Autoshop/Tire work - Did i get ripped?

slycat

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2001
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I went to a local gas station to change my tires...just 2 rear ones.
i got my tires off tirerack and just needed them to
mount and balance, change valve stem. Came to $36. Not too bad.

However, i was there the whole time watching them do it and this is exactly
what they did:

1) jack up car
2)remove both rear tires
3)took them to a revolving machine and got the tires off...put new ones back on, replace stems. put air in them
4)took tires and placed back on car. lowered jack...asked me to pay.

ok..i know nothing about tire/wheel stuff but where/which procedure is the Balancing??...
i assume putting the tires/wheels back on was mounting...
 

Evadman

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Feb 18, 2001
30,990
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Did they put them on a machine that spins them really fast? If not then they were not ballanced.

as for the pricing, that is pretty cheap by most places standards. Sears charges almost $50 a tire for the same thing. OTOH, costco charges $8 a tire.

Remember, you are not paying to have the work done. You are paying for them to know how to do the work. You could not have done that without some expensive tools, and some experence. Otherwise you could remove your own apendix. Hell, just jut into your abdomen, and remove the little "tail" on your intestine. Simple right?

3)took them to a revolving machine
This should have been a machine that lays the tire horizontaly. Then they use a big "prybar" to pry off the tire from the wheel.

If they used a machine that was verticle ( as in the tire revolved in the position on your car ) then that was the balancer. It takes a grand total of 30 seconds to balance a wheel / tire combo. I find it hard to believe that they skipped the step. If they did, then they are either morons ( as the car will vibrate at speed, obviously leading you back to the tire place to get fixed ) or the mechanic forgot. Which is possable too.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Originally posted by: Evadman
Did they put them on a machine that spins them really fast? If not then they were not ballanced.

as for the pricing, that is pretty cheap by most places standards. Sears charges almost $50 a tire for the same thing. OTOH, costco charges $8 a tire.

Remember, you are not paying to have the work done. You are paying for them to know how to do the work. You could not have done that without some expensive tools, and some experence. Otherwise you could remove your own apendix. Hell, just jut into your abdomen, and remove the little "tail" on your intestine. Simple right?

3)took them to a revolving machine
This should have been a machine that lays the tire horizontaly. Then they use a big "prybar" to pry off the tire from the wheel.

If they used a machine that was verticle ( as in the tire revolved in the position on your car ) then that was the balancer. It takes a grand total of 30 seconds to balance a wheel / tire combo. I find it hard to believe that they skipped the step. If they did, then they are either morons ( as the car will vibrate at speed, obviously leading you back to the tire place to get fixed ) or the mechanic forgot. Which is possable too.
Course if you buy the tire from sears the installation and balancing and all that is about $10-11/tire!
 

slycat

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2001
5,656
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ok..firstly is there any danger driving it like this?
and problems?

and i AM going back...damn %#&%@
coz i know they did not forget...as i asked right at the end..."..Its balanced?..."
they said "YES"
 

Evadman

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Feb 18, 2001
30,990
5
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Originally posted by: Skoorb
Originally posted by: Evadman
Did they put them on a machine that spins them really fast? If not then they were not ballanced.

as for the pricing, that is pretty cheap by most places standards. Sears charges almost $50 a tire for the same thing. OTOH, costco charges $8 a tire.

Remember, you are not paying to have the work done. You are paying for them to know how to do the work. You could not have done that without some expensive tools, and some experence. Otherwise you could remove your own apendix. Hell, just jut into your abdomen, and remove the little "tail" on your intestine. Simple right?

3)took them to a revolving machine
This should have been a machine that lays the tire horizontaly. Then they use a big "prybar" to pry off the tire from the wheel.

If they used a machine that was verticle ( as in the tire revolved in the position on your car ) then that was the balancer. It takes a grand total of 30 seconds to balance a wheel / tire combo. I find it hard to believe that they skipped the step. If they did, then they are either morons ( as the car will vibrate at speed, obviously leading you back to the tire place to get fixed ) or the mechanic forgot. Which is possable too.
Course if you buy the tire from sears the installation and balancing and all that is about $10-11/tire!

I bought 2 tires from them for $185 a tire about a year ago. Total cost including tax was just over $450. I will have to find my bill later. It was a gift from my father. I did get new tires less than 3000 miles later because I was already at the wear bars :) Had a nice conversation with the manager, but I got them for only installation, which was still a little over $100. I will have to see if I can find them.

 

slycat

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2001
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ok..that was pretty bad..felt like a jackass..
i went back and they said WE DID BALANCE THEM!...go to any tire shop to doublecheck!
they showed me the 'weights' they had placed and the horizontal machine that they said
they had done it...

i vaguely remember them going out back a little...as i waas walking around the front...
they said just drive it for a bit in the freeway and i will be able to tell since it will wobble if unbalanced.
 

Evadman

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Feb 18, 2001
30,990
5
81
Originally posted by: slycat
ok..that was pretty bad..felt like a jackass..
i went back and they said WE DID BALANCE THEM!...go to any tire shop to doublecheck!
they showed me the 'weights' they had placed and the horizontal machine that they said
they had done it...

i vaguely remember them going out back a little...as i waas walking around the front...
they said just drive it for a bit in the freeway and i will be able to tell since it will wobble if unbalanced.

Hmmm... never seen a horizontal tire balancer. Nifty.
 

db

Lifer
Dec 6, 1999
10,575
292
126
Don't feel bad; everybody here has done something similar to this... :)
 

Antisocial Virge

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 1999
6,578
0
0
Originally posted by: Evadman
Originally posted by: slycat
ok..that was pretty bad..felt like a jackass..
i went back and they said WE DID BALANCE THEM!...go to any tire shop to doublecheck!
they showed me the 'weights' they had placed and the horizontal machine that they said
they had done it...

i vaguely remember them going out back a little...as i waas walking around the front...
they said just drive it for a bit in the freeway and i will be able to tell since it will wobble if unbalanced.

Hmmm... never seen a horizontal tire balancer. Nifty.

I knew a shop that used one. It was cheaper thing called a bubble balancer and basically it was a "line the bubble up in the center" type of thing.
 

JC

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2000
5,833
64
91
Originally posted by: Evadman
Originally posted by: slycat
ok..that was pretty bad..felt like a jackass..
i went back and they said WE DID BALANCE THEM!...go to any tire shop to doublecheck!
they showed me the 'weights' they had placed and the horizontal machine that they said
they had done it...

i vaguely remember them going out back a little...as i waas walking around the front...
they said just drive it for a bit in the freeway and i will be able to tell since it will wobble if unbalanced.

Hmmm... never seen a horizontal tire balancer. Nifty.

Last tire shop I worked at had a horizontal-spinning electronic balancer. Before that we had the vertical kind. ;)

JC

 

SuperSix

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
9,872
2
0
Did you pay for mount AND balance? Some places charge sep. for those services. If you paid for balancing (look at your invoice) go back, tires MUST be balanced.
 

Stallion

Diamond Member
May 4, 2000
3,657
0
76
When we got new tires on our car they didn't balance them.. At about 60 on the freeway it felt like your teeth were going to rattle out. Took it back, sure enough, they forgot. now it will purr at 90. You will deffinetly know if they aren't balanced.
 

Cyberian

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2000
9,999
1
0
Originally posted by: slycat
ok..that was pretty bad..felt like a jackass..
i went back and they said WE DID BALANCE THEM!...go to any tire shop to doublecheck!
they showed me the 'weights' they had placed and the horizontal machine that they said
they had done it...

i vaguely remember them going out back a little...as i waas walking around the front...
they said just drive it for a bit in the freeway and i will be able to tell since it will wobble if unbalanced.
Perhaps you should edit your first post to reflect this.
Actually, I am very impressed that you actually admitted that you were mistaken.

I see too many threads here that start, "My neighbor/roommate/friend/college/girlfriend/family/computer store/ screwed me", to believe that they are all true.