Beaurepaires - the most useless tyre company ever?

[holden_fan2005]

Why the hell do they spike em in the first place and the one of the first things I was told when I started out in the trade is avoid throwing old parts etc away the day you've done the work incase the customer wants it back or wants to view the broken part.

The wheel alignments I see coming out of a few of the tyre chain stores are bloody shocking

[Kiwi-Corolla]

I had a similar experience with a well known mag/tyre shop up here in Auckland last year. I gave my Dad two of my spare near new 205/40/17 tyres that were sitting in my garage so he could get a WOF for his car since the 17" wheels he had bought a few days prior had poor tread levels on two of the tyres.

The tyres I gave him were a shitty brand (Linglongs from memory) and produced a bit of road noise due to the cheap design, but they were only for him to pass his WOF afterall. A few weeks later he decided to go and replace the two tyres with a decent brand, so he took his car down to the tyre shop and picked two brand new 17" tyres off the shelf. He specifically requested that the old tyres be handed back straight afterwards because they belonged to me and were still virtually new.

Once the new wheels had been put on and he paid the bill, he asked for the old tyres back. Their response was "aw, the young fella just finished shredding them" . So my near new, perfectly warrantable tyres had just been shredded up. I wasn't there at the time, but they offered him two secondhand tyres as replacements. The tyres they gave him were two VERY well worn GT Radials which were manufactured in 2002, making them 9 years old!! (my tyres were manufactured in 2009). So not only were they terribly old and unsafe, they were worn all over the place and looked like they were on their last legs.

My Dad brought the tyres around to my place and as soon as I saw the replacements I was wild. I shot back to the tyre shop with him and told the manager that I wasn't happy and that they were going to have to either replace my previous tyres with some that were in equivalent condition or pay me the value of the two tyres. The manager couldn't understand why I was so angry since they had given me supposedly better tyres (GT Radial vs Linglong) but I explained to him that it's not the brand name that keeps you on the road, it's the condition of the tread and that I wouldn't be caught dead driving on the death traps that he gave me . After a bit of arguing and F words, the manager agreed to find replacement Linglong's.

4-days went past and I didn't hear a word, so I decided to pop into the store in person one morning. As soon as he saw me he got up, wandered over to the tyre rack and pulled off two brand spanking new tyres and handed them to me. I was quite surprised because I didn't expect two brand new ones, but I wasn't exactly going to say no . He obviously wasn't expecting me to come back because it was clear he hadn't even bothered to try and find replacement Linglong's. So in the end I had two brand new tyres which were a much better brand and walked out with a smile on my face. Needless to say, I never went back to that tyre shop again, but it sure was an interesting experience

[Mr Revhead]

Toe n go!

Was so good when I worked at a place with our wheel alignment hoist. I could finally get things set up they way I wanted and not have to argue with an operator that Id would wear out my tires.

[Elmo]

At the end of the day, ANY tyre or part that you have replaced ANYWHERE still belongs to you. If they cant return the tyres as someone else said, its theft. Most tyre places usually charge you a disposal fee in the cost of your tyre, so, by rights you have the option to take your old tyres away and save that cost also.

As for tyre guys with brains, it just doesnt happen. Every one that I have seen through work (and we get in quite a few) has been 'special' in some way! Who in there right mind would want to work in sweltering heat fitting tyres? or rain and mud etc? Only those that cant get work else where!! (Im talking truck tyres here tho)

[BZG Wagon]

The wheel alignments I see coming out of a few of the tyre chain stores are bloody shocking

See the thread I started months back on Davy Tyres.

They had my car set up completely wrong and I wore through a new set Eagle F1 of tyres in no time. When I took it to an alignment specialist he couldn't believe the alignment print out I gave him - neither could the tyre shop for my replacements.

In summary: Davy Tyres = Loosers.

[crispy'86]

That's bloody shcoking!! I'd definitely go back to them with a reasonable price for replacement semi slicks and get them to replace/refund you the cost of them.

[wde_bdy]

It's because the independent places parallel import?

If so it begs the question - why don't the chains follow suit and buy direct?

No, SPT (South Pacific Tyres) has retail (Beaurepaires) and wholesale (Capricorn) operations in NZ. Capricorn charges more to Beaurepaires stores (who have to buy from them) than they do to independant operators while expecting Beaurepaires stores to hold the stock for many of their brands.

Callum

[tsoob]

TI suspect there is an IQ test needed to work in a tyre shop.
If you score 75% of the average or more you fail.

Nah I know some pretty onto it tyre guys, just not in Christchurch.

The problem is today you need people with three ranges of skills. Mechanical, customer service and computer skills. Easy to get one or two of the skills. Hard to get all three. Those blokes usually set up their own shop.

hey hey be nice.

but yes i have setup my own shop as i am lucky enough to have all 3 of these skills.

Its a shame that has happened to you o/p, I always make a point of asking what the customer wants done with their old tyres.

guess thats the difference with a specialist rather than just a regular old tyre shop ay.

We can happily ship anywhere in nz if need be guys so dont hesitate to sing out.

Also Pete at mullins tyres in taka is great if you need a proper wheel alignment done

[Sick Puppy]

Could be worse, a friend of mine bought four new tyres from Tony's Tire Service in Napier.

One got punctured - repaired, no worries.

Flat next day - oops, whaaa? Taken back, repaired again.

Going along Marine parade, happily crusing at 110k, and BAM! blowout. Yup, same tire.

To make it worse, the nuts were so loosely attached, a ten year old kid could have undone them.

Complained next day, manager couldn't see what fuss was about. Area manager pointing out to him that three punctures including a blowout on a front tire with a loose wheel on a FWD was probably a bad thing for us safety wise and for them PR wise.

We got four new tires, and one of the old ones as a spare. Nice comeback, but I wouldn't go back there for love nor money.

[SkylineObsession]

Actually come to think of it, i actually asked for a couple of tyres back at one stage, but never got them.

[CAMB01]

Man I must be lucky, as I've never had any problems with tyre shops ever.
I also can't speak highly enough of Firestone on Railway Avenue in Lower Hutt, Wellington. They have always done exactly to the letter what I have asked for with my EVO and Chelles' Corolla. Always gotton tyres back when I have requested them, wheel alignments have been spot on. They set my EVO alignment up exactly how I wanted and even offered advice about other settings. Car handles brilliantly now.

[Lurkin]

Similar said for tonys tyre service porirua. Frankly the guys in there sketch me out a little, but they have ALWAYS done what they said they would.

- always beaten other prices
- always good customer service
- always put the olds in the boot as requested
- have not seen them use a impact wrench all the way, utilising a torque wrench 'to do up the last bit' when putting the wheels back on.

In the end, I was taking the rims off and taken them to put tyres on in front of me anyway, after poor work done by a mechanic that rooted some irreplacable parts, I just dont trust anyone in the auto industry to work on my stuff unsupervised/ watched.

[d1 mule]

this

the vast majority are people who have failed to make it in any other part of the motor trades.

[B1NZ]

If any of you are in the Hawkes bay stay clear of big noise car audio in Hastings (who do wheels/tyres) They fitting new wheels to my sisters old car and replaced the wheel nuts to fit the wheels, We found out a while later when she needed brake pads replacing that they had used the wrong threaded nuts and just rattle gun'ed them on tight, so the result was we had to get 16 studs and wheel nuts replaced

[Sick Puppy]

If any of you are in the Hawkes bay stay clear of big noise car audio in Hastings (who do wheels/tyres) They fitting new wheels to my sisters old car and replaced the wheel nuts to fit the wheels, We found out a while later when she needed brake pads replacing that they had used the wrong threaded nuts and just rattle gun'ed them on tight, so the result was we had to get 16 studs and wheel nuts replaced

There's been stories about those guys in Hastings for a long time...

[Babz]

t the end of the day, ANY tyre or part that you have replaced ANYWHERE still belongs to you

As above. If they are taken to court you will definitely win so its up to you how much you push.

[pc]

What's with everyone wanting "customer service"? WTF is that anyway?

Way I figure it if someone does a good job on time as requested, then I don't give a f@#$ how good they are at smiling.

[Elmo]

What's with everyone wanting "customer service"? WTF is that anyway?

Way I figure it if someone does a good job on time as requested, then I don't give a f@#$ how good they are at smiling.

True, but read the story, they havent done that either!

[Al]

What's with everyone wanting "customer service"? WTF is that anyway?

Way I figure it if someone does a good job on time as requested, then I don't give a f@#$ how good they are at smiling.

Yeah customer service in this instance means being honest and listening to the customer. Really hard stuff.

What line of business are you in so I never have to waste my time?

[Leon]

he kills people for money.