Complaint Review: Tuffy Tire & Auto Service - Land O Lakes Florida

I took my vehicle to Tuffy on 1/14/16 to have new tires put on that were purchased from TireBuyer.com and shipped directly to the store. Prior to having the tires installed, we were not told that they did not have the proper equipment to install these types of tires. Before the tires were installed, there were no scrapes, scratches or gashes on the wheels. The only damage done to the wheels was some chipping of the clear coat on 2 of the wheels. This can be verified by a local auto wash company who washes my car regularly and had just done so the week prior to this incident.

Once the tire installation was complete, we noticed that a considerable amount of damage was done to 3 of the 4 wheels. Upon bringing this to the attention of the store manager, Brian, we were instructed to take the car to their "tire expert", a 3rd party company that Tuffy works with regularly down the street. The 3rd party tire "expert" said that he could only say for sure 2 of the 7-8 gouges & scrapes in the wheels were done by Tuffy. The Tuffy manager then went on to admit that the damage was done by their shop (although he would only admit to the 2 the "expert" called out). He refused to pay to have the wheels repaired and initially offered only $50 towards the $700 it would cost to get them repaired. His reasoning for the low offer is because he claims the rims were already damaged (referencing mostly the clear coat chipping) and accused me of trying to make them pay for damage that I had previously done to the wheels myself. As previously stated, the only damage to the rims prior to dropping off the car was the chipping to the clear coat. 

After several conversations with the store manager Brian, I informed him that I would be following up with the Tuffy Corporate office, which he informed me did not exist and that his franchise did not have insurance that would cover this type of incident. Shortly after, I took to the internet and quickly found the contact information to the Tuffy Corporate offices and was in contact with Bridgette Newman. She told me that was going to look into the events that took place and get back to me. Once she called me back she informed me that she talked to Brian, heard his story and there was nothing more she would do. At this point, I told her that I would likely be contacting an attorney and handling this situation in a different manner.

Once this call took place, I was informed by my husband that Brian called him and offered $100 towards the $700 repair, but refused to put that offer in writing since I may be contacting an attorney. Brian said the offer is strictly a verbal offer and wants nothing written down showing them at fault. Even though he was admitting fault, he still refuses to pay the cost to fix the wheels that his shop is responsible for damaging.

The only way to repair the wheels from the damage they have done is to have them refinished regardless of the clear coat chipping prior to the damage. If there was some other way to repair the rims back to the exact state they were when I dropped the car off, I would ask for that type of repair, however, that option simply does not exist.