Problems with wheels fitted nearly 2 years ago...what do I do?

[iloveholden]

Hey guys,

Ok story goes as follows;

Today i went down to the Midland beaurepairs to have my tyres rotated, aligned and balanced as i've been meaning to do this for a while. Myself and other family members have dealt with this beaurepairs before and they have always been honest and do a decent job.

After having my car dropped off for only 10mins, i get a phone call saying they are having problems, so i walk back and find out after 30mins of stuffing round;

1. One of the nuts on the rear driver side is threaded
2. To get the tyre off we had to risk snapping the stud...this is what happened
3. Tyres were nearly impossible to get off....found out this was due to the wrong spacers being used and in one case (driver side rear) no spacer at all.

Now these tyres and rims where fitted on the 14th January 2008 and the wheels havent been taken off the car since, there hasnt been the need to. Therefore the problem dates back to the dropkick workers at the Ian Diffen - The Tyre Factory in Midland who i bought the rims off and had them fit them :vpo:

So i now have my wheels aligned and balanced but not rotated because the rears wouldn't fit on the front, i have no spacers in and a broken stud and nut.

What should I do?

1. Go back to the TTF in Midland and demand something be done about it and have them fix up my problems? OR
2. They will tell me to get F$^ked as it was a while ago now and just go elsewhere to get new proper spacers, a new stud and nut (at my cost)

Guys at beaurepairs told me today to definitely go back and see the TTF guys and demand shit be done or money back! :)

Cheers.

P.S. - I've learnt a lesson today about tyres and rims - dont go for cheap like rims and nuts, and TTF Midland wont get my business again! :flipoff:

[nickh]

You can try but at the end of the day its been far to long and its only ur word against theirs saying that the wheels have never been off the car since you brought them

As for the other bits n pieces there wouldnt be more than 100 bucks in parts and put it down to learning something about cheap v's expensive.

[iloveholden]

You can try but at the end of the day its been far to long and its only ur word against theirs saying that the wheels have never been off the car since you brought them

As for the other bits n pieces there wouldnt be more than 100 bucks in parts and put it down to learning something about cheap v's expensive.

Yeah thats my thinking atm...i have a feeling that the people at TTF what give a shit as its been nearly 2 years and tbh do i really want this idiots working on my car again? After this probably not.

Maybe tomorrow i'll just visit the local tyre place who are usually good and get them to get the right spacers and replace the stud.

[fx160]

do you not get your car serviced
the wheels should come off at any service as part of normal checks
if you did not have the car serviced in that time i'm pretty sure it would be reson enough to reject any sort of warrenty claim

kev

[Micks]

Yes, 18months is a very loooong time not to rotate wheels or check brakes , steering or suspension?:rolleyes:

Cheers
VYT

[chillicatqld]

it's a wonder they havn't corroded on having not been off the car in 18 months!!

Good lucj going back to the other shop.... it probably isn't even owned by the same people after all that time...

[ryno]

I feel ya pain, but to be honest it would be hard to prove they cross threaded the stud, maybe you could get them on the spacer as they should have listed the part number on your original invoice.

I had an issue with nuts on a rim coming off after a bob jane store changed the tyres..The store told me they were the wrong rim for the car, the nuts had the wrong taper and cound't grab etc etc..

He was just trying to cover up the fact one of his guys didn't tighten the nuts, but what he didn't realise that these rims were bought from Bob Jane 4 years prior for that vehicle , since he was so adamant it was the wrong rim I kindly explained that the rim was supplied by bob jane for this vehicle and if you are advising me it is wrong, that I wanted a refund because it wasn't fit for the purpose for which it was sold.

Jaw dropped and admitted his guy didn't tighten the nuts.!!

Just check your receipt to see whats on it, if not you may have trouble getting anything out of TTF

[surfwagon]

Why can't the rims be rotated, are they different sizes/offset front to rear.
Good luck with your claim, hope you get some satisfaction.
As said before check whats on your receipt and get all your facts straight before confronting them.

[gasguz]

do you not get your car serviced
the wheels should come off at any service as part of normal checks
if you did not have the car serviced in that time i'm pretty sure it would be reson enough to reject any sort of warrenty claim

kev

Mate Holden dont even take the wheels of when servicing, even though they are supposed to, but they still charge you for it??? That is a bit of bad luck with the damage, but I am sure they will deny any wrong doing. Hope you get it sorted out.

[chillicatqld]

Mate Holden dont even take the wheels of when servicing, even though they are supposed to, but they still charge you for it??? That is a bit of bad luck with the damage, but I am sure they will deny any wrong doing. Hope you get it sorted out.

Who gets Holden to service their car? :smilesandbanana:

[gasguz]

Who gets Holden to service their car? :smilesandbanana:

Lol just making a point, what i should have said is most workshops dont. I had my car serviced by a supposedly reputable workshop & they did not take them off either. I got the same line as the dealer used to give me "didnt need to take wheels off as we can see the brakes through the wheels"

[SirNemesis]

Had the exact same problem with TTF in Geelong. You won't win this, no matter how hard you try :(

[michaels1v8]

Cut your losses dude

No way of any kind of recovery coming out of this and not worth your time.

Find yourself a decent tyre joint and stick with them for everything.



I havent taken my wheels off for a year :1peek: I'd only done 10 000kms so they didn't need rotating or an alignment. . .

The less clowns touching them then the less marks will be on my rims.

Had new rears put on the other day and the guy pointed out a mark on my wheels from fitting them and then tried to tell me that they were from previous fitment at not caused at his shop

I proceeded to tell him I only bought them a year ago and fitted them myself and they havent come off since:jester: He was a bit shocked and apologised as thats what the tyre fitter had told him.

It was only a light graze that would polish out so I said dont worry too much but its the last time I ever stray from my trusted bridgestone dealer just to save $30 a tyre.

[iloveholden]

Guys my first post was an honest post....my tyres have not left the hubs on my car since they were put there, my mechanic reckons he checks the brakes without removing the rims, a little dodgy i thought. I havent done many k's since they were put on, maybe 12k's so there hadnt been a need to take them off prior to yesterday.

Well i went to Goldy Holden today and picked up a VZ wheel stud for $4 and then went and saw TTF in Midland. After a conversation with the manager who sold me the rims and about how this happened in the first place, he gave me another wheel nut and the right spacers, all 4 this time.

Mechanic is going to put the spacers on and clean the hubs when he fixes the stud early next week, so all should be sorted for less that 80 bucks or so :)

I have learnt a couple things out of this;

1. Get yourself a decent tyre and rim shop who will look after you even if they charge a slight premium and stick with them.

2. Dont skimp on rims/wheels nuts as the Asian Alan key style nuts are shithouse

Thanks guys.

[surfwagon]

Dont skimp on rims/wheels nuts as the Asian Alan key style nuts are shithouse

Thanks guys.

I've seen a few of those allen key style nuts jammed on and the nut has split open when trying to undo them.
Not too good if the nuts are inside a recess and can't be gotten at with any form of wrench.
Good to see it all getting sorted out for you and that the tyre place helped you out.

[darb]

one of my very best mates runs a tyre shop in myaree on norma road, Booragoon Tyre Service ... name is Laurie, and he's worth his weight in gold for this stuff. Tell em brad sent ya.

[LS1HVN]

Lol just making a point, what i should have said is most workshops dont. I had my car serviced by a supposedly reputable workshop & they did not take them off either. I got the same line as the dealer used to give me "didnt need to take wheels off as we can see the brakes through the wheels"

You can see the brakes through the rims on certain rims, both front and back, and can check the condition of the rotors just as well wheels on or off.

The service coupon says to rotate if necessary.

Dont really know what the issue is with taking or not taking wheels off?

[planetdavo]

Mate Holden dont even take the wheels of when servicing, even though they are supposed to, but they still charge you for it???
Talk about a post full of guesswork. :rolleyes:
A lot of places don't take the wheels off if the car is fitted with slim 5 spoke rims allowing good visibility. Taking the rims off then putting them back on (say) one or two studs around from where they were can lead to an imbalance and vibrations... :teach:

[Ausmartin1]

Taking the rims off then putting them back on (say) one or two studs around from where they were can lead to an imbalance and vibrations... :teach:

I take it you mean *if* they were "On Car" balalnced.
I'm so glad I have wheels where the weights go on both sides avoid all
the above heart ache.
&
Yes I know how they wreck wheels at tyre places - another good one is the Wheel alignment sensors they clamp on - nothing like finding three threaded marks pressed into your wheels !!

Hence my Holden has perfect alignment from the factory & NOBODY screws with it.
Yes I do check it - using fishing line - takes ages, heaps of patience and it measures up spot on. Nice even slow tyre wear.

So the majority of wheel aligners can stick there million dollar laser pointed pieces of crap - why?
Once one of these "clowns" drops a bit of the equipment every wheel alignment afterwards is worth $hit. Combined with when do they get their equipment calibrated ? & does the "clown" know how to use it ?

Found the Bridgestone tyre centre seem to be the best - the one in Ferntree gully "Select" store are great makes up for there driver way / parking is a bit of downer though.

[iloveholden]

one of my very best mates runs a tyre shop in myaree on norma road, Booragoon Tyre Service ... name is Laurie, and he's worth his weight in gold for this stuff. Tell em brad sent ya.

Thanks mate, i live in Lesmurdie but am always willing to travel a bit for a good deal/service and since i've learnt my lesson, i will in the future.

Just to let you guys know, i have ANZ 5+5 rims, you can probably check the brakes to be honest without taking the wheels off :)

[iloveholden]

Well i fixed the stud today and put the new wheel nut on but my mechanic did not put the spacers on as he said they are just TOO tight and the wheels have to be banged and bashed on to fit. These are the same spacers TTF said were the correct ones for these wheels...so today i drove the car without spacers and at first it felt fine until i started hitting small bumps in the road and hitting speeds over 85km/hr. The wheel wobble and vibration at times is worse than before the balance/alignment and i can only put it down to not running the spacers?

What do you guys recommend?

I have the apparent correct spacers that are just too fat but when on seem ok or i can run without them yet on certain road conditions/at certain speeds the feel through the wheel is terrible :bawl:

[`redoctober]

They'll tell you to get f#*ked because it wasn't reported sooner.

Sorry to hear mate :( bloody muppets!!!

[iloveholden]

They'll tell you to get f#*ked because it wasn't reported sooner.

Sorry to hear mate :( bloody muppets!!!

Thanks mate, its p.i.t.a atm :(

I might go see the Canning Vale TTF next week as i know he sells my rims still and see what he has to say about these spacers.