I Hated Buying Tires
By David Nguyen

I called the local shops and got a bunch of iffy quotes. Even though I used my techniques for writing down amounts, getting the employee's name, and reiterating the deals, all I got were flimsy, roundabout answers. They all went on and on about different add-ons I'd have to pay for such as disposal fees, valve stems, mounting and balancing, blah blah blah.

No one could give me a straight answer except for Sears. They're generally good but they didn't have the tires I needed and they couldn't give me a time slot.

Just to put these shops to the test I called them back 2 days later. If they gave me the same quotes again I would have taken the car in but they all jacked their amounts by $50 or more. It was ridiculous and angered me to the point that I decided never to call them again.

Besides this, the last time I bought tires I put my car on blocks, took the wheels off, and then took them to the tire place. Why? Because in my experience almost all the time the they will overtorque your lugs nuts with impact wrenches and warp the brake rotors and overstress the wheel studs. Raw deal if you ask me. And it is hard to avoid.

Enter Tire Rack. Normally I wouldn't have considered mail order tires but I know a guy who's crazy about cars and also a stickler for details. He buys all his tires this way and told me about the install shops they work with. You order the tires and pick the shop near you that you want to install your tires. Tire Rack ships the tires directly there and notifies the shop. Then the shop calls you and schedules a time for you to bring your car in.

The key here is that these shops that Tire Rack works with have their prices spelled out on the web site along with feedback from past customers. That means you have a solid idea if a shop delivers - or not.

So how did it go? I ordered the tires on a Wednesday and they were at the shop on Thursday (regular ground shipping). I showed up on Saturday morning and they were ready. I asked them what the torque specs were for this car (litmus test) and they told me. They also showed me the torquesticks they use to prevent overtightening, and printed the settings on the receipt. They knew their stuff.

Plus you get a better selection. Tire Rack has just about every tire for each car, and I knew exactly how much I would pay before I started. Overall I saved about $30 over the Sears quote which was the next lowest. You'd save more but the shipping on the tires cuts that down somewhat.

Anyway, overall it was a great experience and went off without a hitch. The proof is in the pudding. The car drove great. After I got home and let everything cool I checked the torque settings and tire pressures. Everything was spot on, just like they said it would be. I'm sold on Tire Rack's system and will definitely do this next time. Check them out...

The Tire Rack

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Posted April 1, 2006