Discount Tire shop installation quality

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Originally Posted by ard

I find that the name on the building is of ZERO consequence... it is the skill of the ONE guy touching your wheels.

Discount is fine, I think here in CA they are AmericasTire. I've bought tires there and had them mount. Twits, however, refused to work on one car becuase it had 'dangerous spacers on it'.. (3mm...the width of this letter: O )

I now use ONE guy at a Big O Tire. I schedule around him, unless it is one of the crappy cars (MDX, Truck, X5)

I highly recommend the Hunter 9700 "Road Force" balancing machine. This matches the balance with the 'compliance variation' of the tire itself.

A

+1 on the roadforce balance machines. My X would vibrate at all sorts of speeds. Had a friend at costco try twice to balance no luck. Took the X to Mr. Tire where they have the Hunter roadforce balance machine, no more vibrations, even with 1 rim being slightly bent. Never will waste time with anything else. Mr. Tire charges around $15.00/wheel, vs some place that can charge $25+/wheel, call around.

[SWIPE421]

Went to Discount Tire a week ago..Snow is now here and I am happy I got them..I have the Pirelli's Scorpion Snow & Ice 20" 275 & 315's rear...But that was not without some PITA days...

SHORT STORY: is to make sure if your X5 is an after 10/11 build to make sure you have the right TPMS part #.

LONG Story:
I had to deal with the Discount Tire Manager after my Sales Rep was convinced the BMW was defective after his TPMS set-up wasn't being recognized by the BMW. THe rep insisted I needed to go to BMW to resolved this problem and that my BMW was "defective" as his "highly sophisticated $500 hand TPMS-sensor" was detecting the TPMS, thus my BMW was defective! ; )
(Its a 2011 X5 35d with about 1500 miles 3/11 build)
I did not tell him yet that I had already gone to the BMW dealer that AM after getting yellow TPMS faults, with blinking yellow TPMS faults which the BMW SA said means the BMW isn't recognizing the TPMS (SA doubted they were installed at all).
After a heated discussion , I insisted I speak to the Manger, and only dealt with the Mgr after that , I kindly pointed out to the Manager when he showed me his Computer Order page that there was a second Part # for TPMS on X5 E70 with one column showing " 10/11 - " , that must be the right one and for Builds after 10/11. I confirmed this with the local BMW Tech Expert,which differed from that A.M. as that BMW SA and the Parts Dept said there was only one TPMS part # for the X5.

Well they put the newly ordered "10/11 -"'s on today and the TPMS indicator stayed on, so we thought we were screwed. I drove home and after a mile the "new" TPMS monitors were recognized and the Yellow TPMS icon finally went away.

Hopefully, I'm in the clear.
I chose Discount Tire as they offered free swap of winter to spring tire sets and vice versa for the life of the tires, which also carries to all locations in the country. ( I also got a Tire Ins for the RFT's as some rec'd on here).

Does this concur with others ?
I never saw any previous posts to specify the TPMS part # etc otherwise I could have saved some time.



P.S.
(I dont hold any anger towards Discount Tire, but there was more "frustration" and 3 trips invovled)
I had a driver rear RFT go flat after the first install by them too ; ) I now know what a a flat RFT sounds like (just like a car with a flat running on the road) I had not driven the X5 in 3 days after their install, I thought the tire looked low and after the AM and a cold front went by is when I then noticed it was a lot lower and now made noise.

I put air in it and it stayed inflated for the day, but then they replaced the valve and it stayed inflated.
Ive dealt with enough dealers, mechanics shops, and tire stores over the years to learn that sh*t happens. You just gotta stay calm and hopefully everything turns out OK after some sound logical analysis.
(Hopefully these new TPMS's stay fault-free)

[CB35i]

Hello all, I wanna update on my situation. So after my vacation I went to Discount Tire store directly from the airport. (I couldn't wait to get the situation straighten out) The manager who made an appointment with me had the day off, so the sales rep looked at the notes and refunded my alignment fees after I showed them the dealer invoice. He then took my car in and unloaded all 4 wheels and re balance them. After about 30 mins. He came back and said the reason I'm experiencing the shaking is because my two rear rims are bent and the front left tire is defective. I was doubtful about the bent rims as it's a fairly new car with only 7k miles on it but I played along with him and asked him to show me where it was bent. he then put one of the rear rims on the balancer and told me to look as he rotates the wheel. I didn't notice anything that looked bent to me. Then he said "I have an option for you, you are in luck as I have a set of after market x5 rims in house and ready to go." He then showed me some 22" really bad looking after market rims and said these are perfect for you, if you want I can cut you a combo deal right now for 2.8k. I was like take it easy bro, I wanted you to fix what I already purchased and not for you to upsale me after you gave me some refunds. I told him I would go to the dealer and verify the rims are bent and we can go from there and in the mean time, order the replacement left front tire. Then I left. They called me a couple of days later and told me to come in to have the replacement put on. In the mean time, I checked with the local dealer and they told me the rims are perfectly fine and not bent. At this point I just want to keep my replacement tire put on and forget about Discount Tire. The next day I went in to have the new tire put on. The same sales rep came up to help me and asked me about the after market rims. I told him there is nothing wrong with mine and I'm not interested in the upsale. So he went to his computer and said I need to pay $58 for the replacement tire they are going to put on. I questioned isn't it free since the tire was defective? He replied, the tire is free and there are some document fee and crap involved that I need to pay. I had to pick up my wife so I didn't argue and paid the money. I thought to myself, I'm done with this store, never again will I go to another Discount Tire as they aren't as honest as they claim to be. About 20 mins later I got a call from the store manager. He apologized for like 10 mins and told me he was sorry that I got charged and the money was already refunded back to my card. I told him I was skeptical about the charge but I didn't argue with the rep. He apologized again and again. I told him I appreciate his honesty in doing business and I thank him for making things right.

Sorry I typed a long story here but that manager definitely gained my trust for the store again. However, that particular employee should be disciplined for lying and cheating the customer.

I will spent the a few days testing out the new tire and ride quality and hopefully everything is good.

Thanks for reading!

[motordavid]

Good stories, Swipe & CB; and glad all is resolved.
Both worth the read, imo.

The whole friggin world is on upsale, with bs 'FABs' and/or shoddy work & come backs, these days, imo.
Wears my skinny ol'azz out.
GL, mD

[nd200]

I had a co-worker take his ML-350 there and they scratched one of his rims. But the manager did take care of it. It all really depends on who does the actual work. But I will say that there are shops that are better than others. In general I have not heard great things about discount tire. Find a good local shop and use TireRack. It's worth it even if it costs you an extra $50.

[seattle]

Originally Posted by ard

boyce- Cannot think of anything that would do that....

(I had my shop toss on and old, beat used tire to turn my car back in to BMW as a lemon...and they had a $15 per tire "TPMS Seal Kit" on the work order. I said "no way I am going for that...hell, I'd perfer you dont even balance them") Air went in and out, no problem.

Is it a good idea to opt in for "TPMs rebuild kit" otherwise? Or is it another gimmick?
From what I have read so far, the TPMs might function just fine without the rebuild kit...

[ard]

Originally Posted by seattle

Is it a good idea to opt in for "TPMs rebuild kit" otherwise? Or is it another gimmick?
From what I have read so far, the TPMs might function just fine without the rebuild kit...

How old are your current TPMS seals? I've got to think they will last 4,5 years if you dont molest them.

They are definitely a profit center for tire shops....

[seattle]

Originally Posted by ard

How old are your current TPMS seals? I've got to think they will last 4,5 years if you dont molest them.

They are definitely a profit center for tire shops....

Had them since the car was new. So, about 2 years. Aren't they considered molested once they change tires? Just wondering how they will handle tire swap and if will give me issues..

[ard]

Originally Posted by seattle

Had them since the car was new. So, about 2 years. Aren't they considered molested once they change tires? Just wondering how they will handle tire swap and if will give me issues..

I just put 4 new tires on yesterday. Same shop Ive used for 10 years, 6 vehicles.

The new guy was trying to tell me "oh you have to do it- if you dont, and you TEAR UP those tires ITS ON YOU"... the owner was listening to this, I just said "No need, it'll be fine"...before the new guy could reload the owner said "he's fine- no TMPS, no Nitrogen..just mount, balance and disposal". We both laughed.

IMO you can run these 4 years with zero issues... just my opinion. If you are nervous, spend the money. it is AMAZING how much money people spend for the concept of 'peace of mind'...tire warranty; safe lease plans; wheel and glass warranties; ding plans; paint protection; wear and tear plans;...there is no end to the ability of a retailer to find an area on which you are ignorant and create doubt and fear...and a profit for themselves.

Oh, two of my tires had legal tread- one decent, another with some significant checking. I took these home and tossed them in the barn- these will be my 'road hazard plans'- if I get a blow out in 20k miles, and the other 3 tires are at 40-50%, I will put the best of these spares on.

[bigx5er]

Since Discount is now matching Tire Rack pricing, I see why they are into the add-ons (which are very profitable). I agree that none of it is needed.

What I still like about Discount is they will fix a flat for free, regardless if you bought the tire from them. I use them now since they are matching pricing.

Before that I used the Tire Rack and an independent shop.