I had my tires mounted today. I only took the wheels in as Im waiting for better weather to put them on my car.
When I got home I realized the back of every wheel has four sets of three gouges. The guy putting the tires on did not put the plastic/nylon cover over the teeth on the machine when he was putting the tires on the wheels.
I know they are not significant but they are clearly visible. My question is do you think I should complain and ask for new wheels or just forget about it?

 

Resize those pics.

Theres nothing you can do now though, youve already left without saying anything. You can try and go back. Doubt they will do anything.

 

Im still new at posting photos. Here is a smaller one...[IMG][/IMG]

 

Yaeh i dont think there is anything you can do now..Its good advice to everyone though, LOOK OVER THE WHEELS before you leave!! Hopefully they will be cool and admit they did it, but i doubt that.
Good luck man.

Tyler

 

I called the shop and the manager wants me to bring them back tomorrow so he can take pictures and send them to corporate.

 

So how many wheels were actually scratched in the front? I wouldn't worry about scratches on the back of the wheels because it will just get covered with road dirt as you drive.

 

i agree you should resize your pics they are huge. even though you left the shop i think you can still bring it back it's pretty obvious those gouges weren't your doing.

 

so youre mad about those little scratches on the BACK of your wheels??? I am I getting it right? just trying to figure it out cuz those pictures are HUGE

 

Forget about it !

If they want to fix it, they gonna do worst for shure...
Again, if it's only in the back, it doesn't mather, gonna
be dirty by the road soon... and there is not much you
can do.

Philippe

 

I removed the huge pictures. Sorry about that. Yes I am pissed about the gouges. They are hard to get them on the camera but several are over a 1/4 inch long and fairly deep.
I dropped over a grand on the tires and wheels and aint very happy about looking at 12 gouges on each wheel before I even get them on the car!!

 

i had the FRONT of all 4 wheels scratched during an install once and left without noticing. i took them back and complained and they asked for the receipt for the wheels and they paid me for them and kept them. i didnt even get them from there, i ordered them from the internet. if you want something done, just complain til it gets fixed.

 

ive seen much worse on the FRONT side on the lips.

for scratches like that on the backside, let it go. use some touchup
paint to prevent corrosion.

 

lots of people here are suggesting you let it go, but i think you shouldn't let it go, mainly because it's your stuff and they messed it up. it's the principle of it, you got brand new wheels and they were supposed to put tires on it, which they did, but they messed up your wheels in the process. like c_mack said, i think you should definitely pursue getting money for it or some sort of compensation. it doesn't matter if the damage is in some hidden place, it's still there! be anal about it because you have the right to do so!

 

I agree, if at all possible, make them buy you a new set of wheels, then refund you're mounting money. Take the tires to a different shop, the machine they have is likely missing parts, check around to dealerships. I cannot stress that enough, if a dealership ****s something on you're car up or you're wheels they're going to pay to fix it to keep you as a customer

 

i am the manager of a tire shop, and i have been in the business for years. you could go back and complain, THEY MAY COMPENSATE YOU SOMEHOW BUT I REALLY DOUBT THEY WILL REPLACE YOUR WHEELS. FIXING THEM IS AN OPTION IF THE STORE HAS SOMEONE WHO REFINISHES WHEELS, THAT CAN TAKE A WHILE THOUGH. IF THEY WERE MY WHEELS I WOULD GO BACK AND SAY SOMETHING JUST DONT GET YOUR HOPES UP OF GETTING MUCH IN RETURN. I MAY BE WRONG BUT KEEP US POSTED.

 

Thanks for all the replies. At least if I go back and show the manager the damage he can instruct the guy who did it on how NOT to let it happen again. From what I understand its just a matter of putting a plastic guard over the teeth on the machine which is what supposed to be done when mounting anything other than steel wheels.

 

I didn't realize you were in Olathe, you should take your stuff over to Jay Wolfe Acura and tell them Zach sent you

 

This is the exact reason I take my tires to a specialty shop when I have rubber mounted.

This is the story I get told; Some equipment is better than others, most of the basic machines are like 5000$, a good machine will cost about 10 to 15K.... the guy I go to invested in one that is apparently about 45K.... he says it is the same one you would find on the floor of a shop that does work on Ferrari's. Anyway, I have no idea if it is true...

What i do know is I have watched too many of my friends get thier wheels totally screwed up from going to either stealerships or crappy basic service places. The guy I go to takes speacial care and my wheels usually look cleaner after he mounts new rubber! Another weird thing is how little weight he needs to add to balance the tire.... before I took my current wheels to him they had huge stips of weight added to it... after he threw on some new tires for me he added a single little weight the size of a penny to balance it.

 

i can understand if these were your very first aftermarket wheels
you've ever bought you might be frustrated.

ive been through so many wheels this is really no big deal as long
as they don't scuff up the finish on the face side... which a lot of
shops still can't do correctly.

and if you are those that take your car in to get wheels installed...
expect bigger issues.

 

My experience from working at a dealership (at least where I worked) the equipment was top notch, we had 2 15k mounting machines. and 2 very expenesive balancers. The problem is usually not with the equipment but either new/undertrained techs or carelessness of the tech because he's got too much work on his plate for the day. Plus at the dealership we would only charge like $20 to mount and balance an entire set of tires, valve stems were obviously extra, but thats a good price and we did good work