How I shop for new tires…
I have bought many sets of tires over the years for many different cars. I also used to work at a tire store and installed my fair share of tires. The majority of the time I am shopping at the worst time, the car needs inspection, or there is a hole in the tire which can not be patched. Plus, since budgeting is not my strong suit, price is ALWAYS a consideration. Here is my process…
- Research – I head over to www.TireRack.com and enter my vehicle specs and sort through the reviews. As with anything on the internet, you will get idiots leaving mindless reviews, but I have found the quality of reviews on TireRack to be better than average. You will be able to spot the idiots by their grammar and usually terse responses.
- Price – Once you have found 2 or 3 well reviewed tires in your price range, get a shipping quote and get an all-in price from TireRack, don’t purchase just yet.
- Installation – TireRack offers a service where they ship your tires to a local shop and for a set fee, that shop will mount, balance and install. Convenient and price effective. Most shops that participate in the program are independent shops, which do more than just tires. Get the price for this service as well. You can have the tires shipped to your house and go to any local shop and get them mounted and balanced, but call around and get prices. In my area, Eastern PA, going rate is $25 per tire.
- Call your local tire stores and get pricing on the tires you researched on TireRack. Not all local tire stores will carry all brands, so you may have to call around or check their websites out for the brands they carry. Some of my local shops are matching TireRack pricing after shipping/install is considered. This has been my favorite method, as I get to support my local store and get the best pricing, a true win-win.
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Posted: 19th December 2013 | Author: Kevin Schappell | Category: General
