Couple of ? on buying tires at Sam's Club

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The prices at Sam's seem to have most places in my area beat by not just a little but by a lot! I think the price for the same tire that I'm looking at (GY Comforttred 205/55/16)is about 30 dollars more expensive per tire at Town Fair Tire. They are even 5 bucks cheaper than Tire Rack.

Which leads to this question....how have your experiences been at Sam's getting tires installed and balanced? Are they guys there competent? Just want to make sure that the tires do get balanced correctly.

Also 1 other question...has it been anyone's experience that local tire stores(Town Fair, NTB, Sears etc)will price match Sam's? My gut feeling is no but want to know if anyone has tried it. I know Town Fair matches Tire Rack but after adding in shipping and balancing the deal isn't so good savings wise.
 
I have run michelin tires on my 3/4 ton for over 130,000 miles from Sam's. Also had tires on my Mustang GT convertible before that.

So at least at the Sam's that I shop they can install both on steel wheels and alloys, and keep them balanced.

Last set of tires I bought were for a VW passat that I bought at Discount tire, since sam's did not have the tripletred yet.

Might depend on how the tire mounters look at your Sam's to decide if you want to give them a try.
 
Like any tire shop, Sams is going to have its good and bad installers. Hard to know how your Sams performs unless you get feedback from people who've bought tires there.

Most "normal" cars and trucks they can handle. I would not take my Ferrari 275GTB/4 there but a Civic or something like that is hard to screw up (not impossible..... just hard).

As far as price matching, I'd think most local tire joints could be competitive on a regular "broad line" model, like a Comfortread that any Goodyear dealer can sell. Obviously no one can compete with Sams and WalMart on their private labeled tires. What I'd do is start with Sam's out-the-door price incl install, tax, everything, then cross shop that price with the other tire shops. You might be surprised. I bought my Firestone's from their national chain and the price I got was better than everyone's including Tire Rack. My OTD price included lifetime balance and rotate, just like what the warehouse clubs offer. So its worth shopping around.
 
Thanks for the tip bretfraz! I went to my local Town Fair Tire and asked if they price matched Sam's Club. Not only do they match, they beat Sam's Club by 5% (about 25 dollars) Plus I get a front end alignment included
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I ended up with the Triple Treds...30 day trial so if I really don't like them I can bring them back. Was set on the Comfys but after reading CR's report, the Triple Treds ended up being a safer tire and a better buy.

Out the door installed for 467.00...Tire Rack before shipping and not including installation was 448.00 so I'm pretty pleased.
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On the other hand it is amazing how much markup there is on tires and if you didn't do any homework, you'd be paying a pretty penny for them


Thanks again!
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That's great news!! I'm glad it worked out for you. Nothin' like saving a few bucks during the holidays, right?

Let us know how you like the Tripletreads. I've read lots of positive comments about them.
 
Changed my order to the Comfort Treds.....the 3xtreds have a lip on them at the bead to protect alloys...not a good match for my hub caps..they will pop off the first good bump I hit!
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We put triple threads on my wife's Taurus 2 months ago. She loves the tires. The handling is more "sure-footed" and traction in the snow is decent. The tires are noisy though.
 
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