How should I handle this situation with the Tire Shop?

Went to Vannoy's to get some BFG A/T on my 2012 Tacoma. It was raining so i left without doing much inspection. Well I noticed a missing center cap when I got home. Drove back and found it about half way to the shop on the side of the road. Well then I notice only one of my original stem caps was there, one tire had no cap, one had a silver cap and the last tire had a cheep black cap. Then I notice on my bill I was charged 10 bucks for stems that i did not have installed.

Well i go up there to get this figured out and notice while i am there that they scratched my rims when the weight was left on when removing the tire and i have a nice groove on the rim on three of the tires. I was really upset at this point. The manager says he will have them touched up for me. Well i don't really like that idea as the rims will be in the same condition a year from now from what I have heard. Any ideas on what I should do in this situation?

 

go above him.

 

Step one, photograph everything. This way you have a photo of the problems. Then politely let the manager know your concern over longevity of a "touch up" and that if they would have put a scratch on the paint, you wouldn't accept a touch-up there, why accept one on a rim? You brought the truck to them in good faith that they would take care of it.

My question would be valve stems. I may be incorrect, but I thought all 2012 Tacoma trucks had a tire pressure monitoring system. (I believe they are federally mandated) Perhaps you do not have the factory rims, I am not sure. Either way, you didn't ask for replacement valve stems, you shouldn't have to pay for them. And even if you DID pay for new stems, I would expect them to all look the same, with new caps as well.

I recommend asking to get everything fixed properly, with replacement rims, and valve stems that are correct and identical. Thsi should of course be at no cost to you. If he says no, then ask to see his boss. If the boss says no, then contact corporate and be ready to email them the photos you took.

 

Here's what should have happened. You should have had 4 new TPMS sensor rebuild kits installed and normally they should run about $10 bucks so the pricing looks OK. The kits do not include stems as these are not replaceable on Toyota sensors. What they do include is a new sealing grommet, stem nut, valve core, and O-ring sealed valve cap. Sounds to me like the grabbed a bunch of stuff laying on the tire machine and made due. Go above him and get it fixed right. Leaving that valve cap off will lead to a seized valve core down the road and you will be replacing the whole sensor.

 

I dont know how big Vannoy's is but yeah go as high as you need to until you get to the owner/president.

That kind of damage from any reputable tire shop is unacceptable. You should not have been charged for stems and should have been asked if you wanted your TPMS sensors rebuilt with the above rebuild kit that Tripps2012 pictured.

At the minimum they should replace the damaged rims and hell I would want some kind of refund on the rubber for my time and inconvenience.

I used to run a tire store and trust me, I have had a novice tech do crap like this in the past and not only would it end up costing me to replace the rims but we usually had to eat the tires as well for the customer.

 

They should have insurance. they can make it right one way or the other. Depends on if it is a major tire place.