Hi guys,

small question. Our Jaguar dealer told us it's better to have tires changed by them, since they would use the proper tools. They made this remark after a different garage had placed the winter tires and seemed to have damaged a bolt. Since I should have the proper tools within the car in order to change a flat tire myself, I really wonder why a regular garage should not have the right gear. What do you think?

 

Anything a dealership can do, a competant independant shop can do at a fraction of the price, I only use dealerships for warranty work. TC

 

save your money and take it to any garage.

 

Hi guys,
thank you so much for your advice. I will take the car to a regular garage for uncomplicated jobs from now on :-)

 

There are two ways a garage can cause problems when changing tires. First is hoisting the car. There are many things under your Jaguar that can be damaged. The second is air torque wrenches to put on lug nuts. Talk to the shop about these things and see how they answer your questions. If they sound like cowboys go somewhere else. I would not go to a dealership because of cost.

 

Further requirements by me.
I want any corrosion taken off the rims where the bead of the tyre locates.
Alloy wheels can get very flakey and prevent a good air seal.
Stick on balance weights not clip on weights. Ensure the rim is really clean before sticking them on so they do not fly off later on.

There are reccommendations in positioning the tyre on the rim re the spot marking the manufacturers tyre balance and the spot marking the wheel makers balance.
This is all before the tyre is even fitted.

I like to ensure I see a torque wrench being properly used.
I like a manual one.
I once saw a young guy at a tyre fitters use a torque wrench and when it clicked he carried on tightening the lug nut . Training ???

 

And, as was said elsewhere, remember to always use washers under the lug nuts. Jaguar wheels don't have a hardened shoulder around the bolt holes (like most other wheels) and tightening the lugs directly onto the wheel will damage it.
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Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

Sojanszen, like others have said, the dealership is not the only one that can change tires. A competent shop will do just as good of a job. But, specify that when doing the tires, they hand start the nuts and then ask them what they are going to torque the lugs nuts to. They should say something from 80-100 ft-lbs (or 110 to 135 NM - newton-meter). If they say something to the effect of "we don't torque" or "I would need to look it up", then be leary. If they are willing to look it up, then ask them what they are going to torque the wheels too. Because you have alloy wheels, torque is very important. Also, having all of the lugnuts torqued to the same value helps to prevent rotors from warping in the future since they will have equal pressure applied across the rotor. Saves in the long run to be a little bit of a pain. If you don't get a good feeling from them, then thank them for their time and move on to someone else.

 

I had a retail tire shop install my last set on my '07 Sportwagon. They did a nice job scratching up my wheels. Best to use the Jag shop or a garage who takes pride in their work, not some discount shop that pays their techs on volume. "You get what you pay for."

 

There's definitely no reason to take your Jag to a dealer for tire service and pay their labor cost. Any reputable tire store can do the job at a lower cost. Find a good place and do like I do and instruct them no impact wrench and to hand torque the lug nuts. I also personally observe them doing the job no matter what their shop policy might be.