As the worlds population grows so does the demand for tires as we burn rubber through the streets as each household continues to purchase vehicles. Since today’s vehicles of our time do not fly tires are essential in providing us traction whether that is on our city streets or even dirt roads. As an avid off-roader I can assure you my need for tires seems to be an ongoing event given the fact that I explore vast deserts to rugged forested mountains which include ghost towns to wildernesses tens of miles from any given city.
Last year ago I had an incident where I continued to go to a tire company but their was a communication barrier and its owner would charge folks of white ethnicity more then their Hispanic customers. I had enough of that as I always dealt with the owner personally then one day he did bad business so instead I decided id go to a tire shop which was run by bikers since their tires cost about $35 a piece and their is no EXTRA fees. But since its a small mom and pop shop often out of stock of my tire size. I figured since I was going for a full set of tires id try giving another tire company a chance to perhaps earn the devotion of a new customer who needs tires fairly often in the greater Reno and Carson City area!
That is when I went ahead with giving Ray’s Tire Exchange figuring that maybe this was an old fashioned tire shop where you can get a used tire without having to take out a second mortgage. Lets face it used tires are susceptible to dry rot, small leaks and the tread may not have much life left in it. So chances are within a year or less you will have to purchase more.
Being a businessman I always ask for quotes always seeking the best deals if you give me a good deal chances are Ill come back time and time again. If a tire shop sells you a tire used their are no warranties or guarantees as a matter in fact many of the used tires come from their own customers who pay 12 dollars disposal fee and really those same tires are being turned out for profit if they have some life left in them. This seems to be an ongoing practice when it comes to various tire businesses and not just with Ray’s but many tire shops who try to sham the customer.
When I get quotes I like to hear what a tire shop has to say because generally you may call one used tire shop get a quote for 260 dollars and another may tell you that their used tires cost only half as much yet they are really all the same right or not? Since they are used tires it does not mean a higher cost ensures a better tire it just means that your gambling because their are no warranties and being that I spend time taking my family camping to remote rugged lakes a flat could spell doom for all of us. With that being said a tire costing more does not ensure my safety therefore cost should always be set at a fair value not the same especially based on how well the service is.
I did an investigation looking into various tire companies in the Reno area what I found was rather shocking for example four used tires at Gutierrez Tires quoted me at $200 for a full set of used tires, Hooten Tires quoted me at $120 for a full set of four used tires and Low Cost Tire in Sparks Nevada wanted $140 dollars for a full set of used tires also a really expensive brand name. All well known reputable tire businesses with rave reviews in the Reno area. While Ray’s Tire Exchange has a complaint with the BBB and some reviews that are not so great. But no less sometimes we try to give businesses the benefit of the doubt because you tend to theorize that maybe at one time they had an employee that simply was not doing a great job which could have been why a company may not have had such great reviews.
I understand many tire shops are ran by emigrants from Mexico therefore their might be language barriers. Most of the tire companies staff speak so very little English unfortunately so even if you have a complaint about the used tires being put onto your rims its quite possible that they just simple do not understand. Some of these companies only care about your money not so much your safety. When I called Rays they asked me how many tires do I need I stated a full set of four and they quoted me at $113 dollars.
Maybe it was a simple mistake where the employee was not hearing me clearly or maybe they just figured they would get me into the door by making me bite nobody knows but they told me bring cash and that everything would be included in the quote. Eh this worked out to about thirty dollars a tire and I was content with that based on the fact that some used tire companies sell tires that do not meet state law standards. I mean if a company sells a bald tire causing me to crash and burn who is responsible for it?
When I arrived at Rays I entered their office their is no waiting area just papers, junk, piles of food and its extremely dirty. It reminds of walking into a filthy zoo because its obvious it is not clean and represents the location it resides in which is notable for its high crime. Businesses have to lead by example a clean business benefits the neighborhood but if the business is dilapidated then what does that say about how they are going to treat their customers. If they do not care about how their storefront looks they surely are not going to care about the tires they are selling you.
I arrived at 7:30am on time as soon as the doors had opened nobody would help me was ignored for about ten minutes. A man by the name of Neil then grabbed one of the mechanics who would be the staff which would go out into the yard locate me a full set of used tires. Bare in mind that whoever I spoke to on the phone was 100% positive they had my tire size however the mechanic was not. Then they try to make you feel guilty telling you that if you do not take the tires they found it could take an hour to locate another set of four tires this size which is more or less a sales scheme to pressure you into taking whatever shit they want to throw on your rims and if you do not your the guilty party which is another practice some tire shops use to get you to take tires that would be less then acceptable and get you out of the door while taking your money!
While my Suburban takes an LT type of tire the size is hardly uncommon. Eventually the mechanic came back with a golf cart on it were four Goodyear tires three of them had fifty percent tread maybe a bit less while the fourth one the tread was severely diminished. Without the ability to have four equally worn tires it could have consequential results to your four wheel drive system therefore this is very risky but also should rely on the responsibility of the tire company to make sure they are not placing tires on rims that could cause expensive damage to your vehicles.
I am not one to complain I figured after the tires were on I would make my case if needed to be. The mechanic knows how much tread is left on the tires and it is the mechanic that went hunting for the tires in the yard. Tires that have been sitting for god knows how long covered in spider webs and grime from being out in the elements. Obviously, such tires that been sitting for awhile should not bare the same cost as other used tires that may be in much better condition then again nobody knows what is they are getting which is the risk you take utilizing used tire business.
The best tires I ever have gotten used in the Greater Northern Nevada area was a company that goes by the name of Dayton Valley Tire and Service LLC located on Highway 50 in Dayton which has a seating area that is clean where you can see your vehicle up on a lift while your tires are being changed. They sold me two Wranglers which I put thousands of miles on rugged roads with taking me to places like Tuscarora Nevada and never once have they gotten a flat $35 a piece brand name great tread no balancing or disposal fees. So the verdict is out we have many better used tire businesses that are fair and do treat their customers with the respect that they deserve.
After nearly two hours of pacing back and forth in the parking lot of Ray’s Tire Exchange my used tires were finally on. I spent those two hours wondering why it took so long to balance four tires and get them onto my truck when other used tire companies did the job in a half hour tops. I then came to realize that my Suburban sat on four jacks tireless for an hour and that all the work being done was being done manually. Being that we are in the 21st century and most shops own air gun wrenches which remove lug nuts in seconds.
By the time my Suburban was done I was exhausted as I was approached by two hookers, one drug dealer and a person who talked to themselves. The business sits under an underpass tires are all over the place stacked some in the hot sun and the tire mechanic who found me a set told me that he can spend another half hour looking or I could just take what he found as if I was an inconvenience. Now why would they tell me just the evening before they had my tire size then turn around and tell me they were having issues trying to find me it upon my arrive? So really what I gathered is that they assumed they had my tire size just to take a chance at me driving 35 miles to get me in that door just to take my hard earned money!
When it came time to pay what I was quoted on they handed me a bill for $227 and I was like whoa stop right there. Not sure how many of you have ever been quoted then you arrive at the business and the work is done yet the cost is twice what you were given via phone. My thought was is that I went to the ATM took out $200 dollars $80 of which was for my medicine so you could imagine how shocked I was to be given a different quote fitted with the final bill attached to it. Said bill contained three charges the first being the tires which came to $160 second $42 for the balancing which they are required to do and the third charge is a $12 fee for tire disposal something about the environment. Sure they recycle there tires when they are fitted onto their customers vehicles or get ground up and loaded onto one of their trucks. Most companies will pay for recycled rubber so its simple they are going to profit maybe even triple profit since most a tire balance is just something you do when your putting on four used tires.
You can imagine that after I was given the bill I was furious the gentlemen at the front desk told me I can wait all day for the boss to come in since they do not have a manager on duty! What kind of shop does not have a manager which can discuss prices and other issues? Rays Tires has by far some of the worst customer service I have ever seen based on investigating these used tire companies. I offered Rays two hundred dollars which is what I pulled out of the ATM giving up my medicine and they argued with me over $27 dollars despite the fact the fourth tire does not meet state standards and should not have been sold to me. Then when you take into account that the job took nearly two hours to complete and they misquoted me their refusal to meet a paying customer such as myself tells me that Rays Tire Exchange is no better then any other greedy tire business and that their are serious communication barriers.
I figured that I would catch a break the cost went up over $100 dollars and it was to late as Rays Tires is very evasive about there cost. I do not care what business your in when your working on someone’s vehicle cost should be clear and up front. They should have disclosed the disposal and balancing fees sadly if I would have known what they were I would have gone up to the road paid $120 dollars out the door used tires fully balanced without any extra hiccups or strings attached. They stole that option from me knowing that once the tires were on and balanced I would be forced to pay what it is they were asking for without willing to budge. Sadly, they sent the mechanic who worked on my Suburban to talk to me and he would not budge either as a matter in fact he coughed up an attitude stating “Do not look at me I only work here” no shit Sherlock do your job and provide some customer service.
When I left Rays I felt empty as if I did not get what it is I paid for having one tire nearly bald and three of them with about half if that tread left. I was stuck paying extra fees which in turn left me without any money to get my medication and waited nearly two hours in a parking lot in the shittiest part of town to get used tires when I was the first customer to show when they opened their doors. Not sure what is worst wasting my time or the cost! Earning someone such as myself as a customer is rewarding because you know that if I tell you I offroad every week on rugged roads that I am going to come back time and time again to buy your tires. But instead this business chased off my business and would not offer any ounce of customer satisfaction which made me wonder how many other people get burned at places like Rays all because the high demand for putting tires regularly on our vehicles which were all required to do if we want to be safe on our roads.
I went home feeling regret knowing that a mile away were two more used tire companies that could have saved me a hundred dollars and perhaps I could have waited for half the time. The verdict is that do your research before you go to any tire company and if your given a quote make sure the person giving it is fluent in English otherwise you might get screwed. Their are plenty of tire companies that sell used tires with better tread and for quite a bit less without these extra mystery fees. To sum it up you wont be robbed on 4th street and you wont be told that hey were not going to work with you. The fact is Rays can take your money no problem but they cant handle making mistakes or that their tires do not live up to code. They do not match prices therefore they really do not care about keeping their customers. What is better to sell used tires repeatedly to the same customer or to be so greedy with that customer that they go elsewhere? Most mom and pop shops want repeat business however Rays will never get mine due to their failure to remedy a situation then apologize to me once they got $227 out of me!
In conclusion save your money folks what I thought was an old fashioned tire shop proved to be a disorganized mess and after my investigation of another tire business in Northern Nevada I found my experience to be less then pleasurable. As a matter in fact it was embarrassing to try to make my case to two employees while three customers watched looking at me in shock. Sure business make mistakes and their are consequences to those poor business dealings. Whether that means losing a customer for life or losing that customers friends, family and acquaintances which by far is worth a hundred times more then my $227 when you give it food for thought.
With that being said if your up in the greater Reno area DO NOT use Rays Tire Exchange unless you want to be screwed and treated like your business is irrelevant. The employees have no authority to provide customer service and in the end you will sacrifice everything possibly including your own safety all because this company lacks communication. Such barriers will continue to haunt used tire companies which are often plagued with illegal immigrants working for them or often staff who do not speak the language therefore have no right to run a business dealing with vehicle safety in America! As harsh as that may sound you expect businesses to be up to speed with how to run a business and one that is fair towards its customers without any gimmicks, short cuts or greediness which often results in many businesses that end up shutting down especially used tire businesses which customers share similar experiences with as to my own.
I know what I was quoted on I am not crazy especially for driving 35 miles and showing up at sunup just to wait for two hours to be given an entirely different price. After careful investigating even experiencing various used tire companies in the Carson City Reno area I have formed conclusions of where to go and definitely where not to go. Do not go to Rays Tire Exchange unless you are looking for a similar experience. While some folks are okay with paying high expenses for used tires they are shorting themselves a better experience elsewhere with companies that are clean, personable, cheaper, sell safer tires that are not sitting in the sun all day dry rotting and are about customer satisfaction as it does NOT matter the business the customer is always right afterall our vehicles are also our babies true or not?
The fact of the matter remains is that as a journalist and being that I am about to get my own television show offroading I can assure you I know my tires since for me going through used tires is rather a lifestyle. Rays Tire Exchange will NOT be getting promoted anytime soon from our business or me personally and we hope it was worth the high cost and rudeness they had given me! Used tire companies in Northern Nevada are a dime a dozen if one does not pan out your going to find other ones will its just that simple and Rays Tire Exchange falls short and shammed me! If they are doing it to me they are doing it to you therefore they get ONE out of FIVE stars!
Lord Rick aka AngelOfThyNight
News Journalist & Founder
