Ok, I received my new rims from Kamispeed. 17x8.5 & 17.9 Advan RS. I decided to pair them up with 225/45 & 255/40 Yokohama S. Drives. I brought the combo down to STS Tire, a major tire/service center on the East Coast. I gave them a note, requesting tire pressure, asking them to use the included valve stems , and asking them to align the dots on the tire with the valve stems (dots indicating lightest part of the tire) for better balancing. I even marked the wheel boxes as to which tire size and L/R, trying to leave nothing to chance. I went on my lunch break to drop them off and asked my father to pick them up once complete.

When my father got there, they gave him the rims with these long black valve stems, instead of the included blue anodized ones. My father asked them what happened to the ones that were included, and they told him to hold on, and they gave it to him in a bag. I guess they were trying to keep them for themselves. They said they could not install the provided valve stems without scratching the rims, even though I've brought Volks there in the past without problems. Could there be any truth to their claim? should I make them remove and reinstall the tires with the correct valve stems?

 

sounds kinda shady to me. my last 2 sets of wheels all had metal valve stems and never had any problem getting new tires or when i replaced the valve stems.

 

Wow...You're just having shi##y month aren't you!!! Sorry to hear that you have another problem.

I ALWAYS watch what happens to my car when I bring it in to a shop to get anything done. I feel that I have to babysit the mechanics because I don't have the time and /or patience to deal w/ mistakes. It seems that way unless you've got a buddy that works in the shop and he makes sure that it gets done properly. I don't, so I gotta stand around keepin' a close on the car and what the mechanics are doing exactly to the car...I always have them fill me in on anything and everything that they encounter and clear it with me before they go ahead with the different approach...If needed!!!

 

Yeah, I guess I'll just settle with it the way it is. I'm sick of all this bullshit, and I'm afraid of them scratching the rims out of spite. I'll install the proper valve stems once I need to rotate the tires.

 

That's total

Theirs no way the stems would scratch the rims, they should have done it right. You should complain to the manager, make them refund you the install fee and go to another STS.

 

^^ they probably just screwed up, forgot 1 or 2 then made up some excuse!

 

They may not be BSing you.
If they don't have the proper size deep socket to tighten the nut on the aluminum valve stems then yes they will scratch up your rim.
Tire shop technicians don't usually have all the sockets set tools of an automotive repair technician if they deal with regular oem type tire changes all day that only require a flat head screwdriver.
I would be thankful that the story didn't end up that you received your rims back all scratched up from them tightening with an open end or adjustable wrench.
If I were you I would go to Sears and buy the correct size deep socket myself, go back to the shop and tell them to install the valve caps you provided and expected on the rim.

 

why didn;t you put the valve stems in before handing them the wheels?

 

I was going to ask the same thing.

 

Im not going against your opinion, but being on the East Coast and dealing with STS before, they are a pretty big shop and they usually have about 6 techs their. If someone doesn't have the proper tool they usually call another shop and get it.

I took VOLKs to STS before, and they called me up to tell me they would need an extra day to mount my tires because they needed an adapter for the machine that they didn't have and had to get from another store.

I really think they were just playing around in his situation and didn't feel like doing it right.