I know, they're motor cycle

It's tire change over time again and our appointment book is beginning to fill up.


Those of you with the foresight and the mullah to have a spare set of
wheels with tires already mounted, will be in and out
in no time, at minimum cost and with a minimum amount of agro.


Those of you without spare wheels will have to pay for removing the
winter tire, cleaning and grinding rust off the rims,

putting in a new valve, mounting the summer tire, moving from the
mounting machine to the balancing machine,

applying balance weights as the computer dictates (lead is no longer a
cheap commodity!) often on both the outside
and the inside and reinstall on the vehicle.


And then Uncle Phil (yours truly) has to take the car out for a test
drive, to make sure all is well.
And we do this with EVERY car, no exceptions.


If you are blessed with mag wheels or, more importantly, tire pressure
sensors, extra charges will apply because more
caution and therefore more time, is needed to complete this operation.


Prices will vary from place to place for this type of work and on
paper, we're at the top end of the scale. However, we won't go

looking for extra work, unlike many tire stores and particularly the
"big red triangle" . If we DO find something that concerns us,
we will stop work until you've had a chance to see it for yourself.


Many times, low prices for tire mounting are set on the assumption that
more work, either imaginary or legitimate, can be found.


In the words of the famous nursery rhyme, "Come in to the parlour said
the spider to the fly".


One thing you should note is that the law does not require oil and tire
changers to have any automotive qualifications of any kind.

They do not have to have a union, or parity committee, card. So the big
discount stores that offer rudimentary auto service are

usually staffed by teenagers right off the street being paid minimum
wage. Slinging hamburgers at Macidee is considered to
more challenging.


When the pressure comes on, as it will in a couple of weeks, don't
expect to get your rims ground and cleaned before the tires

are installed, you MAY get a new valve, your wheel nuts MAY be
tightened to manufacturers spec, or maybe not. Not when an

impact wrench adjusted to full speed is used and by the same token,
you'll be lucky if you don't get any broken studs,
or distorted rotors.


If you're also lucky, the air won't be introduced into the tire until
it has settled on the rim properly and therefore isn't egg shaped.


The worst case of "express" tire mounting that I ever knew of
personally, involved a lady who backed out of a well known discount

emporium, only to have all four wheels fall off. Not a wheel nut in
sight, anywhere. $2000 later the store settled out of court.


One thing you can say for the huge discount stores is that, since
they're not in the car repair business, they won't lie to you about
what your car needs in the way of repairs.


I have to boast that my technicians, well paid as they are, take the
time to get it right the first time and no-one is going to persuade

them to cut corners, Their attitude is as different to the average tire
changer as chalk is to cheese.