Damage from Discount Tire install ?

[goin2drt]

Sadly, this can happen at ANY tire shop. They put their lowest level of staff on being the tire monkey (their word not mine). Unless you do a very specific walk through with the salesperson or manger before and after good luck in getting them to own it. Or of course if the wheels are new then you can.

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[bajathree]

I'm 95% sure they will offer something to fix this. It might be refinishing, which is questionable depending on the vendor.

This is the tool they used. The tech levered it against the edge of the wheel to pull the valve into place. Whenever I use this tool, I put a piece of plastic against the wheel to prevent damage (I'm a DIYer working on my own wheels so I care more than average).

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NTH90370

I felt the same way...I was highly doubtful the wheel would get finished properly. DT told my lets let him do the refinish and see if you are happy with it. The guy ended up being very good to my surprise and honestly you couldn't tell the difference that the wheel was ever damaged or refinished. I forget what the guy told me he charges the shop but I remember it wasn't cheap....with that being said it certainly was a lot cheaper than replacing a Porsche wheel....maybe not a Toyota wheel..may have been around the same cost for that.

 

[TacoFreak]

I had some wheels refinished when I lived in Columbus, Ohio. There was a shop that only did wheel straightening and refinishing and mine looked like new when they were done. But it was $125/wheel at that time and that was several years ago, so definitely not cheap. They even had a mobile unit that could come to where you park during the day and refinish them there.

 

[PNWkip]

Update:

They immediately took complete responsibility. The manager saw what you all saw regarding the damage from the valve stem tool. He also said those scuff marks near the center caps may not come out, in his experience. They are replacing the whole set of wheels with either OEM or aftermarket.

This was a good lesson for me in not automatically assuming the worse will happen. There are still good people out there doing good things! I should've had a phone call before I started blasting corporate and the BBB. This store manager was extremely kind.

Anyways, they really made this right!

 

[crepr12]

Good end to the story...Local Toyota dealer jacked up 2 of my wheels...when I had them swap out the chrome for off road OEMs...they ordered new wheels and waived the install charges...

 

[Sner]

See I hadn't even thought about that tool and now 3 people have said it! Thanks guys

This is the tool that should have been used, it has a big rubber ball on it so you can pry against the rim and not damage it.…. Maybe you want to suggest to the store manager he should order a few….. honestly would be surprised if a tire shop didn’t know these existed, if they don’t, may want to go elsewhere for tires in the future.

 

[TexasBill]

Is it not odd that the damage on both wheels in very close proximity to the valve stem, seems to random to be a rock chip in the same place on both tires. Just my 2 cents.

 

[PNWkip]

Is it not odd that the damage on both wheels in very close proximity to the valve stem, seems to random to be a rock chip in the same place on both tires. Just my 2 cents.

Store manager agreed! Didn't even try to suggest otherwise. Just apologized and made it right. I was surprised he even said the scuffs near the center caps likely won't be the same again even if I buff it out.

 

[izzy]

I was surprised he even said the scuffs near the center caps likely won't be the same again even if I buff it out.

Matte paint so yeah he's right to be honest.

Matte paint is a pain in the ass lol

 

[TX-MD]

Sorry to hear about the experience but glad they will make it right. So….now that you got a set of bum wheels (and maybe tires) laying around, need to get rid of them?!?

 

[PNWkip]

Sorry to hear about the experience but glad they will make it right. So….now that you got a set of bum wheels (and maybe tires) laying around, need to get rid of them?!?

Why you wanna drive halfway across the country for some scratch n dent trailhunters ??

 

[TX-MD]

Why you wanna drive halfway across the country for some scratch n dent trailhunters ??

haha! Since they’re already dinged, I don’t have to feel bad when the tire shop or rocks on the road put the next chip on ‘em. Lol

 

[Compy386]

Update:

They immediately took complete responsibility. The manager saw what you all saw regarding the damage from the valve stem tool. He also said those scuff marks near the center caps may not come out, in his experience. They are replacing the whole set of wheels with either OEM or aftermarket.

This was a good lesson for me in not automatically assuming the worse will happen. There are still good people out there doing good things! I should've had a phone call before I started blasting corporate and the BBB. This store manager was extremely kind.

Anyways, they really made this right!

Nice! I try to avoid the chain shops when possible, but sometimes they're the best option or have the best price on some tires. Discount has made some mistakes on my vehicles in the past but also taken responsibility and made it right each time, so that's alright in my book.

Most recently... my last vehicle was a Mazda CX-5. I had a set of BBS wheels on it and thankfully they didn't hurt those, but I noticed 2 lug nuts on the rear were all cockeyed when they gave it back to me. They had cross-threaded and completely ruined the studs and lug nuts. They offered to fix it but I didn't want them touching it any further at that point. I told the manager I would fix it myself and he offered reimbursement for the parts and my time which was plenty fair to me. I thought that was a good gesture on their part. I grabbed a few new wheel studs from the Mazda dealer and a new set of lug nuts for my wheels and changed them out at home within an hour. Got cash in my pocket and peace of mind knowing it was fixed properly, so it all worked out fine.

 

[NoSlushbox4Me]

My local DT had a hover Porsche at it.

 

[PNWkip]

My co worker just told my the local DT damaged two of his wheels a couple weeks ago and they took care of him in the same way. I wonder how much mistakes like these cost them every year ?

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