Wednesday morning I have a valve stem randomly blow out just before I head to work.

The ford dealer is a quick stop on the commute, so I put on the spare and drop the tire off. It's a banded TPMS, so I also trust them to not pop the band.

The service writer is baffled that I'm not leaving the whole pickup.

At my dealership they would've offered to give me a free appraisal on my tire that they say is in high demand, then try to get me into a new tire for the same monthly payment.

I'm sure that's to cover the dealer if something else happens to the vehicle after it was "left for service".

I have even had tire places be surprised when I just bring in the tire or tires for balancing or repair.

Yeah, some of us don't mind dirt and sweat, and have our own tools and work space. With single tire damage, as long as you have a full size spare it is nothing to just drop the tire/wheel off for repair or replacement, but 95% of their customers only know how or want to roll in, say "fix it" and plop down in a waiting room chair. They can't deal with it or don't want to so much they will waste hours of time or considerable extra money not to.

There is a chance that when they write up any repair, there is automatically a line item for multi-point inspection. The writer then probably has to fill in something for detail, which is why they repeat the "vehicle not here".

Probably not very common to drop off a tire for a flat repair at the dealer. Seems like a good way to get a $100 flat repair. Surprised it was only $20.

If it was under warranty, he probably would have to have the VIN to tie the warranty to.

I'm not really sure what the issue is here, maybe I am missing something.

If it is the 99 Point Inspection, yes, those are auto generated. They are reviewed as well and that is why they have to be noted very clearly if they are not performed.

As far as not leaving the vehicle there. Certainly not an issue with just dropping off the tire but definitely not common. So when a tech gets the repair order, he would normally try to find a vehicle. Again, reason for the multiple notes about the vehicle not being there.

I'll usually drop off the single tire at Discount when one needs to be replaced, but when I pick it up that's usually a good time for rotation/etc.

I let them try to sell me wipers and play the game but they're really not too pushy about it.