Where To Buy Tires ???

[billt]

I've got 31X10.5X 15's on my Ford F-150. They're Goodyear Wranglers I put on back in April of 2000. They've got 60,000 miles on them, and Saturday while coming home from work, I had the right front start to come apart on me on the freeway. It still holds air, and I made it home, but it's got chunks missing out of it. Time for some new tires tomorrow.

I'm trying to get prices on line, but it's a PITA. I paid $785.00 back in 2000, and I don't want to spend $1,000.00 for tires on a 20 year old truck. No matter who's website you try, it's a pain to get an out the door price for 4 tires mounted and balanced. I don't want road service, road hazard warranty, or any of the rest of the crap they stick you with for a quick buck. Obviously I don't buy tires that often. Has anyone else here recently? Where did you go, and where would you stay away from?   Bill T.

[twyacht]

Buying tires for anything other than little sedan type "cars", is a PITA. Prices are all over the map.

 When I needed 31's for my Tacoma, I sat down with the Yellow Pages and started calling folks for quotes. Some were schmucks on the phone and I moved on to another.

Usually, local papers/flyers have ads for "sales" but I would still get at least 4-6 quotes.

Are you determined to keep the Goodyears?  Bridgestone, and a host of others can make a big diff on the bottom line. But one shop to the next may vary the SAME Goodyear's.

I had Bridgestone 31's from $90 to $150 a piece.... SAME tire....

Also, if you know someone with a tire shop, you can sometimes buy the tires out the door at one place, and just have someone you know just mount and balance them.

The disposal fee is an EPA sham,....

But Geez billt, 10+ years on those Wranglers? Not bad.....

Cuts into your ammo/gun budget though,......


 

[Pathfinder]

I've got 31X10.5X 15's on my Ford F-150. They're Goodyear Wranglers I put on back in April of 2000. They've got 60,000 miles on them, and Saturday while coming home from work, I had the right front start to come apart on me on the freeway. It still holds air, and I made it home, but it's got chunks missing out of it. Time for some new tires tomorrow.

I'm trying to get prices on line, but it's a PITA. I paid $785.00 back in 2000, and I don't want to spend $1,000.00 for tires on a 20 year old truck. No matter who's website you try, it's a pain to get an out the door price for 4 tires mounted and balanced. I don't want road service, road hazard warranty, or any of the rest of the crap they stick you with for a quick buck. Obviously I don't buy tires that often. Has anyone else here recently? Where did you go, and where would you stay away from?   Bill T.

Try a local wrecking yard. They get in a great many vehicles where the car is trashed, but the tires may still be good. Other than that, you're pretty much stuck with retail in one form or another.

$250 a tire? Unless you do a lot of off-roading you don't need MT or even ATs. For a 20-year old truck, downrate the tires and maybe get them for less than $250? Also, don't go name brand, or at least not consumer name brand. I got Toyos 6 years ago, had never heard of them, but they have been excellent.

Admittedly, I have not bought tires for my F350 lately, so I have no clue what they would run. Maybe a lesson for today to check . . . . .

[crusader rabbit]

Bill, over the years I've had pretty good luck with Big A Tires.  You've got a couple of outlets there in the Phoenix area, and I'd check with them.   You might even be able to get a set of "blems" if you talk to the right guy.  Blems have a cosmetic issue, but are not structurally compromised in any way.  Have a look at WallyWorld, too.  Once in awhile they will have a "deal."  You could luck out.

I'd stay away from Tire Kingdom--just personal bad experience.

Getting tires online is always a possibility, but I've found the cost of shipping eats a pretty big hole in the savings.  Then, you are left with the problem of getting them mounted and balanced.  That will often take the rest of the savings.

A big part of the expense comes from excise taxes imposed by the Odamna regime.  In trying to protect American tire makers, an onerous tax was imposed making anything from Japan, Korea, Germany, France and China vastly more expensive.  The American makers like Cooper, Goodyear, BF Goodrich and others saw this as a great opportunity to raise their own prices and did so with little delay.

The only good thing I can say about any of this is that "back in the day" we felt lucky to get 20,000 miles out of a set of new shoes.  Today 60,000 is not unreasonable and higher numbers appear with some brand/vehicle combinations. 

I've got to come up with a new set of shoes for my JEEP here in the next couple of months, so I will feel your pain.  I can get by with slightly smaller tires than you have on the F-150, but we're still looking at $600 before I'm out the door.

Good luck with your search, and keep us posted on the results.

Crusader Rabbit

[fightingquaker13]

I'm pretty religious about my Desert Duelers, as I have a lot of rain and do a bit of off roading. Frankly, I think tires are a dumb place to save money. No offense, but if one fails at 70 miles an hour it can ruin your whole day. They also effect mileage, braking distance and wear and tear on the drive train (not an issue in your case). So, if I were going to go cheap, I'd look at Sam's (might be worth joining if its cheap enough, I save enough on my prescriptions to pay the fee), or Wally World. Otherwise, just check the adds, someone's always having a sale.
FQ13

[Sponsor]

[r_w]

Sam's and/or Costco.  I paid for the membership and was still money ahead.  Sam's usually has better Goodyear choices, Costco usually has better Bridgestone choices. 

[m25operator]

Bill the 1st place I guy is tire rack dot com, quick and easy and will set a baseline, on a name brand tire, definitely look at Sams and Wally world, next , check with your local new truck dealer, customers upgrade wheels and tires all the time when they buy a new vehicle, sometimes you can get a take off set with new wheels and tires for 100 beans apiece.

[billt]

I can get by with slightly smaller tires than you have on the F-150, but we're still looking at $600 before I'm out the door. Good luck with your search, and keep us posted on the results.

Crusader Rabbit

My F-150 came with 235 X 75 X 15 passenger car tires on it from the factory. They were shot at 23,000 miles. I then switched to 31 X 10.5 X 15's, and have been running them ever since. They ride much better. You really have to watch the advertised price per tire. You cannot take that price X 4 because the out the door price will be much higher. Mounting, balancing, "tire disposal fee", excise tax, all kinds of hazard warranties they stick you with without even asking, etc., all add a lot to the out the door price. It's almost as bad as buying a new car, with having to deal with these hucksters.  Bill T.

[billt]

Are you determined to keep the Goodyears?  Bridgestone, and a host of others can make a big diff on the bottom line. But one shop to the next may vary the SAME Goodyear's.

I had Bridgestone 31's from $90 to $150 a piece.... SAME tire....

But Geez billt, 10+ years on those Wranglers? Not bad.

I can't complain. 11 years and 60,000 miles in this heat isn't bad. I like the Goodyears, but not at the $175.00+ a tire I'm finding. Add into it all of the other fees, and it's real easy to hit $900.00 out the door by the time you're done. Also we've got that lovely 9.3% sales tax to deal with, not to mention federal excise tax, etc. I'll try calling around, but it's like you say, they don't want to commit to a price over the phone. It a bit like that joke you always hear about car mechanics....."ALWAYS get a WRITTEN ESTIMATE before having any work performed." Yeah, right. Try to find someone who will put ANYTHING in writing before they work on your car. They'll have an answer for everything to put to them. It will never be the right one.  Bill T.

[billt]

Sam's and/or Costco.

I forgot about COSTCO. We've got a membership there.   Bill T.