LexFather

I am not going to throw TireRack under the bus, I used to order tons of tires from them, I recommended them to everyone in the past and was relatively happy. When I asked as a super-mod for a discount for myself and the mod team the answer was a resounding no. At that point I felt since I was helping Tire Rack I would take my recommendations and business elsewhere. Which I did. No hard feelings, I'm doing great, I still got tires, they still sell tires.

I moved on to Discount Tire and could not be happier. I find the prices to be as good, service to be completely outstanding and on another level. These guys call me to inform me of rebates and deals. They give me free reign to walk around the shop and even work on the car. I am 110% satisfied with Discount Tire.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

All DOT approved tires come with a manufacters warranty & since they don't want you bringing a tire to them they have "Authorized Dealers" to handle tire issues for them. If you want a Road Hazard warranty to cover damage that is not the fault of the tire most tire dealers sell this extra insurance seperatly.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

I used to buy from Tire Rack before, during & after selling tires for 4 different stores til I got tired of their arrogance & high prices. Bought a few tires from Discount tire direct no issues other than selection & stock. Last week I bought 4 tires from USA Wheel and Tire in Fullerton CA 800-901-6003: Michelin Pilot Super Sport 265/35/18 $218 & 245/40/18 $208. saved about $40 per tire over TR prices! Now customer service was terrible & tire knowledge was nonexistant so I took the tires with me & got them mounted elsewhere but for the price I don't think you can beat them & I have never had a problem with Michelins for me or my customers.

MAXUMIZED

Both places are terrible. I just bought four 18" Michelin Primacy at dicountwheelwarehouse.comand saved big$$$.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

That's the same company as the one I bought mine at, lots of company names & they are hiring also, not up to my standards for employment but if you need a job?

PhantomZX

I'm definitely a big proponent of discounttiredirect.com and had the exact same experience with tirerack.com years ago. To add more flames to the anti-tirerack fire, a very desirable tire (Dunlop Z1 Star Spec) is only available at tirerack due to some exclusive dealer agreement they have. Sounds like a monopoly to me.

*Batman*

These guys are $400 cheaper than Tire Rack for the Michelin PSS. I am ordering from them.

Thanks for the tip.

*Batman*

Mike:

I might go to Discount Tire since I am in ATL for the next 3 weeks. Which location and which guy do you recommend? Can I use your referral to make sure they treat me right?

BTW - Have you ever joined Midnight Speed and Mischief?

gengar

Tire Rack only lost the OP as a customer "over $24" if the OP was somehow obligated to $24. Tire Rack is under no obligation to match prices unless they advertise such a policy, so it's hard to suggest that there was any obligation to do so.

In any case, it seems like OP's complaint was actually with Tire Rack's pre-purchase customer service, not pricing.

SoCalSC4

^ this

Not everyone is a Nordstrom-type of client. I don't mind paying for great service - the reality is that broadline tires like the ones OP purchased are a commodity item with very little margin.

I wonder how his local installer felt when he dragged-in those tires he purchased online for mounting and balancing? The installer (shop) gets: a ton of liability, a customer who paces back & forth and eyeballs the technicians during installation, and then pays with an AmEx so the shop loses another 3.5% of their already extremely thin labor margin.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Actually my local installer told me he doesn't mind having a guy mount and balance tires all day from TR.
He gets a few bucks more per tire and says it's all labor good profit except for the weights and valves which are paid for by the customer.
Most TR installers inflate the mounting and balancing costs.

*Batman*

Well if they wanted to be in a high margin business they should have gone into a business that is less commodity (like being the best custom shop in town that works only on exotics). If you're in a commodity business, you have to learn to compete on value. There are plenty of shops out there who are happy to install online tires and provide excellent service - they have what it takes to make money on volume.

I find it ridiculous that people try to defend paying top margin for tires and tire mounting. It's like a C student who thinks he's the smartest kid in class, until he ends up working at McDonald's for $8 an hour.

BTW I get the best price and the best service. I buy tires from online dealers, and install at the Lexus dealer (who charges a reasonable $25 a wheel for mount and balance). So you get low price on the commodity piece, and pay a small premium on the labor piece to have quality techs and a nice wait area (or loaner if you want). This combination is a lot cheaper than going to a tire shop where you pay a premium, sit in a crumby wait area, and get a less nice overall experience.

SoCalSC4

Granted, Orange County is a fairly affluent area, but until you've seen a customer bring in his Nissan GT-R with very difficult to dismount/remount run flat tires, rack his $80K car, risk damaging his $1700 each wheels and wants you to do it for $15/ a tire your theory sounds good. People like you are the first ones to have a meltdown if their stock alloy wheel gets damaged when a shop is mounting a tire, It happens even at good shops, equipment malfunctions and stuff happens. It sickens me when people dismiss what other people do for a living; by that right, we shouldn't need Doctors, computer programmers, firefighters, etc. Everybody can do everything, or pay someone $12/hour to have it done.

Of course a good shop owner/manager plans for this and explains to the customer why, no, in fact we won't have two guys spend two hours on your car for $60 + parts.

You will get decent installation and service out of most Tire Rack recommended installers provided you have a bread & butter vehicle. If you have an Ultima or a Ferrari, or a GT-R, just don't expect to pay M&B pricing like that of a 1987 Taurus.

With the internet these days it is easy for people to shop on price and completely disregard service. That's all fine and good, but ultimately it will require a brick & mortar facility and trained, qualified people to actually DO WORK. Shops are disappearing left and right here in SoCal, in part due to a combination of the sluggish (to say the least) economy and huge DTD and Tire Rack companies that buy in HUGE quantities and sell at thin margins.

-Got a flat tire on a Sunday afternoon? Tire rack can help! (can they?)
-Need your tires rotated? Leave it to DTD!
-Have premature tire wear due to poor alignment? The guy at the online store can diagnose that for you over the internet, no problem.

Or, have fun getting your 911 Turbo tires installed at Oscar's used tires in Santa Ana...

I'm saying that often (not always) there IS value in paying a little more. Otherwise, we would all drive silver Chevy Malibus.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Good points.
My TR installer sells high end wheels too so they're work should be fine.

IS2FIFTY

iTrader: (5)

I use to use tire rack, but recently been using tire-easy because of the better pricing