Nissan Repair: Bent Tire Rim...., wheel wobble, small claims court

Question
Firestone Timonium, recently installed 3 new tires and balanced all three tires for my 2006 Tacoma 2x4 pickup.  After taking it back 5 times explaining that after they put these tires on, the vehicle continues to pull left and shimmy on the right at high speeds.  They said that the truck was aligned and that there was nothing they could do.  I took the vehicle to two separate Firestones - one in Columbia and Timonium MD.  They both said there is nothing wrong!  I proceeded to take it to Goodyear and they said the alignment is correct however they could not figure out why the vehicle pulls left.  I then proceeded to take the vehicle to Sears in Columbia where a mechanic stated I had a bent rim on the right side of the vehicle - I can not see where the rim is bend.  With all this said, I have two questions - where can I find a new matching rim for this steel wheel and how can I get Firestone to admit this wrong doing?  What is my recourse to having Firestone fix this problem since they were the ones that started this issue.  They are claiming that I hit something and bent the rim.  Please feel free to call me  (do I need a lawyer) I have receipts from Firestone on all 5 times and Goodyear receipts and Sears receipts.  It is very very annoying and disturbing to have to drive down the road holding the steering wheel to keep the vehicle straight and have it vibrate all the time!

Answer
Hi Michael -

Yes, a bent rim could definitely cause the car to pull and shimmy. Best way to check it is to lift the truck and spin the wheel. If the rim is bent, you will see the wheel wobble.

To be honest, it is very difficult to prove that Firestone damaged your rim. Once you drive out of there, they can claim anything. Those places really have a bad reputation. As for recourse, I do not know what your options are in your area, but here in Hawaii, we have an entity called small claims court, which works a lot of times. P{erhaps you have something like that in your area?

Only the dealer would have the matching rim. I am assuming this is a stock rim?

Hope this helps -
aloha
calvin