CLEVELAND — Moe Hindey is the co-owner of CLE Auto Service. He’s been around plenty of wheel wells in his career.
What You Need To Know
- Tires are more expensive heading into the winter
- Brake rotors are also harder to find, due to supply chain issues
- Jobs can take longer due to waiting for parts
Hindey said tires are more expensive now compared to before the pandemic, due to supply shortages. He said it all depends on your vehicle’s wheel dimensions.
“Because this has a 20-inch wheel and it is a German vehicle, it’s gonna be much harder to find much more expensive,” Hindey said of one vehicle in the shop.
Brakes are also important for stopping in the winter weather. Another customer’s car is in the shop because of brake rotors.
“We live in Ohio,” Hindey said. “The rust, the corrosion, it eats at the rotors much quicker than it would in other parts of the country.”
But he said brake rotors are harder to find now due to supply chain issues. Some jobs get hung up while waiting on the parts to arrive.
“These rotors are getting harder to find … ” Hindey said. “We’ve been waiting two days for these rotors. They are getting pricey. Sometimes we have to go straight to the manufacturer.”
And some parts are in back-order. One customer had his car’s knuckle, a forged joint that connects multiple parts of the car, damaged in a crash. That part is not available yet, so it’s been sitting in the back.
“This vehicle, usually only’d take us a couple of hours to repair but because of supply chain issues, this part here is on back-order from the dealer,” Hindey said. “Unfortunately this customer is gonna be without his car for at least two weeks.”
Hindey said one way customers can extend the life of their tires is to choose seasonal tires that they can switch out. Customers can store out-of-season tires with the shop.
“We keep them here in house so any time you need ’em, just come in and we will swap them out,” Hindey said.
And as a way to save money on tires, his customers have the option to buy their own tires from another vendor, and his shop will only charge them for installation. He said there are a lot of less expensive options.
“As far as tread life, safety, type of grip and traction that you get, it’s very comparable to these other brands,” Hindey said. “But it’s also saving clients easy 20-40%.”
As far as other parts, like brake pads, customers may just have to wait until they show up at the shop, which can vary depending on the car.
