OT: Best place to buy [car] tires?

[hoonjr]

I tend to buy them from a place that can also do an alignment. The cost of shipping is what kills tirerack.

[yngpunk]

As surprising as it may sound, may be worthwhile to check with your local dealer for your car make. I've heard some are willing to match online pricing.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by hoonjr

I tend to buy them from a place that can also do an alignment. The cost of shipping is what kills tirerack.

I used to do alignments every six months, or whenever I bought tires.

Then my mechanic asked why....

I don't think I've done an alignment since, except when suspension work was done. My cars track straight and I have normal tire wear.

The *only* downside is that when I *do* need an alignment, the alignable parts are typically frozen in place and are more difficult to adjust...

[OtayBW]

I had a mechanic tell me just yesterday that a set of Michelin Defender LTX M/S that I could buy from him was not the same Michelin Defender LTX M/S that was being sold at Costco or some other discount house.

Seemed awful FISHY to me. Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? Thx.

[MikeD]

I like Big-O tires. Big choice of tires. They do wheel alignment and oil changes and other mechanical work, vehicle inspection, and free tire balance and rotation. No long waits and crowds/crowded parking like at Costco.

[biker72]

I've been doing business with Discount Tire since 2008. A lot of store managers and technicians have rotated through the one I go to but they've always had top not service.

The only downside is that they are always busy.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by OtayBW

I had a mechanic tell me just yesterday that a set of Michelin Defender LTX M/S that I could buy from him was not the same Michelin Defender LTX M/S that was being sold at Costco or some other discount house.

Seemed awful FISHY to me. Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? Thx.

I would guess that Michelin has a special production run of the tires specifically for Costco (because they buy so many), resulting in a slightly different SKU number...I doubt Costco specifies any changes to the product, so they are pretty much the same tire.

I have purchased from both Discount Tire and Costco....pricing is close enough to consider both, but have gone with Discount Tire for the past 10+ years cuz of the much better service, selection and it is closer to me.

I have had a good experience with Discount Tire without exception.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by Ozz

I would guess that Michelin has a special production run of the tires specifically for Costco (because they buy so many), resulting in a slightly different SKU number...I doubt Costco specifies any changes to the product, so they are pretty much the same tire.

I have purchased from both Discount Tire and Costco....pricing is close enough to consider both, but have gone with Discount Tire for the past 10+ years cuz of the much better service, selection and it is closer to me.

I have had a good experience with Discount Tire without exception.

Yeah - that's pretty much what I thought. My mechanic guy inferred that there was a difference in the tire/product which I just didn't buy.....

Thanks!

[12snap]

I just went through the tire buying process a couple of months ago. I searched a lot of online places. Here's the places I checked and price compared. I probably missed a few, too.

amazon.com
walmart.com
discounttiredirect.com
tirerack.com
customoffsets.com (this one and sdwheel are essentially the same operation)
sdwheel.com
rimzoneonline.com
mrwheeldeal.com (You have to pick your tire and submit a quote. They send an email from your "personalized" shopper. They weren't any cheaper, though. Kind of a hassle to be honest.)
simpletire.com
1010tire.com
tiresplus.com
tires-easy.com (they were consistently the best price for only tires. Sign up for their membership program to get extra discounts on selected tires.)
performanceplustire.com

I wanted new wheels as well so I purchased from performanceplustire.com. Their website could use a refresh into the 21st century but they had the best price mounted/balanced/shipped with the tpms I needed. They were quick to respond to questions I had via email. Amazing packing job on the wheels, too. Foam and cardboard on either side of the wheel all wrapped with plastic wrap. I installed them myself once they arrived. I explored getting tires from one place and wheels from another but it didn't make sense financially.

If you're ordering only tires, keep in mind the cost to have them mounted/balanced/installed once they arrive. It might be better to get everything done locally after you add everything together. Local shops can also offer free rotations for life, free repairs, etc. that might swing your decision as well.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by 12snap

If you're ordering only tires, keep in mind the cost to have them mounted/balanced/installed once they arrive. It might be better to get everything done locally after you add everything together. Local shops can also offer free rotations for life, free repairs, etc. that might swing your decision as well.

And it gets more complicated if you have a direct TPMS system.

I bought a set of used wheels, purchased TPMS sensors from TPMS.com and gave everything to Sullivan Tire to put together when I purchased new snow tires (Nokian R3) from them.

Sullivan Tire was not able to "wake up" the sensors, never figured out why. So I ended up buying a second set of sensors for them.

Nicely, they discounted the sensors and did not charge me for the dismount/remount/balance.

[zmudshark]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

https://www.discounttire.com/tires/competition

I dunno but I have been very pleased with Discount tire..

I just bought tires for my 05 Miata. Discount Tire was less than TireRack for the same tire.

[TunaAndBikes]

If you're comfortable dealing with the hassle, I buy mine used
Measure thread depth, check production year and make sure they're in good condition and pretty much G2G
Bought a set of basically new Michelin x-ice for 1/4 of the price for the set

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by OtayBW

I had a mechanic tell me just yesterday that a set of Michelin Defender LTX M/S that I could buy from him was not the same Michelin Defender LTX M/S that was being sold at Costco or some other discount house.

Seemed awful FISHY to me. Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? Thx.

He may not be lying. It's somewhat common that mfgs create their own specification for tires that carry the same name but not the same construction.

That said, it's not 100% critical you match for most cars, you just change the driving characteristics from what was "intended" from teh factory. Some cars like the Acura NSX had alternative alignment settings for non-OEM spec tires.

edit here's some examples:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...e=03YR0PSSXLV3
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...rTire=03YR0PZ4
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...re=03YR0P0XLN0
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...e=03YR0PZ4XLV2

[rice rocket]

TireRack was purchased by Discount Tire last month, so I'd expect their offerings to align somewhat soon.

I do most my tire purchasing through Costco now. Free rotations, flat repair, etc., and if they can't repair it, they'll pro rate a brand new tire and charge the remaining to the warranty program.

[FriarQuade]

Originally Posted by Ozz

I would guess that Michelin has a special production run of the tires specifically for Costco (because they buy so many), resulting in a slightly different SKU number...I doubt Costco specifies any changes to the product, so they are pretty much the same tire.

I have purchased from both Discount Tire and Costco....pricing is close enough to consider both, but have gone with Discount Tire for the past 10+ years cuz of the much better service, selection and it is closer to me.

I have had a good experience with Discount Tire without exception.

This is pretty common with commodity products like TV's, appliances and tires. They change the sku by a digit or two so they don't have to price match a competitor. It's almost always the exact same thing, just has a different SKU.

We've got a couple of local mobile tire outfits in the area, super handy service. They get booked out pretty far when it's time for seasonal tire changes but other than that it's pretty smooth sailing to have someone come to you. I probably wouldn't use them for HP summer tires on the Miata, only because they're pretty sensitive to balance and his equipment was pretty damn old.