I need to find the best tire store in Northern Virginia.
July 24, 2011 8:11 PM
I need to find the best tire store in Northern Virginia. My '04 Tiburon has a wheel that's been leaking air for months and after failures by three different tire shops I'm at my wit's end.
I've taken it to THREE DIFFERENT TIRE STORES (NTB in Merrifield and Springfield, and Mr. Tire in Arlington Courthouse) with no success. The first NTB couldn't find any problems despite the fact that the tire was losing about 5 lbs a day. The second NTB claimed to have found and removed a screw yet the tire was flat by the time I left their parking lot! The Mr. Tire also claimed to have found and removed a nail but they also removed rust and applied something called "tire glue" around the rim. That seemed to work for a few months but now the tire is losing air again, this time it goes flat in about three hours. I need to find someone who will not rest until they've checked everything about this wheel, both tire and rim, and can locate this problem once and for all. Is it the tire? Is it the rim? Is it both? I don't care! I just need to fix it. Because of where I live and the condition of the tire, my options are limited to shops in Virginia either inside the Beltway or not too far outside of it. Can anyone recommend a reputable shop whose tire technicians take pride in their work?
I've taken it to THREE DIFFERENT TIRE STORES (NTB in Merrifield and Springfield, and Mr. Tire in Arlington Courthouse) with no success. The first NTB couldn't find any problems despite the fact that the tire was losing about 5 lbs a day. The second NTB claimed to have found and removed a screw yet the tire was flat by the time I left their parking lot! The Mr. Tire also claimed to have found and removed a nail but they also removed rust and applied something called "tire glue" around the rim. That seemed to work for a few months but now the tire is losing air again, this time it goes flat in about three hours. I need to find someone who will not rest until they've checked everything about this wheel, both tire and rim, and can locate this problem once and for all. Is it the tire? Is it the rim? Is it both? I don't care! I just need to fix it. Because of where I live and the condition of the tire, my options are limited to shops in Virginia either inside the Beltway or not too far outside of it. Can anyone recommend a reputable shop whose tire technicians take pride in their work?
I was going to recommend the Mr. Tire (ex Craven Tire) location at Bailey's Crossroads on Columbia Pike, but the fact that you've already been to one of their other locations might not bode well. But I've always thought the guys there were a cut above the other locations.
It's interesting that the "tire glue" seemed to fix things for a few months. That would seem to argue for a problem with the bead, either on the tire or the rim.
Personally, I would probably give serious consideration to buying* a crappy steel wheel in your size (or using the one from your spare, if you have a real spare instead of a donut) and putting the offending tire onto it, and seeing if that fixes the problem. If it does, you know you have a bad wheel. If not, chances are you have a bad tire.
* Normally I would suggest going to a junk/salvage yard (there's one in Woodbridge) to get something like this, but that would be if you had a way of testing it with a known-good tire to make sure it wasn't itself bad. In this case you might want to get a new one.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:40 PM on July 24, 2011
It's interesting that the "tire glue" seemed to fix things for a few months. That would seem to argue for a problem with the bead, either on the tire or the rim.
Personally, I would probably give serious consideration to buying* a crappy steel wheel in your size (or using the one from your spare, if you have a real spare instead of a donut) and putting the offending tire onto it, and seeing if that fixes the problem. If it does, you know you have a bad wheel. If not, chances are you have a bad tire.
* Normally I would suggest going to a junk/salvage yard (there's one in Woodbridge) to get something like this, but that would be if you had a way of testing it with a known-good tire to make sure it wasn't itself bad. In this case you might want to get a new one.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:40 PM on July 24, 2011
I really liked the service at Curry's Auto in Arlington. Got all new tires from them 4 years ago and they've not given me any trouble. Very courteous, and didn't treat me like a stupid female, like other places had.
posted by wowbobwow at 8:51 PM on July 24, 2011
posted by wowbobwow at 8:51 PM on July 24, 2011
I like Wiygul's: they have shops in Old Town Alexandria, S. Pickett St. in Alexandria, and I think there's one in Herndon.
posted by easily confused at 9:03 PM on July 24, 2011
posted by easily confused at 9:03 PM on July 24, 2011
I've had good luck with Just Tires, and they have a store in Bailey's Crossroads.
posted by Rob Rockets at 9:58 PM on July 24, 2011
posted by Rob Rockets at 9:58 PM on July 24, 2011
General suggestion: find a place that specialises in commercial vehicles (e.g. forklifts, trolleys, tractors, trucks, etc), but also does the occasional car. Almost any fool can fit a tyre, but those guys know their shit.
posted by Pinback at 11:59 PM on July 24, 2011
posted by Pinback at 11:59 PM on July 24, 2011
i've had good experience with VA Tire in Springfield, they are on backlick road...
Virginia Tire & Auto of Springfield
6626 Backlick Road
Springfield, VA 22150
posted by fozzie33 at 4:04 AM on July 25, 2011
Virginia Tire & Auto of Springfield
6626 Backlick Road
Springfield, VA 22150
posted by fozzie33 at 4:04 AM on July 25, 2011
The problem isn't the tire, it's the wheel or valve/stem.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:40 AM on July 25, 2011
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:40 AM on July 25, 2011
Go anyplace that sells tires and have them install a tube. No leak in the tube, no leak in the tire.
posted by Old Geezer at 6:36 AM on July 25, 2011
posted by Old Geezer at 6:36 AM on July 25, 2011
Not explicitly a tire place, but I had good luck with the Shirlington Service Center (in Shirlington; next to the bus station) when I broke down a few weeks ago.
posted by schmod at 6:36 AM on July 25, 2011
posted by schmod at 6:36 AM on July 25, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you have the money, I'd stop messing around with either of them and order a new wheel and tire. You do need to get to work after all. You can drive on your spare in the interim.
posted by colinshark at 8:39 PM on July 24, 2011