Had some wheels refurbished

[StarCruiser]

Tinters
Windscreen fitters
Air con "techs"
Tyre fitters

....

Had all 4 and had issues with all but AC as he's a proper refrigeration engineer with more work than he can shake a stick at.

Tinters made my back door leak, so I refitted the glass. No leak.

Windscreen fitters, last time, took 4 attempts , broke it the first time, refitted it and it still leaked, they openly admitted they don't have many people who know how to fit on rubbers any more.

The last set of tyres I had to get done in a hurry in Manchester after a blow out on the M62. I pulled the nose of the car into the empty but cavernous workshop then went upstairs into the waiting room to be told to put the truck in the empty car park by the slightly controlling guy behind the desk with the 'don't worry Sir we know better than you' sort of patronising attitude. So then the keys get sent down to a fitter who then takes the next 5 minutes to interpret the instructions I had given for the alarm fob. After setting it off three times and failing to start it he gets it going and brings it into the workshop.

He puts it on a sort of ramp that leaves the wheels free but not one with the arms, operates it and up comes the truck…until the ramp stalls with the wheels still in contact with the floor. 4 attempts later he puts jacks under it as well.

I decide to ask if he would put any white lettering to the inside, which was obviously too difficult for him to comprehend as he just looked at me and grunted. I eventually established that there was no white lettering.

Then the fitter having spent 1.5 hrs fitting 4 tyres and putting the best on the spare had to drive the truck to the upper floor for me to collect. I asked what he had done with the spare and found he had chucked it in the boot and didn't like me going round checking the wheels were on ok with no loose nuts…I had some nervous passengers to drive 4 hours plus back from Manchester.

Then I asked to use his loo. Well, you would have thought I had just told him he was being sent home from the X Factor by the look of despair he gave me as he desperately tried to get the roller shutter door down before I got to it.

All this after a two hour ordeal by the side of the M62 followed by a day searching for tyres.

What fun!

 

[Towpack]

When I had my wheels powder coated and a new set of BFG's (bought form a tyre supplier just round the corner) the coating Co. insisted they fitted the tyres as they'd had people going back to them with the wheels scuffed and scraped by tyre fitting. They had tyre fitting equipment that looked no different to that in most tyre shops yet the wheels were unmarked with not so much as a fingerprint on them. Go figure.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

When I had my wheels powder coated and a new set of BFG's (bought form a tyre supplier just round the corner) the coating Co. insisted they fitted the tyres as they'd had people going back to them with the wheels scuffed and scraped by tyre fitting. They had tyre fitting equipment that looked no different to that in most tyre shops yet the wheels were unmarked with not so much as a fingerprint on them. Go figure.

Metal Magic ????

 

[Sag]

Got to say metal magic is well known in the car trade for good work.

 

[Dave2000]

Just a note on tyre fitting machines, if you look at the 'foot' of the machine (the part that rests NEAR the rim), it should have a rubber guide however, more often than not it has fallen off and never gets replaced. Also look at the hardened socket used for the nuts/bolts, it too should be covered in a sort of tough powder coating.

I had one Spanish fitter steam in with his rattle gun on my Discovery, tore the paint off my new steel off roading wheels, I had them delivered from the UK and they looked great, two minutes in the workshop and they were trashed. Let him know that I was not happy, told him I was not paying, he shrugged his shoulders and I drove out, never used him since. That was ten years ago and he is still in business, clearly the Spanish are not too picky about who works on their cars.

regards

Dave

 

[Sammy]

I've had my Land Cruiser 80 Amazon for around 1 month now and love it. The only thing really needing work were the wheels as they were tarnished.
I'm having the wheels refurbished by a local firm. It's the first time I've used them.
I'll post some pics when done and review the company.

 

[frank rabbets]

Just come back from Spain Dave but did not go as far south as you are or would have called in. What mad drivers. 4 inches off your back bumper at 80 mph then overtaking on the inside.

 

[frank rabbets]

I do not go to tyre fitters, they come to me. Always a first class and careful service.

 

[Dave2000]

Just come back from Spain Dave but did not go as far south as you are or would have called in. What mad drivers. 4 inches off your back bumper at 80 mph then overtaking on the inside.

Hi Frank, you are always welcome to call in mate not a problem. I think the mad drivers you encountered could not have been Spanish mate, it would have been 4 MILLIMETRES if it was. Seriously though I have found that most seem to do it, I know you get tailgating in the UK but these guys could take the best bits from your shopping bag in the boot and then check the tyre pressures as they pass you!!

They can be seen in the mirror coming at you at speed way higher than yours and then hit the brakes hard just to sit on your tail for a km or two, and then just as the NO overtaking sign comes up they fly by, I often wondered if there was an extra coat of paint on the car I would get a scratch.

TBH you get used to it after a year or two, I find the posted speed limits here to be pretty good except for a road a little north of here, speed limit changes something like fourteen times in 5 miles, but all in all I am happy to go with the generous limits, all of which are higher than the UK.

Hope you had a good trip.

regards

Dave