watching buyers of expensive replacement tires go into shock

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
I have been in costco several times now when the owner of a (insert expensive car name here) like a high series BMW or Lexus asks about "what do new tires cost"? and gets told the price by the tire tech, the buyers sometimes says "gee that high but not unbearable", and the tire tech says well thats per tire not a set of 4.


Continentals or Michelins for my BMW cost $900 a set? You're crazy! I can go to the other side of town and get new tires for $300 installed.

I am so glad that I do not sell tires anymore.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer
I can't remember the last time I paid less than $500 for a set of quality tires, even for a compact. For my full size pickup the last set I purchased was $1k.

Tires are what keep the vehicle on the road in dry, wet, and slick conditions. They are worth the price.


I agree 100%. While I got a good deal on the Dunlop Star Specs for my Club Sport, the tires for the MS3(Cooper Zeon RS3-A), X3(Michelin Premier A/S), and Wrangler(BFG All-Terrain T/A KO) have all been on the pricey side- but then I expect to get over 50k miles out of each set. And each tire is at or near the top of its class. Scrimping on tires is false economy in my opinion. It's analogous to buying a racing/motorcycle helmet:
"Have a $10 head? Buy a $10 helmet."

 

[mpersell]

The first set of replacement tires for the Ram 275-60R20 nearly gave me a stroke.

They're cheaper now however.

 

[OVERKILL]

I got a deal at ~$1300 for the rubber on the M5 (Michelin Pilot Super Sport). I expect it may need rear tires again at the end of this season but that's just a guess.

Gotta pay to play. These tires are incredible in wet and dry performance.

In contrast, at about $1K for the Michelin LTX M/S2's on the Expedition, they'll last at least 100K like the last set did. That's many years of driving.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I got a deal at ~$1300 for the rubber on the M5 (Michelin Pilot Super Sport). I expect it may need rear tires again at the end of this season but that's just a guess.

Gotta pay to play. These tires are incredible in wet and dry performance.

In contrast, at about $1K for the Michelin LTX M/S2's on the Expedition, they'll last at least 100K like the last set did. That's many years of driving.


Good point. The LTX MS2's we buy in load range E last THREE TIMES as long as factory Bridgestones. Ride better, more safety, much cheaper per mile.

Just got new LTX's on the Ram, what an improvement over the stock Goodyear Wranglers. The difference is immediately noticeable.

My car is also a heavy sedan with a bit of power. Tends to wear tires rather quickly. The new Pilots I bought were about the same price as yours (275/35/20) but came with a 30k mile warranty. Absolutely AMAZING traction and very predictable in all weather here. And I have never gotten much more than 20k miles out of ANY set of tires on the car...

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I was surprised when I put tires on the Focus. It uses a really common size. $48 a tire for Coopers! There were still cheaper, but good, tires!

Back when I had the Taurus, it had a somewhat oddball size. Could never find anything [good] for under $130 a tire. Hated putting tires on that ... and that thing chewed up tires pretty good.


Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Tires are one of those things that only a tiny fraction of car buyers even think about, until the spec on their car comes to bite them in the [censored]. All these big, fat wheels with oddball sizes on new cars is making it normal to spend thousands replacing tires.

One thing I notice a lot of down here is people putting small car tire sizes on old beater trucks and SUVs because they are too cheap. Please keep your Explorer or Blazer on 195/60R15s away from me!


Last week I saw an Expedition on 225/60-16 ... Didn't look right at all.

 

[CharBaby]

I had a Director/VP of my division ask me about tires for their Range Rover & BMW. So, I tried to oblige and not only give my opinion but, to show some local and online pricing for their sizes. All they both did was, complain about the price of the tire in their sizes. Almost crying like little girls that they had to put money into their vehicles.

These two people are/were knocking down 1/4-1/5 mil/year...[censored]! I'm just a regular working guy and I'd buy better tires than the cheapies that they want to put on their rides. Needless to say, I walked away and let them make their own corporate decisions!

 

[dlayman]

My 14' wheels on my civic can get tires very inexpensively, though the selection is getting smaller. Even my new Corolla will be reasonable with 15" wheels. The oversize wheels on economy and family sedans are foolhardy in my opinion, along with V rated tires on these types of cars. I always pay close attention to that when I purchase a car, and if its gonna run me an arm and a leg for each set of tires, I won't buy the car. I love being able to buy a great quality tire without breaking the bank, due to having smaller wheels.

I remember the first set of new tires I bought. A 1984 Tercel, 145R13. Michelin XZX for $19.99 a piece an America's Tire. They were great tires too.

 

[thr_wedge]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: thr_wedge
16" tires. Mazda 6 toastermatic 4 cylinder.

Last set was $800.

Tires are literally the only thing keeping you on the road, so don't go cheap.

People freak out about any recurring maintenance cost, you either plan ahead or you fail.

Never paid more than $400-500(after rebate(s)) for a set of 235/45-17 for my 2000 E430.


I pulled up my receipt, it was $700 OTD.

Yokohama Yk580, 225/60R16. Installed, tpms, road hazard (worth it around me), disposal, tax, was $700 OTD. Tires themselves were $120 per.

 

[KitaCam]

Originally Posted By: dlayman
My 14' wheels on my civic can get tires very inexpensively, though the selection is getting smaller. Even my new Corolla will be reasonable with 15" wheels. The oversize wheels on economy and family sedans are foolhardy in my opinion, along with V rated tires on these types of cars. .....


The 2005 Camry OEMs were originally 15" H-speed tires...it rides and performs MUCH better with 17" V-rated tires...though to be fair, the 15" tires it had had were OEM cheapies, and the 17"ers are a high performance design, but the increased size/mass of the 17" rim does make a difference in the stability of the car, both front to rear (accelerating and braking under load) and on cornering....in terms of cost, 17" seems to be the sweet spot in terms of cost-performance ratio.

 

[hattaresguy]

The trend of sticking massive wheels on family sedans is silly. Why does a Camry need anything more than a 16in wheel?

Big low profile tires cost a lot of money regardless of what they are mounted on.

 

[KitaCam]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
The trend of sticking massive wheels on family sedans is silly. Why does a Camry need anything more than a 16in wheel?

Big low profile tires cost a lot of money regardless of what they are mounted on.


Though I upsized the rim/tire, I resisted getting a tire with a profile lower than OEM spec...still...

There's significantly less rocking front to rear and less roll in cornering with the 17s...the Camry's ultralight body weight for its size (3100 lbs vs a typical 3500 lbs for midsized cars) contributes to its reputation for having a "floating" ride....I like a firmer ride....but then I'm not a grocery hauler

 

[HangFire]

Tires have a huge profit margin. As such good deals can be had, but only if you're willing to research and shop around. If you procrastinate until you have a blowout and rush to buy, don't expect to "save money" on any great tire deal.

I just picked up 4 new Continental PureContact tires from DTD for $300, DELIVERED, sat on them for a week, called around and got them mounted/balanced w/ new valve stems locally for $59, and installed them myself with my trusty torque wrench. That's 4 new top rated tires for $359. Since I was running Winter tires on a second set of wheels I could take my time and then jump on a good deal.

When I changed to a longer commute a few years ago, I went with a Corolla LE (Lame Edition) with its 15" wheels. I turned down a "good deal" on a Corolla Sport because it has 16" wheels and $150 more per year in car insurance, because of some badges and an air dam/spoiler! I knew I'd be buying new tires every 2 years and didn't feel like paying the size multiplier.

When the dealer saw my credit application he said "I can sell you any car on this lot, why do you want a Corolla?" Because I have other things to save for and spend money on, that's why.

People get what they deserve. I work with hourly laborers who drive Infiniti's and Escalades and share an apartment. Besides replacement tires, their auto insurance is astronomical. That's their choice. I drive a Corolla and live in a house with garage, and have enough left over to save for my kid's college. That's my choice.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: thr_wedge
16" tires. Mazda 6 toastermatic 4 cylinder.

Last set was $800.

Tires are literally the only thing keeping you on the road, so don't go cheap.

People freak out about any recurring maintenance cost, you either plan ahead or you fail.

Never paid more than $400-500(after rebate(s)) for a set of 235/45-17 for my 2000 E430.

What were you getting? I have same dimension and I paid in Costco Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60 $960, and two years ago Michelin PSS $780. I know PSS went down for that dimension after rebate to $122 before tax.
Now, I could find much cheaper tires, but there is no way I would put that on my car.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
I have been in costco several times now when the owner of a (insert expensive car name here) like a high series BMW or Lexus asks about "what do new tires cost"? and gets told the price by the tire tech, the buyers sometimes says "gee that high but not unbearable", and the tire tech says well thats per tire not a set of 4.


Continentals or Michelins for my BMW cost $900 a set? You're crazy! I can go to the other side of town and get new tires for $300 installed.

I am so glad that I do not sell tires anymore.

What kind of tires are those on BMW?

 

[01rangerxl]

Looks like "Mayrun."

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Looks like "Mayrun."

Lol "May run... may not."

http://www.mayruntires.com/page.cfm?t=company&id=28

I learn something new every day!

 

[MCompact]

I was on a Mustang GT forum where there was much complaining about tire shops refusing to sell/mount tires with a lowers speed rating. I'm sure that S rated Chinese off-brand Ditchfinders will work just as well as the OEM tires...

 

[tommygunn]

Almost every new car from the past 5 years has no-profile tires that are WAY too big, too expensive, and hurt MPG.

You know what they'll do? They'll balk and keep running those bald tires and maybe get a couple mismatched used tires if they fail inspection.

There is NO need for 20-inch 40-series tires on a non-performance compact family car (obviously this doesn't include special models such as the Mazdaspeed 3, Focus.Fiesta ST, etc)

Something like 205/65-15 is just fine for midsize and full-size cars, and smaller cars could do well with 195/60-15 or 185/65-14.

 

[y_p_w]

I work in Silicon Valley and see a lot of luxury sedans as well as high performance cars. The high performance cars rarely have off-brand tires. However, I've seen Mercedes S-class and BMW 750s shod with Prime Well, GT Champiro, Ohtsu, etc. There are names that I don't even remember, as well as house brand tires that may not exude "if you have to ask the price you can't afford it".

Here's a retailer carrying several that I've barely or never heard of.

http://www.belletire.com/tire-brands

For the most part most people don't believe that others will notice anything more than the brand and model of the car. It's automotive geeks like ourselves who pay attention to tire brands and models.