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All four rims damaged at Fountain Tire

11K views 71 replies 36 participants last post by  LBZ HEMI 
#1 · (Edited)
It's a sad day for my Ram. 4300km in and its first blemishes are courtesy of Fountain Tire.

With winter coming, I figured it would be a good idea to get some decent rubber. I've always had good experiences with Fountain Tire, and always good experiences with Goodyear tires. Decided to get my second set of Wrangler Silentarmors. Turns out that was a bad idea...

Three of the rims have what appears to be a pressure related indentation, while the fourth has a sudden impact looking indent, along with scuffing. Also, various places on the outer ring are gouged (but not curb gouging! :158: )

In any case, following are some pics (links only since there's a bunch):

http://img188.imageshack.us/i/rimdamage027.jpg/
http://img269.imageshack.us/i/rimdamage029.jpg/
http://img541.imageshack.us/i/rimdamage030.jpg/
http://img815.imageshack.us/i/rimdamage032.jpg/
http://img805.imageshack.us/i/rimdamage033.jpg/
http://img201.imageshack.us/i/rimdamage035.jpg/
http://img137.imageshack.us/i/rimdamage036.jpg/

I'm going back on Monday morning to see the manager. At 4300km, it's pretty obvious the damage is from Fountain Tire. This type of marking is clearly not from a curb, and the rims have otherwise never been removed from the truck since I got it.

As expensive as these rims are, I can only imagine I'm going to face a little bit of an argument. No one would want to shell out the thousands it will cost to replace these things, lol. Funny thing is I was recommended to go to this particular Fountain Tire because a coworker was having Fountain Tire related problems and these guys fixed him up right. Oh well, Monday will be interesting.

Edit to add: I did notice this before leaving, and brought it up before leaving. Unfortunately no manager there, that's why I have to go back on Monday.
 
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#3 ·
That is unbelievable!!!!
 
#6 ·
Sorry to hear about this, I hope they come through and fix them up or replace them for you. Thats just incompentance ..........
Is it possible to repair these? I mean, I'd be fine with that. I've just heard of other people having problems and they had to replace the entire rim since the chrome clad piece can't be repaired.

Looks like they were having trouble with the "chrome cladding" on their machine. There is a special adapter required for the chrome clad wheels.

Only place I know that has it is the Dodge dealer.
Wow, that's interesting. Figuring how long these trucks have been out now, you'd think something like this would be fairly widespread...
 
#5 ·
Looks like they were having trouble with the "chrome cladding" on their machine. There is a special adapter required for the chrome clad wheels.

Only place I know that has it is the Dodge dealer.
 
#23 ·
Looks like they were having trouble with the "chrome cladding" on their machine. There is a special adapter required for the chrome clad wheels.

Only place I know that has it is the Dodge dealer.
We have a plastic head on our tire machine for certain rims like these and aluminum and steel for the normal rims. sucks to hear about your experience but did you not notice it when you picked it up.
 
#18 ·
man the tire shop really messed up
they must have had a rookie do it & he should have stopped when he screwed up the first rim
you don't need a crystal ball to see a pink slip in his future

they can't be repaired, besides the machine could have put excess pressure on the actual aluminum wheel under the plastic chrome cladding
 
#20 · (Edited)
See, you'd think they'd let the rookies do the Corollas with 150k miles on them, not vehicles with less than 5k. :LOL:

That's good news, you should not have any problems if the company values it's reputation. Just threaten to go public with this if they refuse. I wish you luck and have my fingers crossed for you.
Thanks. We'll see. There's really no gray area, I don't see how they could give me a hard time. The only thing I could have done to make it even clearer that they damaged them is bring my own legal inspection document and have someone there inspect the rims before they do it and sign the paper, heh.
 
#21 ·
fountain tire website reads

Fountain Tire is the place to keep your career rolling, and the opportunities may surprise you!

•There is a focus on providing associates with the knowledge and skills required for growing and progressing in their careers.
•The availability of technical programs promotes the use of the best equipment and technologies in our stores, and the right training to support them.
•Continuous training through sales, service, safety, and store management programs provides comprehensive soft-skill learning and development.
 
#29 ·
Did you bring it in with the wheels dirty? I always wash the vehicle and clean/dry the rims before going to any repair shop. I figure they see it cleaned, they pay more attention.

I had a bad experience (2 out of 3 times actually) at Discount Tires. One, they dropped the lug nut onto my chrome rim, caused a dent, no chip. They said their machines could never have made that mark. SOB's. Another store, they ripped my belly pan out and separated the front fascia while driving off the rack and said that was there before I brought it in.

WORD: Stay outside and watch your vehicle the entire time its in the shop if at all possible. Setup a tripod with a video cam if you can, show them you're serious. Yea, I'm anal about that stuff.
 
#30 ·
Did you bring it in with the wheels dirty? I always wash the vehicle and clean/dry the rims before going to any repair shop. I figure they see it cleaned, they pay more attention.

I had a bad experience (2 out of 3 times actually) at Discount Tires. One, they dropped the lug nut onto my chrome rim, caused a dent, no chip. They said their machines could never have made that mark. SOB's. Another store, they ripped my belly pan out and separated the front fascia while driving off the rack and said that was there before I brought it in.

WORD: Stay outside and watch your vehicle the entire time its in the shop if at all possible. Setup a tripod with a video cam if you can, show them you're serious. Yea, I'm anal about that stuff.
yeah but as a mechanic and from my experience, no offense but when your watching me and staring me down like a hawk its more liable i am going to drop a lug nut or slip and drop my wrench if you know what i mean because i'll be wondering why your staring me down. It makes me mad because if you dont trust me then take your car elsewhere. that's just how i feel. also most of the time people come watch they start trying to talk which is more distracting.

I would give this place a chance to say hey we messed up lets find you some rims that your happy with and we are sincerly sorry
 
#36 ·
When they get your new wheels, have them agree to pay the dealer for them and to do the tire swapping.

Plus don't forget about the Tire Pressure sending units.
 
#33 ·
Does the chrome cladding separate from the wheel like a hubcap? If so maybe it can be easily fixed on their dime of course.
 
#35 ·
First off, I cannot believe how much damage they did to your wheels. What kind of buffoons do they have over there? It looks like the only tools they used were hammers!

Second, I was curious about why you were switching tires so soon? The stock Goodyears aren't that bad in the snow...
 
#40 ·
I'm not concerned about snow traction, I'm concerned about ice traction. They don't salt the roads here so just about every intersection turns into glare ice for the duration of winter. In my experience, stock A/S tires are as bad as it gets for ice traction, and I've used the Silentarmors before with good results.
 
#38 ·
last year I picked up a mint set of rubicon moabs for my jeep. only 500 k on them. part of the deal was dismounting the tires as the guy was keeping them. I took them to a local shop with a rep for custom wheels. they had a rookie gronk do the work and he ran that steel bar right around all 5 rims. totally messed up the wheels. they made good and the bill was $175 a wheel to repair and refinish. kinda soured it for me though. ended up selling them.
 
#42 ·
I think it's all pretty much been said...

I'll still add my "good luck to you"

Exco
 
#44 ·
Well I would be beyond hot under the friggin collar with this nonsense. I hope you get this sorted out.

This does not bode well for me getting tires done at anyplace other than the dealership in the future.
 
#46 ·
goodyear did the same thing on my wifes hhr put big scuff mark all the way around all five spokes. they made good on their damage first they sent them out to repair them came back worse than when they sent them out so they replaced them with no argument at all did'nt get the factory rims use the oppurtunity to upgrade to some nice aftermarket rims. hopefully your store will be just as good about replacing your's as goodyear was with mine. goodluck
 
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