Dealer said can't diagnose heavy cabin vibration because I have aftermarket wheels and tires

Until places start paying their employees to give a shit or stay working there, you’re gonna get that nonsense. I had tires installed at a Goodyear a few years back and they not only balanced the tires wrong, they didn’t use a cone to balance or guards on the aligning tools. All four wheels were scratched up pretty good.. and then they couldn’t load the profile to align me (paperwork required for Hawaii state inspection).

They ended up paying for the wheels, but wtf. I went to a spot that charged a little more but had legit mechanics doing everything. Never looked back.

 

No shit. I was curious so I looked up the numbers. Discount Tire pays 9 to 15 bucks an hour, depending on the region and the position. MCDONALD'S STARTS OUT AT 15 BUCKS AN HOUR TO FLIP BURGERS HERE IN SEATTLE, WTF Discount Tire? My wheels and tires are worth slightly more than some methhead cooking my burger!

 

Much like McDonalds, some Discounts are better than others. The tire mounter job is an entry level job and if you find someone that has been doing it for more than 6 months, you have found a veteran. It is grunt work and the business is fiercely competitive. While I agree that you want someone better than a methhead doing the work, it is hard to justify paying more because most people shop on price and don't think that much into the process.

Interestingly though we tried once to pay the tire techs more to see if quality improved. This was years ago and they were making $7 per hour. We bumped them all up to $10 per hour and instantly the quality and productivity improved. Interestingly about 2 months later we were back at the $7 per hour levels. They basically forgot about the money and went back to their old ways. It is really a lousy job. You work in nasty conditions and spend the day covered in filth. A lot of those guys have aspirations to be mechanics. Few make the transition. My guess is you hit that particular Discount with the guys that will be flipping your burgers in a few weeks.