Best Deals on Auto Tires??

[FinanceDude]

I went to Sam's Club..........For my Accord, BF Goodrich with 60,000 mile warranty for installed, and free rotating, for $428 + tax.

Tires Plus was $600!!!!

Anywhere else I can shop??

 

[wabmester]

Try Costco. They seem to offer a 4-for-the-price-of-3 michelin deal every once in a while, which is when we buy.

 

[FinanceDude]

Try Costco. They seem to offer a 4-for-the-price-of-3 michelin deal every once in a while, which is when we buy.

Thanks.........but NO COSTCOs are in Wisconsin................

 

[justin]

I think I paid around $400-450 to get 4 new higher-end (80k miles) tires put on at some chain tire store for DW's 2000 accord about 1 yr ago. Some places will let you buy online and install them for a charge. Also, check the Sunday papers for coupons for tire stores. Many tire stores have online sites where you can check prices given your car's make and model.

 

[Leonidas]

The last time I bought tires I shopped online, got a good price, and then went to my local Goodyear store and asked them to match it. They did and I got my tires put on that afternoon at a discount. The sites I shopped are missing from my boomarks, but I think the one that gave the best deal was called TireRack.Com. Goodyear will match prices, and in my case I just told them what price I found and they matched it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

The best deals are online. And the best selection is online.

www.tires.com
www.tirerack.com

they ship either to your house or to a designated tire installer.

It costs around $10-20 to mount and balance the new tires over what you pay online. However even with the mounting costs I have found that you can save maybe 33-50 % over what you'd pay at the local tire store walking in off the street.

Also if you have an older car or a performance car, the local tire stores selection of tires may not include the discount brands for the older car or the really great performance tires for that muscle car you have.

I have been doing this for some time now and have saved alot of money.

 

[FinanceDude]

The best deals are online. And the best selection is online.

www.tires.com
www.tirerack.com

they ship either to your house or to a designated tire installer.

It costs around $10-20 to mount and balance the new tires over what you pay online. However even with the mounting costs I have found that you can save maybe 33-50 % over what you'd pay at the local tire store walking in off the street.

Also if you have an older car or a performance car, the local tire stores selection of tires may not include the discount brands for the older car or the really great performance tires for that muscle car you have.

I have been doing this for some time now and have saved alot of money.

I checked with tires.com, and I can get the same 4 tire for $328 for 4, and that includes the 70,000 mile warranty..........now I need to find a tire place to install.............

 

[TromboneAl]

Master,

Did you have them shipped to you or the tire store?

Do the tire places (e.g. Les Schwabb) generally grumble (and/or jack up installation prices) when faced with your purchasing the tires elsewhere?

 

[Leonidas]

I checked with tires.com, and I can get the same 4 tire for $328 for 4, and that includes the 70,000 mile warranty..........now I need to find a tire place to install.............

Most of the internet sites had a directory of local tires shops that would do the work for a pre-set price. Or, you can always take your quote to your local dealers and see if they'll match it. I know my local Goodyear place would (provided they carry that brand/size).

Do the tire places (e.g. Les Schwabb) generally grumble (and/or jack up installation prices) when faced with your purchasing the tires elsewhere?

I did it twice last year - four tires on DW's vehicle and two on my truck - about a week apart. Did DW's first, found prices online and then read somewhere else that Goodyear would match prices. Rather than wait on shipping I zoomed down to the local Goodyear place and asked "Do you match competitor's prices?" It went as smooth as glass. In fact, I got a better deal because the guy didn't ask about how much TireRack was going to charge to ship them. A week later I went back with my truck and tried the same thing with a different counter guy - he immediately asked about shipping. Got the same price (including shipping prices) that TireRack was going to charge, but at least I didn't have to wait for my tires and it was a fair bit cheaper than Goodyear's regular price.

Mr. Goodyear guy called my house after I had picked up the truck and told DW that the price he had quoted was for 4 tires, but I had only bought 2, so he had to refigure the price. He asked DW to have me call him. Yeah, right.

 

[MasterBlaster]

TromboneAl:

Personally I have always have them shipped to my house. I just pop them in the trunk or in the back seat and drive over to any tire store for installation. Prettymuch any tire store will do it. You may though save a dollar or two by calling around.

Never had anyone grumble, it is business for them you know.

If you buy the tires form tires.com their online company is called discountTiresDirect.com or something like that. They have lots of tire stores near me that go by the name of DiscountTires - so they are happy to mount tires from their affiliate company.

If you do the online thing, you have the option to have the tires shipped directly to one of their associated tire shops. You don't even have to touch a tire. They'll call you when the tires are in and you can then make an appointment for the mounting.

As an aside story, I have a 85 Corvette that I love but it's just not worth that much anymore. Since the car is not worth that much, I am reluctant to spend alot of money on tires for it. So when looking around for tires most of the shops I called wanted to sell me Goodyear Eagle GT's or something like that for $350 or more a tire. Well I found a Korean performance tire (Kummo) online that was $57 that is a W rated (meaning really really outstanding high performance) tire. It actually has better specs than the Goodyear tire. That's about what I wanted to pay for my 22 year old car. I figure that by ordering online I saved over $1200 (with tax) cause the local shop just wouldn't carry such a tire. I have had these tires on my Vette' for over a year now and couldn't be happier. They beat hands down the Goodyear (only Z rated) tires that used to be on the car. The car seems like it can make a 90 degree turn doing 90 miles an hour. It always handled really well but the tires made a big improvement.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Cant really beat costco and sams club. Lifetime free balance/rotation, lifetime hazard warranty, and the very best deals I could find for funky internet deals where they shipped them somewhere and you had someone else install them might have saved 5-7%. And that was without the free lifetime stuff. After paying for a couple of rotate/balances, a flat or a hole in the sidewall, you'll be on the downside.

Every once in a while Sears has a pretty good sale on some of the decent brands and they're in the ballpark, but after they got sued for pushing the repair guys to tell people they needed to do work on the cars that didnt really need to be done, I think i'll pass on taking my car there.

 

[Brat]

I have a nephew who works at the Costco tire shop in Tigard Oregon. He reports that the company is ethical, trains it's employees very well. In that part of the world only Les Schwabe would be comparable in service.

If neither of these retailers are available, poor you.

 

[Dawg52]

Have you checked with small independent tire distributors in your area? I have always purchased mine that way. Most sell the big name brands and give free rotations for the life of the tires. Most will give you a quote over the phone. Well at least here they do.

 

[Sarah in SC]

The Kumhos are good tires, overall. I buy the cheapest ones I can get, they run installed about $65 each. On our POS fleet of junkers, we only buy 2 at a time, so the value doesn't exceed that of the cars themselves.

Sarah

 

[SC]

Do you have Discount Tire stores in your area? They are the only tire shop I have been to that always uses a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts, instead of the air powered "torque sticks," or worse, tightens them up as tight as the impact wrench will go. Maybe it was coincidence or just bad luck, but I had repeated troubles with warped rotors which stopped when I started going there.

That, and so far they've always balanced the tires properly the first time, unlike some other (*cough* wal-mart *cough) shops I've tried.

 

[DRiP Guy]

The Kumhos are good tires, overall. I buy the cheapest ones I can get, they run installed about $65 each. On our POS fleet of junkers, we only buy 2 at a time, so the value doesn't exceed that of the cars themselves.

Sarah

I ran Kumhos on my Porsche, and I have 'em on my hot rod right now, so they aren't too bad... good value.

 

[My Dream]

I ran Goodyears on my Bonneville which I liked, then went with Michelin, and found them longer lasting quieter, and smother riding tire. I got a great deal on Kumhos, and found the total opposite to Michelins, I wish I could have taken them back, rough ride, noisey although the traction isn't that bad, but not a long lasting tire for me. The Michelin's got me around 130,000 kilometers on a 16" tire.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

After a lot of fooling around in my youth with saving a few bucks on some reasonable tires that were sort of okay, I decided to just stick with michelins. They last a long time, give great performance, they're quiet, and heck you're going to have them on the car for a long time.

 

[FinanceDude]

After a lot of fooling around in my youth with saving a few bucks on some reasonable tires that were sort of okay, I decided to just stick with michelins. They last a long time, give great performance, they're quiet, and heck you're going to have them on the car for a long time.

Decided that myself.......although I had some Pirellis that lasted forever, and were worth MORE than the car they were on.............

 

[yakers]

Tires are a series of trade offs, cost, dry cornerning, wet handling, noise, life expectency and more (we have all terrain tires on the Jeep). There are currently some Pirellis with 85K mile warrantys. Performance tires (V or W rated) often only last 10K miles. I always start research on the Tirerack site and ask friends in car groups (my wife is in a MIata group) and then go to my local supplier who will usually come close in costs and does all our regular service.

 

[DRiP Guy]

I ran Goodyears on my Bonneville which I liked, then went with Michelin, and found them longer lasting quieter, and smother riding tire. I got a great deal on Kumhos, and found the total opposite to Michelins, I wish I could have taken them back, rough ride, noisey although the traction isn't that bad, but not a long lasting tire for me. The Michelin's got me around 130,000 kilometers on a 16" tire.

I've got Michelin LTX MS on my truck right now, and they ride great, are quiet, and from the looks of it, may just last forever... (super rating in all categories at Tire Rack), but they weren't cheap.

On the Porsche I ran the Kumho Ecstas and they were terrific (for the money), since I ran a soft compound and knew I would replace often.

It's all about choices!
8)