Dealer wouldn't install OE tires bought elsewhere?

[Novemberrain81]

I just bought a set of these tires - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ContiProContact+SSR&partnum=055HR6CPCSSRV2&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=BMW&autoYear=2008&autoModel=328i%20Sedan&autoModClar=Base%20Model These are the OE tires for 2008 328i Sedan.
I called BMW of Atlantic City to have them installed. The new service manager told me he wouldn't do it for me. I called BMW of Turnerville they told me they will do it for $30 each tire. He claims they only install tire bought through them. Only thing is BMW Atlantic City is 5 miles away from me and BMW of Turnerville is approx 40 miles away. Should I call Atlantic City BMW back and try to fight to have it done here? What do you guys think?
PS I bought it from tirerack because the price difference is $300.

[Kevlar]

Why have them installed at the dealer? Why not just take them to one of Tire Rack's recommended tire installers closer to you?

[spoonerDee]

A lot of places wont install items, tires, parts etc. unless you buy it from them.

My local garages wont touch anything unless they order it.

[E46i]

Luckily in my town we have a bunch of tire shops who don't care, give them 20 dollars and they'll put whatever you want on them lol.

[Novemberrain81]

The only reason I wanted to have them installed by dealer is because my car is still under warranty. I know having tires changed by a third party will not void warranty. But you never know...BMW might say well you had third party change the tire on your ride so we will not cover the faulty oxygen sensors. O well I guess I will save myself the frustration and get it done at a different BMW dealer. Avoid BMW of Atlantic City at all cost. I have had nothing but problems with this franchise.

[ptarditi]

By the way aren't you the same person that trashed them on this forum?

[Level8drummer]

Screw a dealer. Find a reasonable tire shop that doesn't turn away business. It must be nice to have the luxury to turn away business in an economy like this...

Level8Drummer

[kenndoggy]

The only reason I wanted to have them installed by dealer is because my car is still under warranty. I know having tires changed by a third party will not void warranty. But you never know...BMW might say well you had third party change the tire on your ride so we will not cover the faulty oxygen sensors. O well I guess I will save myself the frustration and get it done at a different BMW dealer. Avoid BMW of Atlantic City at all cost. I have had nothing but problems with this franchise.



Thats highly illegal, FYI. Magnussen-Moss warranty act. They would need to be able to provide significant proof that what the tire shop did caused damage to the O2 sensor.

[samger2]

You can't buy a steak at the grocery store and take it to a restaurant and ask them to cook it for you.....can't say I blame the dealer

[Level8drummer]

There is a great dealership in Charleston SC. I brought 2 tires in my trunk, and they put them wherever the heck I wanted, at whatever pressures I wanted, facing whatever direction I wanted. They also charged me what any normal tire shop would charge. They also washed my car for me. As you can see they made a friend. Later my father wanted to buy 2 BMW's and drove 3 hours to get to that dealership to buy them.

Turning business away is almost ALWAYS a bad idea. I have a PR job at a small business myself, so I know about that.

Find a good independent mechanic, and develop a relationship with him. Then make friends with a good tire shop. Pay both of them cash as often as you can ;)

Level8Drummer

[Hoolie]

There is a great dealership in Charleston SC. I brought 2 tires in my trunk, and they put them wherever the heck I wanted, at whatever pressures I wanted, facing whatever direction I wanted. They also charged me what any normal tire shop would charge. They also washed my car for me. As you can see they made a friend. Later my father wanted to buy 2 BMW's and drove 3 hours to get to that dealership to buy them.

Turning business away is almost ALWAYS a bad idea. I have a PR job at a small business myself, so I know about that.

Find a good independent mechanic, and develop a relationship with him. Then make friends with a good tire shop. Pay both of them cash as often as you can ;)

Level8Drummer


Hard to compete with online sites if you're a local player..

One way is to not deal with tires bought elsewhere..

In some situations ( Here in sweden it is like this) that the party installing takes on the liability.. In my case people buy bikes online and want us to do the final assembly and dialing in of gears and brakes etc..

We won't do this as we by law are respinsible for warranties and liability.. Which we won't risk to make $20 ...

[Novemberrain81]

@ Ptarditi Trashing them isn't the word I would chose to describe my last Complaint. That's what happens when a dealer takes a whole day to fix a cup holder.

But anyways I am taking the vehicle to BMW of Turnerville which is 43 miles away. They are charging me 30 bucks per tire to have them installed.

@ Level8Drummer you are right. I am trading my ride in to get the next generation 3 series when it comes out. Guess which dealership I will not be buying the car from?

[pbclax423]

Why not go up to a local shop, grab one of the shop guys and give him 50$. He'll install them all, air them up and everything, and you never have to even go inside.

[kenndoggy]

Why not go up to a local shop, grab one of the shop guys and give him 50$. He'll install them all, air them up and everything, and you never have to even go inside.

Because most shops will fire that employee for that?

[Level8drummer]

True that Novemberrain! If a business doesn't support you, which is what you're paying them to do, why should you support them? That tire machine is just sitting there...any minute they have an employee standing around trying to look busy, and the tire machine is free they're losing money.

Anything that they can do to get you into the door can only help their business. Just like a grocery store ;)

Level8Drummer

[Novemberrain81]

Yup. The manager of the service department tried to claim well we are responsible if anything goes wrong. What can possibly go wrong with OE tires if they are installed properly. He actually told me the following. "well you found the tires for cheap, I am sure you wouldn't have any problem finding a cheap place to install them." Almost as the man was punishing me for not buying the tires from them.
Not to mention that initially when I called, I wanted to buy/install the tires through them. I asked them that I wanted to set up appointment to change tires. The lady said well you have to give me the tire size for me to check if tires are in stock. She claimed she couldn't set up the appointment unless I checked the tires and gave her the size. Correct me if i am wrong but shouldn't a BMW dealership know what size if not brand of tires that goes on a particular model of their own vehicle?
It's a shame how poor their customer service is. I received better treatment at Honda service center.

[Jim@tirerack]

We have seen some shops have an issue while other see it as a way to make a profit. That is why the installers we list are on our web site. They realize that we are not going away and the mounting and balance charge is straight profit. They also know if they do a good job the customer may come back for future work.

[Jim@tirerack]

Some shops do not want to do the install if they don't sell the tires. All of the installers on our web site have asked to be on our list. They realize there is a profit to be made.

[Novemberrain81]

Ended up driving 45 miles each way to Turnersville BMW. I received awesome service at this place. The gentleman who helped me was very courteous, knowledgeable and professional. He didn't talk down at me nor did he become a smart ass. Tire mounting + balancing, alignment, wiper blade change done within two hours. Unlike BMW of AC taking literally 9 hours to fix a cup holder. Total cost was $304 bucks out of my pocket. That's a nice profit for any dealership except BMW of AC I guess.