What is wrong with Auto Service these days.

[secondchance]

I finally got a set of Michelin PS2s and had them sent to a local Auto Service shop with a reputation of good equipment and knowledgeable service. I won't name names since I really don't want to mess with someone's livelihood.

However, I am so flabbergasted I had to vent somewhere:
On the positive note tire install on my 18" Fikses were done properly w/o any damage to the rim or the car and road force balance was done properly.

After the installation I was presented with their recommended service:

Brake Fluid flush - $261.97 (this was done by me with WAZOO help about a year ago and the fluid is still crystal clear)
Brake System repair - $60.50 (Driver side front rotor was installed improperly and the brake line was twisted. Came home and corrected it in 20 minutes. Why not tell me when the wheel is off and charge me for it?).
Thermostat Housing Cracked - $620.38 (no idea how they came up with this since I have no coolant leak).
Cooling System Fluid Exchange - $184.69 (I flushed and refilled with coolant and distilled water 6 months ago).
Oil Pressure Swith Replace - $210.99 (they claimed it was leaking).
Replace serpantine belt - $231.17 (really?!)
Front Wheel Bearings-repack - $1,110.86 (yeah! I need them but $1,100?)
Steering Rack & Pinion-Replace - $1,164.50 (I was told due to mileage it should be replaced).
Power Steering Flush - $122.47
Alignment - $242.00 (this would be a good idea except I elected to do this after front wheel bearing replacement)

Grand Total of "recommended service" came to $4,390.90!!!

I am a firm believer that we all need to make a living but recommending services without even verifying whether fluids are bad or not and outright false claim (cracked thermostat housing, oil pressure sender, steering rack) is outrageous!

I thought about sharing my thoughts with the manager but I figured why waste my time and get aggrevated. So, I just nodded my head and told them I will give it a thought and left.:-x

[FU]

Well.....pull your pant's down. Those price's are out of sight !!! More than twice the price the service should be.
Not even saying about what dosent even need to be done to the car.



ps. Post up a pic. of your car with the Fikse bad boy's on it please.

[USAFPILOT]

I get that sorta crap all over the place, and with any car. I usually start by telling people not to recommend me anything, just do what I am asking you to do and that is it. Doesn't matter, for "safety" they will tell you a much of crap that is total BS.

[GOLDCYLON]

I finally got a set of Michelin PS2s and had them sent to a local Auto Service shop with a reputation of good equipment and knowledgeable service. I won't name names since I really don't want to mess with someone's livelihood.

However, I am so flabbergasted I had to vent somewhere:
On the positive note tire install on my 18" Fikses were done properly w/o any damage to the rim or the car and road force balance was done properly.

After the installation I was presented with their recommended service:

Brake Fluid flush - $261.97 (this was done by me with WAZOO help about a year ago and the fluid is still crystal clear)
Brake System repair - $60.50 (Driver side front rotor was installed improperly and the brake line was twisted. Came home and corrected it in 20 minutes. Why not tell me when the wheel is off and charge me for it?).
Thermostat Housing Cracked - $620.38 (no idea how they came up with this since I have no coolant leak).
Cooling System Fluid Exchange - $184.69 (I flushed and refilled with coolant and distilled water 6 months ago).
Oil Pressure Swith Replace - $210.99 (they claimed it was leaking).
Replace serpantine belt - $231.17 (really?!)
Front Wheel Bearings-repack - $1,110.86 (yeah! I need them but $1,100?)
Steering Rack & Pinion-Replace - $1,164.50 (I was told due to mileage it should be replaced).
Power Steering Flush - $122.47
Alignment - $242.00 (this would be a good idea except I elected to do this after front wheel bearing replacement)

Grand Total of "recommended service" came to $4,390.90!!!

I am a firm believer that we all need to make a living but recommending services without even verifying whether fluids are bad or not and outright false claim (cracked thermostat housing, oil pressure sender, steering rack) is outrageous!

I thought about sharing my thoughts with the manager but I figured why waste my time and get aggrevated. So, I just nodded my head and told them I will give it a thought and left.:-x


They prob figured if you could afford a new set of 18inch Fikse's that they would pile on. You are your best advocate. The uninformed get screwed all the time.

[ZZZZZR1]

Wow.....

How much did they charge for the tire install?

$120?

:cheers:

David

[secondchance]

Wow.....

How much did they charge for the tire install?

$120?

:cheers:

David

$203.30. Road force balance and nitrogen fill.

[Daniel_Mc]

After the installation I was presented with their recommended service:
Brake Fluid flush - $261.97 (this was done by me with WAZOO help about a year ago and the fluid is still crystal clear)
Really this should be done every 6 months or if you track the car after each track weekend. It is DIY at just a few bucks where this number came from?
Brake System repair - $60.50 (Driver side front rotor was installed improperly and the brake line was twisted. Came home and corrected it in 20 minutes. Why not tell me when the wheel is off and charge me for it?).
Good customer service would have jsut done this, at no charge, then told you of the issue. That is an easy fix and an easy way to gain a customer’s respect and future business.
Thermostat Housing Cracked - $620.38 (no idea how they came up with this since I have no coolant leak).
Do they even know where it is on a ZR-1? I would have asked just for shiggles and have them show me.
Cooling System Fluid Exchange - $184.69 (I flushed and refilled with coolant and distilled water 6 months ago).
Why so high? Why did you have them mount the tires again? LOL JK
Oil Pressure Swith Replace - $210.99 (they claimed it was leaking).
I had the one on the Z leak and believe me you will know it.
Replace serpantine belt - $231.17 (really?!)
WTH are they on drugs?
Front Wheel Bearings-repack - $1,110.86 (yeah! I need them but $1,100?)
Since when are the hubs on the C4 serviceable? (unless you have the Van Steels)
Steering Rack & Pinion-Replace - $1,164.50 (I was told due to mileage it should be replaced).
This makes no sense... No leaking, no binding, then why? Mileage isn't the only factor.
Power Steering Flush - $122.47
Again WTH?...
Alignment - $242.00 (this would be a good idea except I elected to do this after front wheel bearing replacement)
It is 84 bucks for a four wheel alignment with my guy that is a laser alignment machine and again ALL 4 WHEELS aligned with tax. This mess is not adding up.
Grand Total of "recommended service" came to $4,390.90!!!
My main concern would be how trustworthy is this place to do what they charge you to do. Are you really getting what you pay for?

Just my .02,

Daniel

[efnfast]

Gee, and I thought I was getting it tucked to me for paying $40 to put a plug in a tire at a shop that gets thousands of my dollars every year.

[secondchance]

Hey. They had great coffe - the kind that takes individual packs. I had two cups while waiting. Come to think of it, a local BMW service had the same coffee service. I got it! Stay away from service shop with fancy coffee machine!!!

[BigJohn]

The sad thing is that some men and ladies would bite their hook!!!

:mad:

[Schrade]

Does the dealer charge that much?

Tell them go ahead with everything ... for $2,150 - if you can watch.

[Fully Vetted]

The sad thing is that some men and ladies would bite their hook!!!

:mad:

That's why they do it. If they get even a 25% take rate they are big dollars ahead.

I know you are reluctant to post the name of the shop but wouldn't you post if they gave great service? IMO, it should work both ways. Post when it's good AND when it's bad and let the shop decide their own future by how they treat their customers.

[secondchance]

I prefer not to name them. Possible legal harassment etc... Besides, pretty much all those on this forum know enough about cars and have enough brain to smell s**t when confronted with s**t.

[nelson007]

That's the DC prices your charged in Obama land, come to Westminster not near that.

Nelson

[secondchance]

That's the DC prices your charged in Obama land, come to Westminster not near that.

Nelson

Thanks but I am use to WAZOO price. Come to think of it that's the Westminster price...

[Z51JEFF]

This place is unscrupulous and I would not give them one more dime,sounds like the State needs to do a repair scam on the place.I would pay them $1000 just to watch them repack the wheel bearings on the car,repack the bearings on a sealed hub?:-D

[Z51JEFF]

I prefer not to name them. Possible legal harassment etc... Besides, pretty much all those on this forum know enough about cars and have enough brain to smell s**t when confronted with s**t.

I can understand not wanting to put the name out there but imagine somebody thats barely getting by having to borrow money to pay for some bogus repair.

[MickeyD]

I can understand not wanting to put the name out there but imagine somebody thats barely getting by having to borrow money to pay for some bogus repair.

I totally agree. :-D

[secondchance]

Now I am on their auto-email service! They have a virtual garage set up for me and sending all kinds of coupons - LUCKY ME!

[LancePearson]

$203.30. Road force balance and nitrogen fill.


Normal air is 78% nitrogen to begin with.....just saying.

[secondchance]

Normal air is 78% nitrogen to begin with.....just saying.

I hear you but this is the latest rage since racing teams use nitrogen.

[Paul Workman]

$203.30. Road force balance and nitrogen fill.

Well, far as "nitrogen fill" goes, plain ol' air is about 78% nitrogen (http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/aircomposition.htm), and the nitrogen fill is just another BS myth :mad:they get you on.

Just sayin.

P.

[scottfab]

...snip....
Brake Fluid flush - $261.97 (this was done by me with WAZOO help about a year ago and the fluid is still crystal clear)
Brake System repair - $60.50 (Driver side front rotor was installed improperly and the brake line was twisted. Came home and corrected it in 20 minutes. Why not tell me when the wheel is off and charge me for it?).
Thermostat Housing Cracked - $620.38 (no idea how they came up with this since I have no coolant leak).
Cooling System Fluid Exchange - $184.69 (I flushed and refilled with coolant and distilled water 6 months ago).
Oil Pressure Swith Replace - $210.99 (they claimed it was leaking).
Replace serpantine belt - $231.17 (really?!)
Front Wheel Bearings-repack - $1,110.86 (yeah! I need them but $1,100?)
Steering Rack & Pinion-Replace - $1,164.50 (I was told due to mileage it should be replaced).
Power Steering Flush - $122.47
Alignment - $242.00 (this would be a good idea except I elected to do this after front wheel bearing replacement)

Grand Total of "recommended service" came to $4,390.90!!!
...snip..

Obviously these guys don't know what they're doing. They didn't even inspect the muffler bearings or else they'd have added them too.
I'm getting nervous.
I'll be taking my baby in for new shoes on front and an alignment soon. I get pretty nervous letting anyone touch the car and of course never let it out of sight. An alignment and new shoes is the only time.

It was instructive once back in 97 when I first got the car though. The guy found a rear bearing out of tolerance and wouldn't do the alignment on it. I thanked him, went home, replaced the bearing and came back for the alignment. I figure it was a free inspection.

[LancePearson]

The nitrogen thing might have had some merit back when tires were 70-80% aspect ratios with tall side walls but the new 35% or so aspect ratios are so short in the side walls and the relative volume of atmosphere inside the tire so small the extra 18% or so when you disount other elements in air that is nitrogen sounds really to me like more hyperbole than anything else. Perhaps it has an impact on tire heat. If that's so I know the guys I watched on the road course paid great attention to tire temp with their own thermometers after each run to manage their grip. Not knowledgable about that but for stiffness and other properties of the tire it would not seem to be significant to me. When I put air in my 91 Z's tires it takes very little air to make air pressure changes which tells me the volume of air inside the tire is limited.

Perhaps someone with experience can comment on the merits or demerits of nitrogen filled for racing. It seems completely ludicrous for street use on our tires IMHO.

[secondchance]

The nitrogen thing might have had some merit back when tires were 70-80% aspect ratios with tall side walls but the new 35% or so aspect ratios are so short in the side walls and the relative volume of atmosphere inside the tire so small the extra 18% or so when you disount other elements in air that is nitrogen sounds really to me like more hyperbole than anything else. Perhaps it has an impact on tire heat. If that's so I know the guys I watched on the road course paid great attention to tire temp with their own thermometers after each run to manage their grip. Not knowledgable about that but for stiffness and other properties of the tire it would not seem to be significant to me. When I put air in my 91 Z's tires it takes very little air to make air pressure changes which tells me the volume of air inside the tire is limited.

Perhaps someone with experience can comment on the merits or demerits of nitrogen filled for racing. It seems completely ludicrous for street use on our tires IMHO.

Lance,

From what I understand volumetric expansion rate of nitrogen is a lot smaller then air - less pressure differential due to tire temperture.
Also, nitrogen has larger molecules resulting in reduction of air loss due to seepage.

[scottfab]

There's a ton of video out there on this nitrogen topic. Pick one:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nitrogen+in+tires+vs+air&oq=Nitrogen+in+&gs_l=youtube-reduced.1.3.0l4.451669.461366.0.467288.12.9.0.3.3. 0.149.573.8j1.9.0...0.0...1ac.1.bkupGGLsu0I

Oh and for grins while you have your coffee and a way to get the
blood "racing" watch this Z all over the track (off topic)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6cBnvt5CUU

[Schrade]

Nitrogen?

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3qVW7uP6fS1IVttW2wC-x06aOEHECuNQhPjnQF7q5xYDFpu4t

[batchman]

Perhaps someone with experience can comment on the merits or demerits of nitrogen filled for racing.

The real concern in racing is partly the gas itself and partly the lack of water vapor.

In my autocross events I will heat the tires enough to add 1-3 lbs of air pressure in each of my runs. Using nitrogen would reduce this and add consistency, but to do it right you have to pull some vacuum first. I would look at it but other budget items appear to have more bang for the buck, and I would be checking my pressures each run anyway...

For street cars I'll let you draw your own conclusion. If the wheels were steel it would inhibit rust.

I would pay them $1000 just to watch them repack the wheel bearings on the car,repack the bearings on a sealed hub?

I was going to say exactly this, in fact I tried to pay someone to come up with a bearing I *could* re-pack... But then it turned out both not practical and not really within my class rules...

Best,
- Jeff

[Fully Vetted]

I just bought a new '12 Jeep Wrangler. It came with Nitrogen filled tires.

:rolleyes:

[dredgeguy]

You can get your tires filled with Nitrogen for free at Costco.

[BigJohn]

We put calcium in tires for better traction!!!


:cheers:

[batchman]

I was thinking I should try helium to reduce unsprung weight LOL!
- Jeff

[Paul Workman]

The real concern in racing is partly the gas itself and partly the lack of water vapor.

In my autocross events I will heat the tires enough to add 1-3 lbs of air pressure in each of my runs. Using nitrogen would reduce this and add consistency, but to do it right you have to pull some vacuum first. I would look at it but other budget items appear to have more bang for the buck, and I would be checking my pressures each run anyway...

For street cars I'll let you draw your own conclusion. If the wheels were steel it would inhibit rust.



I was going to say exactly this, in fact I tried to pay someone to come up with a bearing I *could* re-pack... But then it turned out both not practical and not really within my class rules...

Best,
- Jeff

Well, unless the person placing nitrogen in the tire has purged the existing air first, then somebody is kidding somebody when it comes down to it. Did that pimply-faced kid at the tire store purge the air before adding nitrogen? I wonder? If not, then the mix might be, lets say 90% Nitrogen instead of the normal 78% (Actually, I suspect it would be closer to 85%, sans doing the math.)

Anyway, it is a rip-off, IMO; just a gimic to extract more $$ from the unsuspecting w/o first purging...and even then??

YMMV,

P.

[BigJohn]

I was thinking I should try helium to reduce unsprung weight LOL!
- Jeff

That has been done on bicycle tires to save weight!!!

:cheers:

[LancePearson]

Lol...nitrogen full fill in low aspect tires might be an obsession about out there at the sixth sigma level.....99.999966%. Said another way...is it really effective? Any evidence?

I am thinking I would rather spend it taking Kate Upton out to dinner and drinks!

[Schrade]

Ok; let's end the Nitrogen issue Post Haste...

1) Fill with regular atmospheric gas. (78% N)
2) Let some air out (the 02's get out first, since the purveyors of the BS say that the little molecules get out easier).
3) Refill to spec.
4) Repeat #2.
5) Do log calculations, to determine how many #2 reps it will take to get N2 fill.
6) Hammer down.

[BigJohn]

Nitrogen, Helium and Calcium are all put in tires.
I'll stay with Compressed Air in car tires.
Now what?

[tomtom72]

Those are almost worse than New York City/Metro suburbs prices. Most local dealers get $125.00 per Hr. Those guys seem to be way past the $125/hr labor rate. The local repair shop guys are about $25.00/hr less on labor as a rule in the NYC/Metro suburbs.

The mounting & balancing cost is cheaper than up in my area, that would cost me about $200.00 for 4 tires mount & non-road force balance thru a T/Rack installer and no N fill. R/Force balance is $35 per wheel extra up here generally. Oh and that includes the disposal fee on the old rubber. That's why I only get the rear tires from T/R as it isn't worth it after all the extras are added in. The rears are just too hard to get thru a brick & mortar store up here.

As a comparo I just bought new shoes for my Cobalt this past Saturday, and as they showed me how worn my brakes were I had them do the job. The bill was $1382.12. Fr & Rr wagoner power stop pads + 4 wagoner rotors; 4 Conti DWS Extreme Contact 205/50/17 + wheel alignment. I could have done the brakes myself, but for the $400.00 extra to do the brakes to get the car back in an hour it wasn't worth doing brakes in my parking space in the winter!

:cheers:
Tom

[secondchance]

Hi, Tom,

Labor rate was $121/hr.
All I can say is that tires are mounted and balanced perfect with no damage to the rims nor the car.
However, when I came home I had to remove front driver side wheel to un-kink the brake line and since I had the jack out cleaned both front inner barrels and sparyed with brake dust inhibitor. Lug nuts were way undertorqed for my liking so I re-torqued all 4 wheels. Doing so I noticed 2 of the wheel locks (Gorilla brand) were buggered somewhat. They must have ran an impact while removing when the key was partially engaged.
Like I said, no major damage and that's all I care about. Nonetheless, it is sad that supossedly a top-notch shop performed the way they did.:cheers:

[tomtom72]

Oh man Yun! Your guys and my guys must have went to the same school! Yes on the wheel T/Q and my tire psi's were all over the map!...and none were at the 35 psi dictated by GM! LOL Sad isn't it? Everytime I go thru this I think to myself I'm going to retire and open a shop, then I wake up! LOL I hate to say this but I get better results when I take my Cobalt to the dealer for customer paid repair work! It's the warranty stuff that they stink at! :rolleyes:

:cheers:
Tom

[WARP TEN]

I work at a 6-franchise auto park and we have a machine for Nitrogen that attaches to all four tires at once, then sucks all the air out until the tires are flat then refills each with Nitrogen. Secondchance is right that Nitrogen molecules are larger than Oxygen and there for do not seep out as easily and Nitrogen filled tires also do not lose as much pressure with a temperature drop. Don't know whether Nitrogen helps with racing, but for people who are not dilligent checking tire pressures, Nitrogen helps.--Bob

[scottfab]

"Nitrogen's covalent radius is 75pm so the length of a nitrogen (N2) molecule ought to be 4 X 75pm or 300 pm. A molecule of oxygen (O2) ought to be just a shade smaller 4 X 73pm or 292pm. So an oxygen molecule is a little less than 3% smaller than a nitrogen molecule. "

Not really that much different.
However, it's not that simple....

"This isn't the best response, as it does not take into account the different bonding which is present in the two molecules.

Although one could use covalent radius, it is more appropriate to use a covalent radius determined from similar bonding.

For nitrogen, the covalent radius for a triple bond is 54 pm.
For oxygen, the covalent radius for a double bond is 57 pm.

(Numbers from Wikipedia...)

From these numbers alone, one would expect diatomic nitrogen (with its triple bond) to be smaller than diatomic oxygen (with its double bond).

These numbers are similar to bond lengths for diatomic nitrogen and diatomic oxygen of 110 pm (~2 x 54 pm) and 121 pm (~2 x 57 pm), respectively."

Sources:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_the_size_of_a_nitrogen_molecule_compare_t o_that_of_oxygen

http://www.iun.edu/~cpanhd/C101webnotes/modern-atomic-theory/atomic-radii.html (http://www.iun.edu/%7Ecpanhd/C101webnotes/modern-atomic-theory/atomic-radii.html)

Now here is where it gets interesting. What about water vapor molecules. At 278pm they are MUCH bigger than Nitrogen or Oxygen molecules.

So the idea that Nitrogen is bigger and therefore does not leak out as fast doesn't seem to hold "water" so to speak.. :-D

Source:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_size_of_a_water_molecule

Yah ok so I've had my coffee and had a few minutes to kill.

[secondchance]

Ok! That's it! I am going to fill w/ hydrogen - lighter then air! But wait! It might blow up! Solution - helium! Reduce curb weight, reduce unsprung weight, reduced inertia, blah, blah, blah... Helium is the solution!!!:cheers:

[WARP TEN]

We could hook up to the forum and fill up with lots of hot air!!!! :)---Bob

[FU]

We could hook up to the forum and fill up with lots of hot air!!!! :)---Bob

:cheers:

[Fully Vetted]

Ok! That's it! I am going to fill w/ hydrogen - lighter then air! But wait! It might blow up! Solution - helium! Reduce curb weight, reduce unsprung weight, reduced inertia, blah, blah, blah... Helium is the solution!!!:cheers:

You'd have the only Z that sounds like Alvin the chipmunk...

[Hib Halverson]

"Road Force Balance" and "nitrogen" eh?

Well, that along with their recommended service indicates to me that whatever service shop this is...they are neither reputable nor knowledgeable.

Find another service vendor.

[LancePearson]

:-D"Road Force Balance" and "nitrogen" eh?

Well, that along with their recommended service indicates to me that whatever service shop this is...they are neither reputable nor knowledgeable.

Find another service vendor.

Absolutely...b.s. by any other name is still b.s. If you can honestly factually prove to me that the difference in a low aspect tire's air atmosphere content between 78% nitrogen (normal air) and 100% so called nitrogen is even calculatable I'll swim the English Channel towing Rosie O'Donnel on my back.

You'd be far better off to polish all the air passages in the plenem, etc.

Mr. H. speaks with straight tongue in the country I come from.

[secondchance]

:-D

Absolutely...b.s. by any other name is still b.s. If you can honestly factually prove to me that the difference in a low aspect tire's air atmosphere content between 78% nitrogen (normal air) and 100% so called nitrogen is even calculatable I'll swim the English Channel towing Rosie O'Donnel on my back.

You'd be far better off to polish all the air passages in the plenem, etc.

Mr. H. speaks with straight tongue in the country I come from.

Guys, fully understand your skepticism. To be fair there was no extra charge for the nitrogen fill. As for the road force balance who knows. $50 per tire for mounting, for me, was nothing but an insurance for my wheels. Tires cost me $1,695 and that was a deal. At tire rack it would have been $1850 or so with shipping. At such price, snake oil or not, don't mind paying a little extra for mounting and balance as long as wheels wern't all scuffed up.
My complaint was over these guys taking the opportunity and trying to sucker me into unnecessary work.

I love the Alvin comment - very funny!!!

[LilRedCorvette]

I finally got a set of Michelin PS2s and had them sent to a local Auto Service shop with a reputation of good equipment and knowledgeable service. I won't name names since I really don't want to mess with someone's livelihood.

However, I am so flabbergasted I had to vent somewhere:
On the positive note tire install on my 18" Fikses were done properly w/o any damage to the rim or the car and road force balance was done properly.

After the installation I was presented with their recommended service:

Brake Fluid flush - $261.97 (this was done by me with WAZOO help about a year ago and the fluid is still crystal clear)
Brake System repair - $60.50 (Driver side front rotor was installed improperly and the brake line was twisted. Came home and corrected it in 20 minutes. Why not tell me when the wheel is off and charge me for it?).
Thermostat Housing Cracked - $620.38 (no idea how they came up with this since I have no coolant leak).
Cooling System Fluid Exchange - $184.69 (I flushed and refilled with coolant and distilled water 6 months ago).
Oil Pressure Swith Replace - $210.99 (they claimed it was leaking).
Replace serpantine belt - $231.17 (really?!)
Front Wheel Bearings-repack - $1,110.86 (yeah! I need them but $1,100?)
Steering Rack & Pinion-Replace - $1,164.50 (I was told due to mileage it should be replaced).
Power Steering Flush - $122.47
Alignment - $242.00 (this would be a good idea except I elected to do this after front wheel bearing replacement)

Grand Total of "recommended service" came to $4,390.90!!!

I am a firm believer that we all need to make a living but recommending services without even verifying whether fluids are bad or not and outright false claim (cracked thermostat housing, oil pressure sender, steering rack) is outrageous!

I thought about sharing my thoughts with the manager but I figured why waste my time and get aggrevated. So, I just nodded my head and told them I will give it a thought and left.:-x

$203.30. Road force balance and nitrogen fill.

Hey. They had great coffe - the kind that takes individual packs. I had two cups while waiting. Come to think of it, a local BMW service had the same coffee service. I got it! Stay away from service shop with fancy coffee machine!!!

Now I am on their auto-email service! They have a virtual garage set up for me and sending all kinds of coupons - LUCKY ME!

Hi, Tom,

Labor rate was $121/hr.
All I can say is that tires are mounted and balanced perfect with no damage to the rims nor the car.
However, when I came home I had to remove front driver side wheel to un-kink the brake line and since I had the jack out cleaned both front inner barrels and sparyed with brake dust inhibitor. Lug nuts were way undertorqed for my liking so I re-torqued all 4 wheels. Doing so I noticed 2 of the wheel locks (Gorilla brand) were buggered somewhat. They must have ran an impact while removing when the key was partially engaged.
Like I said, no major damage and that's all I care about. Nonetheless, it is sad that supossedly a top-notch shop performed the way they did.:cheers:

I know exactly which shop this is...you don't even have to post it. LOL

I've had them mount & RF balance (no nitrogen fill) my wheels before, and that's all I'll use them for. I educated them about staggered fitment, directional sawblade wheels (in other words, gave them a list of Do's and Don'ts). ;)

Don't let them do inspections...they're anal, and replaced my wipers, but with the wrong kind (if I actually used them, they would have hit the cowl of the hood). I put the correct kind on, and have come to the conclusion that I will only use them for M&B duties.

[USAFPILOT]

air is almost all nitrogen anyway. Who has pure oxygen in their tires.

[LancePearson]

My goodyear eagles y rated tires were $1786 mounted and balanced and old tires disposed of in Dec. From my local shop....I dont go around spinning the rears at those prices. My shop is run by people who race themselves and they laugh at nitrogen fill.