Ugh... Big O manhandled my AMGs!
 

Hey Guys,

Bad news… thanks to my (un)friendly neighborhood Big O Tires, my once-lovely SL 2-PC AMGs have scratches and gouges all over them. :mad:

I thought I’d post to document my experience so that it can help others choose a tire shop that is professional and that treats customers with respect and honesty. My experience may be an isolated issue with this particular store (in Aliso Viejo, California), however based on my experience, I won’t be taking my cars to any Big O tire store again. My experience was so bad it warrants not only follow-up with the shop and Big O corporate, which I’ve already initiated, but also an FYI to anyone considering taking their car there.

It would be impossible to compensate me for the time I’ve lost following up on this fiasco, and the likely expense I’ll incur to fix the damage they’ve caused (buying another, cheaper set of wheels & tires to drive on while my AMGs are repaired, repairing the damaged wheels, and re-aligning my car by a competent shop). I, like everyone else here, have more important things to do than deal with a dishonest shop who’s not concerned about my best interests. I expect businesses to operate as I do, by doing a job, doing it well, and owning up to your mistakes when they (inevitably will) happen.

At the current time, I have notified both store management and the parent corporation. Their initial responses are detailed below; I will be sure to post additional updates as they occur.

That’s it for the cliff’s notes… If you want the nitty gritty, continue reading…

I took my 500E in last Thursday, 3/18 for tire installation (brought my own lightly-used tires) and alignment (drag link and idler bushing were just replaced, as my last set of tires had uneven wear in the front). I waited for the car, as they said it would take an hour or so. An hour and a half later, the service manager tells me the car is about ready, so I pay and sign the invoice sight-unseen (foolish, I know – I should have inspected the car first, although I don’t think it would have made much difference).

Once outside, the technician pulls the car in front of the shop, and I ask him about the alignment adjustments needed. He was very nice and even complimented me on my car :). While waiting for the manager to provide me a copy of the alignment specs, I noticed scratches on the front wheel. My heart dropped, as I take great effort to keep my car well maintained and free of damage – especially the wheels which everyone here knows aren’t cheap. Upon closer inspection, I find that all four wheels have been damaged - long scratches all the way around the lip on the front two wheels, and the rear wheels look like someone used a chisel to get the old tires off.

This is where it goes from crappy to infuriating… when I pointed out the damage to the service manager, he comes up with every explanation in the book why it can’t be his fault, and not just that I’m mistaken, but he actually accuses me of trying to defraud him for “a new set of wheels”! A partial list of accusations is below (along with my commentary):

-I’m trying to scam him for a new set of wheels (note I have not asked for anything at this point; just pointed out that the damage was not there when the car was brought in)
-His machine couldn’t possibly cause the damage because it’s plastic
-Claimed the wheels were already damaged (neither the manager nor his tech inspected the wheels before putting it on the lift)
-Claimed they were so dirty that they were probably damaged already (???)
-Claimed that my car is old (and therefore a pile???)
-He’s done this for 20 years and never had a problem
-He’s worked on Ferraris and Lamborghinis and never had a problem (and therefore my car’s a pile???)

After he’s done ranting, he dismisses the whole thing by telling me to go get a quote to repair the damage and he’ll review it. I tell him I’m not leaving without him acknowledging that I brought the issue up on the spot, so he writes a note to this effect on my invoice. The last thing I need is this guy claiming he’s never met me when I come back with the quote.

I then return the following day with a quote and he says “you want us to fix FOUR wheels?.” Yeah, moron, just like I said yesterday. Who’s trying to scam who here? I asked him to contact me the following day (Saturday), but he said corporate was closed so he wouldn’t be able to contact them, and therefore me, until Monday.

So I went online and found out that corporate customer service was still open (numbnuts fails again), and called direct. The person who helped me said that the store would have an opportunity to make the situation right first; if they didn’t do so by Wednesday, 3/24, I should call corporate back and the case would be escalated. This morning, the Regional Director of Big O corporate called to set an appointment with me to view the wheels. When I asked him why, he sounded defensive and said that a bill for wheel repair had been presented to him and that he had to verify the damage. My initial impression is that he is going to treat me in a similar fashion as the service manager. I hope he proves me wrong. I will be sure to post an update with details of our meeting.

Sorry for the (long, long) rant, but I hope the info is useful to someone out there. I’ve been able to avoid many pitfalls as an auto enthusiast with the resources here and on other forums, and hopefully this will help the next poor sap who thinks about taking their car to this shop.

Caveat emptor, buyer beware, you get what you pay for (or much, much less), etc, etc.

Regards, Kyle


***UPDATE 3/24:***
Regional director a no-show for our 5PM meeting. No call or anything; I left two messages to see if he would show and no return call. Time to escalate this to TBC and Sumitomo Corporation of America, the corporate owners of Big-O.


***UPDATE 3/26:***
I called corporate customer service again to see if the Regional Director got hit by a truck or hit the lotto. They're not sure, so they'll look into and let me know. How many BigO employees does it take to get a callback? 3 and counting... :rolleyes:

Before:
http://www.kylejochai.com/reflexgti/...efore-bigo.jpg

After:
http://www.kylejochai.com/reflexgti/...after-bigo.jpg

:mad:

I've got a very perfect set of BBS that I'm putting on the w126 tomorrow, and I'm having the same fears with the install of the tires. Sorry to hear about it.

I had the same issue, with a shop in Holland, MI (TCI I believe). I asked all of the questions before dropping them off, they were recommended by Tire Rack. When I showed up to pick up the wheels there werre big scratches through the clear-coat on the lip, the guy simply pointed to his sign (not when I dropped them off) that says that they are not responsible for damage to wheels.

I have found some people at the local Discount Tire who know how to handle wheels (not a universal recommendation as another Discount Tire bent 4 of my new BBS wheels a few years back, but did replace them), and don't consider Tire Rack's recommended service centers worth anything at all. I do recommend having Tire Rack do the work in Indiana if you're within a reasonable distance, they have always handled my wheels with appropriate care and knowledge.

I know this sounds weird, but I do know people who have the local dealer take care of tire installation and balancing for this very reason.

Kyle, I drop off loose wheels and new tires at our local MB dealer for mounting & balancing. Their Service Department does an excellent job and uses the 2-piece MB balance weights. I have done this for years to avoid wheel damage caused by incompetent techs and marginal equipment at tire stores.

I suggest that you insist on new replacement wheels because your pristine wheels will not be the same after they are repaired.

Thanks for the idea Fred. I may try that. I have also used Shoreline Motoring in Huntington Beach, who has always treated me and my car wonderfully... the only downside is that they're ~25 miles away. I think there are 4 MB dealers closer than that. :eek:

I have a meeting with the regional director for Big O corporate later tonight. I'll be sure to update here with the results.

***UPDATE 3/24:***
Regional director a no-show for our 5PM meeting. No call or anything; I left two messages to see if he would show and no return call. Time to escalate this to TBC and Sumitomo Corporation of America, the corporate owners of Big-O.

Washing my GFs A4 today I realized they put the same exact scratches in her accessory alloys. It was Tire Discounters who is supposed to use "touchless european mounting machines" sadly she had her Kuhmos put on like 4 months ago so its too late to go back.

Id be calling the regional managers boss and reeeally be reading him the riot act. Not only did he not keep the appointment but didnt call nor has he been available to reset the appointment. What a crock !

Kyle, while performing a 4-wheel alignment on our 1998 E320 back in 1999 the local MB dealer damaged all 4 wheels. The alignment jig mounted to each wheel left 3 indentations on the inner lip. (Apparently the alignment tech failed to use nylon protectors that prevent wheel damage ... who knows how many wheels he damaged unwittingly.) After considerable discussion with the Service Manager he agreed to replace all 4 wheels. The SM initially proposed repairing them, but I refused to accept that resolution.

My point is to insist on new wheels. A repaint will not hold up as well as the factory finish. In a few years when the refinished wheels start to have issues you'll be left with a decision ... refinish them again, or live with the cosmetic issues.

Another example. My son bought a pre-owned 2005 BMW 745i with significant curb rash on each wheel. As part of the purchase agreement the dealer agreed to refinish the wheels, but believe me the paint is not nearly as durable as factory paint. It seems "softer" and brake dust adheres to it more than any MB factory wheel finish.

Fred - good advice. I will check the part numbers and get pricing for replacements. My wheels were refinished at one point, but whoever did the work did a quality job. Until this incident the finish was holding up wonderfully (cleaning was a breeze and one would be hard pressed to tell that the finish was not original).

***UPDATE 3/26:***
I called corporate customer service again to see if the Regional Director got hit by a truck or hit the lotto. They're not sure, so they'll look into and let me know. How many BigO employees does it take to get a callback? 3 and counting... :rolleyes:

When I was in high school with a part time job I had a 1955 Pontiac. The master cylinder was going out so I took it to Big O Tires for replacement.

The mechanic there told me that new master cylinders weren't available and it would have to be rebuilt, but those old master cylinders can't just be "rebuilt", they have to be machined, honed, sleeved, etc. and it would have to be sent out across the country.

Every few days I would check back and I would get a story of "Your master cylinder is in this state" and then the next time it would be in another state getting something else done to it, because
"There are only certain parts of the country where people know how to rebuild these old master cylinders".

Finally over a month later the car was ready and I got a $700 bill for the master cylinder plus $90 to replace the spark plugs.

Later I found out that rebuilt master cylinders are readily available and fit something like 1939-1957 Pontiac, Olds, Chevy, Buick, etc. and only cost about $40. I never took my car back there ever since and now do almost all of my own repair work.

I can't even imagine the dollar signs in their eyes if they saw the 1968 200D I drive.

The local Ferrari/Maserati dealer wanted $575 to mount and balance my Maserati tires. I checked with the Mercedes dealer that Johnhef from here on the forum works at to see if they could do the job. They assured me they could, so I just got back from dropping the tires off. Wife was thrilled to get them out of her SUV and keeps griping about the smell they left. Anyway, I'm taking the Maserati to them Monday morning to have the job done. I'm confident that they will do fine, but I'll be standing there watching the entire time. The wheels are $3000 a piece to replace.

Update: Took the Maserati to Mercedes of Germantown today and they did a perfect job with the mounting and alignment. I couldn't believe how well the car handled after they were done! If you're in the area, I highly recommend them to do you tire work as well as other work. No, Johnhef didn't pay me to post this.