How can changing tires be so difficult?!?

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Going to a chain was problem 1
Going to a Goodyear chain was problem 2
Buying a "performance and or enthusiasts" car, and taking it to a chain was problem 3.

This wasn't the one on Parsonage Rd in Edison near the Menlo park Mall was it?

I hate to say this, but when you bought a BMW, you should have understood that sometimes you have to pay specialist tire shops or dealer prices for the service they require.
I see this far too often, and it often ends as this did, usually worse.
If compound on a rag doesn't remove the scratches
.....get them to replace whatever wheels are damaged.
 
I actually think some tire techs are jealous when they have to get all greasy working on a fancy car and accidentally damage a car, over fill motor oil, wrong fluids, etc....etc....

I agree with contacting a BMW or Benz forum and ask which tire shop specializes in mounting 18, 20, 22 inch wheels. When a tire tech drives my car into the bay I politely remind him not to damage my car / wheels.
 
STS tire messed up all my rims like this, they sent them out to get repaired thankfully. I just plasti dipped my wheels after it happened.
 
Originally Posted By: michaelluscher
Going to a chain was problem 1
Going to a Goodyear chain was problem 2
Buying a "performance and or enthusiasts" car, and taking it to a chain was problem 3.

I hate to say this, but when you bought a BMW, you should have understood that sometimes you have to pay specialist tire shops or dealer prices for the service they require.

He didn't take it there by choice. One of his Dunlop tires had a defect. The way to get it taken care of was to take it back to a Dunlop/Goodyear facility.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Lol, I had just cleaned them like a week before. Not even 500 miles!

I did confront immediately. Also called Goodyear corporate before I left. The advice was to call the dealer and they (the store) will do an insurance claim.

How hard can it be to train best practices? Lots of cars have alloys with no outer rim.

Are rfts really that much harder to get on?


Dirty wheels... lol... obviously the poster who is dissing the "dirty" wheels has never had a German car or one with high performance pads... stand on your brakes a couple of times, and wheels look like that...!

I laugh at the owners who NEVER clean their wheels, you know, that shiny Mercedes with the silver back wheels, and the completely black, will never be silver again fronts... and these people DO! complain to the dealers...

As for runflats, you might want to find a way to try a non-run flat high perf. tire to see what it drives like... hint hint, you wont want to put runflats back on...!

Runflats typically ride terrible, and are heavy. And if you do drive on one while flat, the tire is STILL ruined, and now you have to buy another anyway... good luck with that sometimes...

If you want to really irritate a tire tech, bring in a set of all black alloys for a tire change... the black wheels, which are the HOT! Item at the moment, show every scratch /scrape in a big way... and if you curb one, they look brutal for all to see...!

If you change tires , you will, at some point, end up with marks on the wheels... just like you will get a rock in the windscreen, or chips in the paint, or scuffs in the leather etc. Keeping a car in mint condition will drive a man insane...where as keeping a car in good condition, and enjoying the drive, is a much better option.

Having obsessed for many years, I am past that stage of my life... and if I looked at your car, as well as probably 98/100 other people, we wouldn't even notice... brand new wheels look brand new for about a week...!

I agree, the damage should never have been caused in the first place... but worry about more important things, like your child. And enjoy that first time when he/she is the one who dings / scratches / scrapes your car...usually that is about the time when "good" condition starts to overcome the obsession with "mint" condition...

Cheers...
 
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Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Take the car to the dealer next time. Having an expensive car is expensive. It does not pay to be thrifty when you have an expensive car.


Not sure how much clearer I can be that this was a warranty action from Goodyear/Dunlop corporate.

I have my other shops that I use which Im more comfortable with.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Rrrrrrrr...

That's why every time I look at the big tool catalogs, I get tempted. It was nice when I could install and balance my tires myself.

I never scuffed up old style rims? How do they do this? I should show some pictures of my rims after getting a "professional" to install a proper patch. And people wonder why I'm still a proponent of the old rope style plugs.
 
Originally Posted By: geeman789
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Lol, I had just cleaned them like a week before. Not even 500 miles!

I did confront immediately. Also called Goodyear corporate before I left. The advice was to call the dealer and they (the store) will do an insurance claim.

How hard can it be to train best practices? Lots of cars have alloys with no outer rim.

Are rfts really that much harder to get on?


Dirty wheels... lol... obviously the poster who is dissing the "dirty" wheels has never had a German car or one with high performance pads... stand on your brakes a couple of times, and wheels look like that...!

I laugh at the owners who NEVER clean their wheels, you know, that shiny Mercedes with the silver back wheels, and the completely black, will never be silver again fronts... and these people DO! complain to the dealers...

As for runflats, you might want to find a way to try a non-run flat high perf. tire to see what it drives like... hint hint, you wont want to put runflats back on...!

Runflats typically ride terrible, and are heavy. And if you do drive on one while flat, the tire is STILL ruined, and now you have to buy another anyway... good luck with that sometimes...

If you want to really irritate a tire tech, bring in a set of all black alloys for a tire change... the black wheels, which are the HOT! Item at the moment, show every scratch /scrape in a big way... and if you curb one, they look brutal for all to see...!

If you change tires , you will, at some point, end up with marks on the wheels... just like you will get a rock in the windscreen, or chips in the paint, or scuffs in the leather etc. Keeping a car in mint condition will drive a man insane...where as keeping a car in good condition, and enjoying the drive, is a much better option.

Having obsessed for many years, I am past that stage of my life... and if I looked at your car, as well as probably 98/100 other people, we wouldn't even notice... brand new wheels look brand new for about a week...!

I agree, the damage should never have been caused in the first place... but worry about more important things, like your child. And enjoy that first time when he/she is the one who dings / scratches / scrapes your car...usually that is about the time when "good" condition starts to overcome the obsession with "mint" condition...

Cheers...





Good advice, thanks! Yes, when these tires go, Im not planning on staying with RFTs, unless there is going to be a handling penalty (my impression is no). Id rather carry a patch kit and bicycle pump, and get a better tire for less money. Especially after learning, as you mentioned, that RFTs are ruined after running on them for a bit.
 
i really don,t get why some people here, apparently think. That choosing a tyre chain store was the costumers own fault. if a workshop accepts the work the costumer asks for. then the shop must do it, and the result should be spotless. if the shop make a damage by accident. they they will repair it or pay for it if they don,t have the skills them selves.

here we don,t have special wheel shops for big or high performance wheels. mostly wheelshops here do anything from sportscars to farming equipment and semi-trucks.
 
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Originally Posted By: shDK
i really don,t get why some people here, apparently think. That choosing a tyre chain store was the costumers own fault. if a workshop accepts the work the costumer asks for. then the shop must do it, and the result should be spotless. if the shop make a damage by accident. they they will repair it or pay for it if they don,t have the skills them selves.

here we don,t have special wheel shops for big or high performance wheels. mostly wheelshops here do anything from sportscars to farming equipment and semi-trucks.


It's not his fault, but it is reality. A chef wouldn't go to Olive Garden for a top-notch meal, a supermodel doesn't go to Supercuts and I'll bet that Wayne Carini doesn't drop a Duesenberg off at Maaco for a paint job. those establishments all have their place, but you would have to be crazy to think that they will be able to satisfy a discriminating customer. The OP is clearly fastidious about his car. Most people are not. He is not likely to be satisfied with the overall experience that a chain can provide. He might get lucky sometimes, but the fact is that the chains are all about volume. Also, their employees generally have little incentive to give a [censored] whereas your local independent stakes his living on his reputation.

I understand this was a warranty issue. It's a tough decision. You can get the warranty replacement you are entitled to knowing there is a better than average change your car will be mistreated. On the other hand, you can choose to pay for the tire yourself and have it mounted somewhere that you trust. I doubt the tire manufacturer would just hand someone the tire and let them go somewhere else, but stranger things have happened.

My wife is entitled to free car washes at the VW dealer anytime it is in for service. I know what kind of a wash that will be and the swirls and other paint marks it will leave. I have her refuse it every time. Sometimes that which is free isn't really free at all.

OP: I hope you get your new wheel.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Is that a PLASTIC jacking point on this fine German machine?



Tons of Audis have it too.
 
Plastic?
Really?
Not too impressed.
Those of us who care often use a piece of nature's own composite, commonly called wood, between a metal jacking point and the jack pad itself.
No damage to either metal surface.
Back in the day, German cars also came with jacks that had a tube that you fitted into a larger tube in the rockers.
No damage to anything.
Since JHZR2 has both 123s and an e30, he's familiar with this.
 
ehhhh, those tubes in rockers were rust points and prone to holding water. This is really better.

Actually what is really better is some small round pad on each corner...
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
When I take any vehicle in to have tires mounted, I make sure that the wheels are clean, shiny and spotless.

That way, any sort of damage will be obvious to anyone involved.

That is just 500 miles worth of brake dust up around the lug nuts?


How clean or not the lug nut holes are is completely irrelevant to this discussion. Yes, the wheels were spotless when I took the car in the first time for this reason.

And if its a matter of cleaning wheels or playing with or reading bedtime stories to my 19 month old - the baby wins every time, regardless of how much I like a cleaned up car exterior.

So actually the dirt on the wheels was less than 500 miles, probably no more than 250. Yes, these are wide open wheels with big rotors and pads that make a lot of dust.

Which again is irrelevant. I saw the damage clear enough, regardless of the level of dirt on the wheels. It was obvious to me, to the guy who did the job and to the service manager. the other damage was also visible enough to be quite obvious.

The company and insurance will bleed enough in terms of man hours working with this to make it their while to spend the money and give me the new wheel. I can be sure of that. So far they have not given me any issue about the new wheel other than the first tech who was trained to say that it was good enough. Even my phone calls with corporate.


OK... then how about spending less time obsessing about the scratched wheel, or spending less time on this website... and spending more time with your 19 month old instead?

It's all about the priorities, right? Isn't that the point that you were trying to make to me?
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
When I take any vehicle in to have tires mounted, I make sure that the wheels are clean, shiny and spotless.

That way, any sort of damage will be obvious to anyone involved.

That is just 500 miles worth of brake dust up around the lug nuts?


How clean or not the lug nut holes are is completely irrelevant to this discussion. Yes, the wheels were spotless when I took the car in the first time for this reason.

And if its a matter of cleaning wheels or playing with or reading bedtime stories to my 19 month old - the baby wins every time, regardless of how much I like a cleaned up car exterior.

So actually the dirt on the wheels was less than 500 miles, probably no more than 250. Yes, these are wide open wheels with big rotors and pads that make a lot of dust.

Which again is irrelevant. I saw the damage clear enough, regardless of the level of dirt on the wheels. It was obvious to me, to the guy who did the job and to the service manager. the other damage was also visible enough to be quite obvious.

The company and insurance will bleed enough in terms of man hours working with this to make it their while to spend the money and give me the new wheel. I can be sure of that. So far they have not given me any issue about the new wheel other than the first tech who was trained to say that it was good enough. Even my phone calls with corporate.


OK... then how about spending less time obsessing about the scratched wheel, or spending less time on this website... and spending more time with your 19 month old instead?

It's all about the priorities, right? Isn't that the point that you were trying to make to me?


Point I'm making is that it's none of your business whether there is dust around the lugnuts or what I do at lunchtime or after bedtime or whenever else. You're not an auditor of my life and taking the discussion to an irrelevant point is trolling or worse.

A warranty replacement by a shop that claims to have rft capability for low profile tires and high performance tire experts means that one has some level of trust in their capability, notionally (especially after watching them like a hawk the first time). Obviously they went right ahead with the wheel replacement from the dealer and the new jack point because they knew they were wrong. What I do with my possessions that I own, and how someone else who is being hired to handle them treats them are two distinct things.
 
I remember when your BMW was scratched at the airport by the painters.

Like I said, people don't care if they damage another person's property.
 
This is why I like steel wheels...even the most uncaring, or unskilled dolt can't mess them up...
 
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Those plastic lift points are weak .. especially when adapter is not used!
Stock round pads can destroy them even when you are careful ( I broke some on my E90 lifting car ... )

Good news is that they are cheap and can be easily replaced.
 
Originally Posted By: Ndx
Good news is that they are cheap and can be easily replaced.

Plus, proper adapter plates don't cost a fortune either.
 
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