Tire rack may not always be the best solution.

I just purchased 4 Yokohama Geolanders for my '04 Expy, the bottom line out the door was $724.13.

This includes:

4 tires 265 / 70R17 Geolander H/T-S G051
road hazard
lifetime balance / rotation
free mount and install
4 wheel alignment
taxes, disposal and shop fees.

Tire rack:

4 tires at $121 $484.00
road hazard $13.84 each $55.36
Shipping $89.00 $89.00

$628.36

Plus,

cost of mount and balance, taxes and disposal
No alignment and no lifetime services.

The shop that I'm buying from is the exclusive "tire rack" installer in this area and they have a five star rating.

Tim

 

I've bought from Tire Rack before and had good experiences, plus saved a ton of money. But you're right about having to pay to have them mounted, I hate having to bring my own tires to a tire shop, I always feel like I'm screwing them out of business. But Tire Rack is a great resource for finding what you want and seeing if you can actually save money. I mean, it the difference is only $30 or so, why bother? But if I can save $100 or more, then I'll do it. The last time I bought a set of tires, I spent the day calling around various tire shops and found out there is a HUGE lack of talent at today's tire shops. Our Suburban had a set of 355/55-16 BFG light truck tires on it and I loved the way they looked. Since the thing is 99% street, and the BFG's had street tread, it worked out perfect. But since they are no longer made, I needed to find an alternative. So I called one tire shop after another and asked, " I need a tire that's 30" tall, goes on a 16x10 rim and has street tread. Without exception, they all said, "nobody makes anything like that", or "you're just gonna have to use something like a 35" tall tire, you'll never find anything like that". I spent about 40 minutes calling around, getting the same story and finally threw in the towel, looked at Tire Rack's size chart and within 2 minutes I found exactly what I wanted. Now I'm not a tire salesman, but don't you think that the people who are should know a little something about tire sizing? That's why Tire Rack is so popular, I suspect.

 

Excellent post Sand Man, and I agree 100%. I picked out the tires I wanted, came home and logged onto tire rack to check for warranty, reviews and of course, price.

Tire rack was about $50.00 cheaper out the door than the shop so he matched it and I still got the four wheel alignment.

Tim

 

There is no tire rack installer within a 100 miles from here,the tires I got for my DD car were a good deal compared to anything local,yes you do have to shop around,but there wasn't anything really close to the price of tire rack for me,shipping included.

 

I bought a set of Geolandars from Tire Rack for my wifes 05 a few months ago, good tire BTW tseekins. Overall the price was great compared to the shops in my area. What kills the Tire Rack experience is the shipping and installation. I had the mounted and balanced at one of their 5 star rated installers and still cost me around $100. Now I do have the replacement and road hazard but have to pay out of pocket and send receipt off to be reimbursed. Nicer situation using a local shop. The little extra that it cost up front may be well worth it in the terms of service in the future that Tire Rack may not be able to provide due to not being nearby and having someone to speak to face to face about warranty issues etc...

 

I've bought about 4 sets from tire rack. I can do my own mounting so that price is no issue. The first set I bought back in 2002 I took to have mounted at one of their installers, a import car repair shop on the day before Thanksgiving. I went out the day after Thanksgiving to find 1 flat and 2 others just about flat. It seems the jackass who mounted them didn't replace the valve stems AND the place was closed until monday. for some reason they were leaking air, so I took them to a chain store and had the stems replaced.
I like The Tire racks customer ratings. I bought a set based on some ratings and I have about 80k on those tires I bought in 2004.

 

I have bought tires from Tire Rack twice. Price was good, but after you figure shipping costs, it winds up about the same as a discount chain. I usually mount them myself as I am a mechanic. The Ford dealer I worked at was high, even with my so-called discount.

 

I've never been able to make it work to buy from them after shipping and mounting and balance. They usually come in a few dollars more than local or right at the same price, maybe $5 or less under which isn't worth all the hassle.

 

If you have your own mounting equipment, they're a great option. The next tool on my list is a tire machine, even a manual one. I have mounted my own tires before, it's the dismounting that's hard. I use balance beads as well, they work great and never need to be re-done.

 

> but don't you think that the people who are should know a little something about tire sizing?

That would have required the person to divide inches by MMs and to use a calculator. Way too complicated for anyone working in today's workforce at the counter of stores.

> it's the dismounting that's hard.

I have been known to bring out the cut off wheel to cut a bead or two when I am junking the tire anyways.

> I use balance beads as well, they work great

I have been using BBs, though I did buy the ceramic beads to use on my next set of small tires.

 

A few years ago when I checked, they were quite a bit cheaper. I went with them, and had them shipped right to a local installer.

This last time, the same installer was about dead even with the final price. ( I can't remember which was cheaper, but it was only a few bucks). They seem to be a good shop, so I went with them. I think that the locals are learning how to compete.

I do like all of the info that you find at the site though. I picked out my tires before I did my price shopping.

 

I went yesterday 10-24 and had my Yoko's mounted. Since we were just a few bucks apart on the price between TR and the local shop, he extended the free alignment from 6/ 6000 miles to 12/ 12000 miles.

Not a huge deal but the shop manager did make an effort to be a better overall value than using Tire Rack.

I found TR to be a fantastic resource for pricing, warranty info and customer reviews as well as specific data on the tire itself.

Had I not read about Tire Rack here on FTE, I would never have known about them and would have shopped the old fashioned way.

Bottom line, in this particular instance, I got a better deal by educating myself on tire rack and then using the local shop.

Tim

 

Ive done the math, twice, and Tirerack won both times. Local prices on the same tires in the SoCal market are just too high. Ive checked Pepboys, Sears, Big-O, America's and even WalMart special order program. Same result. Shipping from Reno is not that expensive and a nearby Big-O does the install, balance, disposal package at a very low cost.

Jim

 

Just another off-topic comment here: If I can, I like to shop local. I feel that keeping jobs and face-to-face service is worth something. So when I did my own research on Tire Rack, I had my wife make a few calls to see what could be done locally, since I was at work. She called me at work and told me they all want to know what it's going on and what came on it originally. I told here, "tell them it doesn't matter if it's going on a friggin' boat trailer, do they sell them or not?" I was a little testy by then, obviously. So when Costco was only $2 a tire more, we ordered them, and when we went to have them installed, the young guy at the counter said, "whoa Dude, ( I swear he actually said "dude") those are some big tires! What're they goin' on, a boat trailer?"
I had to turn away to keep from laughing in his face. Later I asked my wife if she actually repeated what I said, and she swore she didn't. It must be tough to find decent counter people who can pass a drug test...

 

That's funny as hell dude! You did say Southern California, correct? And your surprised by a dude talking surfer dude to ya?

Just yankin your chain Sand_Man, great post.

Tim