Buying tires; pet peeve...

I used to buy all of my tires from a local tire chain. The service was great and I knew just about everyone there.

Then I moved away and to an area where local tire shops were ran by simpletons and thieves. That's when I bought my first set online.

I have since moved back to my hometown area and found that the local chain store had deteriorated in quality and the prices were insane.

I now exclusively buy tires online from either Discount Tire, Tirerack, Amazon, or WalMart.com.

I haven't paid over $800 for a set of tires for years. My last set was around $600 and it cost me $60 to have them mounted and balanced by WalMart. Although I did have to take them to a local shop and have them re-balanced, for which I was reimbursed by WalMart...

So, guys I work with all have trucks or SUVs. I'm pretty vocal about how much money I save by buying online.

Guy at work comes in for his shift and says he hit something in the road and blew a tire. He put on the full-size spare and says he needs a new set since the other three were worn down pretty far and it's time. I tell him to go online and find a set and have them shipped to his house and then take them to a local shop for install. Even after they gouge him $120 for the install, he will still pay roughly half.

Couple of days later, he comes in with a set of General Grabber APT tires on his pickup. 275/65/18. $190 tire online.

I told him those were a good looking tire and should be nice. Asked him what his cost was. Well... He bought them from a local chain and got a couple of hundred off the price since they were "on sale", so $1500 out the door. What??

So, figuring install and tax, they charged him roughly $350 per tire?

Nearly twice what he could have paid online.

I understand people that want the convenience and instant gratification of pulling into a local tire shop and having new tires put on in less than an hour. I do. I wish I could afford to throw money away like that.

Anyway, not my business and doesn't affect me, but it just annoys me to see people continue to voluntarily get robbed by the local shops. Heck, he could have driven 60 miles to the nearest Discount Tire, showed them the WalMart.com price and they would have matched it. They were only about $10 more per tire anyway. Saved himself $700 for an hour extra drive time.

Whatever...

 

I'm surprised ny how many people don't bother to shop around. I Google anything expensive before I buy it to make sure I don't overpay.

I paid a little over $1K for KO2's out the door. (I probably could have saved a little more buying online, but I didn't want to wait as it was winter and I had a close call on the stock tires.) There's no way general grabbers should cost that much.

On the other side of this; I used to buy tires from the cheapest place around. After having my second bad experience there and realizing that the "techs" there were just kids that didn't give a shit, I decided that I was willing to pay a little more at a reputable shop with better people doing the work.

 

For what it's worth and depending on location, tirebuyer.com beats all those guys, especially if you're a first responder/mil/police/teacher ect.

I got a set of 285 Falken Wildpeaks for less than 600 bucks shipped to my door.

 

I’ve always gotten my tires at the “Big Donut” place. Local phenomenal service (4 different stores as I have moved around over the the last 25 years, and a couple out in the weeds when on vacation), national locations, good prices (a little over $1k for 5 rebranded Cooper AT3 mounted and balanced, road hazard warranty, free rotation and balance anytime). Keep the paperwork and have “no questions asked” repair or replacement.

 

Ive used lots of local, mail order, mom and pop, and chain places over the last 50 years....
In all of those places Discount Tire has provided the best prices and consistently excellent service.*

* I am not now, nor have I ever been associated with them other than as a customer.

 

I love my ZR 20” GT Radials from Amazon...Under a hundred each and seem to be breakin in great. Just for a street/lower profile tire....

 

I got my wheels and tires there. I'll probably be going there from now on.

 

In all honesty it is getting harder and harder for mom and pop shops to survive in the US. They can’t stay in business offering the same or competitive prices with chains...they would all be out of jobs. If it is a good shop, I am willing to spend a few bucks more to get good service. My family owned a business which is why I will always prefer a non-chain. Though in my area a few of the shops that I went to have closed down. But ultimately the buyer has to put in leg work and get prices. Sometimes the best deals are in the last place you ever excepted them. For example I got my dealership to install my Michelin Defenders for 900 bucks OTD. The internet couldn’t touch the price because it was the 4th tire for a dollar deal. I just purchased some Yokohama’s for my Corolla for 520 (install/extra warranty/tax) through Mavis. The cheapest I found the tire on the net were for 460 (shipped/tax). And I would spend at least another 75 dollars getting them installed. Research is paramount these days...

 

The only "mom and pop" tires store for 50 miles around here has much better prices than the two major chains in the area, ironically. Not sure why the two big chains, Les Schwab Tire and Point S Tire think that charging nearly 100% more for tires is a wise business practice.

 

I have one word for that, GREED.

 

Same. They price match anything, free rotation and balancing every 5K, fast good service and multiple locations. Maybe if I lived way out in the boonies far away from any DT, I'd go elsewhere, but it's a great place imo.

 

Ive always got my Michelins from Costco or Sams club. Usually have a great price and a rebate. They do the balance and rotation lifetime of the tires. That said, some folks buy on Amazon, then have them put on by a professional recommended at checkout by Amazon.

 

I'll probably go the Costco route and put KO2s on mine. Was going to get Ridge Grapplers but the Costco pricing is too good.

 

i had discount tire match the costco price

 

What is costco charging and what size ko2? I just had DT install 265 70 17 c load and paid $893 OTD after swapping sensors, tax, mounting and everything .

 

No discount tires near me

 

I pay up for my Goodyear A/S Wrangler's with Kevlar at my Goodyear truck centre. They are properly balanced and come with warrantee and
free tire service for flats, leaks, re balancing if and when needed etc. For me it is peace of mind, and I have dealt with them for over 15 years....also buy from my Goodyear truck centre, F1 Eagles for my 2006 Corvette Z06 when my baby needs new shoes, which is every 12,000 to 15,000 km (very soft rubber), but great traction

 

Yea dont really care for goodyear

 

Don't blame the soft rubber for the short tread life! I know what the real reason is..

 

I’ve bought online and I’ve bought from a couple mom and pop places in town. Online wasn’t bad priced but then you still have to get mounted and balanced. One mom and pop was the reason I went online but since I’ve found another mom and pop that just about the whole family goes to so they look out for us a bit and they only make 5-10 bucks off each tire. I always go to them first and if they are close to the online prices, I buy from them. Plus, not owning a garage, time to rotate tires and I do t want to freeze, they do it for free since purchased there.