After 21 years and and a mere 8000 miles the 235 85R 16 tires have started to rot off my 1990 F 250. The truck has less than 70,000 total miles , is like new, has a fuel injected 460. I love it, it is perfect for what use it for. I go to Big Box website , find the tires I want, put them and the install package in the shopping cart and went to checkout and pay. Up pops a message saying that size tire will not fit my application and they will not install it, or even sell it to me. I messed around a bit and gave up. That is the right size tire, it is what it came with, in the owner's manual, stamped on the I'd tag, It is even what there computer says is the right size. So I go to the store and get in line. After about 1/2 hour of being ignored some manager came over and said they had to give the employees a 1/2 hour lunch break. The guy behind me said "my appointment has an hour ago".
A mile down the road and a few minutes later , the little bit more the the family owned tire store charged be was money well spent.

I started to do something similar for my CRV the other day when I got some metal in the rear tire and it couldn't be fixed. Screwed around on a Walmart/Sam's website and then said screw it and went to a place in town. Maybe $50 more and I was all set. So I have one less 365 magazine.

I had a similar problem at Costco. My V8 Touareg used uncommon $400 ea tires. & had to be ordered. I only needed 2 tires & asked that they be installed on the front as the 2 rear tires on the rear were almost new. Waited 30 minutes to be acknowledged I was standing at the counter & was the only customer waiting. I was told that the tires must be installed on the rear. I said that I preferred the front as I wanted the better tread for wet weather, the front wore faster & since the auto was full time all wheel drive I needed the circumference to be almost equal. They still refused to install the tires on the front. I then sugested they keep the tires & went across the street to Discount Tire & had no problem.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Anush,

When I feel a problem could arise I often just take them off at home & take the wheels in. Yeah, it’s more of a to-do, but avoids most of that.

While the big box stores may be cheaper, I deal exclusively with a locally owned, small chain of tire stores.

I order online, get an "all in" price and make an appointment. I can drop off the car or wait. A couple of times I have waited, never more than an hour. Excellent service, free rotation and never had a problem in 20 years of dealings. It might be slightly more expensive but well worth it.

Flynn's Tire and Auto Service. Western PA and Eastern OH, highly recommended.

I have been a customer of Discount Tire for almost thirty years. With one exception* the service has always been outstanding, and the price has always been competitive, for tires on many personal vehicles throughout those years, as well as our commercial truck. They are a nationwide chain, so if a problem should arise with a tire that they sold, the problem can be resolved at any store in the country, no matter where you are.

They also extend all sorts of service, even if you didn't buy the tires there. For example, if you have a puncture that can be taken care of with a simple repair, they will handle it at no charge, whether or not the tire was sold by them. They have a fast service drive through lane where they will check your tire pressures and inflate if necessary. No charge for this service, even if you did not buy the tires from them.

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*NOTE: The one exception to service quality was resolved when I wrote a polite, factual letter to the CEO, describing the occurrence and expressing my disappointment. Evidently, the regional VP followed up on this, checked the description of the service problem in my letter, verified that the facts that I had stated were true, and arranged to visit me at work at my hangar at the airport. He actually remembered me from when he had been a manager at one of the local stores, years prior. He apologized for the poor service that I had received in that incident and went overboard to offer compensation for the store's failure to perform. I told him that was not necessary, the apology, and more important, the correction in the way the store would handle this type of thing in the future was all that I wanted, but he insisted and would not take "no" for an answer. Outstanding service, the problem was corrected, and I have received great service from the store ever since then.

I would never even consider going to a place like Walmart or even Costco to buy tires. Discount Tire is the only place that we (my wife and I) really trust to do things the right way.

Another vote for Discount Tire.

Unbelievable service and good prices.

Pile on for Discount Tire. I have used them exclusively over the years for 3 vehicles and a small trailer and highly recommend them.

tirerack.com and have the tires shipped to one of their local installers.

quote:

Originally posted by kz1000:

tirerack.com and have the tires shipped to one of their local installers.

I have checked into that a couple of times when I foolishly thought about straying from Discount Tire.

It turned out that Discount Tire would meet or beat the TireRack.com cost, and the ease of dealing with any potential problem tilted the balance in favor of Discount Tire.

If Discount Tire did not exist, my first choice would be TireRack.com, unless I needed a tire that very day.

I don’t understand buying tires without checking the alignment. That is my problem with Discount Tire.

V-Tail, I just saw Discount Tire is in my neck of the woods. Of course my car has OEM tires & they don't stock them. If I need a tire ASAP I have to go to BMW dealer, at least their tire prices are competitive.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:

I don’t understand buying tires without checking the alignment. That is my problem with Discount Tire.

The Discount Tire store that I use, refers alignment customers to a good shop about two minutes down the street.

Actually, that is one of the things I like about Discount Tire. They do one thing -- tires. Their employees are properly trained to do this, and they do it right, the first time. Tires are installed or existing tires are repaired. Rotate and balance. Lug nuts tightened properly to factory specs. Things like inflation pressure and nut torque are specified clearly on the work sheet that the tech receives from the counter guy.

They do not do brakes, alignment, they do not jack up the cost with cabin air filters, they just do tires and they do that properly. For anything else, they have a referral list.

Needed a tire for rear of motorcycle (large fullsize cruiser) to replace a non-repairable puncture to the sidewall. My local mom and pop tire shop was on the phone with his distributor when he let it slip that the Cooper Zeon Zpt 215-45-18 (performance car tire) was to be installed on a motorcycle. Then the distributor flately refused to supply the tire even after being told that it would be replacing a simular tire(with 25,000 miles plus use) already installed on motorcycle . Due to their percieved possible liabality of a performance car tire installed on a motorcycle was why they were refusing the sale of the tire .After assuring the distributor I was willing to sign a release of liability they produced the tire. Some companies have guidelines that supposidly protect themselves rather than supplying something the customer wants. Some people both riders as well as no-riders thought I was crazy for doing this but by doing this was greatly increasing mileage by 3 or more times the tire mileage. And even with the flat tire tread footprint it gave me better grip/traction in all types of riding as well as being able to drag the footpegs in the twisties with the crotch rocketsn if I had been inclined to do so this type of setup was known as "Riding the Darkside". ....................... drill sgt.

Just looked up Discount Tire based on V Tails glowing review. Alas, the closest one is 80 miles away. Tires are my nemesis. 3 of 4 cars I own are AWD. The whole replace as pairs at a minimum is a costly mistress.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I have been a customer of Discount Tire for almost thirty years.

Another vote for Discount Tire.

I don't know how long I've been a customer, but I know I've used them for my last three vehicles. So at least twenty years.

Discount Tire has always done right by me--incl. twice waiving installation charges. Once for a tire they hadn't even sold me (came on the vehicle) and again for a TPM sensor.

As to the OP....that's why us little independents do well. Properly managed, nobody beats our service.

Another huge Discount Tire fan.

About 10 years ago I had a brand new GMC Yukon. Took a nail in one tire. Without even looking at it dealer tells me I need to replace the tire.

Go to Discount Tire and as far as they know I was not a customer. They pulled the wheel, found the spot of the hole, and called Bridgestone to make sure it was within spec to plug. Put an inside patch on the tire and remounted. Ready to leave I ask how much I owe them. He said zero. I said, "what if I never bought tires from you" and his reply was "that's fine because you will buy your next set from me".

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I don’t understand buying tires without checking the alignment. That is my problem with Discount Tire.

This is an strange position to take, in my (not expert) opinion.

Your suspension should stay aligned unless you biffed it against something or did something to change the suspension geometry, no? Your alignment intervals should be independent from your tire replacement interval.

I would hate to have a shop nag me or upsell me on alignment whenever I buy tires (or vice versa).

If the concern is that the new tires might be damaged by poor alignment and that Discount Tire would better serve you by being proactive with alignment services before new tires go on, I think a quick look at how your old tires are wearing in would be enough to verify that you aren't going to immediately destroy new tires that you put on. Any minor variance should be addressed by regular tire rotations and a periodic alignment at an alignment shop.

The Discount Tires around here are already quite busy without having to funnel every vehicle down into 1 or 2 laser alignment machines--particularly since few cars will need alignment adjustments as a result of a tire change.

Tire Adventure. To me the name is a turn off. I never have or want an adventure when buying tires. It is like Adventure Dentures or Adventures colonoscopy. Adventures liquor sounds OK though.