Buying Tires Online

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+48V

hi-fi or die
Share your sources and experiences with buying tires online.

I just purchased my 4th set (3 vehicles) from Tire Rack and I must say it's always been a great experience. Their support, very detailed and informative/educational website, and installer network is top notch. Not shilling, just curious of other's experience and satisfaction.

Any others?
 
I bought Pirelli P7 Cinturatos from TireRack for my former 03 Cadillac DeVille DHS from TireRack. I got a cheaper price, shipped and installed, than anyone who carried Pirelli around here could get close to.

And, my trusted mechanics at the Firestone (I can only vouch for this one) installed them.

Best buying experience, ever. If The P7's were made in sizes for older vehicles, all my cars would wear them.
 
I buy all of my tires online, and mount and balance them at home by hand to save even more money. I've bought many sets from various sellers on ebay. I've also bought two sets from Tirebuyer.com and the last set I bought was from Simpletire.com. All orders have gone relatively well except for the first set I bought from tirebuyer. They sent me three out of the four tires with no notice of where the fourth was. I had to call them to see where the fourth was and it ended up in a different shipment and arrived several days later. I also bought a set of aftermarket wheels for my Saturn I used to have from Discounttiredirect.com. The price was very good and they shipped quickly.
 
zebra03 said:
I did not know they had an installer network . Not available out here in the sticks .
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Yeah, it's pretty great. The affiliate installers (local tire shops) negotiate the mount/bal/accessory charges which are typically better than half of what they "normally" charge and are published on the Tire Rack site. So you know ship to shore what your total price will be out the door. They also will direct ship to your preferred installer so you don't have to haul them yourself. :thumbsup:

I'm having my latest order shipped to our Firestone dealer which is about 2 miles from my house. 4 tires M&B for $46. Most places around here charge $25-$30 per tire off the street. :(

I'd imagine that Tire Rack gives their affiliate installers a cut of the sale to encourage their collaboration and move tires. Another beni for the local shop is the potential for other service work once your rig is on their lift. Hence their willingness to forgo the rubber profit from an in-house sale. Genius (practically necessary) symbiotic marketing strategy on TR's part.
beat_truck said:
I also bought a set of aftermarket wheels for my Saturn I used to have from Discounttiredirect.com. The price was very good and they shipped quickly.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the heads up on Discouttiredirect. Man...their site looks spooky identical to TireRack. Though I think the TR show is a good bit more comprehensive on product info, video comparisons/reviews, and user sourced performance charts, etc. I just checked their price on what I just ordered from TR and they are very competitive vs. DDT...came in about $80 less than TR...but I have no clue what their installer charges for mount & bal, etc...

Thanks again. Always good to have additional reliable and recommended sources from real people. :biggrin:
 
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I got tires through Tire Rack before and worked fine other than finding installation as there are no partner installers around here.

That said, I just had four new Michelin Premier A/S put on my car at Costco. It was about $20 less at Costco out the door (mounted, balanced, and disposal) than just cost of tires+shipping from Tire Rack.
 
I've done Tire Rack and Amazon. Sometimes Amazon is cheaper when you get free shipping. More often than not I will go with a local place, like Costco, because the money is close to the same and they provide road hazard warranty cheaper or at no cost. Convenience means a lot after you get a flat.
 
Costco rocks too. Bummer for me that my Costco is a 30 mile round trip through metro traffic. They're neck in neck on the bottom line. This go round TR edged them out by 7 days shipping and $24. TR also included a two year road hazard at no charge.
 
I've done it, but honestly I can't beat my local guy's prices. The price per tire is pretty close, but the install fees are lower if you buy from him. At the end of the day it ends up cheaper to just stop in and order whatever I want.
 
I love their ratings system comparing similar tires but I then buy them elsewhere.

Need to check buying from them
 
I have bought a lot of tires on line. But rarely is it the same place, as companies have deals from time to time. My last set was come Cooper C3 that were quite reasonable. I paid $280 for 4 with shipping and no tax. I use either a small independent tire shop, or Walmart for installation. Usually can get 4 mounted and balanced for $50, so a total of $320 to put new 60K tires on the truck. When you are a poor pig with a stereo habit, you find ways to stretch the dollar.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
I bought a set of Michelin XZX tires from Coker Tire in the proper size for my Volvo P1800. They were about the same price as a good set of tires in the wrong size available elsewhere, and the proper tire size made an amazing difference in ride and handling.
They look right too!
 
I've purchased a few sets from tirebuyer.com and have been very pleased. They even shipped a set of four 315/75R16 to my house for free once, before there was an affiliated installer in my town.
I tried buying on eBay from Discount Tire Direct once. They sent me a pair of tires that had been sitting in a warehouse and were already 2 years old. I contacted them about it and they refunded / picked up the tires and gave me a discount code for my next purchase. Which reminds me that I still really need to find some new H speed rated 205/70R14 tires for one of my Datsuns.
 
My last 5 sets have come from discounttiredirect.com, they are always a few dollars lower than tirerack.com and the shipping is free. (I have a local garage mount and balance them) The rebates are easy to apply for and come back quickly.
Regards,
Jim
 
I've used tirerack before. But switched to discount tire direct. Better prices, and easier to get service from local discount tires. If you don't mind waiting, discount tires will patch leaks or other small service free of charge if you do have issues.
 
For selection, price, comparison shopping between different manufacturers and detailed reviews and specs I choose tire rack. I've been using them since the eighties when they ran multi page ads in car and driver and road and track.

Given their excellent service etc. I see no point to switch.

Good luck

Eric
 
Last time I needed tires, I walked into my local Ford Dealer/Quicklane with a quote from TireRack, and they beat the Tirerack price by $100. Actually, they said they would beat any real price (shipping mounting etc)

I do like the Tirerack reviews.
 
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