Dealer Tire Replacement Labor Costs

Sounds unusually long. Should be no more than an hour for the unmount of old / mount of new, and then another hour for the alignment.

Caveat: this more from gut than experience.

 

Sounds fishy to me.

 

Sounds high, way high.

How many hours for an oil change? I heard some dealers charge three hours...

Do they do this in house? A lot of places sub that work out anyway.

 

Thats way high. Personally I always take a nice car to a specialized shop with a good balancer. Try to get the alignment specs yourself and give them to the guy. Be SURE to express your requirements for no scratched wheels, etc. I can't imagine paying more than 2 hours labor for the whole shebang. Mounting & balancing 4 tires takes all of an hour, another for the alignment, MAYBE 2 for a full 4-wheel highly-perfected alignment at the most, but no more.

 

What they're trying to tell you is, they don't want the job unless you make it well worth there while.

Once I had a Rolls Royce dealer try to charge me $400.00, to rotate and balance 4 tyres.

I didn't look at the bill until I got home. The next day I called the dealership and complained. They hemmed and hawed and tried to to explain the complexities of rotating and balancing RR wheels and tyres......BS!!

Bottom line, I got a $300.00 refund.

In my book, I'd say don't deal with Miller Motors for anything.

 

It's not as high as it might seem. Firstly mounting,cleaning, and properly balancing alloy wheels should be done slowly on a machine that's designed to do it. If you rush you can damage the wheels. If you mount the weights wrong you can interfere with brakes etc. I very much doubt you'll find an independent shop willing to take on the responsibility to mount/dismount/balance alloy wheels for much less. If they ding one it's 2K.

As for alignment there's a lot to that as well. If it's done incorrectly it can do a lot of damage quickly. In addition at Miller while they're doing it they will check for things that an independent tire dealer won't know about.

I'm sure you can get it done for less. Wether you want too and risk dinging a wheel that someone won't be responsible for is another issue. Ever trying making a 2K claim against Joe's Tire?

I'd compare WWOC/FOLI with the price you got from Miller. If they are less either of those would be fine but I wouldn't use an independent unless I knew them very well and they had the equipment to do this work properly.

As a point of reference I spend 2 hours per wheel mounting/balancing my P 4 wheels. Properly aligning that car takes 2 days

 

Yes because aligning those holes up with the studs or wheel lugs can be tough....

 

What a load!

When I was right out of high school I use to work at a gas station for about two years. There isn't anything big deal about mounting tires. It took me about an hour to mount and balance all four tires with no help. With three guys we could knock out a car in about 20 minutes. The biggest difference is the mounting machine that is used. The machine that you want is the one that grabs the rim buy the bottom of the lip, and has the mounting arm that lowers down, and is attached to the machine. The ballancing is no big deal either. You just want to make sure that they use the sticker weights and not the weights that get banged onto the rim. Now the alignment will take an hour to get it just right. The best machines will use lazers.

So at the most you are looking at two hours. I have taken my tires and rims to America's Tire Co. and had got the tires mounted no big deal. I think they charged me $65 to do the job.

 

He's right. You do not need a dealer for this. Just a good tire shop.

 

I used to work at a garage when I was still in H.S. -- back when they had shops instead of mini-marts. (My motto was "I stand behind my brake jobs -- unless the car is in reverse". )

I saw our machine tear a 'Vette alloy rim right down the middle (it was too wide, and hung up on the machine frame). So sorry, too bad -- and no replacement rim either. (Listen closely for a comment that can be tossed back later as a "disclaimer".)

It's not the measuring, it's the adjusting. And I've seen shops get it all wrong with those laser Hunter machines. I've had a Toyota dealer scratch the alloy rims and knock off wheel weights attaching the mirrors. And if the mirrors aren't connected right, the alignment will be wrong, too. I did a better job with a plumb bob, a tape measure and a protractor (and an educated butt behind the wheel). (The Toy dealer couldn't figure out how I knew the alignment was wrong just from driving it.)

How many laps between adjustments?

 

I would take my car to a reputable tire shop. Personally I use Discount Tire which is a national company and they match Tire Rack's prices. I would trust guys who do this kind of stuff daily who also work on plenty of very expensive and custom rims over a Fcar tech who will maybe do one once per week or so. The dealership guys are no more skilled in such a basic task. If you want to pay 1K more for the dealership receipt, go for it.

 

I no longer do tire mount, I use a local tire store, they have better equipment to work with the low profiles. Older cars with 50 or higher aspects get done in house. I balance all wheels myself. FWIW, the Goodyear dealer charges me $120 for 4 dismount and mount, wheels are off the car, and yes they have scratched a rim or two.

Brian

 

Thats way too high! Just last week on my BB512i I had four new TRXs mounted, static balanced then spin balanced on the car along with a four wheel alignment all for $220.00 in labor by Gran Turismo East. They are who FoA uses for all its tire, alignment and suspension work. I have used them myself for years without having one wheel nicked!

 

How's the wear on the current tires? If it's even then you probably don't need the allignment. I was quoted $100 for mount and balance for a set from a shop that does F-cars regularily. Miller probably uses someone else to do it. Find out who that is or find someone who has the right equipment. They may even tell you who they use. When trying to find a shop first ask what they charge for mount and balance, then tell them what kind of car you have. Say you are picky about the possibility of scratches. If the guy doesn't have the right equipment he will tell you because he doesn't want the headaches and will let you know who can do it. BTW, if you are buying the tires from tirerack.com they can refer you to installers in your area right on the web site. Good luck.

 

That much service for that amount of $$ can't be beat. No way.

 

Damn...for that money, I can buy 4 tires and get them mounted. In Hong Kong, I was charged about US$100 to mount the tires and balance all 4 wheels on the 512TR. The tires have been running for over a year now and no issues.

 

Jim,
I admire your collection, your genorisity in sharing it with us, the caring way that you take care of your cars, and your meticulous attention to detail. However, the information presented is precisely of the type which scares away potential Ferrari owners and guilts existing owners into spending way more than is needed for service.

I raced for 20 years and whether it was in my garage or at the track, a wheel alignment was done with some string, ruler, carpenter's level and a piece of wood with a nail stuck in it. Took 2 people just a few minutes to check and less than 45 minutes to make adjustments. Unless the tire wear is uneven, ET550 probably doesn't need one anyway. Having an alignment done simply because you're getting new tires is like, well, getting your timing belts changed every 15,000 miles / two years.

As for wheel mounting, I used Orange County Automotive in Pine Island, NY. 845-258-4444. $30.00 / wheel mount and balance. No scratches and my wheels were always in balance for the life of the tires....at any speed.

Just my $0.04. ----I expect change.

Tom

 

Sound to me like you are getting it from Miller. Do they include personal lubrication before they give you the service?


Ok, seriosuly, you are a wise man and can do the math.

 

Tom
Setting up a 38 year old car that has been in two major crashes and one fire and is capable of going 200 MPH took two IMO rather talented people two days to set up properly. Perhaps it could have been done quicker but as I do drive these cars at speed I'm glad they got it right. You may feel scales, shock dyno's, and spring testers aren't necessary but I do.
As the FOLI price shows it does pay to shop around but as I very much doubt your guy would make good if he lunched a 2K 550 wheel, as both Miller and FOLI would, your price is apples and potatoes.

Miller/WWOC/and FOLI are apples to apples.

 

I appriciate your point: a high priced shop implies they'll fix it if they break it and stand behind the work better than Joe. Ever try to sue a Ferrari dealer? I haven't, but I imagine you'll have the same problems you would with Joe's tire. "It came in like that..."

I got my tires from Goodyear who didn't have an alignment machine (huh???). They did balance them which ain't easy with British wheels; they're hub centric and not bolt centric. Standard charge though.

I took it to the corner gas station that had a machine for alignment. They typed in the specs and was spot on; car has rock steady stability at speed (I had to give them the specs; no big deal). $55. Can't beat that!

I'd shop around if the charges seemed too high...I don't see the value.

Ken

 

Ken
As to you first question IMO you are wrong. In 34 years I've NEVER had WWOC who's done the bulk of my work,not make good on something they've screwed up.

Having delt with FOLI and knowing Miller I truely believe they would do the same.

Hey I'm the one who suggested he ask two other F dealers for a price which he did and saved himself $475.

Having a good relationship with a dealer IMO more than pays off. Over the years I've had my TR motor totally rebuilt, Chassis welded, four cornors replaced, Electric windows repaired, 308 motor replaced, 308 completely repainted, etc., etc., all under warrantee at no cost to me with no arguing whatsoever.

 

Time for an entirely new thread.


Tom