Buying tires...need some advice

[coopns]

Buying tires...need some advice I need new tires for the 02 Dodge Grand Caravan. Stopped in at Firestone and here are my choices... House Tire Package Lemans Touring 215/70/15 60 a tire 60 mile warranty wheel balance weight wheel balance labor rubber stem valve road hazzard tire disposal fee tire installation Final Price 350 ______________________________________ Firestone Tire Page 56 a tire FR 380 same stuff Final Price 331 _______________________________________ FR 440 70 a tire same stuff Final Price 391 10% discount on Sunday. So, should I shop around...Sears...NTB or should I just pick one of these. And, should I go with something better then 60 miles? Trouble with shopping around is, not sure what I am comparing. I like the 350 price range but I do want to make the best decsion.

 

[SKUNKY]

Do some shopping here www.tirerack.com

 

[Schmoe]

Yeah, tirerack is pretty good, but I wonder after you pay for shipping and then having them mounted, if it's worth the price and/or hassle. What if you have problems with them and there is no dealer around? What next? I can tell you one thing, the Lemans tire ain't bad.

 

[74 Laguna]

quote:

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Originally posted by Schmoe: Yeah, tirerack is pretty good, but I wonder after you pay for shipping and then having them mounted, if it's worth the price and/or hassle. What if you have problems with them and there is no dealer around? What next? I can tell you one thing, the Lemans tire ain't bad.

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------------------------------------------------ That's what I found out on a set of Michelin tires. It was less to buy them in town than to order from Tire Rack and then pay for mount and lifetime balance.

 

[eljefino]

That sounds reasonable. VIP , a local chain to me (and you too: Watertown MA) wants $60 per plus all the fees (another $15/tire last I checked) for their "decent" radials in that size. I generally use them. Do shop around, and/or ask the Firestone guy for the 10% discount today.

 

[JeepZJ4.0]

I'm not too keen about buying tires at Firestone because they charge a lot for everything! I would go to Wal-Mart and get a set of Goodyear Viva Touring tires or even the Viva 2. The Viva Touring is a copy of the Regetta 2, I believe, which is a very popular choice for the minivans that I've seen. Walmart has them for 70 bucks a tire. So about 280 then installation charges, I believe 9.76 per tire with lifetime balance and rotation, you can't beat that. It will be about 320 plus tax and if you're anywhere in the country and have a flat, you can find a wal-mart and have the tire repaired or replaced. Compare: 56 bucks a tire for the 380s, so times 4, 224 for the tires. Other than tax, where are they getting the other 107 dollars? You can get much better tires with the money saved on installation. If you have a costco card, go order a set of Bridgestone Turanza LS-T tires. Very good set of tires. We had those on our Windstar in that exact same size and it transformed the van. You might beable to go to sears and walk out paying about 350-375 for a set of Goodyear Assurance Comfortred tires at Sears. At walmart, you would out paying 400 for the Confortred. Sears is cheaper this week. Sears also has the Goodyear Weatherhandler LS (same as Regetta 2 and Viva Touring but they are more expensive at Sears) and I'm sure you can walk out for 350. They also have a Bridgestone Weatherforce. Looks like a good tire. My friend has those on his 97 Town and Country. Quiet ride and with the way he drives, good grip. [ February 24, 2005, 06:19 PM: Message edited by: JeepZJ4.0 ]

 

[Pluto5]

If you live in Mass. you should have winter and summer tires so go to tirerack.com and get a good selection. Wal-Mart will mount them cheap and once you pay for balancing you don't have to pay again on that set of tires but make sure you torque the lug nuts yourself because their techs may not. Costco seems to be better at making sure they're tight. The voice of experience!

 

[labman]

Use tire Rack's website to pick out some reasonably priced tires that meet what you want. Then check NTB to see what they want for the same thing mounted and balanced. Massachusetts may get a lot of snow, but I doubt you are out much before it is plowed or beat down to ice. Snow tires are good in snow, but unless studded, not that good on ice.

 

[Pluto5]

Labman, winter tire is much better on ice even without studs than an all-season tire. The winter tire has a different type of rubber compound that is designed for cold weather.

 

[TomJones76]

If you're shopping based on price, make sure to go to NTB and check out Kumho. Kumho gets great tire reviews on Tire Rack, and they're the single cheapest brand of tires I've ever seen for what you get.

 

[JustinH]

yep kuhmo makes a good cheap tire. I would go with that first. Order it on tirerack and have walmart mount and balance the tires (8 bucks a shot). This is what I do with my commuter cars.

 

[Bugshu]

I was in Sears a couple of days ago and they had Goodyear Assurance tires on sale this week. Its a mighty fine tire and I doubt you can beat its quality. If you could find a good price on them then Id suggest jumping all over the deal. Happy Motoring All, Bugshu

 

[HerkyJim]

Gee, I'm not picky about tires. About 5 years ago, I bought four for $99 Sears Guardsman. So it was about a hundred sixty bucks with mounting and balancing for the set of four 195R14 for my '72 Valiant. So now they have 49,000 miles on them and quite a bit of tread remaining. I rotated front to back once and they have worn evenly. Picked up a big screw and one went flat and took it in to Sears and they fixed it and when I asked how much, it was free! Not a performance tire by any means, but they get me around OK, mostly up and down the freeway at 60mph. Course I drive like an old man; because I am an old man. Hah

 

[Schmoe]

I went ahead and tried Tire Rack. Ordered them Monday morning, email confirmation by 1100 that day and all four of them were sitting behind my truck by Wednesday afternoon. These are the Kumho 205/65 R15 716 for my Accord. Grand total, 216 including shipping. Mounting and balancing will run about 10 per tire. So for about 260, I got 50K tires all the way around. Not bad, not bad at all.

 

[wiswind]

www.tirerack.com is a great resource for tire research. I would recommend that you read the reviews that people have written about the tires. Look for reviews written by people who list a car similar to yours. I just bought a set of 4 Michelin "Harmony" tires for my Windstar. I am very happy with them, they are quiet, and great with snow, ice, and water. I read the reviews written by people who bought them for minivans....and found that people with minivans prefered the Harmony over a higher (overall) rated Michelin tire.

 

[Bamaro]

quote:

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Originally posted by Schmoe: I went ahead and tried Tire Rack. Ordered them Monday morning, email confirmation by 1100 that day and all four of them were sitting behind my truck by Wednesday afternoon. These are the Kumho 205/65 R15 716 for my Accord. Grand total, 216 including shipping. Mounting and balancing will run about 10 per tire. So for about 260, I got 50K tires all the way around. Not bad, not bad at all.

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Yup, if you are looking for a good all season tire, you cant beat the Kumho 716 for the price.

 

[John S In KC]

Kumhos are hard to beat! I've bought 2 sets (both from TireRack.com), and I can't believe that the word on them is not out! They ride and handle like my Michelins, but cost about half as much. What else needs to be said?