$986 for a bucket of wheel weights?

[trochilids]

Apparently not.

My wife's car has odd sized tires, and so far we've only found them at one shop in town. We got them there a few years ago, too... This shop also sells used wheel weights at $75 per 5 gallon bucket. I asked the manager this morning if they would consider throwing in a bucket of wheel weights since I'm sinking nearly $1000 in his store for new tires today, and he abruptly declined. His right, of course. If it were my business, though, I'd seriously give it some thought at least. They are probably swimming in weights -- this is "tire changeover time" when most of Alaska starts switching to studded tires. (Another store I stopped at on Friday had 12 buckets already and acted like they might be willing to "make a deal" to get rid of some. I buy a bucket every few weeks there for $40...) Anyway, I was pretty surprised that the shop wouldn't consider tossing in something that they get for free and have in abundance since I'm paying through the nose for tires... Guess not. But again that's their business decision and I understand that. My consumer decision is to research more widely and plan ahead when we need tires for that car next time. And not go there for our other cars, either.

The older I get the more I realize that a business "relationship" is just that. I like going to shops where the owners know me and I can tell they care about the product and that "relationship" as well. It makes spending hard-earned money more palatable. Doesn't matter if it's a gun store, auto parts store, or Mexican restaurant. It also makes me realize that I need to provide that same "relationship" with the customers at the place where I work, too...

[RickinTN]

From what I know of tires, and it may be different where you live, the dealer may be making $25 profit on that $1,000 you are spending with him. Most shops make more on the mounting and balancing charges than they do the tires. The tire business is very competitive, at least here in Middle Tennessee.
Rick

[WILCO]

Vote with your wallet.

[dragon813gt]

There is next to no markup on tires. When you see the price on a place like TireRack. That's what the shop pays, shipping included. They make their money on mounting and balancing like stated above. So your $1k purchase makes the shop about $125. Can't blame the owner for not wanting to give something away that he can make money off of.

[bangerjim]

Save yourself time....find a local salvage yard...buy them there if you MUST have WW's. I have quit using them all together as they are dirty, messy, and time consuming to melt down. And I still have to end up doping them with tin to make them cast the way I like. So I just start with pure lead and make my "soup" from scratch using the alloy calc spreadsheet on this site.

I have numerous yards around me that are happy to sell them for $1/#. And they have literally TONS of them!

WW's are a thing of the past for a reliable low/no cost lead source. With zinkers and stick-ons and Fe in there, sorting time is just too much. And now they are NOT free as they were years ago.

bangerjim

[grumman581]

I was replacing the tires on my pickup a few years ago. With 20" tires, I didn't have much in the way of choices back then. It seemed that the only 20" tires back then were the low profile tires. Eventually, I found a slightly wider and taller tire that was not only cheaper, but made with more plys and stronger. If I remember correctly, the load rating on a single tire is close to the weight of my entire truck and the pressure rating is over 50 psi. The shop that I normally use for my car repairs gives me a bucket of wheelweights periodically and I give him a few boxes of 9mm reloads in exchange.

[mold maker]

I just made it known to my new tire guy that I get all my families tires, where I get my WWs. I was promptly supplied with 8 gal of mostly large weights. They left the shop in my pickup, riding on 4 new tires.
By the way, he ate pizza for lunch, and chased it with a cold one.

[AlaskanGuy]

I think what moldmaker does is cool... Relationships in general, and especially business relationships are all about give and take... Give something back, and a relationship forms out of mutual need and respect... And that pizza and beer prolly really drove the point home... he will be happy to see you every time you go in, instead of having an attitude of "just another customer wanting something for nothing"... I am sure cuz you went a bit out of your way for him, he will always go out of his way for you...

[merlin101]

Around here you have a huge choice on where to take a car for work, I pass a few places to go to one that I not only trust but also saves the WW for me. Other places will sell them to me IF I was paying but why would I do that?

[DxieLandMan]

I've always gone to where the people are friendly and know me. I quit going to a local place because the new owners were rude. Although my new place is farther away, they are nicer and get my business.

[TheGrimReaper]

$75.00 for a bucket is crazy anyways.