I went to get a tire changed today (due to a flat) and the guy operating the tire changing machinery managed to scrape off most of the paint around the edge of my wheel (it's visible with the tire on) and also chipped a substantial bit of paint off of the lip (also visible with the tire on).

I went to the manager about this and he gave me some BS about how he is not responsible for that because he made no guarantees about it. He goes on to tell me about how this is why he doesn't like to change tires on custom wheels, etc. He told me the best he would do is order some touch-up paint and try and fix things that way, but I'm pretty sure that a $5-10 bottle of touch-up paint isn't going to look like what came from Rays Engineering in the first place.

He never warned me of the risk of scratching my wheels before they changed my tire and I never signed anything. If "this is why he doesn't like to do custom wheels" then he should have warned me of the risk or completely refused to change the tire. As for "I'm not responsible..." - well then I could crash into someone and say "Oh, sorry, I'm not responsible."

Should I take legal action? I don't know what else I could do.

Also, does anyone know a good wheel refinishing place in Southern California (Orange County area preferably)? Any estimates on the cost?

I'll post pics soon.

 

Wheel refinishing: Try MagMasters in Santa Ana.
You may want to call up Mackin Industries and see who they recommend. Last time I called them, the recommended a place in Hollywood.

Legal action? Yes, I would. However, first I would contact the owner of the store. Make sure you're not mad and make sure you are professional. No one wants to help out a jerk.

 

Actually, I talked to the supervisor there and he was getting pretty upset with me about the fact that I wanted it refinished. He was talking about how he couldn't "**** out touch-up paint on the spot." I told him he could take his time, but eventually he'd be paying for the wheel being fixed.

Was the place in Hollywood Tru Wheel by any chance (1-800-FIX-A-RIM)? I've heard good things about them, and they gave me the estimate of $100-150 when I explained that it was mounting damage on a white Volk TE37.

 

Man, that sucks. Make sure when you talk to the guy hes clear on the fact that you will not give up or go away. Then try to make him realize that avoiding all the headaches of going thru the legal stuff is a good idea.

I got my tires mounted at costco and they chipped the paint off of the edge of the center hole, but not the lip. I don't know how the hell they managed to do that. They are cheapie wheels, so I dont care tho.

One time I got some stock aluminum wheels mounted at pep-boys and they gouged out a quarter of the lip deeply. Luckily the wheels were already scratched all over, but damn, if they were new, I would have been mad.

Hard to find good people these days. I guess its worth it to pay more for a good place when it comes to mounting wheels.


[Modified by mos, 3:44 PM 4/2/2003]

 

When my friend got his 18" Katana's balanced, some shop scratched all 4 of them with their power wrench. He didn't say anything, but he was really pissed. I feel sorry for him. A short time before that he curbed them real bad. When he first got them some guy broke his center cap trying to do something. He's had nothing but bad luck. On monday he's getting it dropped with coil overs and tokico's. Hopefully he'll have better luck with those.

 

i wouldnt have left until they have something written saying they will replace the rim.

also i wouldnt have the work started unless they guarantee that they wont damage it.

 

Yup. That's the place.

 

I had to go to class, and I don't know of very many places that would make that guarantee.

 

man that sucks. Try getting them to pay for that ****...thats messed up how they say they wont.

btw, i got my tires on rota group n put on at some ghetto *** shop(one garage...haha). I've been there before for my slips..well they never manage to get a single scratch on them. FUnny cause the shop looks so ghetto and is so cheap

 

Edit: If you think I'm ****, that's fine, but you can't deny that damage has been done no matter how small it is. I make a point to keep these wheels as flawless as I possibly can.


[Modified by manveer, 6:49 AM 4/3/2003]

 

That's bull **** when my brother got some SSR's on his MR2 they scatched his minimumly and he bitched about it and got a new wheel. This was from discount tire. Its there responsibily to take caution in changing out tires.


[Modified by RAB, 7:45 PM 4/2/2003]

 

same thing happened to me at discount tire. they replaces my wheel. the chip wasn;t even that big. It could have easily been covered by some magic marker but don;t let them get away with it. they have to stand by there work. I mean if they **** up your car they are responsible for it. I have never gone to a place to get work on a car with the mindset of I hope they don't **** anything up. if they do its there ***.

 

Hey man, if you didn't sign anything then you can do something. The Acura dealership damaged a part on my car, they said they wouldnt cover it, my friend was like "you didnt sign anything, any waiver". So we went back and said we would take it to Acura Corporate unless they decided to handle it. They ended up giving me the money by not charging me for the labor the car had done. Give it a try, the wheel is already damaged so you might as well.

 

similar thing happened to my wheels le37t's, the owner before me (got em used) took his car to a car wash and they curbed the **** out of 2 of the rims and he didnt know til he got home and he went back and they said he cant do nothing about it, well i have em now and i need em fixed and need 2 wheels worth of Volk LE37 stickers and 1 centercap.. lol... let me know how it goes for you, and where you decide to fix your rims, i'd like to fix mine soon also... good luck man..

 

dam...there are so many shitty tire installers out there...i never once scratched up any rims installing tires or balancing...its not that ******* hard...the best place to go honestly, is walmart...its the cheapest place and if they **** it up installing, they will pay for it...we paid for so much **** that idiots fucked up without that much of a hassle unless you tried to rip us off...

 

Wal-Mart mounts and balances tires????

 

are these wheels on the miata or the crx?

 

That's happened to me twice now...I'm so ******* sick of it I'm not even going to deal with it this time...

 

SMALL CLAIMS COURT.....do it its worth it

 

that sucks man...

 

Miata

 

How did you get the guys at mackin to talk to you? Everytime I call there (three times) the guy tells me he just doesn't know and that I should just ask the place where I bought them from where to get it fixed. Maybe I just got a punk ***, but anyways do you guys know of any places that mackin recommends in the San Diego area? My friend told me that discount tire would take them and send them to mackin to be fixed for 125 a wheel. Considering that one of the rims has a pretty good dent in the lip, and the other is fairly scratched up it's worth it.
Thanks,
Jake

 

Dude, its totally their fault. If you didn't sign any kind of waiver, then they're responsible for the damaged wheels and you should make them pay for it. If they refuse...take them to smale claims court. But before you do that, you should first file a claim against their shop to the BBB(Better Business Bureau) explaining the whole incident. After that, the BBB well send the shop a letter say "John Doe has file a claim saying that your shop...so and so..etc..) Once businesses receive letters from the BBB they get pretty scared and alot of times settle the claim. Also if you can, go to a lawyer and have the lawyer write a letter( only cost like $10-30) stating that "My client John Doe has aledged your shop...etc..etc... If you don't settle the claim, we..so and so..will take you to court. If you wish to solve the matter please contact...blah..blah...blah." When businesses receive letters from lawyers thats when they really **** in their pants. Trust me, most businesses would rather settle outside of court when it comes to small claims. Especially when you bring lawyers and the BBB into it. I know all this because I have a brother that is a lawyer and pretty much the same thing happened to me. I my case, i had a shop install new mugen exhaust. When they installed it, they accidently dented it. They denied of any fault, but i reported them to the BBB and sent them a lawyer's letter. In the end they settled outside of court and bought me a new mugen exhaust


[Modified by SickEj, 7:28 PM 4/3/2003]

 

thanks for the heads up. I was thinking of taking my tires to discount tires to mount on my wheels.

 

yeah, **** discount tires. fucken careless bastards.