Hello everyone,
I am sorry if this question has been asked before. (My search had 0 results)
I went to Pohanka Lexus Service (VA) last week when my tire low pressure indicator turned on.

I drove about 7 miles to the service center and they found a puncture inside sidewall of drivers front tire. Needless to say, they recommended to change the front two tires. I obliged.
The total bill was $759.67 with mount/balance/alignment.

What got me was there's a environmental/Disposal fee of $18? and that on top of the $1 VA tire recycle fee

Is that a valid charge? Before I go yell at them, I want to get your opinion.

Thank you!

 

I think that disposal fees for the old tires are fairly typical at most tire dealers.

What would bother me, though, is paying $760 for 2 tires. That is about what I would expect to be a typical price for 4 tires, including mounting, balancing, and an alignment for high quality Michelin tires at most tire stores.

 

That's about right because you went to a Lexus dealer.....tire shop would be less for disposal, apprx.$5 a tire but you could of saved more money buying tires from tire shop.

 

Sounds about right. Dealership has to charge you to dispose of the tire.

But agree with what lesz said. $760 for two tires is ridiculous. Also why not keep your passenger tire as a spare? I can't image the thread life being that bad after only a year of ownership.

 

760.00 ouch. Disposal fee's are normal. We have a local recycle dump they take tires for free because we burn them for energy at a local plant.

 

Many Lexus dealers offer price match guarantees for tires. I would suggest that the OP get some prices from tire dealers and take those comparison prices back to the Lexus dealer and request a good will refund in the amount based on matching the prices from the competition.

 

You were willing to pay almost $760 to change two tires, but you have a problem with $18 charges and $1 charges? That is way more than you should’ve paid, but those are typical dealer rates for tire change. Like mentioned, they do do price matching. Next time, do some research.

 

Thank you all for your comments. Some really good advice here. Specially Lesz, I really like what you said and I am shopping for the Yokohama tires that they put on. Hopefully I'll find something cheaper than the $249 price tag on each tire.
And I guess I didn't mention why I went to the dealer in the first place. This is definitely my first and last time I will be stopping by there.
But it was a long day and pouring rain. This place is like 15 minutes from where I live and was on the way. At 8 pm, this looked liked a good choice but definitely painful for my wallet.

Datpimp007, I have a 2016 NX that I bought first week of November 2015, but you are right, I should have kept the right tire as a spare. Lesson learned

Thank you again guys! Really helpful comments from everyone!

 

I don't know what size wheels you have, but here is a link from Tire Rack for the Yokohama tires for 18 inch wheels.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=Geolandar+G055&partnum=26HR8G055&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&&autoMake=Lexus&autoYear=2015&autoModel=NX+300h&autoModClar=AWD&&autoMake=Lexus&autoYear=2015&autoModel=NX+300h&autoModClar=AWD

Their price is more in line with what I would have expected.

If the price at the Lexus dealer was $249 per tire, that means that they charged almost $250 for mounting and balancing. I wouldn't be surprised to see a charge for mounting and balancing of around $15-20/tire, but $250 for 2 tires is ridiculous. Further, many tire dealers will include lifetime balancing and rotations in that price.

Sadly, the service departments at Lexus dealers seem to operate on the principle that people who are willing to pay a premium price to buy a Lexus will also be willing to pay insanely high prices for service and will be willing to do so without questioning those prices.