The Woes Of Changing Tyres!

rayaans · March 30, 2015

So, basically, I bought a set of tyres off OPONEO and needed them fitting!

My local Kwik Fit has just got some top notch tyre machines in, it also helps that the manager of that particular branch is a good friend of mine so I thought, ill go there.

How wrong I was - it appears that Kwik Fit refuse to fit any tyres bought anywhere apart from Kwik Fit, bunch of monopolizing gorillas! It doesnt help that they charge £202 each for tyres I got on OPONEO for £120

Now at this point I was pretty stressed out - the worst thing about changing tyres is scratches on the rim, especially when there is no touch up paint for the F-Sport wheels and one ding means respraying all 4! I dont like scratching my wheels but I can live with it however I ABSOLUTELY hate other people scratching them!

Anyhow - I thought I'd give the local Lexus dealer a ring, see if they'd fit them for me. One ring and the phone was picked up, I was transferred to aftersales immediately and then quoted £50 inc VAT for all 4 wheels fitting. I was pleasantly shocked, I was initially expecting about £100 + VAT.

They're going to be fitted on 8th April so ill let you guys know how it goes. It appears that Lexus are not so expensive for little things after all! Total price - £132.50 for each Michelin Latitude Tour HP. Im a happy bunny........ if they dont scratch my rims..........

PCM · March 31, 2015

I'm going for the same tyres too...

rayaans · March 31, 2015

I'm going for the same tyres too...

Nice! It appears that they are very popular over in the states as they are branded an all season there and are very quiet with good ride quality. I'll post my findings as soon as they are on

PCM · March 31, 2015

If tyres are being changed on a car with air suspension, does it need to be 'turned off' first?

I've seen mention of the 'Height Control Button'?

graham8370 · March 31, 2015

''Anyhow - I thought I'd give the local Lexus dealer a ring, see if they'd fit them for me. One ring and the phone was picked up, I was transferred to aftersales immediately and then quoted £50 inc VAT for all 4 wheels fitting. I was pleasantly shocked, I was initially expecting about £100 + VAT.''

Lexus Guildford want £84 for 4. Pays to shop around.

rayaans · March 31, 2015

If tyres are being changed on a car with air suspension, does it need to be 'turned off' first?

I've seen mention of the 'Height Control Button'?

On other cars they all recommend turning air suspension off when changing tyres so yes, I would turn it off to be on the safe side.

''Anyhow - I thought I'd give the local Lexus dealer a ring, see if they'd fit them for me. One ring and the phone was picked up, I was transferred to aftersales immediately and then quoted £50 inc VAT for all 4 wheels fitting. I was pleasantly shocked, I was initially expecting about £100 + VAT.''

Lexus Guildford want £84 for 4. Pays to shop around.

To be fair thats not half bad. Kwik fit and national tyres charge around £20 per tyre as well. Come to think of it, even the backstreet boys charge £10 per tyre and they chuck the rim around like its frisby! Atleast if you get a scratched wheel the dealer will sort it out for you! :)

Worth haggling them down though! Lexus are always willing to pay ball on price IMO

ChrisIS200SportTTE · March 31, 2015

That's a good price. I buy my tyres online and ran into the same prob at kwik fit as you mentioned. Luckily a local independent tyre place fits mine for £15 a wheel inc balancing so a little dearer then lexus! I'll try them next time.

rayaans · March 31, 2015

That's a good price. I buy my tyres online and ran into the same prob at kwik fit as you mentioned. Luckily a local independent tyre place fits mine for £15 a wheel inc balancing so a little dearer then lexus! I'll try them next time.

I phoned them up again and said "£50 inc VAT, ALL 4? REALLY? ARE YOU 100% SURE? REALLY? THAT'S ALL 4 YEAH?" and she was like "yes all 4 dont worry" lol. However, she did explain today that its an easter offer, normally its about £70 at my local dealer which in all honesty isnt that bad either!

IS200D · March 31, 2015

That's a good price. I buy my tyres online and ran into the same prob at kwik fit as you mentioned. Luckily a local independent tyre place fits mine for £15 a wheel inc balancing so a little dearer then lexus! I'll try them next time.

I usually buy mine online and get them fitted at home, which is what I was about to do when Lexus said one of my tyres were a bit low on thread and they quoted me £98.00 for a front tyre fully fitted. Anyway, just before the cars due to get serviced yesterday I got an email from Lexus saying they price matched tyre retailers with a ten mile radius, so I found the tyre they mentioned (dunlop sportmaxx rt) for £80.00 ff (not a bad tyre judging from the reviews I read). On the phone there was an attempt to fob me off, so basically after a bit of a performance to make it look like they are losing loads of money and doing me a massive favour....and when we were face to face, they price matched it for £80. Actually, the whole service experience was pretty good, with me in complete content customer mode when I eventually got my keys back.

rayaans · March 31, 2015

That's a good price. I buy my tyres online and ran into the same prob at kwik fit as you mentioned. Luckily a local independent tyre place fits mine for £15 a wheel inc balancing so a little dearer then lexus! I'll try them next time.
I usually buy mine online and get them fitted at home, which is what I was about to do when Lexus said one of my tyres were a bit low on thread and they quoted me £98.00 for a front tyre fully fitted. Anyway, just before the cars due to get serviced yesterday I got an email from Lexus saying they price matched tyre retailers with a ten mile radius, so I found the tyre they mentioned (dunlop sportmaxx rt) for £80.00 ff (not a bad tyre judging from the reviews I read). On the phone there was an attempt to fob me off, so basically after a bit of a performance to make it look like they are losing loads of money and doing me a massive favour....and when we were face to face, they price matched it for £80. Actually, the whole service experience was pretty good, with me in complete content customer mode when I eventually got my keys back.

RESULT!! I do find mine quite reasonable, even when haggling on new cars. Some would say £70 when full price is too much to fit 4 tyres but I'd rather spend £30 more at a deaper and get them to sort it out if something goes awry than dealing with kwik fit lmao

billgatesisaconman · April 1, 2015

That's a good price. I buy my tyres online and ran into the same prob at kwik fit as you mentioned. Luckily a local independent tyre place fits mine for £15 a wheel inc balancing so a little dearer then lexus! I'll try them next time.

I usually buy mine online and get them fitted at home, which is what I was about to do when Lexus said one of my tyres were a bit low on thread and they quoted me £98.00 for a front tyre fully fitted. Anyway, just before the cars due to get serviced yesterday I got an email from Lexus saying they price matched tyre retailers with a ten mile radius, so I found the tyre they mentioned (dunlop sportmaxx rt) for £80.00 ff (not a bad tyre judging from the reviews I read). On the phone there was an attempt to fob me off, so basically after a bit of a performance to make it look like they are losing loads of money and doing me a massive favour....and when we were face to face, they price matched it for £80. Actually, the whole service experience was pretty good, with me in complete content customer mode when I eventually got my keys back.

Shame they don't do Rx tyres for the same price ... they would have quite a queue ...

rayaans · April 1, 2015

That's a good price. I buy my tyres online and ran into the same prob at kwik fit as you mentioned. Luckily a local independent tyre place fits mine for £15 a wheel inc balancing so a little dearer then lexus! I'll try them next time.

I usually buy mine online and get them fitted at home, which is what I was about to do when Lexus said one of my tyres were a bit low on thread and they quoted me £98.00 for a front tyre fully fitted. Anyway, just before the cars due to get serviced yesterday I got an email from Lexus saying they price matched tyre retailers with a ten mile radius, so I found the tyre they mentioned (dunlop sportmaxx rt) for £80.00 ff (not a bad tyre judging from the reviews I read). On the phone there was an attempt to fob me off, so basically after a bit of a performance to make it look like they are losing loads of money and doing me a massive favour....and when we were face to face, they price matched it for £80. Actually, the whole service experience was pretty good, with me in complete content customer mode when I eventually got my keys back.

Shame they don't do Rx tyres for the same price ... they would have quite a queue ...

They'll usually price match - my dealer did tell me they would but I wasnt keen on the tyres they had. The Dunlop SP Sport 270 which were standard fit are not being sold in the UK now so once they go you have to choose between Bridgestone Dueler HP or Dunlop SP Sport Maxx or a budget brand. Personally, I didn't want to try tyres which were rated noisier than the factory fit Dunlop's (which in all honesty I havent had any trouble with) so I decided to get my own :)

IS200D · April 1, 2015

That's a good price. I buy my tyres online and ran into the same prob at kwik fit as you mentioned. Luckily a local independent tyre place fits mine for £15 a wheel inc balancing so a little dearer then lexus! I'll try them next time.
I usually buy mine online and get them fitted at home, which is what I was about to do when Lexus said one of my tyres were a bit low on thread and they quoted me £98.00 for a front tyre fully fitted. Anyway, just before the cars due to get serviced yesterday I got an email from Lexus saying they price matched tyre retailers with a ten mile radius, so I found the tyre they mentioned (dunlop sportmaxx rt) for £80.00 ff (not a bad tyre judging from the reviews I read). On the phone there was an attempt to fob me off, so basically after a bit of a performance to make it look like they are losing loads of money and doing me a massive favour....and when we were face to face, they price matched it for £80. Actually, the whole service experience was pretty good, with me in complete content customer mode when I eventually got my keys back.

RESULT!! I do find mine quite reasonable, even when haggling on new cars. Some would say £70 when full price is too much to fit 4 tyres but I'd rather spend £30 more at a deaper and get them to sort it out if something goes awry than dealing with kwik fit lmao

Oh yeah, its definitely worth paying a bit more and getting top service.....mind you, its even better if you can get a deal!

I just noticed these dunlops even come with a rim protector, what a shame its the only wheel I've kerbed already though!

rayaans · April 1, 2015

Lexus prefers putting narrow tyres on their cars So the rim protector doesn't work as it should. A wider tyre would sort that out as the rim protector would go over the rim instead of being parallel to it

rayaans · April 8, 2015

Ok so got all 4 tyres done at Lexus Bradford.

Negatives first - it took 1.5 hours to do it, don't know what the technician was playing at lol. Also it appears they didn't change the valves although I'll take a closer look in the morning. Also there's a lot of tyre lube and bead sealant all over the wheels which they didn't bother to clean - probably my fault as I told them not to wash.

Positives - tyres look great and no scratches on any of the rims. Also I can't complain about the price :). Secondary positive - I don't like sonic titanium so the IS300H will be white for the wife

PCM · April 9, 2015

My 4 tyres also took 1.5 hours - so maybe that's the norm?

ChrisIS200SportTTE · April 9, 2015

It's def not normal. I don't have my tyres fitted at a dealer but where I go I'm in and out with 4 new balanced tyres fitted in about half an hour.

Boxbrownie · April 9, 2015

It's def not normal. I don't have my tyres fitted at a dealer but where I go I'm in and out with 4 new balanced tyres fitted in about half an hour.

Brands Hatch? :D

IS200D · April 9, 2015

This is normal for Lexus, 10 mins approx per tyre, 1 hour waiting for driver. Mine had the black stuff all over rim too, but no scratches when I cleaned it so happy.

rayaans · April 9, 2015

This is normal for Lexus, 10 mins approx per tyre, 1 hour waiting for driver. Mine had the black stuff all over rim too, but no scratches when I cleaned it so happy.

Fair enough. How did you get all the black stuff off the rim. Is it just a simple clean with wheel cleaner. It seems like its pretty hard to get off.

I cant see any scratches either so Im pretty happy too. Ill have to check the valves and see if theyre the same ones as I had previously but newer or if theyd just not bothered to change them

IS200D · April 9, 2015

This is normal for Lexus, 10 mins approx per tyre, 1 hour waiting for driver. Mine had the black stuff all over rim too, but no scratches when I cleaned it so happy.

Fair enough. How did you get all the black stuff off the rim. Is it just a simple clean with wheel cleaner. It seems like its pretty hard to get off.

I cant see any scratches either so Im pretty happy too. Ill have to check the valves and see if theyre the same ones as I had previously but newer or if theyd just not bothered to change them

Yes, some of it still remained even after using the jet wash brush....a bit of rubbing with a microfibre cloth and polish got it off fairly easily though(mind you I only had one wheel to do, bit different doing all four like you have to!) The valve does look new, although can't say for certain as didn't look before tyre change.

polish · April 20, 2015

hi,just been reading the threads on tyres. mine are bridgestone duelers on 19 rims still plenty of tread left car 12000ml.

carnt fault these tyres ,onley noisy on bad tarmac and very direct when steering good grip in all weathers ,[thesetyres are original fit made in japan.] my previous 450 rx had goodyears not very good with such heavy car ,15000miles changed for firestones that were on offer local ,b.o.g.o.f ,,not a good choice / there scratched from the records ,any body out there got these bridgestones .have checked my local area not available? thanks .

rayaans · April 20, 2015

hi,just been reading the threads on tyres. mine are bridgestone duelers on 19 rims still plenty of tread left car 12000ml.

carnt fault these tyres ,onley noisy on bad tarmac and very direct when steering good grip in all weathers ,[thesetyres are original fit made in japan.] my previous 450 rx had goodyears not very good with such heavy car ,15000miles changed for firestones that were on offer local ,b.o.g.o.f ,,not a good choice / there scratched from the records ,any body out there got these bridgestones .have checked my local area not available? thanks .

I had a loaner with Bridgestones once - IMO it was quite noisy compared to even the Dunlops. Perhaps you got used to them? Id seriously recommend the Michelin Latitude's! The car will be sound like a vault with them on compared to the Bridgestones!

Michelin Pros - cheap, very smooth (they complement the RX suspension very well, I have the F-Sport so Im sure itll be a cushion like ride on the other versions if you're into that), stick like glue in both rain and in the dry (took a sharp corner much faster than I should have done just to test them out and they were great, Dunlops would have had the slip indicator flashing).

Also, its not advertised but its got a rim protector which actually work as I experienced the other day! Wish I had them on when I kerbed the front wheel as it wouldnt have happened otherwise!