discount tire price matching

[earlyre]

so while on vacation i started thinking about replacing the yoko's(YK520's) on my neon. They are only 4yrs old, w/ about 40k on them, plenty of tread left, but noticed a nice crack between the treads all they way around on one of 'em.
started looking @ discount tire's site, (@least 3 stores w/in 10 min or so drive of where i was) decided on set of Pirelli P4 Four Seasons(185/60-15).
down there in the FT.Worth area, they listed them at $77 per tire. but they wouldn't be in stock until they day after i left.
Now that i'm back home, look 'em up again, and my my nearest store (hr away in Ft.Wayne IN) lists the same tire, same size, for $104, and my preferred store,(2 hrs away in Columbus, OH- preferred as i've bought 2 sets there before, & in general I have more reasons to go to Cols then Ft Wayne) has 'em for $94.
do you think they would match the price from another discount tire in another market??
and why such price disparity?
just for clarity:
Pirelli P4 Four Seasons (185/60-15)
Fort Worth,TX $77
Fort Wayne,IN $103
Columbus, OH $94 (same in Dayton, OH 90 min away)

 

[bigjl]

Simple, the tyres were $77 but out of stock, I am sure they could have got you some of the $94 ones in the day before the $77 were back in stock.

Are you sure the $77 price was still available after they got stock back in, I have seen online places do similar, cheaper price is not in stock, as soon as it is the price was updated and was higher, when there was no stock there was no point in updating the price.

 

[earlyre]

actually double checked all the prices as i was posting that, and they are all current, in stock prices.
those prices are all for the same tire, same size.
just in different cities.
and they were initially out of stock in all 3 cities,
Initial check on wed, (Oct.3), and all the stores, in all 3 cities showed they would be in stock on sat (Oct.6). i was leaving for home(1100mi drive) on fri (Oct 5).

 

[Roadkingnc]

Show the price to the manager, discount tire here will beat anybodys price to get the sale. I work for a dealership and they sold me a set of michellins for less than my cost.

 

[bigjl]

Might be down to local costs then, or maybe that tyre sells well in certain areas allowing extra stock to be bought pushing down cost price perhaps.

Tyre prices are shocking in the UK aswell, with shops in the same town but streets apart having widely varying prices.

Camskill are a good online source of tyres, especially of you want to avoid the the standard made in china budget tyre being pushed as affordable by Independant shops.

Again Costco are a good option for me but it is Michelin or Continentals only, I must admit if I have the money I go for big brands every time, I do like Michelin tyres but have had good wear from my current Good Year winter tyres, just did a rotation and only 1mm difference between Fr and Rr tread depths after 15k miles.

Do you think you might spend more than you save if you have to travel further afield for your tyres, pity you couldn't extend your holiday by a day.

Do the cheaper place to mail order?

Ever considered Kumho tyres?

My wife has Kumho Solus KH17 on the front of her Clio, it is hard on front tyres due to a heavy engine lots of urban three point turns with lots of full lock maneuveres.

Car has gone through many sets of tyres and has always been hard on the outside and inside shoulders, these Kumhos are the best wearing yet, shall be buying them again as I think used solely on the front they will run to 30k, the rears are Avon zv3 which are still good with 30k on them solely on the rear, front zv3's lasted hardly 15k. I suspect Kumhos would go 40/50k on the rear, so with rotation I think a set will last well over 40k if not nearer 45k.

I didn't rotate as wanted to maximise the life of the zv3 whilst finding a tyre that could cope with the heavy engine, Michelin would be a good choice but they are a lot more expensive than I can afford at the moment.

 

[earlyre]

had a set of Kumhos on my old Hyundai(Korean car, why not get Korean tires??) had no complaints with 'em. That car came w/ Michellins, that were bald by 40k miles, the Kumhos were great for their 40k mi run, and replaced with a set of Pirelli's i dearly loved.( I had wanted Goodyear Triple Treads, out of stock, salesman suggested the Pirelli's which were awsome.)
I picked the Pirelli's this time based on on reviews of other neon owners.( Tires i really wanted to get seem to be just out of Production in my sizes, so prices have gone way up, and listed as "special order" until stock runs out.)

looked @ Tirerack.com, they are $84/ea, plus shipping($42 for the set), mounting /installation fees. They are also on backorder.

discount tire direct, was I think $92ea.(w/ free shipping!) but the listed local installer for them is no good. Local mechanic I trust basically called them crooks once. and the last set of tires my parents bought from them(the crooked local installer, not Discount tire Direct) would never fully balance.

Costco is out. They are just as far away,(nearest one is an hr away), and therefore I'm not a member. only local warehouse store is sam's club, and again not a member(not a fan of the whole walmart organization)

 

[SatinSilver]

The Toledo area has some low tire prices via DT. The pirelli is $89 BUT the General Altimax is only $63. I would have DTD price match that price and have them shipped to you for free. Unless you want to travel to Toledo for the install. I did this with DTD early September. The first rep I talked to wouldn't do it but the manager I asked for quickly agreed after I sent him an email with the link. Had Walmart do the intall for $60 with lifetime balance and rotations. I was leary of WM but I watched while drinking free coffee and they did fine.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/searchT...d=15&cs=185

 

[earlyre]

Coming out of work today i noticed dang, that left front tire looks mighty low. get the 12v inflator out of the trunk and get to business.
Initial readings:
LF 26.5; RF 27; LR 21(!); RR 29.5 (honestly been way too long since i checked 'em.)
but i noticed as i was inflating, the sea of cracks all over the side walls. not to mention the big circumferential one i noticed during the last oil change.
straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.
so i'm gonna get the Pirelli's put on the neon. pretty much lazied my way out of the discount tire deal (never followed up), but seeing the barrage of Mike Rowe commercials for the "big tire event" @ "your Ford dealer", i gave my local blue oval guys an email, got a quote.
Raabe Ford, Delphos OH $92 ea.
set of (4)$368; mounting/balancing/shopfees/etc $48; Sales Tax $27.04
leading to an out the door price of$443.04

Tire Rack was $82 ea.
Set of (4)$328; Shipping $41.96; Install @ local Chrysler Dealer $50( Per Tire- $10 mounting/$1 valve stem/$1.50 Disposal fee);+ Est. Sales Tax, puts us to $447.26
Ford Dealer wins by $4.22 (I'll say that again. I'm going to the Ford dealer to get tires put on my Dodge)
the tires are listed as Special order either way.
but if i had gone the TireRack/Dodge Dealer route, i'd have those neato green valve caps(they do nitrogen fill)

now just waiting to hear back just HOW special an order they will be...Hoping to get 'em on this friday (next day off) but not holding my breath about it.

 

[earlyre]

almost forgot there's also a $60 MIR on the set of 4 pirelli's @ the Ford Dealer.

 

[SatinSilver]

Sounds like a winner. I had the Ford dealer price out some tires for my 05 Matrix. I was there getting an oil change. MC synblend and a MC oil filter for $20. Hard to beat that. Plus they inspected a bunch of things and gave me a report.

 

[Danh]

I think Yokohama tires come with a 6 year warranty. You may want to return to the place you bought them and see if you can get a pro-rated adjustment on a new set based on the sidewall cracking you mention. Discount Tire did this for me on a set of Yokos just over 6 years old.

 

[earlyre]

That would be lovely, but for 2 things.
1) nearest discount tire is over an hr away
2)i didnt buy the tires. they were already on when i bought the car from my brother

 

[earlyre]

so apparently it's a fairly special order. parts guy said it will take 15 days for them to get the tires.
I can order them from discount direct, or tire rack & have them here in 2-5 days (they are instock @ tirerack's warehouse a couple hrs away in Southbend,IN, also in stock for discount direct warehouse, also somewhere in IN)
waiting to see what they say to that.

 

[earlyre]

ordered from Tire rack on Weds, had shipped Directly to the Ford Dealer. They arrived there this morning, made appt for next thurs morn. for the install.
paid Tire Rack $376 shipped, Dealer is gonna Charge $12.50per tire to mount& balance(so $50)
So ~$426 + misc Fees.
Discount Direct was above that for the tires alone. without certs, or valve stems. (but free shipping!)
of course, this way i will also miss out on the $60MIR from Ford, but Oh well. I hate MIR anyway.

 

[earlyre]

getting the tires in the morning, question:
would it be wrong of me to wear my MOPAR t-shirt when I'm Sitting in the Ford Dealer waiting Room while they put Tires on my Dodge?

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I just print out a price from an online seller (usually Tirerack.com) and bring it to the DTD store and get a price match. They add installation costs and tax to the online price including shipping. It saves me anywhere from a little to a lot. I can still get the rebates or money back in addtion if they are having a sale also.