My extremely disappointing experience at the Kal Tire located at 5390 Grimmer St.

[radioman]

Had my PSS put on at that location and everything was fine. Sorry you had a bad experience.

[Liquid_o2]

Sucks that you had a bad experience. I just had my stock rims put back on at the Fleetwood location in Surrey and they guys over there are great.

[mos_skeeto]

I go to that location and I bring 3 cars there a year for winter tire swaps so I visit about 6 times a year. My car, girfriend's and mom's. Generally had good experiences. One time they did an engine inspection (oil, washer levels, etc) without asking me. My engine sounded like it had an aftermarket muffler on right after (vroom vroom) but it's not normal so I brought it back and complained. They checked and said nothing was wrong and mysteriously the sound went away. I wondered if something was loose. They didn't fess up. Other than that generally good experiences. Got my tires from them too.

I think their desk people are good. I guess the mechanic is hit or miss.

[Euro7r]

I go to the Marine Dr and Ontario location. Never had to pay a dime for any service. Been there for 5 times for tire punctures and fixed all for free. I never bought tires from them before. Chris, the manager is awesome. Excellent customer service.

One time, slow tire leak and couldn't fix it, he tried to sell me on new tire. I went to buy a used one off my friend and Chris got it mounted onto my rim for free too. I was expecting to pay labour fees.

[meme405]

As promised, picked up my tires from TSS, nothing but good service. Not cheap but lets be honest I didn't think mounting a set of low pro's on 22" wheels was going to be, so I can live with is.

Pics:





^Very slight stretch, tires are 265/30 on a 10" wheel. Kenny told me it's not even an issue, apparently they have gone as far as stretching a 225 tire on a 10" wheel...

[anjewree]

Originally Posted by meme405

As promised, picked up my tires from TSS, nothing but good service. Not cheap but lets be honest I didn't think mounting a set of low pro's on 22" wheels was going to be, so I can live with is.

Pics:





^Very slight stretch, tires are 265/30 on a 10" wheel. Kenny told me it's not even an issue, apparently they have gone as far as stretching a 225 tire on a 10" wheel...

Those wheels are going to look sick on your ride

[- kT]

Originally Posted by Euro7r

I go to the Marine Dr and Ontario location. Never had to pay a dime for any service. Been there for 5 times for tire punctures and fixed all for free. I never bought tires from them before. Chris, the manager is awesome. Excellent customer service.

One time, slow tire leak and couldn't fix it, he tried to sell me on new tire. I went to buy a used one off my friend and Chris got it mounted onto my rim for free too. I was expecting to pay labour fees.

can vouch for this location as well. great guys over there. the funny - and ironic - thing is, i've had better dealings with smaller "shady" shops than i have at a lot of dealers or bigger name branches. kal tire, budget brake and muffler, etc. of course i'm leaving enthusiast speciality shops like TSS out of this equation, but it's just sad seeing the stygma that surround these smaller shops sometimes when personal dealings go to show that the customer service usually far outweighs any you'll get at a dealer

[J.C]

I use drive hard and haven't had any issues.
They've done a 225/50/17 on a 10.5 for me before.
Wouldn't recommend anyone to do this, just saying they can lol

[Dan_T_Civic]

Originally Posted by meme405

As promised, picked up my tires from TSS, nothing but good service. Not cheap but lets be honest I didn't think mounting a set of low pro's on 22" wheels was going to be, so I can live with is.

Pics:





^Very slight stretch, tires are 265/30 on a 10" wheel. Kenny told me it's not even an issue, apparently they have gone as far as stretching a 225 tire on a 10" wheel...

Originally Posted by J.C

I use drive hard and haven't had any issues.
They've done a 225/50/17 on a 10.5 for me before.
Wouldn't recommend anyone to do this, just saying they can lol

I will definitely take my business to the above mentioned shops next time around. I also agree that I much rather pay a bit more and have things done properly than cheap out and deal with the headache afterwards.

[Super Dipper]

Also not to plug non-sponsor shops, but discount tire, (should you find yourself state side with a tire issue) has amazing customer service. I had some issues with a set of tires I bought back in 2012. I called them up, they got me booked in while I was over here on the mainland, got me into a new set of tires, all the while apologizing for selling me a shit tire but finding a much better replacement and got me on the way.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by Super Dipper

Also not to plug non-sponsor shops, but discount tire, (should you find yourself state side with a tire issue) has amazing customer service. I had some issues with a set of tires I bought back in 2012. I called them up, they got me booked in while I was over here on the mainland, got me into a new set of tires, all the while apologizing for selling me a shit tire but finding a much better replacement and got me on the way.

I actually bought the tires you see in the above pictures from discount tire. Along with like 5 other sets over the past few years. Always the DT in bellingham on lakeway dr. Nothing but positives to report there either. They are easy going, they will either just bring in the tires for you and let you carry them out, or they can mount and balance for you as well.

Keep in mind that they won't do anything outside manufacturer spec though, so no stretching, and if the tires you buy aren't properly load rated for the vehicle they won't mount them (even if the load rating is like 5lbs off like my tires were).

[matrixfwd]

I've been to the Richmond Centre mall locations a few times to get the snow tires swapped on/off, and the first couple times they did not charge me. I ended up just getting them a dozen donuts from Timmies as a thanks.

A bit off topic, anyone get brake service done by them before? Need pads (possibly discs) on old honda.

[Duff Beer]

This place used to be awesome but the last time I went it was pouring rain and they wanted me to wait 2hrs without even willing to take my name and phone number down so I could wait at the mall instead of their tiny waiting area with a broken TV (at the time). Good and bad depending on who you deal with, sad but true.

[Jmac]

If management can't satisfy you in-store, ALWAYS contact head office.

I worked in retail for over a decade and, unless you're an insufferable asshole demanding compensation far beyond what one would consider reasonable, you'll get what you want 99% of the time. Just explain the situation nicely and tell them what you think is fair compensation.

It always used to drive me insane when my manager was a dick when we fucked up. Like ... You know we're going to give the customer what he/she wants when head office tells us to do it, so why piss him/her off and force him/her to call them? His response was always, "it's the principle." Principle of losing customers for no good reason? Fuck that guy ...

As for Kal-Tire, I've always had good experiences with them.

[em1.ac]

I used to get laughed at for this but I seriously take pictures of my rims before getting new tires put on. I even let the person working the front desk know I took pictures of my rims and that I will check each rim after they are done. It's anal I know, and it's a bit annoying for me but one day it could come in handy.

I also do this with my odometer for our work vehicles. I'm not going to name the dealership because everything has been resolved and that's because I took a picture. Brought the work truck in for an oil/filter service at 35,213 kms. Picked up the work truck in the afternoon after work with 35,329 kms. Lot boy took a little joy ride for "lunch" and other things. At first the dealership denied everything and said my truck had stayed on the lot the entire time, until I showed them photo proof of the odometer before servicing. Funny how in 5 minutes an attitude of the Manger can go from accusing me of lying to kissing my ass.

[InvisibleSoul]

From Kal-Tire's perspective, it's a tough situation for them.

They provide repairs for tire punctures and slow leaks for no charge, but they still run of the risk of damaging the car and/or rims.

Fortunately, I couldn't care less if they scratched up my rims like they did to your's on my 2004 RX330.

Brought it in to the location near Marine Drive on Saturday to repair both a nail in one tire, and a slow leak on the full-sized spare tire.

They fixed both for free.

[marksport]

I was practicing on my small tire changer awhile back to see if I could stretch a tire....wouldn't recommend driving on this.

205/40/16 on a 10" wide wheel.

I was pondering mounting it up but then was worried that the jack would be stuck under the diff before the wheel and tire took the load, as well that the tire is only rated for 1/3 of the weight what each corner of the front end of my Diesel F350 weighs

[Dan_T_Civic]

Originally Posted by ACsti

I used to get laughed at for this but I seriously take pictures of my rims before getting new tires put on. I even let the person working the front desk know I took pictures of my rims and that I will check each rim after they are done. It's anal I know, and it's a bit annoying for me but one day it could come in handy.

I also do this with my odometer for our work vehicles. I'm not going to name the dealership because everything has been resolved and that's because I took a picture. Brought the work truck in for an oil/filter service at 35,213 kms. Picked up the work truck in the afternoon after work with 35,329 kms. Lot boy took a little joy ride for "lunch" and other things. At first the dealership denied everything and said my truck had stayed on the lot the entire time, until I showed them photo proof of the odometer before servicing. Funny how in 5 minutes an attitude of the Manger can go from accusing me of lying to kissing my ass.

Great idea, I wish I had done that to save myself the hassle. I will definitely do that next time!

Originally Posted by InvisibleSoul

From Kal-Tire's perspective, it's a tough situation for them.

They provide repairs for tire punctures and slow leaks for no charge, but they still run of the risk of damaging the car and/or rims.

Fortunately, I couldn't care less if they scratched up my rims like they did to your's on my 2004 RX330.

Brought it in to the location near Marine Drive on Saturday to repair both a nail in one tire, and a slow leak on the full-sized spare tire.

They fixed both for free.

Do the tires have to be purchased from Kal Tire with proof of purchase to get free flat repairs? I paid $35. Regardless if its free or not, the principle is no damage should occur during the time the car is in their hands unless its an honest mistake that they will 100% take the hit and get whatever needed repaired.

[hud 91gt]

They generally don't check, but they have every right to do so.

[InvisibleSoul]

Originally Posted by Dan_T_Civic

Do the tires have to be purchased from Kal Tire with proof of purchase to get free flat repairs? I paid $35. Regardless if its free or not, the principle is no damage should occur during the time the car is in their hands unless its an honest mistake that they will 100% take the hit and get whatever needed repaired.

Dur... that makes it even worse.

I honestly don't know what their "official" policy is, but for many years, it was fairly well known that they will fix punctures for free, regardless of whether the tires were purchased from them or not.

I did see a sign now saying free flat repairs when you buy wheels from them, implying that wheels not purchased from them aren't free... but I never even suggested I bought my wheels from them.

I got a punctured tire fixed a few years ago for free, but I went there on Saturday without knowing whether I would be charged or not... but when the time came to claim the car, they said no charge for fixing both tires.

I'm not going to complain!