Who has the best price on new tires -- Costco, Wal-mart, Discount, Sam's?

[IDoDis]

We need to buy new tires for DH's Toyota Tacoma. Haven't ever bought tires for it since the tires were fairly new when we got the truck and DH puts very little miles on it. Six years have passed and now he needs tires.

Who has the best prices when figuring in installation & road hazard warranty? I know Discount Tire does free rotations but you pay extra for the warranty and and there's an extra charge per tire for install & balance when they are first put on. I don't have time to drive from place to place to compare, so I thought I'd check here and see where people have gotten the best price & service?

 

[sksjasams]

You don't have to drive around to compare prices. Just call and speak to the tire desk at each store. They ask your car make and model and look up the prices for you. You can read the tire size on the side of your tire if you want to be able to tell them that, but its not necessary. Ask how much for raod hazard and anything else you want while you have them on the phone.

We always go to Wal-mart because we don't have memberships to Cosco or Sams, and I'm don't think we have Discount in our area. I haven't done any comparisons that can help.

 

[disneymarie]

Research the brands they sell.
I had good luck with Sams for the Odyseey van tires. They have a special on recently. When traveling too, with the road hazard it eases my mind.

The other for the Camry was at Pep boys. One set was great there, the other wore down so bad. I think they were the less expensive Destiny. When I up graded I did not have any further problems.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

These places are experienced at giving detailed pricing over the phone. If all the places can't quote you for the same brand and size as the next guy, you can compare the price and quality at a site called tirerack.com.

So.......the price of the tire, demount and mount, valve stems, tire weights, spin balance, possibly road hazard coverage, shop fee, tire disposal fee, and tax. Be sure to get the numbers for these things and try to compare apples to apples. For example, some places have one flat fee for the demount/mount, weights, valve stems etc.

About 60-90 minutes on the phone should give you the info you need.

One last thought..............be sure to ask them if and/or when they have the 4 tires in stock. You can get a good idea from them the day and time to show up to get the job done.

 

[IDoDis]

Thanks for the info. I checked on tirerack.com and stopped by Costco (no one answered the phone). It's going to cost $762 for four P265/170R16 tires including all fees, road hazard & rotations. Seems to be a pretty good price. I'll call around tomorrow to compare.

I'm guessing places like Costco have a set price and don't dicker, whereas I could dicker with discount every single time to get a lower price.

 

[Mrs D]

Well timed question. I just called Costco today!

 

[S. C.]

We've always had better luck with Sam's club tires. Seems the ones from discount always has problems.

 

[Judique]

Thanks for the info. I checked on tirerack.com and stopped by Costco (no one answered the phone). It's going to cost $762 for four P265/170R16 tires including all fees, road hazard & rotations. Seems to be a pretty good price. I'll call around tomorrow to compare.

I'm guessing places like Costco have a set price and don't dicker, whereas I could dicker with discount every single time to get a lower price.

I shopped for tires and got several prices over the phone. After my estimates - I was looking for a Goodyear Fortera P24565R17 specifically - I got the best price at Goodyear closest to my home. They had to come in from the local warehouse, which meant they could do them the next afternoon. By the time I dropped the vehicle at the store and spoke again to the guy who gave me the estimate on the phone, I got a slightly better price by $30 at the counter. Then, there was a $20 rebate which I didn't know about. My tires ended up being $802 for 4 with road hazard and all things mentioned above included and then $20 rebate. The high estimate at Mr Tire over the phone was almost $1100.

So, if you have the time, shop around.

Then the road hazard paid for itself - new tire ran up on curb with nail by new driver in household. I will always buy road hazard and AAA.

Edited to add:

I just visited the 'Tire Rack' website. I was able to get the base price for the tires, but could not figure the final install price from there. Is it possible to do that for those using the service? It looks like my price was comparable, but I have another vehicle to get tires for and this looks like a nice tool.

 

[Beth D]

While Sams or Costco may have a better price than a Wal-Mart or Sears, keep in mind that when traveling the warehouse clubs are further apart then a Sears or Wally World. There's usually one of those in every decent sized town, but not always a wholesale club.

The closeness of a location to get your vehicle fixed may weigh into it, especially if you travel a lot and anticipate making use of the road hazard warranty.

 

[Judique]

While Sams or Costco may have a better price than a Wal-Mart or Sears, keep in mind that when traveling the warehouse clubs are further apart then a Sears or Wally World. There's usually one of those in every decent sized town, but not always a wholesale club.

The closeness of a location to get your vehicle fixed may weigh into it, especially if you travel a lot and anticipate making use of the road hazard warranty.

Convenience was definitely a factor for me. Around here a 15 minute trip becomes 45 minutes to an hour in rush hour. So unless there was at least a $100 difference in price, I was going for convenience.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Earlier this year I purchased four tires. I had narrowed down to the specific tire I wanted and I then sent a letter to about a dozen different companies. I gave them vehicle information and the tires I was interested in. I asked for an "out the door" quote to include the cost of the tires, mounting, balancing, road-hazard warranty, and all fees and taxes. I asked for a 30-day price guarantee.

After I got back nine responses I went to where I normally got my work done and they matched the low bid.

 

[Mrs D]

Earlier this year I purchased four tires. I had narrowed down to the specific tire I wanted and I then sent a letter to about a dozen different companies. I gave them vehicle information and the tires I was interested in. I asked for an "out the door" quote to include the cost of the tires, mounting, balancing, road-hazard warranty, and all fees and taxes. I asked for a 30-day price guarantee.

After I got back nine responses I went to where I normally got my work done and they matched the low bid.

I have no doubt you are equally as through in all aspects of life.

 

[Straitlover]

A note about tires at Sam's: thier prices include lifetime balancing and rotatin, and also road hazard/roadsice assistance (thye will come change your tire for free; you ahve to take the flat tire back for repair). And, best part, you cna have the rotating/balaning done at Walmart, too; not sure about the flat tire repairing.

That being said, they don't have good lower priced tires for my Camry, at least ones they will sell me (I can't afford Michelin tires). The first go-round, they agave me some good tires. The second go-round, I tried to get the same ones, and they wouldn't sell them to me because of something about the type (speed rating maybe???), didn't match their book for what a Camry should have, and the warranty would be invalid. So, they talked me into another kind. They are performance tires w/ softer rubber, and they are awful! Teh tread wear is all wavy, and they are loud. I'm goign to have to replace them soon w/ half the tread left becasue I jsut can't stand them anymore. So, i will not be going back to Sam's for tires as long as I have this car.

 

[tkitty]

A couple of months ago I needed to get tires for our Titan PU. I had purchased 2 at Discount last year and wanted to get two more of the same. I shopped around and looked for rebates and so on.
I found a tire store near-by that was about $15 less per tire than Discount. I saw that on Discount Tires' site, there is a place to put lower prices that you have found as they say they match prices. I did this but did not hear back. By the following week I wanted to make an appointment and went back online and noticed that the price on the tires went up- just my luck. Went to the competitors site and saw that their prices also had gone up! I had printed the competitors quote out the week before and decided to take it with me to Discount tire.
Anyway... I asked if he'd match it and he did. He didn't care that it was a week old or anything. Saved me more than $30 plus the extra tax.
I'm thrilled with their service and they really seem to want to do the right thing for the customer.

 

[BCV2003]

Last month, I purchased four new tires for my Durango. I compared prices for the same exact tire (Michelin Latitude Tour) at Costco, TireRack, and a couple of other online sites. I ended up getting them done at a local mom and pop place for $400 cheaper than Costco plus I'm getting a rebate from Michelin which I would not have been able to get from Costco. I'm a huge Costco fan so I was shocked at the price difference.