Don’s Tire Service

I was pushing my luck with the old tires on my ’04 Avalon. I got two quotes from Big O/​Tire Pros in Alameda and they told me I had only one special order option and four tires were well over $ 600 and that was with the BOGO. I stopped off at Don’s and they had it done in an hour for just about ½ the cost! Very friendly, no-​nonsense staff and happy to extend discounts where able. I’m a fan of Don’s!
A word of warning: Don’t trust the soda machine. You never know WHAT you’ll get!

Quick and easy. Got a slow leak and thus a flat on my Fiat. Came in to get a new tire. They said «Let’s see if we can fix it first». And they did. $ 35 bucks. Didn’t push a sale of a tire. More interested in customer service. Love em’ and have already recommended them to others. Thanks guys.

I got a flat outside my daughter’s school in Albany and my son’s after school program supervisor suggested I go around the corner to Don’s Tire Service. I had so much driving to do the next day, and couldn’t take the time to go to my regular mechanic’s to order a matching tire. They saw me right away at Don’s, and found a used tire that was close enough to the others on my car to work, and even had about as much tread as my year old tires. I am so grateful and impressed at how quickly they saw me, and the work was much less than expected due to the tire being used. I would recommend this place to anyone in need of tire service. They made my crappy day so much better by being there right when I needed them and helping out so quickly.

I never thought I’d be excited about an auto repair and tire shop, but here I am. I was recently up a creek without a paddle regarding my car. I’ll skip the details, but obviously it all eventually led to me receiving absolutely unparalleled service at Don’s. They actually drove across town to pick up a part that was needed, stayed open late to finish the job, were extremely professional and helpful throughout it all, and the price was reasonable. Harvard Business School should do a case study on their customer service!

Just had a flat tire fixed by Don’s. Called around 12:30, they got me in at 1:30, I just got home after about an hour wait (as estimated). Like clockwork!

It’s hard to turn a flat tire into a good thing but at Dons they have a way of doing that. Their costumer service, knowledge and care is above and beyond. I would recommend them to anyone looking for tires. Thanks for making my day by helping me out rather than helping your wallet out.

They have amazing customer service and have always gone out of their way to help with whatever issues that I may have.

I get a lot of flat tires. This is never my fault because I am a very cautious and defensive driver. I use my turn signals when changing lanes, keep my hands at two and ten o’clock, try to share the road with bicycles and pedestrians, and rarely text while driving.
Despite all this, I seem to run over many screws and nails. Which is how I end up at Don’s Tires on Gilman more often than I would like to.
So here I am once again – disheveled, un-​showered, without breakfast – pulling up to Don’s Tires hoping to beat the other unfortunate people who have flat tires. It is far too early for my liking despite that I live less than 8 blocks away.
Don’s Tires opens for business at 8:00am, thus I arrive five minutes early, and despite this feat, their red roll up doors were already open and mechanics are busily working and there is every other sign that Don’s Tires is open for business. Am I too late?
«No, we open at 8,» the cheerful woman who runs the front counter informs me. It is doubtful that she is related to Don (I’ve never asked), but if one thing is certain, it is of her unwavering allegiance to the San Francisco 49ers.
One time, when I was driving to work, and I was stuck at that stupid light at 6^th and Gilman, I saw Don out front of Don’s Tires supervising the installation of his «50 years in business» sign, which made me feel good (momentarily), so I took a photo with my camera phone.
In any case, running over a screw and getting a flat tire is usually unplanned, I did not have an appointment, but the nice lady who runs the place fit me into their schedule and told my car would be ready an hour later. After nearly being run over by a U-​Haul truck while crossing the street, and stepping over a sleeping hobo, I walked into Jimmy Beans and ordered a side of home fries, a cup of water and that is all thank you. Jimmy Beans gets a lot of business from the people waiting for their flat tires to be fixed.
But I didn’t want to spend an hour at Jimmy Beans so I walked up the street a few blocks to the new Whole Foods Marketplace in the Gilman District. I hate that place so much that I am beginning to think I only go there to fuel my antisocial and apparently sadomasochistic tendencies.
Whole Foods Marketplace in the Gilman District has a whole part of the store which is the «Allegro Coffee Roasting Company» and I decided to order a single low-​fat latte in a large cup. I hadn’t even signed my name with my finger of the iPad payment system when my phone rang again. Thankfully it wasn’t a blocked call or a random 1 – 800 number (I really need to sign up for that do not call list website) but instead it was that nice lady from Don’s Tires telling me that my car was ready – a whole fifteen minutes earlier than they had promised me! I hate to say it, but their timing turned out to be quite inconvenient, so I had to cancel my latte order and walk back down the street.
It’s really great that they finished the job early, but I must wonder why they can’t let me know how long it is actually going to take? It would make things a whole lot easier for their customers.
After a hurried walk down Gilman, I had worked up a good sweat and had a musky odor to match, but the unfresh waiting area of Don’s Tires did little to help this. One time while I was waiting for my flat tire to be fixed, I saw a guy looking at pornography on his computer in the waiting area!
$ 375 was deducted from my bank account, and in return I was given the key to my car along with the promise of two brand new tires affixed to my vehicle. They did the work so quickly I briefly wondered if I was being told the truth.
The tires did seem new, and they were not flat. So there I was, about to get back into my car and drive to work, but when I opened the door, the interior smelled like a brewery! It certainly did not smell that way when I dropped it off.
I was shocked to find that a reusable bag containing empty beer bottles in the trunk (which I was planning to recycle) had been carelessly knocked over, and the last of their contents sloshed around the cargo area of my Honda CRV. It was as if I was visiting an Isla Vista frat house, but without the vomit, passed out sorority girls, plastic keg cups, or a sombrero.
I spent the next eight to ten minutes wiping up spilled suds, and no one even offered to help me! Eventually this unplanned, wet mess was dried up, but the sour smell of stale Sierra Nevada Pale Ale lingered for several days.
After this experience, I will never go to Don’s Tires on Gilman again. Until I get another flat tire.
One star.

This place was great. They worked with me to figure out how to fix my sad tire situation. I had a completely worn front tire on a FWD car that was causing some issues. They didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t need and got the tire I needed ordered in one day. Nice to have a place that works with you and doesn’t try to tell you what to do, as some places will.
As always, its best to know at least a little bit about cars/​tires whenever going to a place like this, as that is how you will get the best service and have the best experience.
I’ll be back again when its time to replace my whole set.

My family lives nearby and has been going to Don’s for years, but I would send absolutely anyone to them even if it’s out of their way.
I was about to hit the road for a New Year’s trip to Santa Cruz, and I waltzed out to the curb to pack my car with friends and food… only to discover a flat tire! ARGH! Everyone’s favorite roadside assistance service arrived, but alas! My car’s rims are weird enough that they did not have the necessary wrench to remove the lug nuts, and thus could not change the tire! They filled the tire up instead, and I was able to drive down the road to…
Don’s! I walked through the door in the role of the Most Obnoxious Customer In The Universe– my car required a weird tool to put on a weirdly-​sized tire, I was anxious to get on the road quickly, and on top of it all, they had already been closed for ten minutes. They would have been well within their rights to send me right back the way I came. Instead, they pulled out the weird wrench needed to deal with my weird rims, dug up a used tire that was extremely friendly to my eccentric, art-​fueled budget, and– I kid you not– I was out the door and on my way to Santa Cruz in about twenty minutes, for under $ 40. It would have taken longer to have a margarita at Picante around the corner!
This is just the sort of service I have always received from Don’s, and yet I am always delighted by their efficacy, knowledge, and friendly service.

They answered the phone, I made an appointment for 2 hours later. I drove to their shop and they fixed the tyre. BMW Weatherford didn’t have time to look at it and were talking $ 250 dollars. Car is an i3. Dons patched the hole for $ 35. While they did the work I had a coffee at Wholefoods and walked the neighborhood. Denise rang me to say the car was ready. I’m a fussy car guy, but based on this one experience I would rate them an above average workshop.

I am very unhappy with the service and products that I purchased from Don’s Tire.
After buying a set of cable chains for my vehicle I asked if someone could give me a few pointers on how to install them. I was looked at like I was totally crazy for suggesting it, and told «I’m not going to stop the guys from their work to help you with that», and that I could reference a YouTube video. Nice. Thanks.
I figured out how to put them on later that day, which was fortunate when I had to put them on in the freezing cold going through the Sierra’s last week. They seemed to be tight and on perfectly, but about 10 minutes into my drive going under 30mph a horrible sound starting coming from my left front wheel, followed by dead silence as I saw the cable chain break off through my rear view mirror to be run over by the truck behind me. Needless to say it is not a situation where I could have safely stopped, gotten out, and recovered said chain.
After I was flagged over to purchase new chains I inspected the remaining Don’s cable chain on the right wheel and it was incredibly loose, barely hanging on given its crummy fatiguable center piece. I replaced them both with Real cable chains purchased in the Sierras. After looking at my remaining one from Don’s, the guys said that they were «pieces of cr$@p» because they had a «split» in them which added a point of failure, and a really weak «star» holder. He said they see a lot of those fall off. Fortunately, the new ones held strong, no problems at all.
I would expect Don’s to know their products and stop selling these «pieces of cr$@p». Perhaps that is why they didn’t want the service guys to help me, because then they would know what inferior products were coming out from the front desk.
Of course No Returns/​No Refunds/​No Exchanges is printed proudly on their receipt. They say I could bring back if defective, but that is hard when it is roadkill on I-​80.
Keep your distance from Don’s if you are considering buying cable chains.

For some reason, this review from June, 2015 was not recommended and disappeared from Unilocal.But it’s a real review, by a long term customer, and it deserves to be seen, so I’ve posted it again.
I’ve done business with Don’s for years, and always liked the place. But my last three interactions have been disappointing, and the response from the front-​desk even more so. Incident #1: I bought a new set of tires, drove off, and two hours later called a tow truck to change one of the tires, which was flat (couldn’t do it myself, lug nuts on too tight). Don’s had installed it with a faulty valve. Okay, that happens. But their response when I brought it back was basically «meh». No apology, no offer to pay the tow truck!
#2: New valve installed, I picked up the car, and just to be sure, checked the tire pressure on the new tire. The new one and the other three were all overinflated by 10 PSI. I pointed this out to customer service. Another meh. Really? Overinflating by 30% can’t be good, right? No one seemed to care too much.
#3:I tore a hole in one of my new tires and brought the car back in this week. They put a new tire on, and when I got home I checked the pressure — all four tires have been overinflated by 10 PSI again. I called in to complain and got more «meh.» I asked to speak to the manager — we were up to 3 strikes in my view — and was told that if she thought it was important she would call me. No call.
Final straw? Wait for it… I had taken my father-in-law’s car for a new set of tires about 3 weeks ago. So I decided to check those tires’ pressure this AM. Guess what? 8 PSI over.
So – Don’s seems to coasting on their previous good service record and not checking the quality of the work. Too bad. I’ll go somewhere else next time. Your review helps others learn about great local businesses.

Great spot for a quick fix! My car had a flat, they didn’t have my size, they called around, and drove me to another shop to pick up a tire. If you need a quick resolution look them up. Erica is super nice and helpful.

I bought 4 tires for my 1984 Porsche Carrera from Don’s Tires. They over-​tightened the lug nuts on installation and 12 of the lug nuts broke when removing the tires. This caused me nearly $ 1,000 to remove and repair the lug nuts. Protocol for the older Porsches is very clear that you hand tighten with a torche wrench.
Worst of it all, when I went back to discuss with them there was ABSOLUTELY no apolology or even mention of possible restitution. They were terribly unprofessional. I would caution anyone with exotic car or special rims to steer clear!
Obviously, I can’t go back to them… Tires were awsome though…

This place knows what Costumers Service is.
Friendly staff who knows where they talk about.

The only good thing about getting a flat is that it happened within a block of Don’s. These folks were incredibly kind and helpful. Popped a new tire on in 15 minutes and even drove me back over to install it on the car. Awesome service!

Apparently they do not honor their own Unilocal app offer for a free tire repair with check in. No integrity in advertising.

My experience with Mira Vista Tire: paid them $ 40, went back three times because it wasn’t right, gave up. 6 months later my wheel is ruined because alignment was off and tire wore unevenly. Now, because my car is 4×4 I have to buy four new tires. Frig.
My experience with Don’s Tire: Paid them $ 95, they did the alignment properly, gave me a sheet showing exactly what they did. Problem solved. Done.
Don’s cost twice as much and was MUCH cheaper and easier. You get what you pay for, get it done right the first time.

Here’s my confession: I become obsessive about finding the best deal or the best service or the best product. So, when I found a nail in the sidewall of my Subaru Impreza during a camping trip I set out on a mission to find a place in Berkeley to replace the tire. I called numerous shops and stopped by both Big O Tires and Orozco’s. The later of which looked like a pretty good option but I kept searching.
Then I ran across Don’s. I talked to Jeremy and Denise on two different days and got impeccable communications about tires. All the tires they suggested I cross checked on several websites and they were indeed the best tires for what I was looking for. I also wanted an all season tire good in snow and they changed their recommendation to the tires I ended up purchasing.
The day I went in they were slammed. I walked down the street the the new Philz Coffee and read but when I came back after my 2-​hour window was up my car was still not done. Not only did they sincerely apologize but they gave me a discount.
Sadly great independent shops like Don’s are becoming fossils. Now my car has shiny new boots on and is ready for the next adventure.