tirerack.com not really the greatest deal

[Todd H.]

FYI, I got another taste of regret for buying from tirerack.com this
weekend when it became necessary to balance my tires.

The running total now for my 4 Kumho Ecsta HP4's (that I'm quite happy
with, by the way) is now:
$220.00 tirerack cost for 4 P225/60HR16
33.32 freight
85.66 mount/balance locally

Which isn't in an of itself that bad, but here's the part no one
talks about.... add the following that'd be free had I bought locally:

40.00 balancing, 4 wheels. And rotation included n.a.c.

If I had it to do again, I'd get the same tires special ordered from
my local tire dealer (they'd actually get to my local dealer quicker
than TR's freight), who indicated they'd be happy to price match
tirerack on the tires, and be happy to do lifetime rotation and
balancing at no additional charge.

I know there are a lot of folks who think tirerack is the greatest
thing since 3rd party brake pads, but I think a lot of folks ignore
the cost of periodic balancing (which shadetrees can't do) and
rotation (which we _can_ do, but is quite a PITA working with a
vehicle that lacks floor jack points where a jack stand can be used
effectively).

Best Regards,

 

[bg]

I bought the same exact 4 tires localy for $283.31 with free lifetime
balancing and rotation. Have them on since Feb'03.....21000+miles now. For
the price, I think they are a bargain concerning how well they performed wet
and dry...no snow here, and quiet too.

 

[EmbErna]

Yep. For my last tire purchase I printed
the tirerack pricing page and took it to
my local tire dealer (Big-O). They actually
beat tire-rack's pricing as the local clerk
could see I was on the fence about where to
purchase and she didn't want to lose me as
a customer.

The funny thing was, if I had ordered from
tire rack, I would have had the tires sent
to my local Big-O store for mounting/balancing
anyway. That made it easy. I added up everything
the tires would have cost me from tirerack:
tires
shipping
tacked on mount/bal from the local Big-O
and the clerk matched (or beat) that number.

Tire rack is great for this (getting tires
locally at deep discounted prices).
mikey.

 

[David]

Yep. For my last tire purchase I printed
the tirerack pricing page and took it to
my local tire dealer (Big-O). They actually
beat tire-rack's pricing as the local clerk
could see I was on the fence about where to
purchase and she didn't want to lose me as
a customer.

I didn't print the Tirerack pricing page, I just called Big O because
I was planning to have Tirerack ship the tires there for mounting,
but Big O still beat the Tirerack price.

 

[BlueSTi]

FYI, I got another taste of regret for buying from tirerack.com this
weekend when it became necessary to balance my tires.

The running total now for my 4 Kumho Ecsta HP4's (that I'm quite happy
with, by the way) is now:
$220.00 tirerack cost for 4 P225/60HR16
33.32 freight
85.66 mount/balance locally

Which isn't in an of itself that bad, but here's the part no one
talks about.... add the following that'd be free had I bought locally:

40.00 balancing, 4 wheels. And rotation included n.a.c.

If I had it to do again, I'd get the same tires special ordered from
my local tire dealer (they'd actually get to my local dealer quicker
than TR's freight), who indicated they'd be happy to price match
tirerack on the tires, and be happy to do lifetime rotation and
balancing at no additional charge.

I know there are a lot of folks who think tirerack is the greatest
thing since 3rd party brake pads, but I think a lot of folks ignore
the cost of periodic balancing (which shadetrees can't do) and
rotation (which we _can_ do, but is quite a PITA working with a
vehicle that lacks floor jack points where a jack stand can be used
effectively).

Best Regards,

Thanks for the heads-up! I'm thinking of getting winter specific
tires for this winter. A week after I bought the STi I changed the
"summer" tires to an all season tire. There are times when the snow
is particuarly bad so that a studded snow tire would be better. I'll
see what Big-O can do for me on a set of Blizzaks. I am also thinking
about putting the snow tires on a different set of rims. Last time,
Big-O didn't have any rims that would work. ; - (


BlueSTi
"Scary-Fast"

 

[y_p_w]

FYI, I got another taste of regret for buying from tirerack.com this
weekend when it became necessary to balance my tires.

The running total now for my 4 Kumho Ecsta HP4's (that I'm quite happy
with, by the way) is now:
$220.00 tirerack cost for 4 P225/60HR16
33.32 freight
85.66 mount/balance locally

Which isn't in an of itself that bad, but here's the part no one
talks about.... add the following that'd be free had I bought locally:

40.00 balancing, 4 wheels. And rotation included n.a.c.

If I had it to do again, I'd get the same tires special ordered from
my local tire dealer (they'd actually get to my local dealer quicker
than TR's freight), who indicated they'd be happy to price match
tirerack on the tires, and be happy to do lifetime rotation and
balancing at no additional charge.

I know there are a lot of folks who think tirerack is the greatest
thing since 3rd party brake pads, but I think a lot of folks ignore
the cost of periodic balancing (which shadetrees can't do) and
rotation (which we _can_ do, but is quite a PITA working with a
vehicle that lacks floor jack points where a jack stand can be used
effectively).

The Tire Rack really works best when it comes to expensive tires (over
$100 each) but it's not a great bargain when it comes to lower
priced items ($50-70). If you're getting a set of Bridgestone S-03
Pole Positions, I'm not sure that the dealers are going to be willing
to price match.

However - part of my calculation includes sales tax, where Tire Rack
is out of state. The first time I bought a set of Dunlop SP Sport
9000's I went to a local chain, which could get them to me faster
for a slightly higher overall price. The next time I tried to get
a set, I couldn't find any local shop that would come even within
$40 each of what the Tire Rack was charging. I figure the overall
cost to me was still about $120 less.

 

[Timmymao]

Find another place to have the tires mounted & balanced.

There are two shops nearby my place that charge as follows:

Shop A - $3 tire mounting, $8 balance, or $20 lifetime balance &
rotation - they don't care if the tires are new or used or
purchased elsewhere

Shop B - $3 tire mounting, $8 for mounting tires not purchased
there, $8 balance, $25 lifetime balance & rotation, not available
on tires not purchased there

So for five minutes of work, Shop A can make $11 while Shop B
makes nothing since I won't go there. Who's the smarter business
owner?

Cheers,

David

 

[Chris Phillipo]

FYI, I got another taste of regret for buying from tirerack.com this
weekend when it became necessary to balance my tires.

The running total now for my 4 Kumho Ecsta HP4's (that I'm quite happy
with, by the way) is now:
$220.00 tirerack cost for 4 P225/60HR16
33.32 freight
85.66 mount/balance locally

Which isn't in an of itself that bad, but here's the part no one
talks about.... add the following that'd be free had I bought locally:

40.00 balancing, 4 wheels. And rotation included n.a.c.

If I had it to do again, I'd get the same tires special ordered from
my local tire dealer (they'd actually get to my local dealer quicker
than TR's freight), who indicated they'd be happy to price match
tirerack on the tires, and be happy to do lifetime rotation and
balancing at no additional charge.

I know there are a lot of folks who think tirerack is the greatest
thing since 3rd party brake pads, but I think a lot of folks ignore
the cost of periodic balancing (which shadetrees can't do) and
rotation (which we _can_ do, but is quite a PITA working with a
vehicle that lacks floor jack points where a jack stand can be used
effectively).

Best Regards,

Most tire places will stick it to you if you bring in tires they didn't
sell you, and rightly so because labor charges alone won't pay all the
bills. I don't know if this is true for Tire Racks so called "affiliate
dealers". Of course here in Canada, Tire Rack isn't a viable option at
all anyway.

 

[Alan]

I believe SOA has an arrangement with TireRack. You buy the tires at the
Subaru dealer.

 

[y_p_w]

Most tire places will stick it to you if you bring in tires they didn't
sell you, and rightly so because labor charges alone won't pay all the
bills. I don't know if this is true for Tire Racks so called "affiliate
dealers". Of course here in Canada, Tire Rack isn't a viable option at
all anyway.

I have yet to find a place that wasn't happy to install tires I brought
in myself or had delivered to them. The first time I bought from the
Tire Rack (in '96) the labor charge for mounting was $15 when it would
have been $10 if I bought tires there; I had the tires delivered to the
installer (a Tire Rack "affiliate"). The second time (in 2001) the
local Goodyear shop was willing to mount them for $20 when their regular
charge was $15. Tire disposal fees were the same.

I don't believe for a second that businesses aren't more than willing to
take your money and be happy about it. If it's the difference between
making a small profit or making no profit at all, they'll take the
small profit. If it's the difference between paying an installer to
sit idle for 10 minutes or having him install "someone else's tires",
they'll more than likely choose the latter.

 

[Chris Phillipo]

I have yet to find a place that wasn't happy to install tires I brought
in myself or had delivered to them. The first time I bought from the
Tire Rack (in '96) the labor charge for mounting was $15 when it would
have been $10 if I bought tires there; I had the tires delivered to the
installer (a Tire Rack "affiliate"). The second time (in 2001) the
local Goodyear shop was willing to mount them for $20 when their regular
charge was $15. Tire disposal fees were the same.

I didn't say they wouldn't take your money, but that $15 they charged
you is $15 in their pockets. If they tell you to take a hike and serve
the next guy in line that actually bought his tires there, that's not
$10 in their pocket, that's $60+$10. If they see that this is becoming
a reoccuring thing I garuntee you they will come up with a double charge
for outsourced tire mounting or even refuse to do it. It happens at
every tire retailer, once they smarten up and realize that their guys
are basically working to keep tire rack or someone else in business that
is undercutting them. There's a reson these places are willing to match
or beat Tire Rack, $10 less than Tire Rack is still $50 more in their
pocket than if you buy them from Tirerack and still bring them to this
shop to install.

I don't believe for a second that businesses aren't more than willing to
take your money and be happy about it. If it's the difference between
making a small profit or making no profit at all, they'll take the
small profit. If it's the difference between paying an installer to
sit idle for 10 minutes or having him install "someone else's tires",
they'll more than likely choose the latter.

$15 or $20 a tire is not a profit by any stretch of the imagination
unless it's a one man show and his shop sports a floor jack.

 

[y_p_w]

I didn't say they wouldn't take your money, but that $15 they charged
you is $15 in their pockets. If they tell you to take a hike and serve
the next guy in line that actually bought his tires there, that's not
$10 in their pocket, that's $60+$10. If they see that this is becoming
a reoccuring thing I garuntee you they will come up with a double charge
for outsourced tire mounting or even refuse to do it. It happens at
every tire retailer, once they smarten up and realize that their guys
are basically working to keep tire rack or someone else in business that
is undercutting them. There's a reson these places are willing to match
or beat Tire Rack, $10 less than Tire Rack is still $50 more in their
pocket than if you buy them from Tirerack and still bring them to this
shop to install.

However - mounting doesn't really cost them anything other than the
price of the valve stem, given that their employees are paid by the
hour. Of course I didn't have the highest priority, but the place
was two blocks from where I work, so I could pick it up any time.
I could have easily gone to one of four tire installers in the
neighborhood.

$15 or $20 a tire is not a profit by any stretch of the imagination
unless it's a one man show and his shop sports a floor jack.

Ever heard of the way the airlines do business? Their highest
discounted airfares are actually less than their average costs per
passenger. It's a simple matter that once they determine that a
plane isn't going to be full, they want to get people on to defray
their fixed costs. Sometimes a planeload loses money, but if they
don't get that additional person on the plane, that's $150 (or
whatever) less than they're going to get.

 

[Diva]

I paid $20 to have my snows from Tirerack put on at Belle Tire here
and $10 to have my regular tires put back on. I bought Michelin Arctic
Alpins from Tirerack, which came mounted and balanced on steel wheels.

June

 

[Diva]

Yes, but for much more than you can get them from Tirerack directly
yourself. I was given a quote from the Subie dealer for the snows I
wanted and it was $450 more than I bought them for myself, and I
noticed that he went to the Tirerack site to set the price.

June

I believe SOA has an arrangement with TireRack. You buy the tires at the
Subaru dealer.

 

[Todd H.]

I paid $20 to have my snows from Tirerack put on at Belle Tire here
and $10 to have my regular tires put back on. I bought Michelin Arctic
Alpins from Tirerack, which came mounted and balanced on steel
wheels.

However, I suspect that you're on the hook to pay for regular
balancing/rotation, right?

That's the "rub" that started this thread.


Best Regards,

 

[Diva]

Yeah, I am, but rotation is free because the car is still under
warranty.

June