My local stores have always matched and usually beat mail order outfits. Why bother with the additional hassle? I'm sure it varies with locale and tire choice.
I ask, is the Walmart tire shop experience any better or worse than DT, Firestone, Belle Tire (MI chain), Costco, etc.? Discount Tire shops in my area always seem to be working frantically, even during slow days.
One of my cars takes a strange size / type that must be ordered or you pay dearly.
I have always preferred having a shade tree mechanic do the tire mounts and repairs usually $10 and if you know one another you won’t get raped because of a plug or using a non-OEM tire size.
The shadetree I used to have would even delows the rim and install with inner tubes if it was necessary.
I just had Walmart refuse a rotation because one of my tires is 6 years old
I’ve had Walmart mount the wrong tires in the wrong spots leaving a bald tire with cords showing on because ma rules (they don’t like mounting 2 tires and can be dbags)
So Walmart is cheap and open when other places are closed, they usually are easier to get scheduled in an emergency and because a tire mount is simple normally get it right but you gotta watch and do your own retorques and checks to make sure nothing is F’d up
If you get to know who is working in your Walland auto shop some of the folks are much better than others, some care in the wrong way others in the right way and others don’t care at all.
The main reason I end up at Walmart is because literally no one else is open or available, price is nice but they can be a hassle, anything “complicated “ or not by the book best to have a real shadetree cooter to do work on your stuff.
It’s getting hard though to find anyone that wants to mount a tire or in some cases wants an extravagant amount for a simple service, so options are becoming much more limited, especially if you have a flat on a Sunday.
Comparing Walmart to other OEM tire shops is a toss up, Firestone f’d up my TPM sensors on 2 tires, even though Walmart can be slow some places have long reservation lists and have you drop off your car many hours.
I would recommend a real independent over a chain if you can but unfortunately you gotta know who you are dealing with even in a chain.