Does anyone buy from Tire Rack anymore? It doesn't seem worth it......

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
As the title indicates, does anyone actually buy tires from Tire Rack anymore?
In general their prices are not great especially when you consider the cost to mount and balance the tires. I have looked on their website for the affiliated shops to mount and balance the tires, and some shops are over $60.00 per tire. Yes there are cheaper shops, but at a minimum you will be paying at least $100.00 for mounting and balancing. The mounting and balancing costs negate any real savings in buying from Tire Rack.
I was looking at a set of BFG tires for my car and it is close to $200.00 cheaper to buy them from Costco (included mounting and balancing and rebate). I basically buy all of my tires from Costco.
I have purchased two different sets of tires from Tire Rack because the deal was too good to pass up and even with the mounting and balancing costs, they were still a great deal. I will say that I had no issues whatsoever in buying both sets of tires from Tire Rack.

I just don't see the draw to buy from them unless it's a stellar deal.

What do you think?

 

[slo town]

Depends on the tires. If you want specialized or high end tires Tirerack is a good source, plus they offer dozens and dozens of brands and choices. For example, does Costco stock or would they order a set of Michelin Super Sports or Cup 2s? Also too, I'm super OCD with my BBS wheel sets and am VERY choosey with who mounts my tires.

Scott

 

[CleanSump]

I used to buy from Tire Rack before Discount Tire bought them. They've changed and it's not the value it was. If you see a great closeout deal, they usually only have 1 in the size I want.
I just use it for window shopping on what's available.

 

[wings&wheels]

Yup for Slo Town's reasons, and since we are sharing pics of niche tires from TR

Seriously, TR has a great selection, quick ship and you may be buying from TR without knowing it as they are a major disti.

 

[slo town]

Yup for Slo Town's reasons, and since we are sharing pics of niche tires from TR

Seriously, TR has a great selection, quick ship and you may be buying from TR without knowing it as they are a major disti.

View attachment 325485View attachment 325486

Also too, it's been my experience I'm likely to get fresh(er) tires for the Tirerack, presumably because of their high sales volume. The Michelin Primacy's I put on our Honda Element a year or so ago were literally 2 or 3 weeks old.

Scott

PS I love those Fuchs wheels. One of the most beautiful wheel designs ever.

 

[Zack1978]

Depends on the tires. If you want specialized or high end tires Tirerack is a good source, plus they offer dozens and dozens of brands and choices. For example, does Costco stock or would they order a set of Michelin Super Sports or Cup 2s? Also too, I'm super OCD with my BBS wheel sets and am VERY choosey with who mounts my tires.

Scott

View attachment 325480View attachment 325481

At Costco I always request one specific installer. He is meticulous with the quality of his work.

 

[JohnnyG]

Tire Rack really needs to up their game, and search engine. Try tho find Continental tires with Conti-Silent tech in 245/45 R18......NOTHING.
Went directly to Continental and had a link to the tire in 30 seconds. Guess what, the link was to ......Tire Rack!

They are obviously pushing what they have on hand or trying to reduce inventory.

 

[slo town]

At Costco I always request one specific installer. He is meticulous with the quality of his work.

I do the same at America's Tire - and I tip $20 per wheel. I tell them point blank to give me "your best guy" and that I don't want the rims gouged and I want the weights put on straight. I also ask them to calibrate the Road Force machine before balancing. I remove the weights and clean the wheels in advance to a spotless condition so there is no doubt. I watch them like a hawk and tell them I will inspect every wheel after they're done with them. I always take the wheels "loose". I don't let anyone jack up my car and remove/mount wheels. I won't even let them install my rigid valve stem refresh kits. I have them remove the tire, then I get the bare wheel and do it myself. They're always happy to take my money!

I shop at Costco all the time but doubt they would cooperate with my wheel OCD-ness.

This is my oldest wheel set. This set of BBS CHs are 22 years old and have over 100,000 miles on them. They started life on my 2003 BMW E46. I've since moved them to our 2011 BMW E90.

Scott

 

[TomYoung]

I am not sure whether Tire Rack remains competitive on pricing. I have bought many tires from them over the years and always felt they did a great job, usually at good savings. More recently, I have tried Costco, and would also recommend them. Tire Rack often has specific tires on sale, or reduced as they have been in inventory for a while. A few years ago, they worked out a very fair accommodation on tires that had dry rotted on the car after two and a half years of use and about 20,000 miles. They put cash money back in my hands, and I replaced the tires. I was disappointed in that brand of tires, but thrilled that Tire Rack took the issue seriously.

 

[97prizm]

Hi everyone,
As the title indicates, does anyone actually buy tires from Tire Rack anymore?
In general their prices are not great especially when you consider the cost to mount and balance the tires. I have looked on their website for the affiliated shops to mount and balance the tires, and some shops are over $60.00 per tire. Yes there are cheaper shops, but at a minimum you will be paying at least $100.00 for mounting and balancing. The mounting and balancing costs negate any real savings in buying from Tire Rack.
I was looking at a set of BFG tires for my car and it is close to $200.00 cheaper to buy them from Costco (included mounting and balancing and rebate). I basically buy all of my tires from Costco.
I have purchased two different sets of tires from Tire Rack because the deal was too good to pass up and even with the mounting and balancing costs, they were still a great deal. I will say that I had no issues whatsoever in buying both sets of tires from Tire Rack.

I just don't see the draw to buy from them unless it's a stellar deal.

What do you think?

I think dealers still get great pricing due to volume. They do carry oddball and super high performance tires. Kind of like Coker tire that specializes in pre-war vehicle tires.

 

[Volvo_Expert_Tech]

You should search the price of tires on some German websites.... we get ripped off in the USA.

I get the same tires for nearly $100 less per tire here in Europe.

 

[gfh77665]

I buy from TireRack. Got a full set last month.

 

[14Accent]

I've had nothing but success with Walmart tire installation. Order and setup the appointment online, show up, and I'm out the door in an hour or so. $18/per, which includes new valve stems and Road Hazard coverage (included with our Walmart+ membership).

The main tire guy at our Walmart is great and makes sure the job is done correctly. They aren't "allowed" to accept tips, but I asked him which truck was his and leave him a $20 in his cup holder every time I have work done.

 

[Dave Hess]

At Costco I always request one specific installer. He is meticulous with the quality of his work.

At Tire Kingdom I give the tire tech $10 and tell him DO NOT scratch the wheels.

No scratches and excellent balancing of tires.

 

[dogememe]

All the time!

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I used to buy from Tire Rack before Discount Tire bought them. They've changed and it's not the value it was. If you see a great closeout deal, they usually only have 1 in the size I want.
I just use it for window shopping on what's available.

Discount Tire Direct used to have great deals too. As I suspected, with the merger, both sites got worse.

 

[charbaby]

I still buy from TR because I want to take them to a shop close by for HUNTER RFB which few, if any places have the RFB that sell the tires that I want. My guy can get the tires that I want but for an up charge but his RFB is reasonably priced and I haven’t had a tire shake/vibration yet when I have with so many others.

 

[GenSan]

I've bought my last 2 winter wheel/tires from TR. No problems. Just mount them in November myself. And take them off around April.

 

[shortyb]

While the prices may not be as spectacular as say, 10 years ago, in comparison to dedicated tire shops, they absolutely kill the dealer's price for same tires. Even when they run the buy 3 get 4th free deals. Plus I can always get exactly what I want, where at the dealers, they have a limited selection of tires with sale prices. Won't even get started with the large chain tire stores where even if I were to go on a slow day, there would be 25+ people waiting. Then to play the tire "specialist" roulette and hope they don't mangle your nice set of wheels or try to balance with 5ozs. of weight vs. taking a little more time for match mounting or rotating tire.

I have been ordering from Tire Rack since they began selling tires publicly and never had issues. Always had what I want in stock, are fresh, and would usually get to me in a couple days (some next day from GA warehouse). Plus, I get free road hazard. Like @slo town, I always take my wheels off, remove any weights, and clean/detail them (they look CLOSE to Scott's ) They then go to the same tech I've used for years who does the best dang touchless match mount install you've ever seen (mounts from the wheel backside). He appreciates that they are off vehicle and doesn't have to mess with removal/install. He also Road Force balances to the lowest lb. number he can, even if that means moving the tire on the wheel a couple times. Match mounting is really close, but not always perfect. I don't know how much of my OCD Costco would deal with, no matter how cheap the tires are.

 

[VolvoZ]

I just finished installing 4 new tires (by me and in my garage using TR sourced tires) and was thinking the same thing about Tire Rack: that they don’t seem to have the “attraction” that they used to in terms of pricing, but the closeout GoodYear Assurance Weather Ready 1’s that I bought almost a year ago were too good a deal to pass up. When those “can’t miss” deals happen (closeout discounts and rebates stacked), I’m happy with Tire Rack. Otherwise I’ll source the tires another way. Still good to have many choices out there. BTW, I too hate bringing my car into a shop for the many reasons stated.