TonyTwoBags

I use nearby tire shops to mount and balance. They warranty their work, are pleasant to deal with, and have pricing that is reasonable given the convenience, service and warranty. I enjoy having nearby shops that are excited to work on my car & talk about the driving experience. They tend to give my car some extra TLC as they know it's a high-performance car that will be driven accordingly. I'll be heading in for new rears in the next few months ahead of the fall season - looking forward to it.

I prefer Big-O tires out this way, but Les Schwab is reputable as well. They're great about offering same day service on my Element, while the 911 requires at least a few hours lead time to get the tires in. There's another shop I used at one point that's local and, again, fantastic service. They know 996 tires aren't cheap and they are appreciative of the business.

Billup

I've always had good luck at Discount Tire and have used them across three states on pretty much all of my vehicles over time. Good customer service, they let me pull the car in the bay and hang out if I want while they swap the tires out, have price matched online, etc.

Debo18D

I use the Discount Tire just down the road from the house. They have always done well for all of our vehicles. 3 weeks ago was the first time I had taken the P-car there. I had had them special order four Ventus EVO2's which took only 2 days to come in. Made an appt online, stopped in to get fixed up. I brought my own non-marring lug socket with me and when doing the walk around with the tech, requested that they use it when working on my car. The tech said sure and I handed him the keys. I walked to Starbucks and immediately got a call from him. He said "I looked at the wheels very closely and you are aware that you have a couple of marks on the passenger side rear?". I said "of course those were already there, don't worry about them." He said, "Just wanted to make sure before we started working".

This tells me
A) They knew I required special attention paid to being careful with the wheels/car and that I was going to notice deficiencies.
B) That had already started applying that special attention before they even got it on the lift.

I ambled back up a few minutes later, coffee in hand and the car was already on the lift. I watched as they used my personal lug socket mounting and dismounting the wheels from the car. Everything else went off well and I was done in less than an hour total. The tech that backed it off the lift was ecstatic that he got to "drive" a Porsche. He handed me the wiped clean socket and I was on my way. The only complaint I would have is that one of the valve stem caps came off while driving a few days later. It happens, I was going to switch to black caps anyway.



I am very pleased with all the pomp and circumstance and great service for my $20k car.



D.

dporto

I recently bought new tires from Tire Rack and went through their "preferred installers". There was a local Indy Shop that I have had work done at in the past, but it showed they couldn't do my tire sizes (standard MY'99 18" tire sizes/profiles - they don't like the 35's...) so, I went with the local Firestone Tire dealer (because it showed they could do them- they're a tire shop for ***** sake!). Anyway, I got an email saying that they had received the tires, and would call to schedule installation. When I got the call, it was to say that they weren't comfortable mounting tires on Porsche wheels, and recommended another shop that "did all the tire work for the local Porsche dealers". I called them, and they seemed somewhat uncomfortable as well...In addition, they said they couldn't get me in until the following week? Really - a tire shop that's uncomfortable mounting tires? Whatever! Long story short, I called and spoke to the original guy I wanted to use, and he was fine with mounting the tires - he wasn't sure why Tire Rack said he "couldn't do them" (maybe his machinery is listed as not being able to do certain profiles?). I had also just had all my wheels refinished to the tune of $800 so I was a little apprehensive. He did explain that sometimes depending on the wheels, they can have problems with some low profile tires. Bottom line was - he did the work and they came out perfect and he gave me a nice little discount for paying cash!

knfeparty

Discount tire seems to have their act together. I never hand over the keys though; I swap different wheels onto the car (just one advantage of having multiple sets) and take just the wheels in. That way, worst case, they mess up the wheels and not the whole car.

JayG

I have used 2 local Firestone stores several times and have been very happy
They match price, even from Costco and Tire Rack and if you use a Firestone CC, you get an additional 5% off the tires.
When Bridgestone has rebates, it is 50% to 100% more when you use the Firestone CC

Eury

I know they are special to us, but a 996 is hardly an exotic or unusual car to change tires on. It's just a used car that's worth less than a base Hyundai. So yes, a regular chain store is fine for changing tires. If I was driving something truly special where it matters (read Ferrari where not having it done at the dealer will actually drive down the value of the car) then bring it to a dealer, otherwise, it's just a car.

dporto

"I know they are special to us, but a 996 is hardly an exotic or unusual car to change tires on. It's just a used car that's worth less than a base Hyundai."

While ^this^ may be true in a factual sense, mechanics/shops don't look at them like this. Regardless of re-sale value, they are "high dollar" cars when it comes to parts, labor and potential lawsuits... If you haven't noticed, you can also buy certain used Ferrari's for $20k... Does that make them "hardly exotic or unusual"?

Eury

We aren't talking about buying parts and labor specific to the car. We are talking about tires and mounting them on wheels. Neither of which are unusual or more costly on a 996 vs anything else with low profile tires on 18" wheels, and the value of my 996 isn't going to go down if I have a receipt showing tires from Town Fair Tire vs Porsche of Stratham as opposed to a Ferrari 360 where that will negatively impact the used value of the car.

I wouldn't have Midas do any work on the mechanics of my car, that is for me or my Indy, but Tires are a few lugs and a mounting/balancing machine. There is nothing special about the tires and wheels on a 996.

As far as that 20k Ferrari, yes, that is vastly more exotic and unusual than a 996 based on Porsche producing over 100k 996s vs Ferrari's output of around 8500 for their most produced car (the 360).

sfv_rider

I worked in tire shops for three years while in college. And I have a critical eye.

I have found Costco to be very good, with one drawback. I believe that they still insist on mounting the exact-sized tires that were fitted to your car at the time of manufacture. I went to get a set of tires on a '91 BMW 318is (fitted with whopping 195/65-14 tires), which nearly no one manufacturers anymore. I wanted to go with 205/65-14, but they refused, saying that they could only do the unavailable size. Other than this, their work is done well, you can have them serviced anywhere in the US, and their warranty and customer service are top-notch.

I go to a local independent for the 996, and I am sure to be there when the tech pulls it into the service bay. As the wheels are coming off, I let him know it's my car, and he can ask questions if something comes up, and I tip him $20 at the outset.

As a kid, I can remember accompanying my father on what seemed to be annual trips to get the bias-ply tires on the family car replaced. The first radials changed tire purchases to a 30-month cycle, and today, most people who buy a new car trade it in with the original tires still in place.

I would bet there's a lot of 30-somethings who have never set foot in a shop looking for tires. Nor would they care to. For most people, tires are a commodity. Black and round will suffice.

5CHN3LL

The width - or the width-to-radius - seems to be the problem more than the diameter. A Firestone near me ultimately admitted that my rear tires are wider than the spec for their spin balancer. They only wasted a day of my life before admitting this.

5CHN3LL

It's a used car the price of a base Hyundai that does 150MPH at redline in 5th gear, with another gear to go.

THAT is why you make sure your tire installer is competent. It's about the value you place on your own life, not the value you place on the vehicle...

Heh. I remember that, AND I remember hearing the old man carping about "4 tires cost a hundred bucks?!? *grumble* *grumble*." I have resisted the urge to give him crap for that response - he's got a Bentley, an S600, and a Merc hardtop convertible for his wife now (to go with her new jugs). He left the land of $25 tires a long time ago when he sold his VW Thing daily driver...

Eury

So it's a question of the top speed of the vehicle? My neighbor with the Firebird shouldn't go to a tire chain? How about if I never take my car over 80mph, is it now safe to go to Walmart for tire mounting? Working at a tire chain doesn't make an installer incompetent any more than your local indy is competent because he doesn't. You said yourself, Discount Tire treats you right.

5CHN3LL

You can make it all about chain vs. not chain, though, even though I offered no allusion to any such thing. If you're confident in your Discount Tire, use Discount Tire. If not, use whatever damn shop you like. The comment to which I was replying was written to suggest that since a base Hyundai and a 996 are worth the same amount of money, they are somehow similar in all other ways.

The personal evidence I have to offer is that my local Firestone near me could NOT mount 996 rear tires due to their width; the same shop should have no issues with a 6" wide Hyundai tire.

I'm sure you want to disagree, though, so please feel free to continue berating me.

Eury

I did not say that a 911 and a Hyundai have the same tire needs. I answered the original question of the thread and you tried to make it an entirely different question.