Graley's is basically 3 dudes working out of a shack on the side of the road. They apparently don't have a lift; my tires were mounted in their parking lot, using a floor jack and a 4-way wrench. In 40F weather(!) I could have sat in their "waiting area", but since it was just a chair inside the door to an unheated building, I stayed outside to watch, especially since I was amazed that this is the way they do business. When I asked the guy what they'd done the previous day (when it was 18F!!), he replied, "Same thing, man." Unbelievable.
I didn't mind the low-tech operation...tires are tires, after all. But I was concerned that the wheels be balanced properly. I asked if they had a spin balancer and was assured they did...but the guy took the wheels into the back of the shop to mount, so I couldn't see for sure. He finished in under 30 minutes. I paid and left. No fuss, no muss.
Until I checked the tire pressures a week later; all were over 55psi, one was closer to 60!!! I wondered why the tires felt like they had SO much less turning resistance! Now I knew. Around that time I also went onto the freeway for the first time, and immediately noticed a serious out-of-balance hop. I took the car to another shop and he verified that all of the wheels were out-of-balance. Since there were weights on them, I can only assume that they were the weights which were there when I took the car in to have the tires mounted; they just left them and didn't rebalance.
So, I give Graley a "never go there again" rating. Sure, they're the cheapest in town...and there's a reason for it. I could've done a better job in my own garage, and added to the money I paid to have the tires rebalanced, could've gotten it done for a LOT less than the total of the two places. read more