Do a lot of you guys buy new tires from the Dealer? Or do you go to Belle Tire or Discount Tire or Sears?

I was wondering where it's advisable to get new tires from (not wheels), just tires.

 

In my area I found a small family owned business. (Scotty's Tire Service for anyone in the North of Boston area). Out of curiosity I dropped in one day and asked about price matching. I always assumed the local sources would be more expensive, but the owner matched the Tire Rack prices. In addition, he discounted the mounting and balancing charge.

 

Discounttiredirect.com or Discount/America's tire. I have a line of credit with them with 0% APR for 6 months so I just use them because of that.

If that wasn't the case i'd probably use TireRack.com, they seem to have a better selection of tires.

 

I've always ordered from Tire Rack, then had the tires mounted and balanced at Discount Tire.

However, last time I went to Discount Tire a sales rep informed me they recently started price matching. I haven't been back to see if that's true, but maybe you could give that a shot if you have one in your area?

 

Discount tire direct free shipping and will price match if you find same tires with free shipping for less.

 

It's true, if you bring in an ad or web page printout, Americas/Discount Tire will price match. Some of the service reps will actually go to the website you point them to on their computers, well the nice ones anyway.

I got a set of Azenis a while back for $200 after rebates and price match this way they were kinda mad at me.

 

depends on how picky you are, but a lot of Discount Tire stores have the touchless mounter now where it will not mark/scuff the wheel. i would check your local store if they have the equipment.

if you want to just buy the tires locally or source it from tirerack.com and have them mount it.

GL!

 

another one for discount tire direct.

got a set of 4 snow tires a while back for $120 shipped after rebate and $100 off prmo. only $30 tire? fuck yea! lol
got a set of 4 dz101 for $200 shipped after a discount promo

they run a $100 or $50 off promo quite frequently. if you know youll be in need of tires soon, look around fo rit and order in advance.

local tire shops near me are usually another 50% more per tire.

 

Funny you should mention tires, I bought a set of 195-55-R16 for my fit on Tire rack for 420 with a 40 dollar rebate, and then took them to the Wal-Mart I work at. Charged me only 30 bucks to get them stemmed, mounted and balanced.

EDIT: I probably should mention I bought Goodyear Eagle GT's. Just an amazing tire.

 

Thanks for verifying this. I haven't had a need to go back since the sales rep first told me about this, but I'll keep this in mind when I need tires in a few months.

By the way, $200 for Azenis is robbery!

 

I'm not looking to save money so much.

I'm primarily interested in the quality of workmanship and care that's taken in mounting and balancing the tires. I don't want scratches and I want whatever work is done to be done well. I guess this mostly means hiring quality people and paying them well etc so they want to do good work when I bring my car in.

Any tire places that have a good rep in this regard?

 

It's probably going to be hit and miss. I found a tech at one of my local Discount Tire that really knows his stuff and request he do my work if possible.

Tire techs don't get paid much, I know, I used to be one briefly as a weekend job (employee discount for track tires and free used tires for drift buddies!). Some of the guys I worked with did excellent work and honestly cared, others just wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Maybe someone from Detroit can point you in the right direction. Good luck!

 

You did not state where you are located so it is hard to recommend something.

The last three sets of tires for different vehicles (Colorado, Blazer, and Fit) I got from Tire Rack. I live near one of their warehouses. On the Blazer I put 7000 miles on them and had a slight vibration like the rears were out of balance. Tire rack replaced both of the rears after 7 k for free no questions asked and my problem is gone.

For the Fit (sport) I installed Yokohama AVIDs. They are great and much better than those junk OEM Dunlops.

 

He's in Detroit - In his profile info on the right of his post.

I buy through DTD or Tire Rack. Last few have been DTD because of 100 off a set of 4 tires. I did purchase my Snows through Sears as they had the best price and would mount/balance for very little. - The Manager also swung by my house, picked up my wheels and had them mounted/balanced for me later that day.

For the Ridgeline, I buy more locally as shipping costs usually kill any deals (DTD offers free shipping but the tires are marked up to cover that).

~SB

 

My 2009 Honda Fit Sport has only 33,000 miles on it. I was told today by my local Wal-mart that I need 4 new tires. The area I live in is very hot and dry in the summer. Typical high temperatures 110 plus. Do tires in hot/dry climates wear out faster?

 

Shouldn't be that big of a difference. Likely it is the fact that the Stock Tires just Suck. I went through the OEM Bridgestones in 27,000 Miles and I've heard the Dunlops are not any better.

Order some tires online and have them installed somewhere. My Hankooks are rated for over 50K miles and cost me $75 each shipped and installed. I ordered online and found a local place that specializes in tire installs for about $50 total.

(I dispise evil-mart so I won't ever recommend going there, even if it costs a few bucks more)

~SB

 

As a five year veteran of Discount Tire Company/Americas Tire Company, (same company but different name in some states due to Discount Tire being copyrighted already) If you want quality you can do no better. I have worked at 4 different stores, for 5 different managers, and still have many friends and associates within the company. They do what is right above all else. They typically try to hire quality employees who really care about what they do, and they pay them very well which seems to contribute to better quality work. I can say that if they did damage/scratch or scuff anything, they will certainly make it right. I have seen firsthand lunatics with previous damage claim that DTC did it and DTC would rather fix something they didn't do and have a customer for life than argue and risk bad publicity. Plus, they give free tire maintenance for any vehicle you own (tire rotations, flat repairs, air checks, etc.) for life at any of the 800+ locations nationwide.

And they definitely will price match, just keep in mind if you try to get them to price match an online price they will usually match the total shipped price.

And, they can get pretty much any brand you want even if it's not something listed on their site or something in stock. They are the largest independent tire retailer in the country which is part of why their prices can be so low.

 

That is about typical for those OEM Dunlops if they do not bubble before that. Look a the Yokohama AVID Low Rolling Resistance tire. They have double the wear rating (740 vs.340) of the OEM Dunlops and should help slightly with the mpg. The have the same temperature and traction rating as your OEM Dunlops.

Yokohama*AVID Ascend (H- or V-Speed Rated)

Here are some others that are available:

Tire Search Results

I got mine at Tire Rack and had them installed at their warehouse.

I have tried Discount Tire but here I have found their selection and people to be well below par. In other parts of the country people love them. I think it all depends on what store you are dealing with.

 

[to The above in bold] That's not saying much for the tire... the Dunlops were supposedly worse than the bridgestones and they were nothing special. and at $125 each shipped, it's not worth the price as you'll add another $10-$15 per tire for mounting/balancing. My Hankook Ventus V2 concepts have been great so far, have a 500AA wear rating and i've returned avg mpg numbers only about 1mpg less than stock (but that may be due to a drastically different commute as well - 5 miles to work instead of 25 miles). The Hankooks cost me about $75 installed which is about 1/2 the price, will handle much better, and last almost as long as the Yokohamas while returning similar mileage. You'll be hard pressed to pick up $240 in gas savings (about 60 gallons) by switching tires.

~SB

 

Last set was at Sam's Club, but was for the wife's van. Not sure I'd go back there.