Firestone to get reamed

[cjstringer]

Ok, after having my tires static balanced by Firestone, I was cleaning my wheels yesterday. It seems the device they used to hold the wheel while removing and remounting the new tires put gouges in my wheels. Now I'm pissed. Both of my front wheels have three evenly spaced gouges on the inside that ripped one of my cloths as I tried to clean them. Glad it wasn't my hand, or they'd have a real issue on their hands.
I was told the manager/owner wouldn't be in until monday. I think it's BS to get me to not think about it for a while. They'll definitely hear from me.
Now, should I try to have them replace the wheels? What should my next course of action be? I'm really pissed about it and need some advice.

 

[JcsMP3]

Same thing happened to my friend when he bought some new rims for his ride.... They say it's common practice or whatever.. or they need to do that to mount the tire properly....

He was just refunded the price of mounting his tires, but that was it... He paid $2000 for his rims and now they are not new at all... he is still pissed about it...

Good luck with whatever happens....

Jc

 

[blynzoo]

Oh no, you can get back the full cost of the rims, even have them replace it. It's all about contract language. Unless it specifies somewhere on your contract (service receipt) that the procedure may damage the rim, THEY are liable for the damages. Many contracts actually SAY (because no one reads them) that the shop is not responsible for any damages that occur while the car is in the shop. Nice thing about all contracts is, just because they say it doesnt make it true. Just 'cause they have a loophole in the contract doesnt mean they can get away with it. When you go in, if they resist just tell them you've got the time and patience to go to small claims court.
At least here in Indy, small claims is fast and easy. Just go in on your appointed date, show the judge the rims, and you're good to go. Most shops will avoid that. My aunt bought a turbine for her turbo setup (car-loving family) where the welds were bad and the turbine wouldnt spin. The jackass at the shop thought she was just some "stupid woman" who wouldnt know what to do. The trial lasted like 7 minutes, 3 of which were reading names and s***. She showed the judge the turbine, explained how they work, the judge asked the guy if this was a properly working turbine ("no, your honor") and the guy had to replace it. Simple as that.
But hopefully it wont come to that with you.

Cool s***, our legal system.
Happy hunting

 

[blynzoo]

Oh s***, I just realized that was you, CJ. You ARE in Indy....lol

 

[blynzoo]

Discount tire and goodyear will both balance without the nicks. Well, some goodyear places. If you live near it, try Discount Tire at Lafayette and Georgetown road, the manager there is about the nicest and most honest guy there is, he gives my friend at J. Frank motors regular deals on rims and tires, once i dropped the name the manager told me he'd hook me up with some BBS's for 200 apiece, BELOW cost.

 

[cjstringer]

I might have to try that. There is a discount tire here on the south side. I should have just taken them there in the first place.
I'm pretty pissed about this though. I straight up asked the guy if they had the proper tools to mount on these rims, and he said they would be fine. I don't consider gouged rims fine. Steams me the more I think about it.
blynzoo, if you're bored this weekend, you might come up to Peru as the Central Division Championships for SCCA Autocross are going to be at Grissom AFB saturday and sunday. There's some ptryy fierce competition, but I'm hoping for a top 4 finish. I'll finally have my race tires on. Too bad I didn't get to practice with them before the divisional. Testing at a championship is never a good idea.

 

[blynzoo]

Testing at a championship is never a good idea.

lol, no kidding. Hey, thanks for the invite, I might actually make it. My grandmother lives in Culver, and I was going to visit her. Even if I dont make it, I wanna hear how you did.

 

[Kooldino]

Ok, after having my tires static balanced by Firestone, I was cleaning my wheels yesterday. It seems the device they used to hold the wheel while removing and remounting the new tires put gouges in my wheels. Now I'm pissed. Both of my front wheels have three evenly spaced gouges on the inside that ripped one of my cloths as I tried to clean them. Glad it wasn't my hand, or they'd have a real issue on their hands.
I was told the manager/owner wouldn't be in until monday. I think it's BS to get me to not think about it for a while. They'll definitely hear from me.
Now, should I try to have them replace the wheels? What should my next course of action be? I'm really pissed about it and need some advice.

They should replace them. Also, I heard that if they soap the rims while putting the tires on, it will not scratch like that.

 

[rodslinger]

I wouldn't worry about it really. Depending on the type of equipment and your type of wheels makes a difference on how the tire is mounted. The machine has to grab the wheel either on the inside or by the outer edge. It also has to grab it hard enough not to slip while putting the tire on. Because of this you will most always have a mark. You don't see it on the outside and it doesn't affect durability of the wheel. Get over it. It's normal wear and tear.

 

[cjstringer]

Couldn't they put rubber pads on it or something?
Normal wear and tear? Why didn't they have the marks when they came form the factory then? If it takes putting gouges in rims to mount tires, how does the factory not do it?
Sorry rod, but I don't consider this "normal wear and tear". That's like saying that somebody banging their door into yours and putting dents and paint chips is normal. I'd be busting ass on that one too.
I guess I just hold a higher value on my property than some. I know I could blow it off, but I specifically asked before hand that they would not be damaged and it would be done correctly, neither of which came true.

 

[rodslinger]

Can't answer why with a definate answer. It just depends on the equipment used. Most newer tire changing equipment has some sort of insulator to protect the wheel but everything I've seen older than 5 years old mostly have the metal clamps. Technology in equipment changes just like everything else. Most places don't upgrade tire mounting equipment to the latest and greatest until they need a replacement. It's happened to mine too. I re-read your original post and you mentioned a gouge. Most of the time you will only see some small marks where the clamp grabbed the wheel but never seen one gouge before. It may be possible the guy mounting the tire didn't know what he was doing and the wheel slipped on the machine creating the gouge mark.

 

[Traveler]

I had a tire place that did some real damage to a tire and then tried to tell me that it was like that when it came in. I had a set of Large Pirellis on my last car project. I took the wheels and tires in to have the tires dismounted so I could get the rims painted. The shop loaded the stuff back in my truck without me seeing the stuff. I dropped off the wheels at the paint shop and took the tires home. While I was unloading them, I noticed that there were a couple large holes in the sidewall of one of the rears (about $225 each!) that were the same size and shape as that little curved piece on a tire machine that pushes the underneath side of the tire off the rim. I took them back and showed them to the manager and he said "we didn't do that". I pointed out to him that the tires were in fact holding air when I came in, the marks were fresh and matched the tire machine and he still denied any wrong doing. After some calls to the owner of the shop (franchise), we were able to get them to order an identical replacement tire and remount and balance all the tires for no charge.

Moral of the story? The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Raise a major stink about the damage and they'll usually make good on it. The last thing they want is you in their showroom complaining out loud several times in front of other customers. Also, they have little nylon covers for the tire machine tools that they are supposed to use on painted and polished wheels. Lazy techs won't use them but that's not an excuse. They were able to mount my last set of tires on painted wheels without leaving any marks and they will ALWAYS use those covers if they are working on higher end cars. The only reason they won't use those covers is if they are too lazy to go the extra effort.

 

[blynzoo]

Moral of the story? The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Raise a major stink about the damage and they'll usually make good on it. The last thing they want is you in their showroom complaining out loud several times in front of other customers. Also, they have little nylon covers for the tire machine tools that they are supposed to use on painted and polished wheels. Lazy techs won't use them but that's not an excuse. They were able to mount my last set of tires on painted wheels without leaving any marks and they will ALWAYS use those covers if they are working on higher end cars. The only reason they won't use those covers is if they are too lazy to go the extra effort.

ab fab right, Traveler. Squeaky is the way to go.
And no rodslinger, marks are not par for the course. Do not settle for anything less than what you want. A rim can be grasped perfectly well without some metal deathgrip. High end shops have lug attachments that go on the balancer, so the wheels sit like they would on the car (on the lugs). and a strong rubber grip works as well. Shaquille O'Neal isnt going to spend 5g's putting 24's on his truck, see some gouges, and go "ok, I'll live with it."
but let's all be happy.

 

[rodslinger]

And no rodslinger, marks are not par for the course.

Maybe for your course but this is the real world. I agree it isn't always right. But if it's a real concern you have to know what kind of equipment the shop is using and find one that suits you. Some shops use tire equipment that will ALWAYS leave some sort of mark on the inside of the wheel. It's old and outdated but still works. The only bad part is until it happens, people don't always know to ask. 99.5% of the time, people don't notice anyway. In reality, it doesn't affect performance. It won't affect durability and won't diminish value. You want to blame them too for leaving a mark from installing wheel weights? How about blame Snap-On tools for their box wrench leaving a mark on the oil drain plug when changing your oil. Or blame the car wash sucking up too many carpet fibers when vacuuming your car.... All right.. Now I'm just being an ass. I can see where your coming from. Last time my car was in the shop the mechanic was returning from the test drive smoking in my car. I didn't ask for a new interior. I just let the manager know and asked it not happen again. It's trivial. And making them pay for things like that just increases the cost to other people (including ourselves).

 

[blynzoo]

I'm glad folks here keep things so civil, it always amazes me how nice everyone is to each other in here. Even when I say something as potentially offensive as "no rodslinger,.....etc" (which by the way I meant no offense by) folks dont start a flamewar.
By "not par for the course" I meant that it is not just a by-product of putting on a tire. I have found that the big chains, at least in Indy, all use scuff-free mounting and balancing. It's even advertised in the in-store brochures (as if scuff-free is some "bonus" that shouldn't just be a given). It would seem to be the smaller tire shops that do f*** things up. I have never had my rims scuffed, nor my tires pockmarked, by any of the three or so places I use here.
Hope I didnt offend.