OK, you put $4-6K into wheels and tires--who do you trust to change tires without damagaing the rims? Do you look for a special machine, special technique, etc?

Never had wheels I cared about before, so this has not come up!

 

That's a good question. When I got new tires recently the place put a few scratches on my wheels that I didn't notice until I got home because the wheels got so dirty during the changing process. I'd get the service manager to inspect your wheels with you prior to and after the tires are mounted.

 

Personally, I use local specialist shops. I don't feel too comfortable with Discount Tires manhandling my wheels. There are a few Porsche independent mechanic shops nearby that have some great experts, so I go there. The local Porsche dealers are also trying to win this business, targeting price matching to Discount Tires, but so far I've preferred to use the independents.

 

they just gotta have skillz man

 

My dealer quoted me $1600 for PZeros when he saw my SO3 which shouldn't be on the car according to them but I like them and they still got some meat on them.

 

seriously.....take it to discount tire, if you stand there when they change out your tires and generously tip the person working on your rims before hand, you will end up getting new tires on safely and end up saving cash rather than going to a specialty shop. Trust me, if you generously tip the mechanic working on your car, they will do a good job. just my .02

 

thanks for the practical suggestion!

 

personally, i dont' trust anyone. That's why i do everything myself

 

$25/tire is not exhorbitant. That's what I pay at the specialty shop for mounting and balancing, and I get perfectionist attention to detail from race enthusiasts who appreciate the investment they are touching.

 

Specialty shop. If you don't already know a good one, ask around.

 

Why should I pay some idiot extra to get their job done right, if they don't want to do it right with what they charge then I take my business somewhere else.

 

I've tried tipping in advance at Tire Kingdom and this did not help at all and the service I received was still "discount". If you want good service, it's going to cost you, plain and simple.

 

Sometimes, no matter how well you tip the guy working on your tires / rims, if he's not used to working on these expensive wheels, he will end up messing up something. I had a couple of bad experiences with some discount tires shop simply because they are so used to servicing regular tires and rims.

Specialty shops are the way to go.

 

Thanks--this is kind of the discussion I had hoped. Anyone try a "TireRack Recommended Installer?" Pricey, but then so are the wheels . . .

 

In all the responses to my comment. i guess its just personal preference, but the reason i said what i said was because a good friend of mine works at discount tire, and he says that if a guy tips nicely they would go out of their way to make their car extra spectacular...but once again, just my thoughts.