[Mark Howard]

So it's time for tires on my 997 and I have some concerns. I have the 5 spoke 19" Carrera rims, perfect condition, nary a scratch on them, not even a chip. Only had the car for a year, the PO replaced the tires sometime back with ContiSport, but the fronts are showing the wear bars. Rear tires probably have a few miles left, but I'm gonna replace them all around.

I'm concerned about turning my car and rims over to a bunch of careless tire monkeys. I had a 911 several years ago with perfect Fuchs, had a flat, and the local shop gouged the rim with the tire machine. They accepted no responsibility and I was stuck.

How can I tell if any of the other local shops won't monkey up my rims as well? Is there a new technology for dismounting tires? I see all these $10k spinners around with low profile tires on them so there must be a way to remove and remount tires without the risk of damaging the rims? Perhaps a serious discussion with the shop manager beforehand would help?

Yes, I am unreasonably anal.

Second part: back to the ole tire question again, and yes I searched the forum already. Any new reasonably priced tires our there? I don't go to the track or anything. Just looking for a fairly nice ride and the longest tread wear I can get.