somewhere else.



Oh and here is a pic of the damage. Mind this is only a section of one wheel, and basically the whole outer lip on all four wheels looks like this =(



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Also, these wheels are anodized with clearcoated lips, so there is no way to just "polish" out the scratches without refinishing the entire lip. Does anyone know if the lips can be reanodized and clearcoated back to OEM standards? I want the anodized look back with the same durability because I honestly don't have the time, being in school, to be polishing the wheels every month. I know once a month isn't a big deal, but it does take hours I'd rather being spending elsewhere while I'm in school.
 
First, I agree that the blue tape would not have worked. The machine guide needs to slide. The tape would have caused problems.



That said, I also agree that they are at fault.



But here is how I handle these situations. When I take wheels in I carefully examine each one with the shop representative standing next to me. We agree on the condition and I make it clear that I want them to come back the same way. It's all very cordial and business like. I also make it clear that this is why I come to them. I also ask them to use their best guy and be sure the machine is clean and the coated breaker is in good shape. (They wear and can scratch) This has always worked for me. I don't insult them. I just explain expectations.



In the past there have been an accident or two. In this case I just stay calm and explain that I need to have the wheel repaired to the condition it came in as. They fixed them without a fight. Be business like. The upfront conversation makes all the difference.
 
Brad's approach is a good one. I'll add by saying you should call first and be very nice about the whole thing, but say you would like to come by for an inspection. If you do the soft approach, chances are better that they won't try to blow you off if you show up unannounced.
 
Don't forget to ask them for a few of their business cards and tell them you have pals who just as picky as you are about their wheels. Planting the seed of more potential business in their head may also serve as a further incentive for them to do their very best work on your wheels.



Having said all that, I'm absolutely gonna cringe when I need a balance. When I had my old beater, I had a nasty incident with the shop. Finding competent, let alone passionate personnel is like finding a needle in a haystack around here :(
 
Bill D said:
Having said all that, I'm absolutely gonna cringe when I need a balance. When I had my old beater, I had a nasty incident with the shop. Finding competent, let alone passionate personnel is like finding a needle in a haystack around here :(
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Man, ain't it the truth. I've had wheel damage on every recent mounting-balance experience. I just don't get it. I suppose the large diameter wheels are more difficult to deal with, but c'mon. Can't the operator eventually figure it out????



I had a mobile tire guy come to my house to install snow tires on my near-perfect winter wheels a couple weeks ago. They're 17" so I assumed it wouldn't be that much of a challenge. I did say to the guy 5 times that I didn't want my wheels scratched or damaged and I said it in a nice/joking way. I figured all would be fine and he had nice equipment on his truck. It turns out he put two huge gouges in my wheels. I just shook my head.



A lot of places are claiming they work on a 'best effort' basis and sometimes sh*t happens. That's their out and won't guarantee the wheel will be handed back to you in the same condition.



Wheel re-finishing is very low on my desirability list. That, in itself, is just the next can o' worms. I've gotten pretty good at touching up with the correct paint. It's sort of my best solution at this time. I've been somewhat unhappy with my recent wheel refinishing experiences in terms of color/appearance matching :(



Can OP return his wheel to the wheel mfr and permit them to re-finish on the tire shop's dime?
 
What makes me even more crazy about this whole thing is that I CAN (and have) remove an 18" low profile tire and mount another using TIRE IRONS in my driveway and not cause damage. The fact that someone using a machine does it just blows my mind.
 
Oh no! I would've thought for sure a mobile tire install guy would be really great but hearing even they mess up makes me :wall



I'm just going to try to get the thought of eventual tire replacement out of my mind for now. At least I have some time before the inevitable.
 
Bill, tire machines aren't THAT expensive, looks like you might already have a lift?
 
Rx8 Fanatic- Sorry to hear about this, but it's sure not unusual. Good luck getting it sorted out, will probably come down to whether the shop has a reason to keep you happy.



I've had wheels refinished at my Audi dealer's expense more than once, and just recently my Chevy dealer replaced all four on the beater-Tahoe over this sort of thing; those places don't want to lose my business over this kind of expense. But OTOH, the "best tire place" in my area messed up a wheel and utterly blew me off (no, I didn't take it to court).



Very few shops say "no, we can't do that without messing up your wheels, sorry, can't take your money".
 
Dan said:
Bill, tire machines aren't THAT expensive, looks like you might already have a lift?
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Yep I have a lift. If I were to get a machine one day, I'd have to be sure to get a bunch of old scrap wheels on old tires from the junk yard to practice on first.
 
Thanks guys. It just makes me so mad that they kept acting like they had the best people to do the job, which I knew wasn't the case because everyone says that sort of thing, just I figured if they had something to hide like "Oh we can't guarantee it, but we'll try" kind of thing, then I would have been more skeptical.



I also did have them inspect the wheels before hand, and they noticed a few marks, other than the uniform scratches that are here now. You can also tell that the marks make a perfect arc like a machine would do, so it'll be pretty obvious that I didn't cause them from cleaning.



I do plan to take the nice guy approach at first, then discuss further in person later in the week, but if they pretty much refuse to do anything, should I threaten to contact BBB?
 
They'll likely laugh at the BBB. Buy yeah, if you take the approach of getting them to "take a look" and see what they might offer, that will work in your favor. The last thing you want is them to deny they did the damage. Get them to admit first (bring a friend if you can), then see what they offer up. A good shop would want you happy. A bad shop is going to say "that happens with ALL wheels, sorry fella" and that's where you'll have them. Document as much as possible.
 
When the time comes for me to take the Accord for tires/brakes, I'm thinking of taking several before photos of the wheels right before it goes in. If that will do anything, I have no idea, but just a thought I now have.
 
Dan said:
They'll likely laugh at the BBB. Buy yeah, if you take the approach of getting them to "take a look" and see what they might offer, that will work in your favor. The last thing you want is them to deny they did the damage. Get them to admit first (bring a friend if you can), then see what they offer up. A good shop would want you happy. A bad shop is going to say "that happens with ALL wheels, sorry fella" and that's where you'll have them. Document as much as possible.
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Yeah exactly. I already have a friend that agreed to come along with me so I don't get taken advantage of being by myself.



You can tell the marks are pretty uniform, from a machine, so it won't be hard to tell that it wasn't done by me. Also, do you think I should clean the wheels beforehand so it's easier to spot the scratches, or should it be treated like a "rape" case, where you don't wanna touch anything until after it's all been properly examined? The wheels still have the tire mounting paste on them, so it would be obvious that I didn't touch them before hand.
 
Rx8 Fanatic said:
should I threaten to contact BBB?
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That would only increase your frustration level.



You may learn that your only recourse will be small claims court...
 
For everyone else, this is a great reason to always fully inspect everything after receiving a service on any vehicle or vehicle part. I hope they fix them for you Man. Be sure and leave a review for them all over the Internet if they don't do a good job.
 
Bill D said:
When the time comes for me to take the Accord for tires/brakes, I'm thinking of taking several before photos of the wheels right before it goes in. If that will do anything, I have no idea, but just a thought I now have.
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I've always said I would do it, but never have, which in the future, I will be doing for sure.
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
For everyone else, this is a great reason to always fully inspect everything after receiving a service on any vehicle or vehicle part. I hope they fix them for you Man. Be sure and leave a review for them all over the Internet if they don't do a good job.
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Thanks. And yeah I'm going to even say that to them if they pretty much refuse to do anything.
 
A threat of a bad review??? LOL. Its a tire shop, short of you holding up the place or burning it down to the ground, any comment you make isn't going to phase them one bit. There have probably been hundreds of customers that have gotten closer to violence than you. If they refuse to payout ask for their insurance carrier contact information as you want to submit a claim.
 
tom p. said:
That would only increase your frustration level.



You may learn that your only recourse will be small claims court...
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Sadly, I don't feel I have enough proper documentation for that. If had them sign a release, which I'm now going to do for everything, I could have had the proper evidence to make a case out of it, but right now I'd probably get laughed at.
 
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