The anal amongst us

Thing to do if you don't know them is just be cool, Get your fags out, make the tea, buy the cobs, whatever, Just be cool with the dude & he will be cool with you.

Me I get one of the lads down my mates tyre & Exhaust place to do them but I still make the tea for everybody there & hand the fags out. Truth be told though my old Alloys have more scuffs on them than my pants after a weekend in the Dam. :p
 
2 weeks ago I had to have new brake pipes due to being an MOT failure, to do this they had to drop down the spring and shocker to gain access, when doing this something went wrong result in the shocker hitting the inner wheel arch bending it outwards. Also they left air in the brakes, and I had to have the tracking done as they also replaced a lower balljoint and the steering wheel wasnt straight. Not bad for a couple hours work. :mad:
Needless to say by the time they had done I doubt they made any profit out of me.
 
My whole car was only £660, TBH i'm not overly fussed if the alloys get a little scratch in them - they already have rusty wheelnut centres.

If I had something more expensive, I'd probably take a quick photo of the wheels OK before I dropped the car in. Even good garages sometimes employ monkeys!
 
Its odd seeing a guy carefully fit a tyre with a high level of respect and skill then smack a bloody hammer weight onto the outside.

Pet hate of mine as a cars will come in for tyres and removing the old hammer weights often does more damage to the alloy and leaves a ruddy great mark which couldnt be seen before.
 
When I refurbed my wheels myself the guy made marks in the rims of two of them, then some other bugger smacked one of them with a tool and it left a chip. Because it was only rattle cans the paint was still a bit soft so in about two days flat three of them had marks on. Grr. I'll get the powdercoated when a) I've got more money and b) I think I'm going to keep the car for a year plus.
 
dalin80 said:
Its odd seeing a guy carefully fit a tyre with a high level of respect and skill then smack a bloody hammer weight onto the outside.

Pet hate of mine as a cars will come in for tyres and removing the old hammer weights often does more damage to the alloy and leaves a ruddy great mark which couldnt be seen before.
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Only Nub fitters stick the weights on the visible side.
 
Jez said:
I need to start doing this. The last time i had a flat i almost broke my spanner by having to jump on it at the side of the road. It took me ages to change the wheel :(
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on one of works pool cars i actually did

jumped up and down so much on it i stripped the inside of the bit that you put over the wheel nut.
 
I turned up to a garage 2 weeks ago with my brand new wheels in a box with 4 new tyres.

The guy still ragged the wheels off the wheel balance machine by dragging them off the threaded centre, thus scratching the paint on the inside of the centre.

Some people just don't care :(
 
Simon said:
I turned up to a garage 2 weeks ago with my brand new wheels in a box with 4 new tyres.

The guy still ragged the wheels off the wheel balance machine by dragging them off the threaded centre, thus scratching the paint on the inside of the centre.

Some people just don't care :(
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:eek: I would have said something.


I have only used mobile fitters and always asked them to watch the wheels politely as the OP title suggests I say I'm anal with my car!

Same as when I take my car to the garage for a service. Make sure its squeaky clean and get a check sheet. Tell them to check around the car before I hand over the keys and mark up the zero damage dents scratches etc etc.
 
LizardKing said:
Whats the point in asking, its not like they throw them around unless specifically asked not to. Its like asking a chef not to burn your steak.
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This.

Do you guys think that tyre fitters purposely damage property? Tyre Fitting by nature is a very business when it come to preserving wheels, and the risk is multiplied ten fold if you're unlikely enough to get a "tight" tyre and/or have to mount it on a large diameter rim. Sometimes the equipment fails the fitter - Asking someone to be "careful" isn't going to prevent this from happening.
 
I think specifically asking them to be careful is telling them how to do their job - in the steak analogy it's likely to result in your food being spat on
 
You should not have to tell people, and I agree it is almost like telling someone how to do their job.

Sometimes you have to though, my adjustment bolts would not be greased had I not because one of the 2 mechanics who was working on the car was not briefed (or forgot). If they had of gone back in, without greasing, this would have been an epic waste of time, and cost me a fortune in the future. Good thing I stayed and watched.

My car is like my child, I don't leave it if I don't have to.
 
I think this thread's title doesn't really apply... you don't have to be anal to expect someone to do their job properly/take care when handling stuff that belongs to you. If I own an expensive set of alloys, I expect them to be fitted without being damaged. End of.
 
Joshy said:
This.

Do you guys think that tyre fitters purposely damage property? Tyre Fitting by nature is a very business when it come to preserving wheels, and the risk is multiplied ten fold if you're unlikely enough to get a "tight" tyre and/or have to mount it on a large diameter rim. Sometimes the equipment fails the fitter - Asking someone to be "careful" isn't going to prevent this from happening.
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You assume that everyone starts from the standpoint of perfection, they don't and to suggest they are all great and occasionally get let down by their kit, for by implication this is what you are suggesting, is it at best naive. The fact is most tyre fitters are slap bang wallop merchants unless you make them aware that on your tyres you expect them to take a little longer and be more cautious. That way when they drop a wheel, clank a torque wrench against your wheel or bang the jack into your sill because they are rushing they are going to get it between the bow locks and you are going to expect recompense. Rest assured when my tyre shop works on my car it's the manager and an inspection afterwards and in turn I reward them for going over and above.
 
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No, but I think I might start. I've never had a problem with my car but then I like to think that it looks like it is more than just a mode of transport to me.

The Polo on the other hand was looking pretty unloved when I took it to our usual place and when it came back there were scuffs over the surface of the face of two wheels and a rubber scuff on another. I polished out 90% of it but if it had happened to my car I'd have wanted blood.
 
Housey said:
You assume that everyone starts from the standpoint of perfection, they don't and to suggest they are all great and occasionally get let down by their kit, for by implication this is what you are suggesting, is it at best naive. The fact is most tyre fitters are slap bang wallop merchants unless you make them aware that on your tyres you expect them to take a little longer and be more cautious. That way when they drop a wheel, clank a torque wrench against your wheel or bang the jack into your sill because they are rushing they are going to get it between the bow locks and you are going to expect recompense. Rest assured when my tyre shop works on my car it's the manager and an inspection afterwards and in turn I reward them for going over and above.
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I don't think you need to approach fitting tyres with the thought of "perfection". I certainly don't think "Lets get this perfect" when I'm mounting tyres, not even on £1,000 a piece Brand New wheels - I'm more thinking "Let's make this as painless as possible" because I found that tyre fitting is an awful, awful job to anyone who cares an ounce about their workmanship - I still cringe every time the tyre lever bar makes contact on the bare rim when removing an old tyre, or when the brand new £400 odd PZero I'm mounting gets stretched to the point I'm convinced it'll split whilst mounting the the top beading onto the rim. If your tyre fitter doesn't cringe at these moments asking him nicely isn't going to make a hell of a lot of difference to the out come because the fitter just doesn't care!

Come to think of it, despite never damaging a Rim, I'd refuse absolutely point-blank to fit a tyre with the owner watching over my back. Likewise, if the job card read "Take care with rims" I'd roll my eyes and carry on business as usual - I don't intend of damaging a customer's set of wheels and will naturally do my best to not allow that to happen, and certainly don't need a reminder to do my job properly.
 
Never has any problems with any fitter, even kwik fit have always done a good job.

but, I have never fitted aftermarket wheels, always used OEM's as they are far better quality (mostly)
 
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