First, a tip of the hat to Alex at the Tirerack. This week I was in a bind...the car had failed an inspection (I paid $95 to the MINI dealer for the inspection labor) required for registration transfer to Maryland. My tread was pretty low (3-3.5) and there was a slice in one of the runflats that went down to the belt. At around 4:30 in the afternoon, Alex put together a package with ASA EM6's and AvonTech M500's; they were at the MINI dealer two mornings later. His service was outstanding and I love the fresh look the wheels give my '03 MCS.

Now for my question:

I've been switching back and forth between my runflats and a winter wheel package; each time the local tire shop charged me $20 for the change (I've always tipped the tech).

The MINI dealer charged me another $95 for one hour labor--to switch four wheels that were already mounted and balanced--and then put the old ones in the back of the car. Oops...I almost forgot that he put down a piece of plastic first so the car wouldn't get dirty. I told the dealer not to wash the car.

When I questioned the labor charge I was told that had the tires needed mounting on the wheels the labor charge would have been one hour per wheel. YIKES!

Have we reached the point where it is cheaper to always purchase wheels and simply dispose of them when the tires wear down? Was this a reasonable charge, or extortion?

 

My dealer charged me $60 to rotate my tires at a time when their labor rate was $134 per hour.

Dealer labor rates in the SF Bay Area are now up to about $150 per hour

 

My dealer has told me they will rotate my tires for a flat $20 charge. Never taken them up on it, as I've got an air gun at home and can rotate my own tires in about 10-minutes.

 

Discount Tire charged me ~$95 to move ES100s from Xlites to new Rota Circuit 8s, to mount V700s on the Xlites, and to balance everything.

The best part was pulling up to their shop with 4 wheels in boxes and 4 loose tires in the back of the MINI - they got a big kick out of it....

 

I bought my snow tires at discount tire, because of that they rotate my snow wheels/summer wheels for free as a 'rotation'. I don't know if all of their stores do it this way, but ours does.

 

Discount Tire does free tire rotations if you bought the tires from them...

 

I would never use a dealer for anything related to wheels/tires. Not only will they overcharge but more often then not they are not very good at it and avoid taking reponsability for any damage (esp aftermarket wheels which they often frown on anyway).

Its worth finding a trusty place that knows you expect care and accountablily with the wheels for mounting and balancing tires. As for putting them on the car and rotating I have learned the hard way that it it well worth doing it yourself by hand. Not only are many people bad with the airgun in terms of damaging your wheels, they also often over torque.

 

I'd expect them to charge, me, but I would certainly question the 1-hour charge. If it took them more than 10 minutes something was SERIOUSLY wrong. And four hours to mount tires? I would have refused to pay the charge, not-so-politely told them to **** off and never looked back.

 

I'm sure the dealer has a minimum charge they must do. But why not do the change yourself? It's easy, even with a breaker bar. None of the dealers I've seen torque the lugs back to 88ftlbs which is spec.

Do it yourself so next time it'll be easier to remove by hand. A $39 Harbor Freight impact wrench can be helpful too. I've got a huge electric one that handles up to 250ftlbs which I got recently. Great for removing lugs without having to buy a compressor if you're not already set up with air tools.

Richard

 

Ahhhh 'Bookrate', or hourly minimum.

If most dealerships were smart they would create a reason for you to want to come back to them. Like basic tire services for reasonable rates. So that you would want to come back to the dealership and look at the new things and maybe buy them?!?!?

I know I am going out on a utopian limb, but it seems like standard marketing methods?!?

my .02

 

So what do the doctors and lawyers charge per hour out there?

 

Have you seen the convenient new cordless 18v electric ones? 240ft/lbs and no setup hassle like with an airwrench, so you may just reserve the airwrench for when you need 600ft/lbs.

My dealer won't rotate tires without rebalancing so I am better off buying lots of tools with the money.

 

You don't wanna know - lets just say that you may have to see a proctologist after you see the lawyer

 

Professional (doctors and lawyers) hourly rates can be based on years of experience or training.

Rotating your tires safely and effectively doesn't require the highest level of expertise.

I agree that doing it yourself could be a viable option or even a tire shop or garage would give you better rates (got coupons?)

Great story about how Alex helped you in a jiffy!

 

Yes, he did. And it was the second tire-wheel set I had purchased from him. The first was a Blizzaks/Borbet B set for winter driving. The business went to Tirerack because of Alex's sponsorship of NAM (actually, MCO!) and helpful replies to many inquires on the site.

 

Q: What can a goose do that a duck can't, but a lawyer should?

A: Stick his bill up his a$$!

 

I wish dealers could be that logical. Best bet is to avoid them for simple chores. Problem is that a lot of service stations have been doing away with all service except fueling and munchies or emissions testing.

 

Yeah, those are cool too, but I cheaped out and bought the corded one.

What I don't understand is why your dealer says you need to rebalance your tires? You're not removing the tires off the wheels--just moving the already balanced wheels off one axel to another. That's a bunch of baloney if you ask me.

 

This one handles 150ft lbs and it's on sale for $19.99.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=92349

 

A friend has that one and while it works, it is incredibly slow. It works by revving up and popping a clutch about once per second.

This one: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...05&R=200306005 is 16x the price but fast as an airwrench and 300ft/lbs.

Note that an 'Automotive Technician I' makes only $15/hour while the dealer pockets the rest. And it may be baloney but it's their policy.

 

Now, that's pretty slow.

$300 for an impact gun! Not that it's a bad thing but that's almost a set of tires! I guess I am stuck using a breaker bar.

 

And for $300 you can buy a decent compressor and a full set of air tools.

I will never go to my dealer for any kind of tire/wheel service. I will go to the pro's at the local tire shop (who will rotate and mount free of charge any tires purchased there)

 

I thought of a compressor but around here storage competes with cars for space. A compressor would just be over the top.

 

I got a call from the MINIUSA survey group. I gave the dealer all 4's and 5's, until they came to the question of overall satisfaction/intent to return. That I rated a 2. It surprised me that none of the specific questions focused on value for the money. So when the caller probed about the inconsistency between my individual ratings (quality of work, waiting area, ease of getting appointment, etc.) and the overall rating, I explained about the charge of $95 for something that I've paid one mod shop and two different tire shops $20 each of the 4 times I've flipped from mounted runflats to mounted snows.

He asked if I wanted MINIUSA to contact me. I told him only if they could tell me if every other dealer would have charged me the same $95, or provide a good explanation of why its so high. I doubt I'll hear from them. By the way, if anyone wants to know what dealer I was working with, feel free to PM me.

 

You guys are thinking to over the top when it comes to air guns a stuff. All you need is the tire iron(or a torque wrench) that comes with the car, and if you want fast, get a 17mm socket atachement for your normal power drill. I loosen the bolts so my drill can handle them, and fire away. Takes about 10 minutes for all four. I really do suggest rotating tires yourself by the way. I dont understand people spending money for someone else to do something so easy. Jacking up your car can be scary at first, but its sooooo easy, its hard to mess up. just use stands and your jack points. I think it even tells you how in your manual.