@arentz07 wasn't it you that also had Discount Tire mess up your 350 wheels? Thinking they could fix PVD/Chrome. Ended up buying you a new wheel.

 

Yes. This was a different DT location, though. And I do respect them for buying me a new wheel and making it right. But, the reality is, their techs are not very careful. That is a pattern I am noticing.

 

Unless its a beater car or secondary vehicle. I'd use Lexus Dealers ONLY to do this. I'll eat the price. Sure you have to remind them to be careful but that's anywhere. I learned the hard way when i was younger trying to save a buck and that didn't work out...

 

Just had a Discount Tire open near me and I'm going to try them out and bring my wheels in off my GS for new tires. I spoke with the mgr. and asked him what he'd do to guarantee my wheels don't get damaged. He said he'd personally see to it that it won't happen by taking a pic. of each wheel and said he'd replace any wheel with a OEM one should any damage occur. I guess I'll find out. My local Lexus dealer has damaged my RX wheels twice since buying tires from them.

 

Ugh, seems for places like DT or America's Tire, you have to watch like a hawk or ask the manager to monitor/take pics while the kids go to work on your car.

I never even considered going to the dealer for anything anymore since they'd charge up beyond just the cost of labor. But may be something worth looking into considering that some folks here recommend that over other tire shop chains, esp. if it's Lexus itself in case there are any damages that result.

 

Most chain tire shops are awful. Performance shops, and special shops are usually great.

 

I think that’s the best bet. As mentioned before, you have to remind everyone to take care with the wheels. (Including the dealership!) For peace of mind and more routes to lodge complaints (if needed), I’ll spend the money.

 

If you have to remind somebody to take care of your car and wheels, IT IS THE WRONG SHOP.

You don't have to remind a Lexus dealer to take care of your car. Lexus knows its owners care, its why they are spending money at the dealer. If you are buying tires and having them mounted at the dealer, they know you are spending more to be there. They also know how much it is going to cost them if they damage a wheel. Not only that, they deal with wheels that have temperamental finishes, like 200 times a day. A dealer is a fantastic option if you don't have a high end shop nearby or a performance shop that deals with expensive wheels, a Lexus dealer is the next best option. I can promise you, no shop is going to treat your car differently when you ask them to take special care of your wheels. They don't give a crap, and the guy behind the desk isn't going to tell the tech to take extra special care of those wheels because you asked.Their job is to bill for the job, and do it faster so they make more money by spending less time on the job.

I asked Americas Tire to not use an impact on my lugnuts as to not tear them up. I gave them the special socket to use, my own torque wrench and everything. They were brand new, black lugnuts. I watched the guy take an impact and zap them off, zap them on and tear them up. AFTER it was done I asked why my requests weren't granted and he said "oh I forgot". This is after they used a puddy knife to scrape the weights off. I complained as the lugnuts were damaged and all the wheels were damaged. They basically told me "too bad".

If you have a car you really don't give a crap about, those places are fine.

 

As stated before the Lexus dealer damaged my wheels twice on my RX. Unless you know the indy shop personally it's a crap shoot whether wheels get damaged.

 

Oh man. I may end up going to my Lexus dealership instead of Discount Tire. I've never gotten tire service there before, but do they often have a good selection of tires and dare I say it, price?

 

Get a quote from your local Lexus dealership, maybe yours is a "good" one. There are 3 in my area and I drive to the furthest one away as I've had the best experience with them. They also honor military discount which the other 2 (same owner) no longer does (for over a year now).

Also, get a quote from your local Costco, if you have one in your area.

As stated in my posts #4 and #6 above, our local Costco has also been good to us, and with their free maintenance and warranty, we ONLY go there. And if you catch the tires on sale -- Bonus!! In the past, we had a bad experience with a local Discount Tire, that's when we started going to Costco.

Good luck!!

 

From what I have seen, dealerships tend to have an okayish selection of tires - the issue is pricing. I've yet to see a dealership charging the same rates as Discount Tire or Tire Rack.

What I may consider doing in the future is buying the tires online and having them installed at the dealership (if they'll agree to doing that).

 

Yes, there's always a possibility that they would. They won't warranty them of course but if they agree to the install, why not ?!

The last time I went to the dealership for my 30k miles service, they allowed me to bring OEM cabin air filter and wiper inserts I ordered from Bell Lexus and didn't charge me install as those are so easy to change.

 

Good point. When it's time and I decide to go the dealership route, I'll call to see if I can buy tires and ship them to the service place. (and if they'd be willing to install that way)

I haven't thought about the Costco route; there is a Costco nearby me, so may look into that.

I just feel bad (but not really) that we have to remind places to "take it easy" and "be careful" when taking off wheels and re-installing them.

 

First, the dealership will install tires bought online, I’ve done it here for over 10 years.

Second, you don’t have to worry about the warranty if purchased through TireRack or DiscountTire. (DT owns TR now.) If the tire is damaged and a replacement is needed, you’ll go through their easy-peasy online warranty wizard. If the tire doesn’t need to be replaced, then you’ll need to take it DT directly. (Even if Lexus installed it.)