So after 3 years and then 3 more months, I finally went here to upgrade my tires. This is my experience with Tyre Professionals. I wanted to be detailed as I promised the staff I will be writing a review for them :-
1. Booking appointment - I called the cell number on 26th June and got a slot booked for 27th June at 3pm. The gentleman I spoke to was very friendly and assured me I would be attended to at the said time. Took down my details including car rego and it was done. Highly efficient and encouraged me to come down to discuss with his technicians about my requirement. Full marks.
2. Finding the place - This was easy as it is on the main road and Google Maps directs you bang on. It was 45 minutes for me (coming from RMV extension).
3. The shop The one I went to is located in Basvangudi, midway between Sajjan Rao Circle and South End Circle. There is ample parking space and the main road was not too busy. They are preferred resellers of Continental. It is airconditioned and seating space is ample. But who wants to sit when they have awesome equipment and good chit chatty technicians! The workshop below is where the action is, and this is where you want to be.
4. Service - This is where I will give them more than 100%. Excellent knowledge about tires and customer service is over and beyond. I was met by Mr Manju and Satish who gave a smile when I said I read about this place on Team BHP. I wanted to upgrade my stock tires on my City to what has been suggested on this forum - 195/60/R15. I did not want to compromise on comfort, I wanted minimal noise and maximum ruggedness. They suggested Continental. For a moment I thought is this because they are preferred re-sellers, but then it hit me most European cars come with these, so they must be awesome. Conti MC 5 was the recommendation. They also recommended 'RogeRab' which increases GC significantly. First time I heard of it so I said I will google it and let them know.
5. The work, tyre removal It started with driving the City to the ramp, up she went and off came her old and weary legs. I had 2 Michelins in the front, 1 Goodyear and my spare Yokohama in the back. I know, my car was a running advert for tires. Reason being, I suffered 2 back to back punctures and while the car was idle in my apartment (non use for 6 months) and the nearest guy was a Goodyear/Yokohama bloke. So limited options. It was about time to fix this but something always came up (hence the 3 year overdue). I decided to hold onto my Yoko spare wheel. As they were removing the tires I started reading up on that RogeRab thingee. Turns out, it is pretty good. And Satish suggested I go for it, give it a try for 10 days and see how it is. If it does not suit, come back, return it and get a full refund. Nothing to lose right? So I got it. I think they have a storage area nearby as the tires had to come from there. It took about 30 minutes for them to arrive but I am glad it took long as I had a chance to chat with Satish who is so very informative and knowledgeable. Apparently, a lot of City owners upgrade as what I was doing. He gave me the benefits of doing this, spoke about the differences between alignment and balancing, tires in general. Man, there is a lot more to tyres than them just spinning round to make the car move! As we waited for the new legs to arrive, he went ahead and fixed those RogeRabs as well. It gets fixed in the middle of the suspension and it increases GC, improves suspension life, improves tyre life, and better stability at faster speeds. There were a few more, which I forgot.
6. The work, new legs The Contis arrived. I was pretty enthused about this. Satish verified that all were 1718 series 17th week of 2018 manufacture. So pretty new, no complains. He also explained what that 88V means. Apparently, there are H and P and a few others as well. Speed rating interesting, as this was something new I learnt. Now comes the real super interesting part. In any tyre shop that I have been to so far, you buy a new tyre, they fit that on the alloy, fill air and slap it back on to your car. Well, not here. They check for the resistance by simulating the tyre roll under pressure. This is where the super awesome Hunter machine comes into play. The result has to be below 90. Basically matching certain portions of the tyre with the alloy. In not doing this, apparently causes a little bit of sway at high speeds which goes unnoticed most of the time. The first two tires scored 75 which is a pass. The 3rd tyre was at 165 a fail. After realigning the tyre to match the alloy, the reading was 125. Tweaking it again made it 120. Satish said this is a bad tyre and got that replaced! I mean, I was over the moon. Never in my life have I ever checked for this minute thing and here is Satish, who is a perfectionist. The 3rd tyre, a replacement scored 75 in one go. Peaceful. The 4th tyre was 105, but realigning the tyre to alloy portion, it was 80. Life was good. You think this is over not yet. The Hunter machine is so clever, that based on the 4 individual ratings it suggests where exactly each of the tyre must go! So after getting a positive reading for each tyre, Satish marked them 1,2,3,4. So Hunter said 1 should go to Front Right, 4 should be Rear Left and so on. So they fit the tires accordingly. I mean, I was amazed to see this and appreciate Satish calling one of my 4 new tires as bad and not dressing it on my car! That Hunter machine is really impressive. Overall, this was a time consuming process as Satish being a perfectionist wanted to get it the way he believes in. He believes in getting the job done right. And he keeps informing you what he is doing at every stage. I was happy this took time as I got to interact with a brilliant technician. With the new tires fitted, the car looked pretty good, especially from the rear. It felt complete. After this, they do a customary alignment/balancing which is laser guided. But I was not there for this as I had to settle the bill.
7. Pricing When it comes to cost, I do not compromise. I like good food and beverages, a nice vacation in an exotic resort, am a sucker for fine colognes, and am prepared to pay for them. Same goes when it comes to the car. I get my car serviced once every 12 months irrespective of usage (I actually have a reminder on my Google Calendar which notifies me of this!). So when I got a personal technician explaining things he was doing at every stage, explaining the benefits, etc, I had decided not to bargain. The Conti MC 5 cost me INR 5,900 each (I got 4). The RogeRab cost me INR 7,500. Over this I got a 20% discount on alignment/balancing. The total cost was INR 32,412. Given the level of personalized service I got, no complains. The competition may be cheaper, but I will still choose them and have decided to get my tires rotated and balanced from them only going forward. Basically, no negotiating when the service was way beyond excellent and genuine.
Pictures! Sorry, I am a terrible clicker:-
1 Satish working on my car.

2 Bye bye tyres!

3 RogeRab fixed in back suspension.

4 New tires for the City.

5 Hunter at work.

6 Just a pic of my car with new tires. Aint the City a handsome car!

7 Kitten in the workshop wanted to play!
So to wrap up, overall an amazing experience and I think I have earned the right to vote in this poll. I know what I am giving! The owner, Nikhil you have an excellent team working there. Please do tell Satish that I personally thank him for his valuable inputs. I will be visiting your shop (this one) every 6 months going forward to make sure my tires are okay as I think I cant trust anyone else going forward. All the technicians there know their stuff and will converse with you. There was not a single moment I felt I was venturing into the unknown and the assurance they gave was genuine. My tires came with a 1000 km outright warranty and if something happens within that frame, they will take the onus. That spells confidence. I recently made a 900 kms road trip to Hassan Coorg back to Bangalore and both, the new tires and RogeRab have been exemplary. I plan to write a travelogue on this trip as it will be my first!
For fellow members/browsers The next time you have a tyre job, do visit this place, you will love it. And remember, the workshop is where the action is; dont linger in the lounge on top. You will learn a lot trust me, I did.
Cheers!,
- Rohan