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Nov 22, 2023

Discount Tire to shift mobile service to Tire Rack brand

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Reinalt Thomas Corp. is preparing to expand its still

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Reinalt Thomas Corp. is preparing to expand its still nascent mobile tire-fitting business — inherited in its late 2021 acquisition of Tire Rack Inc. — in the near future, shifting to Tire Rack-branded mobile trucks in the process.

Officially, the Scottsdale-based dealership has yet to comment on the move, but it has been phasing in Tire Rack-branded mobile trucks over the past year-plus in place of the ASAP Mobile-branded vehicles it took over in the Tire Rack acquisition.

The mobile installation page on the Tire Rack site shows photos of Tire Rack-badged Ford panel vans, has a short instructional video for potential customers and reviews from users from as far back as March 2022.

Discount Tire's purchase of Tire Rack included Tire Rack's ASAP Mobile Tire business, which it had acquired a few years earlier. The business operates 28 locations, including some co-located on Tire Rack and/or Discount Tire properties, that dispatch mobile service vans to customers in their respective geographic areas.

It's shown on the site as ASAP Tire/A Tire Rack company.

At this point it's not know how extensively Discount Tire intends to roll out its mobile tire-fitting business, or to what extent it might use Discount Tire branding in the future.

Individuals with knowledge of the situation indicated the dealership will go that route as well. Separately, Discount Tire has mobile vans that carry out fleet services.The dealership's moves in the mobile-fitting sector are in addition to the recent opening of a drive-through tire-service model — dubbed "Pit Pass" — that's being evaluated for a potential wider rollout. The first Pit Pass store opened in early October in Flowery Branch, Ga., a northern Atlanta suburb.

According to Tom Williams, chief experience officer, Discount Tire's goal in launching the Pit Pass concept is "to meet the busy lifestyle of today's modern customer and get them taken care of faster and with more personal convenience."

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company also is evaluating the efficacy of the RoboTire automated tire-servicing system for a potentially wider roll out. Reinalt Thomas invested in the technology a year ago and is conducting trials with a unit at a store in Scottsdale.

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