Franchise or Independent For Tyre Fitting?

Retrogamer

I've bought some replacement tyres for my wheels online and got them delivered, rather than buy them from a garage. (better prices for performance tyres)

They're 205/17/40 so being the 40 sidewall they can be a bit tight at getting on.
The wheels are powder coated as well so not OEM paintwork and because of this i'm unsure where's best to have the tyres fitted.

I could go to some of the local independent garages but i've had mixed experiences with stuff in the past and i'm worried that they might chip or scratch them an dthen deny any wrong doing.

I'd prefer a fast fit place like Halfords or Kwik Fit for the main reason as these guys are likely to do tyres frequently and they're big names so well insured i shouldn't need to worry about scratches as much. I know people's opinions are low of these places on here but i'm struggling to think of anyone better to get the tyres fitted by. The guy who poder coated them is often busy so would take him ages.

Ebe_Scrooge

The general consensus on here is usually that Kwik-Fit are actually OK for tyres - but nothing else. Just be prepared to ignore their dire warnings about how your suspension and exhaust are completely shafted and will result in your imminent death should you choose to drive the car out of the workshop without having them replaced :rotfl:

OddballJamie

If you want to be extra careful then take them to an indie place that refurbs wheels or sells aftermarket alloys.

Mine go to a large national chain but that's only because I know the fitter very well.

kfw_2

I had looked at buying tyres online before and having them fitted however the tyre chains said they only fit tyres they supply and sell themselves. They would not fit tyres purchased elsewhere, also the price of an independent to fit is about 17.50 + vat so any savings were quickly wiped out.

I tend to go to black circles or ask for a price match. More recently I have bought all of my new tyres with f1 auto centres.

force_ten

ask around get some prices and see who will fit them for you

Tyre dealers make their money by fitting tyres that they sell to you

you will find that more and more tyre fitters are refusing to fit new tyres purchased elsewhere

there is no money in a tyre dealer fitting your own tyres for £5.00 to £7.50 a corner and you will find that many of the big franchise dealers wont touch tyres not supplied by them

Richard53

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

The general consensus on here is usually that Kwik-Fit are actually OK for tyres - but nothing else. Just be prepared to ignore their dire warnings about how your suspension and exhaust are completely shafted and will result in your imminent death should you choose to drive the car out of the workshop without having them replaced :rotfl:

And don't forget going one stage further and pretending that they 'legally' can't let you take the car off the premises as it is 'dangerous'. I've heard of that a couple of times.

patman99

None of the tyre shops round my way will fit tyres unless they supply them. The reaso given is that tyres supplied by the customer have no traceability. Whereas the ones they sell can be traced back to the factory.

Anyone can pick a tyre up off the net, but they will have to trust the supplier has supplied them a- grade tyres and not 2nds.

Retrogamer

Hoping someone will fit them, but never entered my head someone might not want to.
They're Uniroyal Rainsport 3's so not sure if many places would stock them around here.

londonTiger

tyre fitting is a package deal for them, they charge a small fee for the fitting and take a margin from the tyre sale. if you bring our own tyres to fit then that wipes a wad of cash of them.

The other issue is their insurance might not provide liability cover for fitting tyres purchased elsewhere.

OddballJamie

londonTiger wrote: »

The other issue is their insurance might not provide liability cover for fitting tyres purchased elsewhere.

If there was any truth in this, they would have a very difficult job making any money from puncture repairs.

patman99

They can make extra money on new valves and wheel-balancing, but again, it is down to the issue of traceability.
For puncture repairs, this is not an issue as the tyres are treated as 'fitted pre-arrival'.

OP, you might want to look at some of the smaller garages as some of them do fit tyres, but not as their main business.