I'm posting this update for everyone to read, not just the mid-TN folks like my prior posts on this subject, in the hopes of sparing anyone, anywhere the grief I went through just trying to get winter tires installed on my wife's touring Z roadster w/17s and mine w/18s. BE SURE YOU GET A REFERENCE FOR YOUR TIRE INSTALLER KNOWING HOW TO HANDLE STAGGERS/ALIGN LARGE RIMS, ETC. BEFORE YOU TAKE YOUR Z THERE!!!

Long story short as possible, I took two days off work and took both cars to Auto Pro in Mt. Juliet, TN, twice, and they caused more problems than they fixed. First day, got wife's two larger rear tires both on the right side of the car, and on mine, got driver rear tire on backwards (inside sidewall, clearly marked as such, facing out).

Second day, they seemingly got the tires in the right locations, but somehow made my wife's steering wheel vibration worse than when I took it in, and created one in mine where it didn't exist, all despite checking and saying no alignment needed front or rear on either car, and test driving both vehicles before letting me have them back. My car also now has the steering wheel turned to the right, when it was straight as a gunbarrel when I took it in. Their explanation for wife's vibration is a supposedly warped rim. I look when I get both cars home and confirm on my own that both of our rims are scratched in a way curbing or road pebbles could not have done, and that both of my wife's wider rear rims were on the front, and vice versa.

I post here for some help from my mid-TN brethren, and learn of several reputable places to go to fix what Auto Pro screwed up.

Now for the update. We wind up taking the cars to Precision Motoring, and there we learn that I only have one tire and rim combo together, where it's supposed to be (only driver front rim is correctly located AND has a front tire on it), and they have forced a rear rim over the pin in the front rotor expressly designed to prevent such screw-ups. The inside of the rim is dinged, as is the pin. And what's more guys, the rims actually have "front" and "rear" cast inside them.

My car is sent for alignment, and it gets still better. I am told the car cannot be aligned because on the driver rear, one of the small diameter suspension rods (not a control arm, which would be very difficult to bend) is bent. We take in the wife's car the next day (last Fri.), find out that, indeed, not a single rim is in the proper location. But wait, there's more!! Two lug nuts were completely missing from the front passenger rim, and all five lugs were loose enough to unscrew with just fingers on the passenger rear. She could have been killed!!

Three and a half days off work for me w/a mad boss. Neither car has yet been aligned, and both almost certainly still need it, plus I still have to replace the damaged suspension part on my car and have it installed. All told, by the time I'm done I'll have about $500 expended on both cars AFTER Auto Pro supposedly did everything necessary (& not even counting what I paid them).

Again, thanks for all the help from the mid-TN folks, and for everyone else who took the time to read this, BE CAREFUL who you let touch your wheels and tires. There are some real idiots out there.

 

Sounds like a good lawsuit for small claims.

 

yuppers, make them pay you for your lost time, get new rims, and pay for gas and alignment and tire rotations at some competant store.

 

Auto Pro? That's a contradiction. How can a shop be so bad?
By all means go for reimbursement of lost time at work, damages, alignment, etc.

 

Damn, that has got to be one of the most incompetent shops and stories I have ever heard. I rarely feel that court is the way to go, but in this case it might just be.

 

This sounds like a job for Small Claims Court. Get your documentation all together and sue them for the cost of repairs plus your salary while you take care of this.

Asterix

 

wow why didnt you do all that at nissan? anayways as everyone says you should be sueing them, did you get to talk to their manager?

 

Update! I have now confirmed that my driver rear suspension was bent when Auto Pro raised the car, and I had never raised or jacked the car in the entire time I had it. And more great news, the part is on backorder!

Also, a dealer is probably, but not necessarily, more reliable. Do a search for dealer nightmares; there are plenty. In a separate post, I found several good options to use locally for tire installation and alignment. As for a suit, I'll try to settle after all repairs are done and I have a final total, and sue if unsuccessful. At least I won't have to worry about attorney fees, since I'm a trial lawyer.

 

... I wasn't going to mention that


make sure the wheels aren't damaged by that locating pin as well ... i have seen cases where the wheel was trach after a shop did the same thing

 

do you have discount tire around you??

i always go there, they take such good care of my car

 

That sucks man, I'm sorry you had so much trouble! Good luck getting the cars and the (possible) lawsuit taken care of!

 

BTW, as I posted on another thread, Luke and Tirerack is NOT the problem here. I have always been & still am happy w/their customer service. I have reported the problem to them and they are attempting to respond as I would expect. I also fully recognize that they can't completely check out every business that wants to be a Tirerack installer. After all, the owner is ASE certified, and the place has a Hunter Roadforce balance machine and excellent equipment (but as many folks have told me in the last few days, just because you own it doesn't mean you know how to use it).

 

I feel ya.....After 2 hours to install my two rear tires, Firestone said "oh, were sorry but because your rims are so wide and the lip inside doens't catch on the machine - we made some marks on it. Now they match the fronts that Nissan effed up doing the feathering change. So now all 4 of my rims look like I've been riding curbs all day. I was so sick of waiting around I didn't even make a hassle about it. Plus I'm getting aftermarket wheels in the spring - will just have to find someone that knows what the hell they're doing.