Thegman

My Targa needed two new rear tires (12K plus miles) so I ordered two Conti Sport Contact 2's from Discount Tire to match the fronts which show nearly no wear. The price was acceptable so they were ordered and received by the tire shop.

I jacked up my car and removed both rear wheels. I carefully removed the stick on wheel weights and residual adhesive residue and washed and waxed the wheels on the fronts and backs. The wheels are both "perfect" inasmuch as they are off a concours car. I delivered them to the tire dealer and instructed him to mount and balance the tires. I was told to return in two hours and I did.

Upon my return, I was informed that the tires weren't mounted because there was a problem. The problem was that the technician scratched/dinged the paint on the rim when he tried to dismount the old tire. Thankfully, they stopped before they really F'd up the rim. They apologized and offered to pay for a repair but the bottom line is they sell high end tires and fancy rims but can't mount a tire on a rim without F'ing it up. I left with the tires and I am having another shop mount the tires. Just another bad experience!

cdodkin

varies by location - sorry you found a bad one

I always insist that I stand and watch the tech doing the work

And I usually make a point when I go in, to say 'so I want your best guy on this otherwise you'll be paying for new wheels...'

programmatore

NTB, Discount Tire, Merchant's Tire, Just Tires... I've gone to all of them and none of them would even touch my wheels. At least they are forthcoming in saying that they don't have the necessary equipment to remove and mount the low profile 285-30/18 tires.

newport996

Funny....Just tires just did my 295/30/19's....no prob...they said they have had issues in the past...but this guy know how to do them, and he did it in like 5 minutes....

Porsche917K

You can't really say that any one company is bad. It all depends on the skills of the individual who is installing your tires.

I just had new P Zeros put on my C4S and I made it clear to the tire store that if they weren't completely confident that they could install the tires without scratches, not to bother. I would also agree with cdodkin that you should just watch the tech.

programmatore

Yeah, like cdodkin says, it varies by location. The tire shops in my area don't have the good equipment (or maybe they do but they just don't want to risk damaging my wheels). Luckily the independent shop I take my car to for service has it.

Believe it or not though the past 2 times I needed tires I went to a mobile service called TireVan ( http://www.tirevan.net ). They're great. They come to my office in a small cargo truck with all the equipment -- tire mounting equipment, road force balancer, etc. -- and do the work while I am inside my office. No more sitting in waiting rooms with 2 year old Car & Driver magazines.

CT03911

I would say never use a discount tire shop. I use a local installer with Hunter 9700 equipment from a highly respected auto shop. They are a Tire Rack recommended installer in CT- Moroso, Guilford, CT.
Be it oil changes or wheels I am done with the minimum wage shops. Thegman, you are not alone, many of us have learned the hard way. Some will pay attention to your post and others will ignore it or watch hoping to safeguard. Done that, been there. No more. Good luck on the repair.

HD911

Not to be a d*ck but you brought your $90,000 Porsche to a place called "Discount Tire". What did you expect?

cdodkin

Generalizing is stupid - but if you want to be a snob you've succeeded

Phil

Do you tell them in a very snobbish way?

CT03911

I think we are all tired of paying the dealer rates ($96/hr at my 911 dealer, my Subi WRX dealer is advertising $49/hr- who is screwing me here?) and there are plenty of horror stories there too. They never got my wheel balance right for example and when I owned an Audi S4 they were notorious for screwing up oil changes. The temptation to go to a cheaper, closer place is real, be it a tire deal or oil change.

I think the answer does lie in the smaller specialty shops, speed shops, Porsche tuners, whatever. It takes awhile to find one you trust that's what sucks. Lets not bash Rennlisters for trying to save a buc we paid enough for the priviledge of driving a 911. Doesn't mean we all now feel like pissing the rest of our money away.

I wish Rennlist had an area by state where we all could log in with positive results for these type of services at a reasonable cost. We would all use those shops and then the horror stories would start to go away.

Porsche_Smile

i agree... i think sometimes the smaller shops have more to loose if they mess up thus making them more careful.....sorry about your situation.....

cdodkin

Nooooo, I come across as unreasonable and very very threatening....

And yes, back in the day, I forced more than one tire shop to buy me new wheels when they trashed my rims.

Experience leads me to a careful approach - and in the end it's the skill of the tech and the quality of the equipment that matter, not the name on the store.

CosmosC4S

Discount tire has usually been all right with my wheels in the past.
The last time I went to have rear tires installed on my C4S, (first time there with the P)
they did dent/chip the edge of the wheel (on the rim).
I left without inspecting and found out a few days later, so I didn't feel I had a good case to complain.
Now I'm undecided about going back with the P...but if I do, I'll have to tell them to be careful beforehand, then inspect before I leave the place.

NNH

I've had good experience with my local (Redondo Beach) Discount Tire for my old WRX and my present 996. I'd be comfortable going back to that branch. One way I afford running a $90k car is by making reasonable economies where I can. Maybe it's different for the non-d*cks in Napa.