"Quality" Tire Replacement Shops
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Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2018
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From: TN
"Quality" Tire Replacement Shops
So my IS350 AWD is about ready for a change of tires, not because of miles or low tread but because of tire age - coming up on 7 years. These are the original tires from the car when I bought it new in 2018. It doesn't get much mileage because I have another car that's my daily driver that gets beat up, so I take it out on the weekends and when I have time. Upon visual inspection of all tires, everything looks fine on the outside but I can see very very small cracks around in a few of the tread grooves so it's about time to replace tires.
That said, I've been using Discount Tire for my tire needs in the past. There are 2 locations nearby me and just like your standard chain store, it's been a rotating door of young people coming through at the stores. I'm pretty sure for these places that service a ton of cars each day, there won't be much attention paid to getting it done without damaging the wheels since the expectation is to get things done quickly. I know for my daily beater, there's been nicks, chips, and scratches on my rims when tires were replaced or rotated... sometimes even with oily glue residue left behind. For a 250K mile beater, I don't care.
With my IS, I'm a little paranoid that whenever I do get new tires for it, the rims will be damaged by a careless person rushing to get the job done - whether putting it on the balancing machine, mounting the wheels back on, etc. What have you guys experienced and do you actually take pictures of the wheels before the work is done to have proof in case?
Is there another shop that you guys had better experiences with when getting tires replaced?
That said, I've been using Discount Tire for my tire needs in the past. There are 2 locations nearby me and just like your standard chain store, it's been a rotating door of young people coming through at the stores. I'm pretty sure for these places that service a ton of cars each day, there won't be much attention paid to getting it done without damaging the wheels since the expectation is to get things done quickly. I know for my daily beater, there's been nicks, chips, and scratches on my rims when tires were replaced or rotated... sometimes even with oily glue residue left behind. For a 250K mile beater, I don't care.
With my IS, I'm a little paranoid that whenever I do get new tires for it, the rims will be damaged by a careless person rushing to get the job done - whether putting it on the balancing machine, mounting the wheels back on, etc. What have you guys experienced and do you actually take pictures of the wheels before the work is done to have proof in case?
Is there another shop that you guys had better experiences with when getting tires replaced?
Last edited by unioncorps; Mar 8, 2025 at 05:46 PM.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2025
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So my IS350 AWD is about ready for a change of tires, not because of miles or low tread but because of tire age - coming up on 7 years. These are the original tires from the car when I bought it new in 2018. It doesn't get much mileage because I have another car that's my daily driver that gets beat up, so I take it out on the weekends and when I have time. Upon visual inspection of all tires, everything looks fine on the outside but I can see very very small cracks around in a few of the tread grooves so it's about time to replace tires.
That said, I've been using Discount Tire for my tire needs in the past. There are 2 locations nearby me and just like your standard chain store, it's been a rotating door of young people coming through at the stores. I'm pretty sure for these places that service a ton of cars each day, there won't be much attention paid to getting it done without damaging the wheels since the expectation is to get things done quickly. I know for my daily beater, there's been nicks, chips, and scratches on my rims when tires were replaced or rotated... sometimes even with oily glue residue left behind. For a 250K mile beater, I don't care.
With my IS, I'm a little paranoid that whenever I do get new tires for it, the rims will be damaged by a careless person rushing to get the job done - whether putting it on the balancing machine, mounting the wheels back on, etc. What have you guys experienced and do you actually take pictures of the wheels before the work is done to have proof in case?
Is there another shop that you guys had better experiences with when getting tires replaced?
That said, I've been using Discount Tire for my tire needs in the past. There are 2 locations nearby me and just like your standard chain store, it's been a rotating door of young people coming through at the stores. I'm pretty sure for these places that service a ton of cars each day, there won't be much attention paid to getting it done without damaging the wheels since the expectation is to get things done quickly. I know for my daily beater, there's been nicks, chips, and scratches on my rims when tires were replaced or rotated... sometimes even with oily glue residue left behind. For a 250K mile beater, I don't care.
With my IS, I'm a little paranoid that whenever I do get new tires for it, the rims will be damaged by a careless person rushing to get the job done - whether putting it on the balancing machine, mounting the wheels back on, etc. What have you guys experienced and do you actually take pictures of the wheels before the work is done to have proof in case?
Is there another shop that you guys had better experiences with when getting tires replaced?
CL Community Team
Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 2,104
Likes: 649
From: PNW
With my IS, I'm a little paranoid that whenever I do get new tires for it, the rims will be damaged by a careless person rushing to get the job done - whether putting it on the balancing machine, mounting the wheels back on, etc. What have you guys experienced and do you actually take pictures of the wheels before the work is done to have proof in case?
Is there another shop that you guys had better experiences with when getting tires replaced?
If you have Costco available to you — I highly recommend them as their knowledgeable/competent staff, free maintenance and warranty is why I ONLY go there.
And if you catch them on sale — Bonus !!
They also have free air outside for fill ups.
Also, depending on your Costco, they can special order tires if they don’t have them in stock.
Last edited by RofH; Mar 8, 2025 at 09:40 PM.
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2024
Posts: 388
Likes: 154
From: NY
If you have Costco available to you — I highly recommend them as their knowledgeable/competent staff, free maintenance and warranty is why I ONLY go there.
And if you catch them on sale — Bonus !!
They also have free air outside for fill ups.
Also, depending on your Costco, they can special order tires if they don’t have them in stock.
And if you catch them on sale — Bonus !!
They also have free air outside for fill ups.
Also, depending on your Costco, they can special order tires if they don’t have them in stock.
I take my vehicles to a not so local shop but it is worth going out of the way for them. And I still ask them to please be careful to not scratch the wheels.
Good luck getting new tires without damage to your wheels, it is possible.
CL Community Team
Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 2,104
Likes: 649
From: PNW
We took the wife’s CT200 to Costco for a set of Michelin Crossclimate because the price was right. They did scratch the car wheels and we had a struggle getting them to pay for having the wheels refinished.
I take my vehicles to a not so local shop but it is worth going out of the way for them. And I still ask them to please be careful to not scratch the wheels.
Good luck getting new tires without damage to your wheels, it is possible.
I take my vehicles to a not so local shop but it is worth going out of the way for them. And I still ask them to please be careful to not scratch the wheels.
Good luck getting new tires without damage to your wheels, it is possible.
Sorry to hear that happened to you at your local Costco.
I have lots of friends and relatives go to our local one and other surrounding area ones with no complaints.
I admit no business is perfect, just like our local Lexus dealership — I go out my way to go to another Lexus dealer bc of my experience with the local one. But there are plenty of folks that have no complaints and swear by the local one and I’m glad they have/had great experiences with them. I just happened to have not and prefer to go out of town to another Lexus dealer, which I’m totally happy with and it’s worth the drive to me.
I’m glad you found a place that will take better care of your wheels and even though you had a struggle to get Costco to refinish your wheels, it’s good to know they did.
Last edited by RofH; Mar 9, 2025 at 10:29 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 776
Likes: 512
From: CA
Don't take this car to ANYWHERE chain. That includes Costco, Discount Tire, Wheel Works, Big-O etc etc.
Lexus and legit shops are the only places I would take any car you care about for tire work. Lexus only gets the mention that if they jack the car up, there is no better resource to fix it. I use a mobile tire installer that is local to me in the CA Bay Area and a LOT of people use him for their high-end cars. He is reasonable, can do everything in your driveway, and is freaking fantastic. I will second the Bimmerpost suggestion. Literally, what I did to find this guy and I am so happy I did. I have used Americas Tire for years for tons of cars. The last time I took a car there, was when I had a gorgeous Acura TLX A Spec there for new tires and they ruined all 4 wheels. They took the sticky weights off with a paint scraper and destroyed all the wheels. Then proceeded to torque them down so hard, no impact would get them off. Costco, and other wheel/tire chains employ the lowest level of worker. If you care about your car, find a performance wheel/tire shop that gets it.
Lexus and legit shops are the only places I would take any car you care about for tire work. Lexus only gets the mention that if they jack the car up, there is no better resource to fix it. I use a mobile tire installer that is local to me in the CA Bay Area and a LOT of people use him for their high-end cars. He is reasonable, can do everything in your driveway, and is freaking fantastic. I will second the Bimmerpost suggestion. Literally, what I did to find this guy and I am so happy I did. I have used Americas Tire for years for tons of cars. The last time I took a car there, was when I had a gorgeous Acura TLX A Spec there for new tires and they ruined all 4 wheels. They took the sticky weights off with a paint scraper and destroyed all the wheels. Then proceeded to torque them down so hard, no impact would get them off. Costco, and other wheel/tire chains employ the lowest level of worker. If you care about your car, find a performance wheel/tire shop that gets it.
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From: GA
Yeah I am starting to realize I also will have to start taking mine to the dealer for tire installs. After getting my tires mounted at my local Discount Tire, I've got scratches around the lug bolt holes on three of my four wheels. 
They are generally a nice place to work with, but I can't with sloppy workmanship on this car. I think that, next time, I'll take the @DLPTony method and bring the tires to my dealership.
They are generally a nice place to work with, but I can't with sloppy workmanship on this car. I think that, next time, I'll take the @DLPTony method and bring the tires to my dealership.
Lead Lap
Joined: Nov 2010
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From: GA
They are generally a nice place to work with, but I can't with sloppy workmanship on this car. I think that, next time, I'll take the @DLPTony method and bring the tires to my dealership.
Last week I got lazy and decided to send the tires to DT for the install.
1. Just like at the Lexus dealership, I told the guys to have a care about the lug nuts and the overall wheel during replacement. (Yes…you have to remind Lexus too.)
2. The ‘kids’ were done in 20 minutes. Removal, Install, and Balancing?! I was skeptical. Verified the front tires were on the front and the back tires were on the back. (Had an issue believe it or not with Kauffman Tire on my ‘16 350 FSport.)
3. The tire pressures were wildly different, so I asked Lexus to verify the balance job during the alignment work. If they can’t get the air pressure right, I had zero confidence in the balancing. Turns out I was right.
Yep…I wasted time and money going to DT. Spent $112 for installation and balancing, only to pay Lexus to re-balance them the next day. Lesson learned.
Last edited by DLPTony; Mar 10, 2025 at 09:33 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2021
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From: CA
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 776
Likes: 512
From: CA
The best option. I always have the tires sent home and I’ll transport them to the dealership. (Our cars are practical!)
Last week I got lazy and decided to send the tires to DT for the install.
1. Just like at the Lexus dealership, I told the guys to have a care about the lug nuts and the overall wheel during replacement. (Yes…you have to remind Lexus too.)
2. The ‘kids’ were done in 20 minutes. Removal, Install, and Balancing?! I was skeptical. Verified the front tires were on the front and the back tires were on the back. (Had an issue believe it or not with Kauffman Tire on my ‘16 350 FSport.)
3. The tire pressures were wildly different, so I asked Lexus to verify the balance job during the alignment work. If they can’t get the air pressure right, I had zero confidence in the balancing. Turns out I was right.
Yep…I wasted time and money going to DT. Spent $112 for installation and balancing, only to pay Lexus to re-balance them the next day. Lesson learned.
Last week I got lazy and decided to send the tires to DT for the install.
1. Just like at the Lexus dealership, I told the guys to have a care about the lug nuts and the overall wheel during replacement. (Yes…you have to remind Lexus too.)
2. The ‘kids’ were done in 20 minutes. Removal, Install, and Balancing?! I was skeptical. Verified the front tires were on the front and the back tires were on the back. (Had an issue believe it or not with Kauffman Tire on my ‘16 350 FSport.)
3. The tire pressures were wildly different, so I asked Lexus to verify the balance job during the alignment work. If they can’t get the air pressure right, I had zero confidence in the balancing. Turns out I was right.
Yep…I wasted time and money going to DT. Spent $112 for installation and balancing, only to pay Lexus to re-balance them the next day. Lesson learned.
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From: GA
I guess I can count myself lucky I didn't also have tire balancing issues at the DT I went to. But yeah... I am going to need to touch-up the wheels sometime soon. I do appreciate the convenience of the DT location, as it is much closer to the house. But other than plugging a random flat, I don't know that I'd go back. It's hard to beat the free service of plugging a hole. The cheapskate in me can't bear to pass that up. 