Got ripped off at a tire shop. Options?
 

Was at a tire shop yesterday called Southern Enterprises (Canada) Inc. Its located at the intersection of Hastings & Commercial.
Paid over $600 for new tires and an install, which included aluminum hub-centric rings that were needed for my rims. Ended up not even getting the rims put on my car because I had the wrong lugs, but thats besides the point. They charged me $60 ($15 each) for the aluminum rings, which everywhere else cost $15 for all 4, or are even thrown in for free when installing tires.
The gentleman installing my tires, David Ong (I believe its the owner?) gave me the option of plastic rings for $10, or aluminum for $15, where I thought he meant for ALL 4. Apparently not.

I just called them back and asked if they made a mistake, and the lady who answered said that I should have not taken them if I didnt like the price, argued with me a bit, then hung up.
I was kind of in a corner since I was under the impression they were needed to install my wheels, so I didnt question it at the time. But now since my wheels arent even on the car, I'm kind of choked, and would like them to charge me the proper price. I'll even pay up to $30 for them, but not $60.

So, what are my options here? I am going down there tomorrow to hopefully speak with David in person, but am expecting the cold shoulder again and them telling me to piss off.
Anyone have any success dealing with small family shops? I would like to go about this reasonably, but it doesn't seem like they're willing to do the same..

This. You weren't in a bind to get them as you didnt end up putting the wheels on, you could have just as easily told them you didnt want to buy them. You got the quote, paid the bill, picked your stuff up, and are now having buyer's remorse because you found them cheaper somewhere else... too late.

And seriously, you are willing to pay $30, but want to get in a fight and post on the internet about $60? It's not worth getting bent out of shape, just keep on and don't go back.

Mark

Unfortunately selling you something for a grossly inflated price is no more than just shitty business, and they have no legal obligation to refund your money. You are pretty much fucked unless they feel like being nice to you. Its also your fault for not paying attention to what you are buying. Its not hard to notice when you are charged 10% more than you think you are supposed to be paying on a $600 bill before you fork over the cash or type in your pin #. I hope they feel like being nice to you and make it fair, but a $45 dollar lesson is a pretty cheap one nowadays.

I paid $1300 for the rims, $500 for rear tires, another $200 for fronts, and $100 for install. Thats over $2k, so yea I'm a little choked over $60 which I could use right now on other things.

better business bureau?

yell at them like crazy?

if this is the place your talking about, south canada, then i say just driving past the shop would be enough for me to keep my distance.

ps - if your choked about 60$ that you could've spent on other things...then i think buying 2000$ on rims, etc, was a mistake...

Yea when you put it that way, you're right. There are harder lessons to be had out there..
I guess I'm just expecting businesses that rely on word-of-mouth and return business to stay afloat would be more honest with their customers. Or at least not hang up on them when they call to express a concern.

Let me guess, he said he would cut you a deal for $600 for tires, install, and rings. Sounds about right for a salesmen.

This is why you do your research first before paying :drama:

Haha, yea thats the place. They were all actually really nice and really knew their stuff. I'd much rather give small family businesses like this my business rather than huge corporations. But not when they treat their customers like this..

Trust me, I've done 3 years of research before buying these wheels and tires. This place just happened to have the tire brand in the size I wanted.

For what? His lack of paying attention? :awwyeah:

I'll admit I wasnt paying attention. I was there for over 3 hours while they mounted my tires. But is that reason to take advantage of customers?

how is it taking advantage? you overpaid by like 20 bucks. cheapest ones on 1010 tire are $35 and with the dollar going to shit they probably had to raise prices because the next shipment could cost more. they may also order them through a distributer locally and charge their usual mark up on the product not knowing that most other tire shops sell them for less. you sound like a complete child bitching about 20 dollars that you had many opportunities to opt out of spending or remedying in the hours you were at the shop.


edit:


also if your dumb enough to hand over your money without looking over the invoice, then you deserve it. consider it a stupid tax.

you researched for 3 yrs but didnt research hubrings? you dont even need hubrings but shops wont tell you that.

i think youre shit out of luck here, and like someone had said maybe the shop will be nice enough to refund your money for the rings.

Ok, so you claim to have done your research. Then why are you complaining about overpaying for hub rings after you paid up? The shop isn't at fault for selling you the hub rings, you should have asked for clarification.

Take it as a lesson learned and move on.

I appreciate your input.

I had hub rings which I were told were the right ones, which ended up not being the right ones. After all the research you do and no matter how prepared I thought I was shit still happens. F*uk me, right?

Hey guys, I understand I should have been paying more attention. My fault I wasnt. But instead of flaming me over and over for an honest mistake, does anyone have any real suggestions that they have found worked for them in the past? Thats all I'm asking for.
If not I'll chalk this one up to a lesson learned and enjoy my Volks anyways.

The guys at the tire place on Esplanade (The iranians) say "nobody needs hubcentric rings, they is no point".

If they're $35USD online.. $60 CAD from a local store isn't exactly a 'rip off'

I hope you don't always tell local stores how much more expensive they are than teh intrawebz.

As for suggestions.. there really isn't anything you can do. I guess you could tell your friends and family not to shop there because of the injustice.. that's about it.

I can see how they would be needed, the rim doesnt sit perfectly flush on the hub without them. I plan on racing my car so I felt more comfortable with them.

I'm not sure where you guys are seeing them for $35? My eBay search results are showing basic aluminum rings for $5-15. Most of the time they're installed/included for free (as with my old BBS rims).

racing, safety... ebay parts :fuckthatshit:

http://www.1010tires.com/store/0mm.-...%29-60632.aspx

Spends 2k on rims, bitches about $60... :fulloffuck:

I'm PISSED yo! Thats beer money!

I agree with plenty of people here mentioning that you should move on. It's going to be a tough pill to swallow as you make purchases like these. In your situation, I know how you feel and I think a lot of people here know how you feel.

1) It's tough to argue with things like this. Like others have said, it's a lost cause once you paid your bill. It's best to ask for discounts, and incentives before you have paid. And something I've learned is pay them afterwards for their work, that way you still have power as a customer.

2) Many people are saying move on and take it as a learning lesson, dude yes! Maybe the best $60 you're paying for a life lesson. They don't teach you this shit at school (financial education unless you're in business or something). $60 is soo cheap when it CAN SAVE YOU THOUSANDS LATER in life. Learn from this and don't let it happen again.

Bro when I started spending my own money buying stuff, clothes, and food I learned how to manage my finances. Value per dollar, where to get cheap eats how to negotiate purchases with instances of overpayment, but you have to just take it. I thought of it as helping out a small business and again most importantly, a lesson.

Try changing your perspective on this because it will probably have saved you dollars in the future, you're probably going to do your research, look and ask for better deals now :)

It's only going to bug you the more you dwell on it. Think and analyze it, forgive yourself and don't let it sap at your energy anymore.

Hmm, interesting. These definitely arent that quality, but damn I didnt realize rings got that expensive. I always see them for $15 or even free..

Hey I get ya. I pride myself on finding awesome deals and being good with my money. I'm not new at this. I just missed this small detail on a mile long bill and was wondering if I had any options. Seems like I dont though. Fair enough. Moving on.