Shop Scratched my Wheels

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So I took my truck to the shop to get an alignment, new tires mounted, inspection, etc... I got it back and all 4 wheels are scratched from mounting new tires.... The scratches go through the paint and into the aluminum, and they vary from 4" to 12" long.

The shop I took it to is a local place - great people - owner of the shop owns a Tacoma and liked my truck when I first brought it in 4 years go when he did the initial alignment and wheel/tire mount at 5000 miles. They did a good job taking care of the wheels during that mount. They also gave me a loaner car because it took more than a day to do the work because they had trouble with the alignment at first (which they didn't charge me for). So I trust them, and they do good work (except in this case). When I showed the shop owner the damage he was visibly upset and annoyed - he said himself that 'he hates to see this because he knows how he likes to take care of his vehicles'. So while I don't hold him personally responsible, the fact still remains that one of his employees did this damage out of negligence.

The wheels have 70,000 miles on them, and the clearcoat on the exposed aluminum part is chipping/peeling, and there are some gouges on the edge of the wheels from me hitting stuff - so these wheels are far from perfect, and I wasn't heartbroken that they got scratched, but I of course didn't want them to get scratched.

I'm sure a lot of you will give me different opinions on what appropriate compensation would be. But considering the circumstances and the fact that I want to maintain a good working relationship with the guy because he does good work - what would you have asked for compensation for the damaged wheels?

 

I think you have to ask yourself this question. I would be livid and expect to be reimbursed for my wheels in full. You said you aren't heartbroken, I would be. I'd flip.

If they were shitty OEM wheels and you don't really care then I would maybe just ask for some free tires haha. If you want them replaced then I'd ask to be reumbursed the cost of a new set (of OEM wheels of course). Just ask for what is fair based on your level of pissed off.

Do you know how they scratched them?

 

To be honest, unless its a show car and i took it to a really high end custom shop, im not too upset about damaged wheels. That being said, 4-12 inches is rather negligent. Since the wheels werent perfect to begin with, I would either ask for what it would cost to refinish the wheels or a check for the current street value of them.

 

They didn't use the protective plastic 'lip' that goes around the wheel when they mounted the tires.

 

The street value before and after the scratches probably only changed by $100 or $200, I'd guess, because they were already dinged up from other stuff. They were originally $1000. I'd be surprised if I got more than $700 for them before the scratches, probably $500 now.

 

refinishing 4 wheels would cost about 500. id ask for a check for 4-500 and call it a day.

 

I'd price new wheels from the dealer then offer to take 75% of that in cash and just roll the scratched wheels and buy some parts for the truck.

 

I'd be upset if it were my wheels, mainly for the fact they scratched all 4 wheels and not just a small scratch but 4"-12" is quite a large scratch and that is uncalled for. Since you stated the wheels already had some marks etc i'd probably asked to be compensated by maybe a nice discount on your tires and alignment .. like say 25%-50% off the total bill

 

I think any one of your suggestions would have been reasonable.

I basically did what OhioTaco said. I know I could have got more, but I have leverage now for the future and still have a mechanic that wants my business. Good mechanics are hard to come by. I think if the owner was a jackass and wanted me to screw off I would have pressed for more because at that point I wouldn't care if I went back to his shop or not. Sometimes it isn't all about money.

Of course you could argue 'if this guy is a good mechanic, he wouldn't have scratched your wheels'... I've had plenty of other visits to this guys' shop - he's a good mechanic.

 

.. i'm sure he had a talk with the guy(s) that scratched your wheels and made it a point to them to not do it again. Did you ever find out exactly how the scratched them?

 

He said the guys name in passing... I vaguely remember it, lol. Should've paid more attention.

 

I purchased brand new wheels and tires from Discount Tires and since they offer lifetime rotate and balance, I took it to them at the 5K mark. They scratched my wheels, all four of them during balancing and mounting. Now they will give me $400 off future purchase. I think that was fair. Wheels were bound to get scratched doing trails anyway.

 

I actually talked about this scenario with friends. If my wheels were brand new, I would've been WAY more pissed...

 

I had a very similar situation happen at the dealership when I took mine in for a tire patch. The tech beat the rim all up and chipped the finish down to the bare aluminum.

I level-headedly negotiated with the dealership to have them reimburse me for the cost of the wheel including shipping. After a little bit of back and forth they obliged.

I've quoted my original post below. I'd recommend you do the same thing. Ask them to cover the cost to replace the wheel, and take it elsewhere to get it mounted.

 

I personally wouldn't ask for anything considering the condition they were already in....

 

This same exact thing happened to me when i got my @SCSPerformance SR8s mounted. They called me mid-mounting and asked "Have these ever been mounted before? yada yada yada" I said, "Umm, considering they were new in the box when i dropped them off, i'd say no" I drove down there and not only did the service manager try and defend his guys, saying that it didn't happen there, they also had the nerve to try and cover it up with Sharpie!!! I was furious. Not only did i not pay for my mount/balance that day, but the shop also picked up the bill on the repair for 2 brand new rims.

 

Yours were new. His are the opposite of new....

 

Regardless if they are new or old wheels the shop should have more common sense than to scratch all 4 wheels up that bad ...
What if it were your truck and you took it in for service and they left a scratch on your hood? .. and someone says " oh well it wasn't a brand new truck " you wouldn't be mad?
... just IMO

 

You do not have a legal case for this. Stomp your feet all you want, wheels with 70,000mi and damaged already are probably worth a few hundred bucks for the set at best.