Why are you still buying tires online?

[AjsGarage]

Why do I read about SO MANY people buying tires online from Amazon, tirerack, etc?

The ONLY way I see buying tires online possibly making financial sense is if you have the ability to mount, balance, and rotate them yourself for free.

I cannot imagine this many people having their own tire machine and balancer, so I have to assume most take the tires to a shop to get mounted.

After factoring in the fees to get mounted, balanced, are you really still saving money? $20 saved on a tire price suddenly can be spent to get it professionally mounted and balanced.

You do realize some tire sites charge for shipping right? Do you factor the shipping costs into your "savings" ?

Do you consider the cost of rotating too? Rotations are free at most shops if you purchase tires there. Rotation is KEY to long tire life, and on some sportier/fancier cars, a PROPER rotation REQUIRES a tire machine to flip directional tires, and cannot be done at home by Joe Q Public.
Having to pay for rotations adds up.

How do you handle warranty issues? What do you do if the tire has a defect such as separated belts (which was common on brand new goodyear tripple treads for a long time) or sidewall bulges? Does the online supplier reimburse you to cover the cost of getting the defective tire dismounted and a replacement tire re-mounted/balanced?


Here is MY experience working in an independent tire shop

We bought from over 9 tire suppliers, meaning our prices were most of the time lower then anything you could find online.

The old guy working up front was selling tires for many years, and knew all there was to know about tires. He could recommend a great tire for a car that you never thought about putting on it, and that was better then you were initially going for. Most independent tire shops have an old guy like this.

We handled warranty issues, and ate the cost of fixing the issue. Customer came in with issue, and left with new tire, no questions asked, no talking to tire companies.

We rotated and inflated tires for the life of the tire, FREE.
(people who didnt buy tires from us paid I think $20 a rotation)

I read invoices, I saw them in person, and did not see how you could save over our final "out the door and on the road" price by buying online, unless you did everything yourself on your own equipment for next to nothing.



So those who get HUGE savings buying tires online, please tell me how you do it, because I really do not understand! I love saving money, just like everyone, so maybe I am just missing something here?


Rant, over

 

[expat]

The last time I bought tires was from a Discount tire outlet,
the best price for the tires I wanted was offered by Discount tire direct.

The dealer said hewould match the on line price.

I asked if he would absorbe the State tax as well?

He said he could not do that.

I said, I may as well buy on line and get them shipped here then, and save a few $ tax.

He then decided he could absorb the tax.

Seemed a bit silly when DT seemed to be competing against itself.

 

[285south]

I WANT to support and shop at the small-local-expert businesses but SALES TAX kills it every time at the approaching rate of 10%. So last time I went in they priced matched the tires, after, they brought up my account and saw that it was flagged saying to the effects of I am not paying retail.

Not only that but I will buy new vehicles from out of state and still pay less with flying to the closest sales tax free state and driving it back 1400 miles to avoid paying sales tax!

 

[ExMachina]

Originally Posted By: 285south
Not only that but I will buy new vehicles from out of state and still pay less with flying to the closest sales tax free state and driving it back 1400 miles to avoid paying sales tax!

That doesn't work if you live in California, as they will notice you just bought the car out of state and add on some extra state registration taxes to put in their coffers, preventing people from evading sales tax that way.

 

[turtlevette]

I really sick of getting ripped off on tire balance. 25 bucks is way too much for a 3 minute procedure. I was able to get a discount tire tech to do 4 mount only for 20. He just put the money in his pocket. In don't think modern tires need balance.

 

[BRZED]

I prefer to have the tires I want convniently shipped to an installer of my choice instead of getting the deer in the headlights look and "We have to special order those." Free balancing for life is not worth scratched wheels and damaged and overtoqued lugnuts. Just my opinion and preference.

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: AjsGarage
Why do I read about SO MANY people buying tires online from Amazon, tirerack, etc?
you can get me the cooper cs5 ultras for 27.50 per tire in 195/60R15 and $68ish in tire mount with lifetime wheel balance & tire rotation?

$110+68 = $178 out of pocket and also provide me a big chain of stores like firestone across the country for me to take advantage of my lifetime alignment/wheel balance/tire rotation? I don't think you can do any of this. If you could, you would have a big chain of stores of your own.

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette

In don't think modern tires need balance.


I do not agree with that statement. Modern tires DO need balancing.

 

[skyactiv]

I use to buy tires from the TireRack. I went to a Discount Tire and asked the salesman if he could compete against them on something I wanted. He said he could on the expensive performance tires I wanted. He factored in the total price including the tax savings which was partially negated by the shipping cost and matched the TireRack.

BRZED is right however. It's no fun when you approach a tire store about something you want which they don't stock and they try to push say a set of who knows, General Altimax RT43's on you because it's the best thing since sliced bread to the salesman.

Discount Tire can obtain other tires they don't list on their website.

One thing some online tire retailers have going for them is selection and the ability to get them fast. I use to have Wal-Mart install TireRack tires and never had an issue.

I've had issues with Discount Tires workmanship maybe because there installers seem overworked where I'm at.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I have never ordered car tires online...I can get better prices locally. (The tires I ran on my trucks and Cherokee were only available online.)

However: I can get tires rotated for nothing, regardless of where I bought them.

 

[IveBeenRued]

I still do it because even after mounting and road force balancing I am able to save $150-300. No dealer is willing to price match when I combine rebates and holiday discounts on DTD's eBay store. Also like someone said earlier, I too get that deer in the headlights look when I ask for specific tires and they always push something else on me.

When I wanted the Pirelli P7 A/S+ tires for my Subaru the local stores they just said "Oh, those are in such high demand it will be several months before you will get them." After I finally got a local dealer to give me a quote on them it came out to $760 including basic mounting and balancing. I was able to stack coupons and rebates on DTD's eBay store and got them to my house for ~$400 and then got them mounted and road force balanced at my local AAA shop for under $100. Total according to my records was $492 net cost after shipping, mounting, balancing, disposal, and taxes. This is a savings of $268! Yes, you have to wait for a good deal, fill out some rebates, and overall do more legwork but it's still worth it.

 

[robertcope]

I order mine online for a few reasons.

First, most shops don't have tires I want. For example, I recently tried to use a local shop to buy tires for my S2000. They didn't even LIST the three tires I wanted in any of their tire distributors catalogs. And these are street tires; I wouldn't even bother trying to find the race tires on the Miata locally.

Second, they're cheaper. Yes, I could probably price match. But why give business to the guy trying to charge me more?

robert

 

[CharBaby]

When it comes to apples-to-apples tire price comparison from my several favorite tire web sites and, then pricing the same tires locally w/install/pkgs, I am saving by buying online between $120-$150(4 tires) w/local install from our area Walmart Service Centers.

I realize that not everyone has this W*M convenience/luxury($73 OTD) with lifetime balance/rotation. NO W*M RHW(but, can be purchased from your online tire site), and W*M Flat Repair are extra but, very reasonable!

Apparently, we have higher tire & install prices in my area. Even if I can get the tires at a reasonable price. I have not tried to buy tires locally from one dealer and bring the tires to W*M for my install. I may actually try this in the future but, it remains to be seen if there is any extra $avings

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: AjsGarage
Why do I read about SO MANY people buying tires online from Amazon, tirerack, etc?...

Rant, over


I purchase online for a couple reasons. I like avoiding the sales tax, which adds up. I can also get the tires cheaper than I can locally, and I don't have to negotiate with ranting tire store clerks who may or may not know what they're talking about.

The nearest tire store to me is about 25 miles away. By ordering them online I can have them shipped here, call and make a simple appointment to have them installed, and make a single trip into town. I can get all 4 tires mounted and balanced for about $40; given the lower upfront costs, even with mounting and balancing it still makes sense to purchase them online.

Originally Posted By: AjsGarage
Do you consider the cost of rotating too? Rotations are free at most shops if you purchase tires there. Rotation is KEY to long tire life,


The last set of tires I purchased were for a Subaru Outback that had 92,000 miles on a set of Michelin Harmonys. The tires still had well over the minimum tread depth and the tread depth was pretty even across all 4, but they were replaced because of age. Guess what? They may have been rotated once during the 6 years they were on the car.

The rotation was free for me to do too, since I did it when I had it on the lift in my shop to replace the brakes.

Originally Posted By: AjsGarage
The old guy working up front was selling tires for many years, and knew all there was to know about tires. He could recommend a great tire for a car that you never thought about putting on it, and that was better then you were initially going for. Most independent tire shops have an old guy like this.


I'm perfectly capable of doing the research and making a decision on which tire is right for my needs and application. I don't need some "old guy" to tell me what I can find out on my own.

Originally Posted By: AjsGarage
How do you handle warranty issues?


I've personally never had a tire warranty issue. However, if you'd spend a minute or two on either Tire Rack's site or Discount Tire Direct's site and look for their warranty information, I bet you'd find the answer to your question.

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
In don't think modern tires need balance.


Yeah-you just keep right on thinking that.

 

[Traction]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
I really sick of getting ripped off on tire balance. 25 bucks is way too much for a 3 minute procedure. I was able to get a discount tire tech to do 4 mount only for 20. He just put the money in his pocket. In don't think modern tires need balance.

$25 might seem like too much. Have you priced how much a good wheel balancer costs? Let alone how much it costs to operate a business, and pay the employees? They are lucky if they made $5. Maybe 1 tire out of a 100 doesn't need balanced. Your wheels are very seldom balanced, even without tires. And as far as lifetime balance goes, unless you have a vibration issue, you might have one after a re-balance. Most tires will run their lifetime on the original balance.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: AjsGarage
Why do I read about SO MANY people buying tires online from Amazon, tirerack, etc?

The ONLY way I see buying tires online possibly making financial sense is if you have the ability to mount, balance, and rotate them yourself for free.

I cannot imagine this many people having their own tire machine and balancer, so I have to assume most take the tires to a shop to get mounted.

After factoring in the fees to get mounted, balanced, are you really still saving money? $20 saved on a tire price suddenly can be spent to get it professionally mounted and balanced.

You do realize some tire sites charge for shipping right? Do you factor the shipping costs into your "savings" ?

Do you consider the cost of rotating too? Rotations are free at most shops if you purchase tires there. Rotation is KEY to long tire life, and on some sportier/fancier cars, a PROPER rotation REQUIRES a tire machine to flip directional tires, and cannot be done at home by Joe Q Public.
Having to pay for rotations adds up.

How do you handle warranty issues? What do you do if the tire has a defect such as separated belts (which was common on brand new goodyear tripple treads for a long time) or sidewall bulges? Does the online supplier reimburse you to cover the cost of getting the defective tire dismounted and a replacement tire re-mounted/balanced?


Here is MY experience working in an independent tire shop

We bought from over 9 tire suppliers, meaning our prices were most of the time lower then anything you could find online.

The old guy working up front was selling tires for many years, and knew all there was to know about tires. He could recommend a great tire for a car that you never thought about putting on it, and that was better then you were initially going for. Most independent tire shops have an old guy like this.

We handled warranty issues, and ate the cost of fixing the issue. Customer came in with issue, and left with new tire, no questions asked, no talking to tire companies.

We rotated and inflated tires for the life of the tire, FREE.
(people who didnt buy tires from us paid I think $20 a rotation)

I read invoices, I saw them in person, and did not see how you could save over our final "out the door and on the road" price by buying online, unless you did everything yourself on your own equipment for next to nothing.



So those who get HUGE savings buying tires online, please tell me how you do it, because I really do not understand! I love saving money, just like everyone, so maybe I am just missing something here?


Rant, over
NO sales tax, no "environmental fee" free shipping from the Zon (and elsewhere) and no trying to talk me into some "profit center" Chinese noname junk and high priced nitrogen to boot instead of the brand and model I have researched. Ya gotta pay to have them balanced no matter where you buy, and I have a local shop which doesn't GOUGE those darn internet shoppers balance for me. I love to hear those plaid pants "salesmen" say "Dis is ah 'PREMIUM' tire". What the bleep is THAT? I will say this, a good, honest chain hereabouts is Sullivan Tire. If I needed a tire in a hurry I would use them with no worry. When plaid pants tells some poor sucker in MY hearing that "Consuma' Reports is rigged" it's a tipoff for me.

 

[JustinH]

Sometimes, Tirerack has some smokin deals on closeout tires and wheels.

But, if you buy at their normal price, you are going to be right on par with Discount Tire's everyday price.

I don't buy on price alone, but that is a big factor for me.

In regards to finding a shop to mount a tire I bought online.. I was never able to find a shop that will mount and balance, and dispose of an old tire, and move over the TPMS sensor, and rebuild it for a cheap price and do it the right way. Then reset the sensor with a scan gun.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

#1 Tirerack's warehouse isn't far from me so shipping isn't that expensive.

#2 My vehicle requires low aspect ratio high performance RF tires so the overall price difference can be $100-$200 per set.

 

[eljefino]

I worked at a chain tire shop and we had to dink around with peoples air filters to perform the mandatory 83 point courtesy check that went with any work. It was, of course, to upsell more services. It also carries the real risk of snapping something. The best way to avoid this is to leave your car up on stands and bring loose rims in for mounting.

I also personally have the HF mounter ($40) and a used spin balancer ($400).

 

[CapriRacer]

There are other things beside price that are important when buying tires.

Tire shops tend to view people that bring in tires to mount as "Not customers". Tire shops then tend to be a little sloppier and tend not to deal with problems.

Example: If you bring in a set of tires and there is a vibration, the mounting tire dealer has no incentive to try to fix the problem - EVEN IF they are an authorized dealer of the brand involved.

The worst example I have seen with this was a tire shop that damaged tire in mounting that had been shipped in. All the consumer knew was that the tire was leaking. The mounting dealer refused to touch it - as did every other tire dealer in the area. I was on the tire manufacturers end trying to solve the problem - the exact cause of the leak was unknown - and because no one would touch the problem, unsolvable. Please note, there were new wheels involved as well, so the problem could have been the wheels.

Eventually, the consumer had to ship the tire back to the selling dealer (who sold both the tires and the wheels, but unmounted), where the tire was dismounted and returned to the tire manufacturer for credit (credit was denied!) and while the selling dealer absorbed the cost of the tire, the consumer had to bear the cost the second mounting and balancing.

So I am a fan of buying tires at the local dealer - EVEN IF the price is a bit higher.