Jeter

lets see here, how do tires get installed on a wheel? They put it on a machine that is made out of metal, then they ram a steel bar between the tire and the wheel and the machine rotates the wheel sliding the steel bar around the wheel forcing the tire onto the wheel. Correct? At least that's the way I have seen it done. There has got to be some reasonable expectations when doing anything and when having tires installed I think there should be a reasonable expectation thet there will be some slight marring or scratching from that process. To demand a new set of wheels because 1 wheel has some minor scratching is rediculous. If you look hard enough, you can find imperfections in everything. If you can see the scratch from 3 feet away, then take it back and get it replaced. If you have to get down on your knees to find it, then forget about it.

WCDAVE

The Coats 40-40A that was the staple of tire mounting back in the day was made for steel wheels that typically had a hub cap on 'em. That's how they worked. Today's Corghi machines are made to not mar the wheel at all. They grip the wheel from the inside and when mounting large tires they typically leave little pin-hole size markes inside the wheel. You may be able to see this on a black wheel, but will never see it on a silver wheel. In any event, I wish the OP luck as damage to a third party supplied wheel pointed out after the vehicle has left the shop will be tough to get relief on.

smokediver

I've had motorcycle tires installed on painted wheels with the same machine used for car tires. Never a scratch, chip, ding or smudge but the guy doing the job took his time and did it right.

m998dna

Let's see here, the last time I used one of those machines you speak of was in 1973-74. I was 17 years old and a night manager at a Mobil gas station. Remember the U.S. Energy Crisis? Arab Oil Embargo? Yep, I was there selling gas, tires, changing tires, batteries.. peforming oil changes, doing tune ups and brake jobs.

The Mobil station was next door to a Chevrolet dealer and the owner had a contract with the dealer... We sold and installed brand new American Racing aluminum wheels and wider tires on "brand new" Chevy short-bed Silverados - mainly step-sides and fleet-sides. It was a major trend back then and drew customers to the lot. I can tell you without a doubt, we never damaged "brand new" aluminum wheels while mounting Goodyear Polyglas tires on one of those old tire machines.

Therefore since I've been there and done that... and also have been very successful taking action against a tire company destroying a set of "brand new" wheels through either employee incompetence or blatent disregard for personal property, I say the OP has some viable options.

Cheers.

.

deathboyardee

Well it was taken care of. The manager admitted that the job that was performed on my wheels was sub-par. He bought me a new wheel and I told him not to worry about the others as the center caps hide most of the inner hub scratches. I have already resolved this with a can of Krylon Semi Flat so the aluminum wouldn't be exposed. Not that it would hurt if I just left it be but now you can't even really tell they scratches were there. He also even pointed out they damaged one of my hub-centric rings and was offering to buy me another but I already had spares. I thought this was nice of him to point out when I wouldn't have known otherwise. He also even offered to sell the tires and wheels I had been running on my Rubi (base model 16's) for me and to just leave them at the shop and he would call me when he sold them. So things turned out pretty good. Thank you all for the support and thanks to the haters who didn't think I deserved a new wheel as well.

jeeeep

cool - good manager for just owning up and taking care of it.

rubi3

Awesome!! Glad to hear it worked out. Nice to know there are some honest people left out there