I purchase from Discount Tire. They have a large number of locations across the country with a wide variety of available brands. They also provide free rotation and balancing. In addition they have flat repairs or replacements and free air pressure checkups,
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I do my tire research on Consumer Reports and Tire Rack well in advance so I know what to be on the lookout for. My last two sets of tires were highly-rated on CR and I bought them on sale on Amazon. My local tire shop charges $20 per tire to mount and balance them. If you plan ahead and have the time, this approach is hard to beat!
Knock on wood, but I have had good luck getting tires at Walmart. I did buy the warranty Walmart peddles off on people. Heck, the warranty is good at any Walmart nationwide, and I drive a lot at the moment (35 minutes to work). The Walmart I normally buy them at is close to my work. The only problem I have had with them is my phone number. When they ask for it, I show up two times, and also my number shows up for another person who used Walmart. I have asked several times to merge the phone numbers with my name on it, and I have not seen any results. Other than that minor setback, I have been happy with their customer service and the work done on my car. Also, pro tip I got from a worker: for some odd reason, the tires are cheaper on the website or app if you use that.
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Good to know. Thanks
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Discount Tire is my go-to for tires. They will match prices and beat advertised prices. If you order online and are a veteran or active military you will receive a discount. Their Tire Care Package is great. I really like the ability to make online appointments. They have a drive-thru air pressure check at any time they are open. I was really surprised to find out that they fix flats for free even if the tire was not purchased there. I have had two new vehicles that had a flat with a low miles on the tire and they fixed for free. By having great customer support they have earned my business.
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Although deals are a priority when buying anything especially hi-priced tires one must âstronglyâ consider purchasing your tires from a store/warehouse that has many locations throughout the country/state you reside in so that if ever you incur flats, nails, defects, etc. you can easily find that shop nearby not only in your local area but more importantly when on the road traveling long distances for business/work or pleasure/fun/vacationing! It may be worth paying slightly more to have peace of mind knowing there are many locations to service the tire warranty if you should need to.
Once again, I did my tire research on Consumer Reports and Tire Rack well in advance so I knew what to look for. I just bought a set on sale at Tire Rack for installation next year. My local tire shop charges $20 per tire to mount and balance them. If you plan ahead and have the time, this approach is hard to beat!
Never, ever buy tires from Costco. I purchased Michelin tires with a 6yr/80K mileage warranty from Costco. After just over 5 years and 55K miles the tires were down to 2/32"-3/32" (clearly worn out prematurely). I contacted Michelin and they told me to return to Costco to complete a warranty claim. Costco refused to help in any way! First they said the tires were out of warranty. I showed them the Costco receipt and warranty documents clearly showing they were not. Next they said that I must produce all receipts showing all the tire rotations for the past 5 years because Michelin requires this (they donât and I didnât have those docs with me). I called BS. Then they said that the warranty was void because the rear tires had 1/32" more wear than the fronts. BS. I asked to speak with the manager. He went through the same excuses. I asked flat out if they were going to help with this claim. Costco response, âNOâ! I left and went to Discount Tire and explained my situation. They looked at my receipt, measured the tire tread depth and then went online and filed a warranty claim with Michelin. A few minutes later, I was awarded a $70/tire warranty claim. In 45 minutes I was out the door with 4 new tires. Discount tire prices were the same as Costco (I did have to pay $21/tire for installation) and they also provided lifetime rotation and balance just like Costco. Thatâs how itâs supposed to be done! I will never buy tires from Costco again.
A side note. I went online and submitted this experience to the Costco warehouse feedback link. The assistant manager contacted me and apologized for their shortcomings and sent a Costco gift card for $70. Iâm skeptical that anything will change at Costco and will still use Discount Tire since they know what real service is.
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Ebay Tire Purchase
I had a great experience,purchasing my tires online at Ebay.At the time I bought my tires,Ebay had a promotion of free installation.Anyway,I bought the 4 tires from Priority Tire,one of the large tire sellers on Ebay.They gave me a list of local installers.I chose one and Priority shipped the tires to that installer.Took car in and there was zero charge for old tire disposal,balancing,installation.So,my total cost for 4 Armstrong Blu-Trac tires was about $230,including installation.Ebay isnât offering free installation,but still offers local installation,which I believe is about $100.They are offering a 10% off coupon.So,I bought some great tires for low price.Check it out.
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I did a bunch of research and found that Nokian Tires were the best fit for my car. I placed an order with Discount Tire and after a day, they told me they werenât available. I found Simple Tire on line and their customer support is outstanding. I asked them to ship the 4 tires to Discount Tire and after 3 phone calls to them, they informed me they donât accept drop shipments. Lousy. I explained that to Brandon at Simple Tire and he arranged to change the shipping location with FedEx while in process and found an installer local to me. Highly recommend Simple Tire for fantastic service and good prices.
Iâve only purchased tires at Cosco once and will never do it again. They required that I pay a fee to seal the tire stems (replace seals?). Unfortunately, they were unable to do the resealing on one wheel and damaged it causing a leak. I had to have the valve stem replaced costing me $30 or so. Sams Club is my go to for tires. No games just good prices.
Discount. I was in Augusta, GA for the Masters. Trashed both front tires on the drive over (not related to the Masters). At the end of the day, not knowing they were not repairable, I drove to the Discount location in Augusta. Upon examination they were clearly not repairable. Odd size, none in Augusta. No place to stay overnight given the event. Discount there found me a less than optimal substitute tire, mounted them and arranged for the correct tires to be delivered to my local Discount in Atlanta the following morning. They agreed to refund the entire purchase cost of the substituted tires. Drove home on the âborrowedâ tires. Next morning I had the correct ones mounted and returned the temps. Only extra for me was the installation of the tires in Augusta. Hard to imagine better customer service.
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We have used Discount Tires for many years, but when I recently purchased new tires for my Excursion, they had so many required add-ons that it doubled the price. Next time Iâll purchase from my mechanic, who will charge more for the tires, but not all those add-on fees.
Years ago tire stores would advertise a price that would include everything. Then they found out if they price everything separately they could make more money (and piss their customers off).
Edit: That sounds an awful like airline tickets, doesnât it?!
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I used to always buy my tires at Samâs Club, but the cost savings just arenât worth it for me anymore. Their much-touted âfreeâ flat repair warranty has been useless in my experienceâevery time Iâve had a flat, I couldnât get an appointment for at least two days. The breaking point came last year while traveling in New Mexico. We had a flat, went to the local Samâs Club, and were told it would take two days to fix. Paying for a hotel and losing money on prepaid reservations made no sense. We ended up at a Discount Tire just down the road, and they repaired it for free in under two hours, even though we hadnât bought the tires there. Theyâve earned my business from now on.
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I bought Goodyear Viva tires from Walmart for years and thought I was getting a bargain. Last time, I discovered later that one of the wheels had 4 - really FOUR!!! - cross-threaded lug nuts. Only 1 nut was tight against the wheel. So the wheel could have come off and killed somebody. Plus, most of the money I had saved disappeared getting that fixed.
Iâve been buying tires (and sometimes tire/wheel packages) from Tire Rack for over 35 years. It has become much simpler since they were bought by Discount Tires. Tire Rack delivers to Discount Tires who then do the installation. If something goes wrong (hasnât yet!) then there is only one corporation to blame. Here is the press release about the merger: Discount Tire To Acquire Tire Rack And Merge Operations, Creating Leading Omnichannel Tire Buying Experience
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My experience with Samâs Club tires is that just about any tire can be ordered at a good price and installed in just a few days. But, during covid they severely limited their hours and made it tough to buy from them.