$60 is crazy per tire to get mounted and balanced...how about Walmart? :)

ArlyDude · Mar 20, 2012

Please don't flame. I got 19" rims and I'm sure Walmart can at least do the fronts for like $10 each or less, but my local tire place is apparently charging viper tax and wants $60 per tire (times 4) which is crazy. I questioned them and they went off about having a $15,000 machine....i asked, is this the same machine you charge people $10 to mount a normal tire, they said no, but I bet the answer is yes.

What is a cheaper alternative that can handle a 13" wide rim? I asked someone at Walmart and they said they would do it, I know if they screw it up they are buying new rims obviously.

KNG SNKE · Mar 20, 2012

Shop around. I usually pay 25 to 30 per tire for mount and balance.

Voodoo Rob · Mar 20, 2012

Did you buy the tires from the place charging you $60/tire? If you didn't, that answers your question about cost. Liability and profit matters too.

Moundir · Mar 20, 2012

Gotta be careful! Those wide and low profile tires are a nightmare to put on. 60 is crazy thought!

plumcrazy · Mar 20, 2012

Voodoo Rob said:
Did you buy the tires from the place charging you $60/tire? If you didn't, that answers your question about cost. Liability and profit matters too.

this.......

Voodoo Rob · Mar 20, 2012

For my wife's Porsche at the dealer its $200 for all 4 including road force balance. If its matters I own a custom motorcycle shop and we do up to 360 tires on custom 14 wide rims. Its a matter of patience and skill with the right equipment, your working with expensive wheels and tires = more cost. I wouldn't want to pay $10 to have $1500 worth of tires put on $3000 worth if rims. My 2 cents

chesapeake07 · Mar 20, 2012

Moundir said:
Gotta be careful! Those wide and low profile tires are a nightmare to put on. 60 is crazy thought!

X2

Sometimes, risk vs reward is a major factor. I used a company I had done business with before. This helps...

mattdillon · Mar 20, 2012

Voodoo Rob said:
For my wife's Porsche at the dealer its $200 for all 4 including road force balance. If its matters I own a custom motorcycle shop and we do up to 360 tires on custom 14 wide rims. Its a matter of patience and skill with the right equipment, your working with expensive wheels and tires = more cost. I wouldn't want to pay $10 to have $1500 worth of tires put on $3000 worth if rims. My 2 cents

You are exactly right Rob, I just spent $250 2 days ago for my H2 (put some custom wheels on it) I did not buy them from there though & I had to buy 32 lug nuts (including mounting & balancing) . Last year I went to another place (which is actually across the street) to see what they would charge to put some custom wheels (that I brought with me) on my Porsche & they were pretty cheap BUT he told me he couldn't Guarantee that they wouldn't have a small scratch on each one of them (what do you think I said) which is why I am back across the street now. You get what you pay for! jmo

WDW MKR · Mar 20, 2012

It isn't going to be $10 a tire, but $60/ea is outrageous... Viper or not. I paid about $120 for dismount of a full set and remount onto another set of wheels. Shop paid special attention, came recommended by a fellow Viper owner, and did a great job. Only place I'll use in the future.

Paul Hawker · Mar 20, 2012

Installers can really get burned when installing tires on very expensive rims. $10 is OK to install a small tire on a steel rim and balance with lead clip on weights. A small scratch can easily and cheaply be repaired.

Puting a very low profile tire on oversized custom rims carries huge risk for the installer. One lawsuit can wipe out a whole year of mounting profits. Road force machines, and precision balancing equipment cost a ton.

If you bring in tires purchased on the internet to save money the installer has very little incentive to cut you a deal on installation.

If the price is too high, you can always go down the street to another place that might be cheaper.

bluesrt · Mar 20, 2012

all about the liability on a high dollar wheel, so its gonna be a little more exspensive...the bigger the cost of the wheels,the more money.

Steve M · Mar 20, 2012

WDW MKR said:
It isn't going to be $10 a tire, but $60/ea is outrageous... Viper or not. I paid about $120 for dismount of a full set and remount onto another set of wheels. Shop paid special attention, came recommended by a fellow Viper owner, and did a great job. Only place I'll use in the future.

Is the place you were recommended located anywhere close to Dayton? I only ask because I just ordered a set of Michelins from VPA, and will need a place I can trust to mount/balance them without giving me too much grief that I bought them from somewhere else.

NI-KA · Mar 20, 2012

I have regularly paid $120 to have tires mounted and balance on my 18/19" wheels. At least locally it is not a big deal. There are a couple of places that will do this for approximately the same price. The wheels are 6-spoke and powder coated. I also have other work done at these places as well. Maybe that helps?

It would appear the local places that deal in performance tires have the proper machines to do the job. The most difficult tires that am aware of to do are the black chrome epoxy. They are really easy to chip if the installer does not take there time.

I would not go to Wally-mart. I do not think I would let them touch my other cars either. To many better options.

WDW MKR · Mar 20, 2012

Steve M said:
Is the place you were recommended located anywhere close to Dayton? I only ask because I just ordered a set of Michelins from VPA, and will need a place I can trust to mount/balance them without giving me too much grief that I bought them from somewhere else.

Nope... Toledo. I also know of good shops in Lima and Troy, but it's been a few years since I've done work there. I would have to ask around about Dayton. You should contact Randall (OH VCA Pres). I believe he is in that area and might be able to point you in the best direction.

Chuck 98 RT/10 · Mar 20, 2012

As outrageous as $60 is, it is also understandable. I was paying $5 for all four but I also had the shop's decal on my GTS. As often as I change tires if I had to pay any more than $20 a tire I'd buy my own machine, teach the neighbor kid how to do it and then pay him $10.

Viperless · Mar 20, 2012

This is why I just bought my own tire machine and balancer. I could have paid for them already with what I've spent on mounting tires in the last few years.

Despite what the shops will tell you, it is not that difficult to service Viper size wheels and tires with care. I stood there and watched two guys at Discount tire swap my 18/19 tires from one set of wheels to another and balance them in less than 30 minutes and that included spinning the new wheels on the balancer to make sure they were straight. The charge? $210!!! The machines were not the latest high tech equipment. Just simple rim clamp tire machines with an assist arm.

eucharistos · Mar 21, 2012

have you tried looking here: http://www.tirerack.com/installer/index.jsp

craig_g · Mar 21, 2012

I am a manager at a auto shop. I have been doing this kind of work since I was 17 years old. On smaller size tires you can knock out a set of 4 tires mounted and balanced in 30 min. For vipers/custom rims/run flats ect. Alot more care and time is required to do it correctly. I have a corghi artigilo 50 tire machine that it's just about the best thing out there. Not a rim clamp !! They can damage and scratch your wheels. It has a center pin that goes into the hole where your center cap goes. So no part of the machine touched your rims anywhere but the center hub. Which is the strongest part of the rim. I am the only Pearson in my shop that uses this specialty machine because it is easy to damage the
Machine itself if you do it wrong. The dismount / mount is just the beginning of the job. I have had run flat tires take me over a hour to get the tire bead to seat correctly. I normally charge 40 per tire for mound and balance. Sometimes I can knock a viper out fast and sometimes it takes forever. Drop centers / tire brand have a big factor. You got to remember your bringing in a high cost car and high cost rims ad tires. If some dip **** does it wrong they can tear the brad on your tires and not even tell you until one day it blows out and causes you tons of grief. I was a huge viper enthusiast before I became a owner of one and I treat every car like it was my own but trust me !!! Not may people do !!

dave6666 · Mar 21, 2012

I pay $15 at Discount Tire. And I'd be a little careful with that "they'll buy me new rims" talk. Good luck with that claim...

Your best bet is to show up in the car, talk to a manager, get a feel for if he or she seems tuned into your concerns about working on wheels like a Viper has, and then stand there and watch them. The Discount Tire I use, a Viper is the manager's dream car. Ask if that works to my advantage lol.

Chuck 98 RT/10 · Mar 21, 2012

Viperless said:
This is why I just bought my own tire machine and balancer. I could have paid for them already with what I've spent on mounting tires in the last few years.

What brand/model machine did you get? Ballpark price?

uvbnbit · Mar 21, 2012

Chuck 98 RT/10 said:
What brand/model machine did you get? Ballpark price?

CHeck out Greg Smith Equip. Good prices on combo's. You'll need a "2nd arm assist" and possibly a 3rd arm assist as well.

Also, I can do with a $2K changer, what a $15K tire changer can do, it just takes a bit of extra care and patience as mentioned above. i.e. If the dip**** don't know how to use what he's got, what's the point of boasting about an expensive TC.

Ricketts · Mar 21, 2012

We charge $16 per tire at my dealership.

coupe · Mar 21, 2012

dave6666 said:
...And I'd be a little careful with that "they'll buy me new rims" talk. Good luck with that claim...

I was thinking the exact same thing. Looking for the cheapest price and expecting flawless work is unreasonable IMO.

Another option is to check with car dealerships like BMW, Mercedes, etc... Their shops have very nice equipment and deal with large wheels on a daily basis.

cfiiman · Mar 21, 2012

dave6666 said:
I pay $15 at Discount Tire. And I'd be a little careful with that "they'll buy me new rims" talk. Good luck with that claim...

Your best bet is to show up in the car, talk to a manager, get a feel for if he or she seems tuned into your concerns about working on wheels like a Viper has, and then stand there and watch them. The Discount Tire I use, a Viper is the manager's dream car. Ask if that works to my advantage lol.

Yep, that is the problem, I can almost promise you won't get new rims if there is a scratch, maybe if it is destroyed in some way but it will still take a long time and probably $$$ to go after them, which *****. Best thing is to take it to a place you can trust like others have said and let the money be secondary JMO.

daytonprowler · Mar 21, 2012

Go to Colletti Motorsports in Moraine. GREAT people. Tell them you were recommended by the Ohio Viper Club. They will take good care of you.

http://www.colletti-motorsports.org/

Colletti Motorsports
2835 Main St
Moraine
OH 45439

Phone: 937 294 1533

FastMatt · Mar 21, 2012

ArlyDude said:
Please don't flame. I got 19" rims and I'm sure Walmart can at least do the fronts for like $10 each or less, but my local tire place is apparently charging viper tax and wants $60 per tire (times 4) which is crazy. I questioned them and they went off about having a $15,000 machine....i asked, is this the same machine you charge people $10 to mount a normal tire, they said no, but I bet the answer is yes.

What is a cheaper alternative that can handle a 13" wide rim? I asked someone at Walmart and they said they would do it, I know if they screw it up they are buying new rims obviously.

Tire shops have learned there lesson, thy charge now in most places based on there risk factor. The more Expensive a wheel is the more they charge to mount tires on them in case the wheel gets damaged and they have to replace it. Last set of tires I had mounted and balanced on my Fiske FM5's cost me $110 a tire at discount tire.

Knight Viper · Mar 21, 2012

When I don't purchase the tires from them, the local shop that I trust charges $50 per tire...It was my understanding that the "road force balancing" added the extra amount. I had a slight high speed vibration without it.

Silver04 · Mar 21, 2012

$60 seems high but even asking about taking your Viper to Walmart = :buttkick:

Bet you'd get a ton of attention, though, if that's your thing...good luck!!

ArlyDude · Mar 21, 2012

Allow me to reiterate. First of all I have 1 flat tire so I cannot drive the viper to Walmart. I would have to carry the rims and tires in anywhere I go. Thanks.

bluesrt · Mar 21, 2012

walmart????!!!!!! :ponder:

$60 is crazy per tire to get mounted and balanced...how about Walmart? :)

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