Tire Charges

[Cogito]

My neighbor showed me a receipt for buying 2 new tires from a local tire store and asked me to decipher it for her cause she thought it seemed awfully expensive.

This place charged her $30 to do a high speed balance. I thought that was quite high. Then there was a charge of $8 for "shop supplies." I called the store and the guy said they charge all customers that fee, it's for grease, rags, etc., that they use on most jobs. I thought that stuff like that was considered part of the business' overhead, and should be factored into their hourly rate, or something like that. The guy wouldn't budge on it though. Then there was a $10 charge for filling the tires with nitrogen. I asked her if she asked for it or if they asked her if she wanted it, and she said no, so I asked the service manager about it and he said they put it all the new tires, then went into the song and dance about the advantages of using nitrogen. I told him tough, she didn't agree to it, and he gave her a refund. I also got him to remove a $50 charge for a lifetime warranty and free wheel rotation.

Basically, I was amazed that these things were going on. Am I out of touch or is this considered normal nowadays?

 

[crinkles]

that is harsh! good thing you queried the receipt.

 

[jcwit]

Auto and tire shope are ripping folks off for all they can get away with. In your/her case its time to find a new shop to deal with. Its been my policy for years to know just exactly what I'm getting and how much I'm going to be paying before they even touch my car for whatever work. Just dropping the car off and then letting them have at it invites this form of charges,plus giving the owner no recorse but to pay it. Sorry Charley, they asked for it.

Of course I started my career in purchasing at the ripe old age of 13 doing the buying for a small town hardware store back in the '50's and ended up Director of Purchasing for at that time with the largest RV company's divisions.

 

[bdcardinal]

ask for an itemized estimate prior. in CA we cannot have a blanket shop supplies charge, we have to itemize the bill. however once you sign off on a job, you are agreeing with everything in it and you cant really come back and say you dont want to pay for certain items.

that being said, that is awfully high for the services provided.

 

[Silk]

Someone started a tyre shop next to my workshop....I had a tyre shop on the other side,and 3 more not so far up the road.He was cheap....worked out he was making $4 per tyre,with that he had to pay the rent,pay off his tyre machine and balancer.He only lasted a couple of months.

Bottom line of any business is that you make enough money to survive....and stay in business.Start up a tyre shop someday and see how much you have to pad it out to make a buck.

 

[mstrjon32]

I had a tire with not one, but three nails in the side wall on my Monte Carlo a while back. I called the local Goodyear shop to ask what the cost of an installed Eagle LS2 (a [censored] tire, IMO, but thats what the OEM equipment is) was. $210.

I got it from tirerack for about $145 and installed and balanced it myself. You figure, they're roughly making $200 on a set of installed Eagle LS2's, which isn't bad (for them) for an hour's work.

 

[jcwit]

Well I guess that might help to pay the rent and help to pay off the tire mach. and balancer.

 

[H2GURU]

Unfortunately we still live in a time when some automotive repair facilities see a woman come in by themselves and figure they can make a day's profit from one customer? I would avoid this unscrupulous shop like the plague and advise others as well. I'm sure Chicago is saturated with repair shops and hopefully this one will get it's just dessert!

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
Bottom line of any business is that you make enough money to survive....and stay in business.Start up a tyre shop someday and see how much you have to pad it out to make a buck.


There's a tendency for any business to do what they have to to stay in business. If they lived by volume they die by it too. There's no reason for any business to think that they're exempt from the rolls in the economy. That's why most dealers are avoided. If the economy is good they're padding you with unneeded services because the ball is rolling and you get while the getting is good. When the economy is bad, they're padding you with unneeded services to keep the pipeline full.

Win or lose, the consumer loses. Rather unbalanced.


Quote:
I got it from tirerack for about $145 and installed and balanced it myself. You figure, they're roughly making $200 on a set of installed Eagle LS2's, which isn't bad (for them) for an hour's work.


That's $200 more. If they could only get them for the tire rack price, they'd be ordering from them.

You've got to weigh the service you get. I can't afford to buy tires from my pal down the street anymore. I don't have the latitude in the wallet. I buy discount but have to get them mounted and balanced. I use him for that, and he p'wn's me to the tune of $17/each wheel. It's just shy of 23% for 4 wheels. Tires in my size and load range can be had for $75/each (wife's are fixed by BFG @ $150+/- but include M&B). I'm basically paying for another tire. I can hunt and seek for a lower cost mounting and balancing ..but

 

[ThirdeYe]

When I take my car to the Acura dealership for repairs they always charge me for "Shop Supplies" as well. I always thought that was pretty lame, considering I feel it should be considered overhead.

 

[Kestas]

Thankfully, I can mount and balance tires in my basement. I always forego the road hazard or warranty. I self-insure. If I lose a tire to road hazards I'll just buy a new one with the money I saved. After buying 15 tires this way, the money is now in the bank.

 

[97f150]

A shop I use for misc. repairs that I cant do charges $6 a visit for shop supplies.

 

[pickled]

Here I believe that non itemized shop supplies charges must be allocated as a fixed percentage of the ticket (which is B.S.) so all consumers are treated fairly. So on a $20 advertised oil change if the shop supplies rate is 5% your oil change just jumped up a buck. Now say you had to have a new CV joint slapped in and the total quoted ticket is now $400. After shop supplies are added in you are seeing another $20 popped in. Needless to say it helps buy a lot of brake cleaner, rags and hand soap.

 

[alreadygone]

Originally Posted By: pickled
Here I believe that non itemized shop supplies charges must be allocated as a fixed percentage of the ticket (which is B.S.) so all consumers are treated fairly. So on a $20 advertised oil change if the shop supplies rate is 5% your oil change just jumped up a buck. Now say you had to have a new CV joint slapped in and the total quoted ticket is now $400. After shop supplies are added in you are seeing another $20 popped in. Needless to say it helps buy a lot of brake cleaner, rags and hand soap.


If the bill jumped from $20 to $400 just for one axle, you'v got more to worry about than the shop supplies charge!

Bob

 

[pickled]

Just an example for easy math not reflective of today's private network pricing LOL.

 

[mechtech2]

Tires should be balanced anyway.
These guys are pure doo doo.

 

[Cogito]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Tires should be balanced anyway.
These guys are pure doo doo.

I feel lousy. I recommended the place. Cassidy in River Forest, know it? She needed Continentals and they were the closest dealer that carried them. And I had always heard good things about them. They do do good work, but sheesh. She paid $528 for two tires.

 

[Silk]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

Win or lose, the consumer loses. Rather unbalanced.


It's a symbiotic relationship - without the retailer the consumer can't consume,without the consumer the retailer can't retail,without the retailer the manufacturer can't manufacture.Bottom line is the consumer needs to consume - he needs products to consume at the right price.

I see lots of posts on many forums where people complain about what other people charge for their services - and I always wonder what they do for a living....and how much they charge other people for what they do..?..?

 

[Papa Bear]

Charging is one thing, trying to pull the wool is another.

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: Silk
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

Win or lose, the consumer loses. Rather unbalanced.


It's a symbiotic relationship - without the retailer the consumer can't consume,without the consumer the retailer can't retail,without the retailer the manufacturer can't manufacture.Bottom line is the consumer needs to consume - he needs products to consume at the right price.

I see lots of posts on many forums where people complain about what other people charge for their services - and I always wonder what they do for a living....and how much they charge other people for what they do..?..?


Agreed...and under some sensible supply and demand philosophy it generally works. I think we're getting over the entitlement mentality, after a long run at easy credit that allowed consumers to not really think too much about price.

Take all your aftermarket products. You can find item for item of identical price in Jeg's or Summit. Millions of home equity spenders just whip out the line of credit card and pay exactly what the catalog shows.

While it's not price fixing, it's all governed by the contractual agreement with the producer for ADVERTISED PRICE. Virtually no one bothers to compile identical lists and ask what their price is. Those sales people are on commission too, and everyone makes their earning a living easier due to plastic slapping.

So, are they earning their pay ..or just making easy money?