I have a trusted shop. i still worry and talk with the shop lead prior tp install pointing out “no existing damage.

 

1000000% same page. Had to plug a tire the day I brought it home and have been living in fear ever since (1200 miles).
The thought of some kid banging my wheels all around on a machine has me paralyzed and so I've done nothing yet lol. Called the dealer and they said they didnt feel confident doing it. So reassuring...

 

I suppose that if you wanted to be diplomatic about it you could just ask for the manager and ask him to kindly give the job to his best guy due to your concerns. Tell him you'll tip his guy for a (scratch free) job well done. After that just sit there and birddog the tire tech to ensure he doesn't scratch up the first wheel because if he scratches the first wheel you can rest assure that he will scratch the rest of them.

I personally use a small family owned shop and they take care of my wheels but I understand your concern. Good luck.

 

That is a really good approach. I think I'll try that.

 

Went to Discount tire......Shops are clean newer equipment ...When I made appointment I said please do not get me with a new guy , rims are expensive and mgr said no problem and when I got them put on it was a guy in his upper 20's he knew what he was doing was extra careful and a hellcat / hot rod fan in general . I've gotten several sets of tires with them for various vehicles no problems

 

Not exactly the same but had it happen on my RT, perfect rims before the shop got ahold of them and I watched it happen through a giant pane of glass. New guy never used the tire machine before and left a giant mark. I was given the choice to have it painted or get the tire for free. I took the tire as I didn't want them touching it anymore and then painted it myself. You can still tell if you look close but just walking by no one notices but me

 

The Firestone by me does nice work too.

 

Omg!! This is real! I hate doing this so much. If I need tires on any of my vehicles I take them off myself & haul them to tire store in my truck!! You can't trust too many of those guys.

 

Omg!! This is real! I hate doing this so much. If I need tires on any of my vehicles I take them off myself & haul them to tire store in my truck!! You can't trust too many of those guys.

Same here... I always haul my wheels and tires to the shop. I have 335’s on the rear of the Viper and usually the mechanic comes back and says Woah, what are these going on? Plus, I always ask the guy at the counter if they can have an experienced guy do it and then tip the guy before hand.

Not everyone is bad...a lot of these guys are probably even more careful than say mounting tires on a Ford Windstar.

 

I have always had very good treatment from the shops recommended by TireRack. I've used two shops in my area over the past twenty-five years.... No dings and proper balancing.

 

No dings and proper balancing.

If they don't have a Hunter Road Force machine, and someone who knows how to use it, keep looking.

 

Post your location, maybe one of us can recommend a shop for you?

 

I am going to be ditching my stock Pirelli all season's that came on the car for some new summer tires (mich pilot 4's) in the next few weeks and for some reason I find myself sick over the possible risk of wheel damage on my brand new factory black satin wheels that the tire shop kid can do. I dont even have 1500 miles on them yet.
It just always seems they make some kind of mark no matter what, whether they chip one, or they get it with their tools. Do I just have bad luck on my past cars (tried probably 4 different shops) or am I not the only one who has this happen every time?

I guess I am looking for someone to inspire with me confidence and say they wont damage it, because these Pirelli's suck for grip. HaHa

I mean I don't want to be one of those guys that walks in and is a prick, but at the same time do you think its crazy to ask the manager to do it or something so it isn't some 16 year old?

I have never found a shop that I don’t have to watch and be a bit paranoid. There is one shop near me that is about 99%. Meaning rarely ever have a new blemish or scratch added to my cat. Having said that, no one but me or one of us car nuts would notice the nick/blemish anyway. If you don’t get a drag radial, you won’t get traction. I daily mine. Needs a set of rears about every 3,000 miles or so! But I do drive it.

 

At least locally the mobile tire mount and balance people do a good job. They come to your house and I get to watch. Cost about 50% more than a discount tire type place but also more convenient.

 

^^ this is a cool idea.

 

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For the life of me I can't find the guys card I used but it's this company. I was recommended to them from my local Viper club chapter when I did my Forgestar F14s. He does a lot of exotics so hellcats should be a breeze. If I locate the card I'll post it.

 

You should be concerned! I just went through this. After talking to all the shops in town I decided on one that told me three times they would do a stellar job and if they didn't they'd make it right. Well, they scuffed all four around the bead and gouged a spoke on one of them. They made it right, and paid for a used rim but not after basically calling me a liar and making me feel like crap! A real sh@$ show. Next time I'll pack them 180 miles like I did my first set to a High end shop!

 

I have to say Discount Tires was professional and took great care of the car and wheels. My bad, bring black wheel weights. Satin black Variants with natural finish weights. Not their fault, my oversight.

 

Wish they had them here in the Northeast. Around here Town Fair Tire has cornered the market and they hire any warm bodies to sling tires. My son worked at one of their stores and said it was a shitshow behind the scenes. Then worked at a different one. Same story. Worn out machines, lazy workers, damaged wheels daily, management turning a blind eye as long as the money rolled in. He was so frustrated with complaints and management that he eventually quit and moved on.

 

Of the national brands, my vote is for Discount Tires. I watched them (Myrtle Beach, SC shop) work on my truck wheels and really liked how they did things.

 

I just went to Discount Tire last week for new tires. All I told the guy was please be very careful with the wheels as Dodge has already scratched them when they mounted them to their balancer. I was outside when they pulled my car into the bay and I heard the manager round up everyone working on my car and tell them "be extremely careful with these wheels, put a scratch on them and your job is on the line". They were very careful with them and will continue to go back there.

 

I’ve had good luck at Discount Tire and Firestone. Clean, new shops and equipment.

 

Look for a shop with a Hunter touch-less machine. I had the same anxiety with a new set of wheels. Went to Les Schwab and expressed my concerns. The shop manager mounted them personally for me.

 

My 2020 Scat Pack came with Pirelli high performance tires. About a bazillion times better than the Pirelli all season tires that came with my Hellcat.

The only place I had tires changed that didn't end up damaging the wheels was at Porsche dealers.

At 13K miles got a puncture in the driver side rear tire of my Hellcat. Long story short ended up at a nearby dealer to have 2 new rear tires installed. Car returned to me with new tires but previously unscuffed new wheels slightly scuffed.

As for tire shops... I would stay the heck away. With only one exception all have been horrible.

Yeah, the manager will tell you he'll put his "best" guy on the car but then out comes a tech with two left hands and a seeing eye dog using a cane...

 

I also go to Discount tire. When I make the appointment on the phone I tell them to schedule it with their best Tech. due to expensive wheels that will need to be replaced if they are damaged. After they schedule me I ask for the name of the Tech. that will be working on my wheels.

When I arrive for the appointment I make sure the correct Tech., by name, is actually doing the work, and I make sure he knows how important these wheels are to me.
So far I have had No issues and the guys working at Discount tire have been Great. They fully understand these are not everyday wheels and must be handled with care.



.

 

As an owner of 2 larger volume tire shops, its all about the equipment and whos doing them. Just express your concern, offer to pay more to have a more experience person do the wheels. Anytime we have anything new, or expensive come in we take special care regardless if someone offered to pay more or not, but it shows your serious about keeping them mint.

Personally, anytime anything high quality or reverse mount comes in I work along side my tech to ensure perfection. Even with our touchless machines and balancers it still extremely easy to get one little nick somewhere.

 

Personally, whenever having any kind of work done, I just calmly let the people know that I care.

Most people don't really pay any attention to their cars. They're just the machine that gets them to and from work. The price tag of the car isn't a way to judge because a lot of people who have money don't take care of their stuff. While "you should always be careful" is true, realistically a tech can't be at high-alert every single action. So, for instance couriers are notorious for just tossing packages around.

The purpose of putting "fragile" on a box is to alert a courier that this particular package can't suffer abuse. Slow down. Take your time. Be gentle.

So that's what I do. I just let oil-change people or tire people or whoever know that I'm someone that a little scratch matters to. That a little ding bums out. I'm the rare guy who will notice and be saddened by accidents. It's not about "you're incompetent" or "your guys are monkeys". It's not about being insulting or condescending. It's about saying "hey, I get you're here to just do a job, but I'd appreciate it if my bananas didn't end up bruised."

Being nice works.

 

And make sure your car and wheels are spotlessly clean, that goes a long way in showing you take pride in your car.


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

This times a million. Got a couple friends in the industry. One is a tint shop owner and the other used to be a service writer. They have tons of stories of people that want to ***** and complain about every little thing on their car after receiving it back on to have dropped the car off FILTHY.

Two things here:

• If you drop off your car filthy the people working on your car will assume you don't care as you obviously didn't care enough to keep the car clean.
• If the car isn't clean when you drop it off, it wont be clean when you pick it up. This makes seeing damage and proving the shop did it much harder.

 

I'm reading a lot of praise for Discount Tires. I actually talked to the manager at one of there stores about my hellcat tires. I told him my concerns and asked about the machines they had and if they could do it. He literally told me they didn't have the time to spend that it would take to do that kind of job. At least he was honest about it ! After that is when I found the Porsche dealer who did my first set.

 

I'm willing to bet the corporate office would like to hear that story.....