Photo: Spring tire change on a car Getty Images) Author: Konstantin Shirokun
During the seasonal rush at tire service stations, not every motorist has time to keep track of everything that is happening. And in such a situation, it sometimes happens that the driver pays for something other than what he needs. Auto journalists from RBC-Ukraine Auto reveal several unsightly tricks of unscrupulous tire service technicians.
Read about several attempts by tire fitters to impose dubious services in the RBC-Ukraine article.
To understand all the problems with tires, disks and wheel assemblies, you need to be, if not a professional, then an experienced driver with many years of experience visiting tire shops. Sometimes unscrupulous mechanics take advantage of this to see an uninformed visitor and earn an extra penny on him. This task is made easier for them by the fact that at many tire shops the contractors themselves communicate with the client. Using such direct contact, the mechanics often offer not only to change the tires, but also to do something else with the wheels that is, to put it mildly, not very necessary.
You need to roll the disk! This service is sometimes recommended to car owners, and it can cost as much as the disk itself. Some tire shop workers can even deliberately create a problem by incorrectly installing the disk on the balancing stand or putting something under the edge. Therefore, before agreeing, ask to show where exactly the beating and geometry violation is. Although a direct question about the correctness of the installation may offend the master, ask him to re-fasten the wheel in your presence to make sure of his professionalism.
Valves ” on the way “! Should we change them? Sometimes tire shops offer to preventively replace the valves through which the tire is inflated, insisting that this is necessary for your safety. Moreover, the most determined tire fitters even advise doing this every season. This is indeed one of the most vulnerable parts of the wheel, but its malfunction can be foreseen in advance. For example, small cracks begin to appear on the rubber part of the valve. If there are no such signs, the replacement can be postponed.
Do you want your tires inflated with nitrogen? Even today, there are still workshops that will try to prove to you that pure nitrogen in a tire is much more effective than pure air. Perhaps this makes sense in aviation and auto racing, but the feasibility of such know-how on an ordinary car is highly questionable. So when they start explaining to you at a tire shop why nitrogen is needed even in the wheels of your family crossover, do not waste your time on such lectures and money on this service. By the way, the air we breathe already contains 78% nitrogen.
Your wheels were dirty, pay for cleaning. Of course, when working with a wheel, there should be no dirt, sand or ice on it. But the question arises: who should clean them? The client who arrived in clean clothes, or the tire shop worker whose job involves such tasks? Sometimes the mechanics may demand additional payment for cleaning the mounting surface of the wheel, explaining that without this, air may begin to escape later. However, in such a situation, it is worth insisting that this is part of their duties, and the use of a brush or tool should be included in the cost of installation.
And we'll supply you with free weights! This sounds attractive if saving is your main goal. However, these free weights are often taken from a box where mechanics put used parts removed from old wheels. This “generosity” of tire service is aimed at attracting customers, but in the end it can cost you more. Due to a damaged mount, the weight can fall off in a week, and you'll have to spend time and money on balancing again. And if you ignore the loss, driving on an unbalanced wheel will lead to accelerated wear of the suspension and steering mechanism.
In brief
An elementary operation at first glance to replace one whole tire with another actually contains several important nuances. Failure to observe which affects, for example, the durability of the parts and the operation of the brakes. Meanwhile, no special skills are required from tire repairmen, the main thing is that they are responsible for their work – and there will be great doubts about this if, among other things, they “add” unnecessary services to the client.
Materials from Autocentre and Motor were used in preparing this article .
Let us recall that RBC-Ukraine recently reported why pedestrians are not always right.