Charged for rebalancing tyres when swapping wheels
Discussion
Hi all,
I replaced my front tyres recently (K11 Micra), I chose a very large place near Winchester/Basingstoke. I agreed a price over the phone because the price they quoted was higher than some of the online people, and they were ordered in (slightly odd size).
Anyway, arrived and confirmed that I wanted the rears moved to the front, and the new ones on the rear (presumably nearly all FWD cars have this), although the rears are under 10k old so it wouldn't have made much difference really. I went in to pay (while they were being fitted) and apparently you get charged for *four* sets of balancing (at £5.50 each), so the total was £11 more than I was quoted.
I queried this, apparently "they need rebalancing because the tyres change as they wear". I said that I doubt they needed anything changing since they were relatively new and seem fine, and he agreed that they would just "spin them up and check". Lo and behold, they were fine and they refunded the £11.
I am wondering if correctly balanced wheels ever really need rebalancing over their life? I have never been charged like this before, although I can't remember if they checked the balancing on the wheels being swapped last time.
I replaced my front tyres recently (K11 Micra), I chose a very large place near Winchester/Basingstoke. I agreed a price over the phone because the price they quoted was higher than some of the online people, and they were ordered in (slightly odd size).
Anyway, arrived and confirmed that I wanted the rears moved to the front, and the new ones on the rear (presumably nearly all FWD cars have this), although the rears are under 10k old so it wouldn't have made much difference really. I went in to pay (while they were being fitted) and apparently you get charged for *four* sets of balancing (at £5.50 each), so the total was £11 more than I was quoted.
I queried this, apparently "they need rebalancing because the tyres change as they wear". I said that I doubt they needed anything changing since they were relatively new and seem fine, and he agreed that they would just "spin them up and check". Lo and behold, they were fine and they refunded the £11.
I am wondering if correctly balanced wheels ever really need rebalancing over their life? I have never been charged like this before, although I can't remember if they checked the balancing on the wheels being swapped last time.
Edited by Gareth79 on Saturday 21st August 18:11
Gareth79 said:
Hi all,
I replaced my front tyres recently (K11 Micra), I chose a very large place near Winchester/Basingstoke. I agreed a price over the phone because the price they quoted was higher than some of the online people, and they were ordered in (slightly odd size).
Anyway, arrived and confirmed that I wanted the rears moved to the front, and the new ones on the rear (presumably nearly all FWD cars have this), although the rears are under 10k old so it wouldn't have made much difference really. I went in to pay (while they were being fitted) and apparently you get charged for *four* sets of balancing (at £5.50 each), so the total was £11 more than I was quoted.
I queried this, apparently "they need rebalancing because the tyres change as they wear". I said that I doubt they needed anything changing since they were relatively new and seem fine, and he agreed that they would just "spin them up and check". Lo and behold, they were fine and they refunded the £11.
I am wondering if correctly balanced wheels ever really need rebalancing over their life? I have never been charged like this before, although I can't remember if they checked the balancing on the wheels being swapped last time.
Assuming the tyre wasn't removed from the hub, unless you've reported a judder/ issue, I would not expect wheels to need rebalancing when swapping the wheel about.I replaced my front tyres recently (K11 Micra), I chose a very large place near Winchester/Basingstoke. I agreed a price over the phone because the price they quoted was higher than some of the online people, and they were ordered in (slightly odd size).
Anyway, arrived and confirmed that I wanted the rears moved to the front, and the new ones on the rear (presumably nearly all FWD cars have this), although the rears are under 10k old so it wouldn't have made much difference really. I went in to pay (while they were being fitted) and apparently you get charged for *four* sets of balancing (at £5.50 each), so the total was £11 more than I was quoted.
I queried this, apparently "they need rebalancing because the tyres change as they wear". I said that I doubt they needed anything changing since they were relatively new and seem fine, and he agreed that they would just "spin them up and check". Lo and behold, they were fine and they refunded the £11.
I am wondering if correctly balanced wheels ever really need rebalancing over their life? I have never been charged like this before, although I can't remember if they checked the balancing on the wheels being swapped last time.
Edited by Gareth79 on Saturday 21st August 18:11
Gareth79 said:
I am wondering if correctly balanced wheels ever really need rebalancing over their life?
In my experience cheap tyres can go out of balance during their lifetime. I have also seen tyre places struggle to balance cheap tyres.Never had any issues with decent, so called 'premium' tyres.
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