Consolidated tire thread - Best place to buy tires?

I’m not a car person, and some of you guys are. What’s the go-to place on tires? Costco seems fairly priced from a quick survey of their competitors.

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Discount Tire.

They will match Costco price, must less wait time, frequent $100 rebate sale on major holidays,

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Is that a national chain? I have two or three places called discount tire in my area but they don’t look like theyre a national retailer

Also, what about sears with various discount gc angles? SYW points?

Good discussion from the last time this was asked:

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Look for low or no install/add-on fees and Free prorated road hazard, and a large rebate - tire price is not that important. (The paid version at discount tire, for example is really expensive if you go through the math).

Then, use a credit card with price protection(Citi?), and get a refund of the tire price difference to the cheapest you can find. The price protection will not match service fees, that’s why you want those low or $0 to start, and it won’t consider rebates you received as part of the price.

I’ve actually ended up with discount tire myself, but their install fees are very high.

Edit: oh crap I almost said the same thing in that thread stubtify just linked.

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Don’t go to Les Schwab (large chain in the West).

They used to be good but have started selling poor quality tires and their service has gone downhill.

Thanks everyone.

I’ve used DT for ~20years and here’s why I’m finally throwing in the towel and going to Costco/Sam’s. I tired different stores thinking maybe it was just that location…nope.

Disc Tire will match, BUT no longer can you with tirerack (feasibly). Unless you find a nice/new kid up front, their process blows. Since the “friendly guys up front” are commission…what one hand gives…the other taketh away. And, well, you’re going to get the soft(hard) sell for every imaginable upgrade, tack-on, up-n-extra they have. Is it winter? You should SIPE those BRAND NEW tires for the 4 months, that’ll wear quicker in summer (but give marginally more traction…and be louder too). Don’t allow them enough upgrades, your TPMS replacements magically are $18.xx instead of $9.95 they were last time. Also, that tire replacement warranty price is “roughly” close to tire cost, but they have a LOT of leeway as to how much they can charge you as well…which doesn’t cover the other tire if you’re more than 5k-8k miles on the tire before it’s possible to cause issues w/ transmission. Have AWD or 4-wheel…you’re paying for 3 brand new tires!! Add in, you “have” to re-buy the insurance on the new replacement tire again. Since most ins. avg’s about $18-20/tire, and have to buy it twice (essentially for the one tire) and it only covers the one tire (assuming blow-out/etc where they have to replace (not repair) it, plus the other 3, that 5 x ~$20, or about $100, Assuming you bought a $125 tire, you “saved” $25 IF you had to have replaced. Statistics show, it’s a bad thing to buy. Also, did you ever read your TIRE’S warranty, the ones I bought will even give a tow (have to have their # handy, etc) if stranded b/c of a flat. I believe they’ll also pro-rate the tire price from their (already included) warranty too!! Although have to have already submitted that you bought the tires, etc too.

On to the “discounts”, Costco has them too, michelin and bridgestone switch off every other month, which is more frequent than DT, which typically is Labor/Memorial and BlackFriday. As for DT’s rebate the $100 is only if you buy “best” tires, which are pricey! Typically it’ll be $75 or $50. The submission is easy, but you won’t get an email if they deny it…even though you put in your email address. Trust me, mine was denied b/c DT printed out the wrong invoice “accidentally”. It took 6 additional weeks, 2 visits back to DT and the rebate shop mandating DT had to call them to validate the rebate. Luckily, I had printed out the website and called to see why it was taking a long time, as their site didn’t say it was denied, only that I’d have to call in to get the status (i.e. put in as many road blocks to get your $$)

I won’t go into the how they measure the tire’s tread and it’s always lower than if you measured. They tend to measure the outside lip, not the inside…and generally only 1 or 2 tires. If they do all, Yeaaa, they did what they were suppose to. Add in, 2 of the last 3 times, they used the line “legally we can’t let you drive on those tires”.

I’ve finally succumb to being done with their antics, having to double/triple check the bill, fighting thru the inevitable up-sell every single time. As a neighbor’s son who worked there said "there’s a reason the manager drives a 5-series Beemer.

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The trend at FD seems to be against Costco, and for various chains that will match Costco. I continue to use Costco for two reasons. First, I prefer to deal with the company that sets the price, not one who will overcharge you unless you get them to match someone else. Second, I make an appointment for the installation and Costco is very close to being on time.

Just from my observations, Costco seems to retain their employees pretty well. Why does that matter? You want someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to mounting, balancing and installing your tires. I replaced a set about 4 months ago, and was able to watch the installer during the entire process. He was careful, methodical and efficient. He used a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts, and plastic-wrapped the two tires that were going in the trunk. It was obvious that he had been doing this a while.

I don’t want this to sound like an ad for Costco, but these are the reasons that I recommend them and still use them.

This is how I do it. YMMV

I go on Tire Rack and find a few tires that offer the right balance of performance, good reviews, and price. Then I go on the sites of the nearby tire places (NTB/Tire Kingdom/Merchants, Walmart, Discount Tire Direct, Sears) to see if they sell that tire and what they sell it for. Since I have familiarized myself with most brands/models during my Tire Rack search, if I see a rebate or other special on the the tire store sites, I know whether it’s worth considering (it usually isn’t). I choose the lowest bidder and I never buy the warranty or any add-ons. This method is great when you plan ahead, but can get annoying if you need tires very quickly.

I’m into cars and I do a lot of my own mechanic work. If you aren’t that type of person, this method might not interest you.

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I assume you’re just repeating what the guy at Discount Tire said and not actually recommending this simply because it’s winter.

Correct. They are benefits to siping, but to me, they don’t outweigh the negatives remotely.

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Hey, so our 2001 Toyota Camry is slipping all over the place following the first snow of the season and we’ve known that the tires need to be replaced for a while… Anyone have any suggestions on good places to go. Our local mechanic selection isn’t great, they’re either crooks or just don’t provide good service. I’ve heard Sam’s Club is fairly economical but figured I’d ask here for other suggestions.

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Both Sam and Costco got long wait time and I prefer not to kill 1/2 a day of my time. I would go to Discount Tire and they also match Costco prices. Around every holiday they tend to also have $100 rebates.

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I’ve bought from pepboys and had Costco install. Costco only charges $15/tire and has other benefits.

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Credit cards will pricematch tires (Citi). Try to find a low/no install fee + rebate(s) and high or normal tire prices somewhere. Then, price match (through credit card) the base tire prices after the purchase. That way you end up paying sale tire prices MINUS a rebate for a specific retailer and with no install fees. For example, I think Costco periodically runs rebate + free install (or $0.01) but usually doesn’t have the lowest prices on the tires themselves. You could then pricematch an online seller that has low prices but usually has high shipping fees (since shipping fees aren’t factored into pricematch) and/or installation hassles.

I usually use discount tire but their install fees are high.

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I use Discounttiredirect on Ebay. They’re the online version of America’s Tire Co. I won’t buy tires from anyone else.

Between Ebay Bucks, special tire coupons that they put up from time to time and MFG tire rebates I end up OTD cheaper than anywhere else. America’s Tire Co puts them on for $15 a tire in a pretty short amount of time with an appt.

ETA: I wouldn’t risk your life with bad tires while you wait for an online order. They say in store they match anyone so the should match their ebay store.

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