Hi Everyone,
First of all big thanks to everyone that responded to my email 🙂
I didn’t had much information when I started looking for tires, but thanks to all of you got really helpful information.
Things to know
1) Known dealers: America’s tires/discount tires, Costco, Wheelworks, goodyear, Firestone (bridgestone brand), tirerack.com, sears and small dealers
2) Known brands: Michelin, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Good Year. There are more that might work better for your car/requirements, so consult dealer
3) Features to consider: milage warranty, fuel economy, comfort, noise reduction, traction etc
4) Research: All dealers website provides free quotes and information about tires they are carrying. America’s tire provides customer reviews as well
5) Costco: Its good, carries only 2-3 brands and tire options are less. Waiting time and customer service are big concerns
6) America’s tire: Multiple locations for Santa clara, San jose, sunnyvale.. Excellent service and wait time is less as they have big staff
They match tire price, really great for future services as well
7) Tirerack.com: Lower price on website but when add shipping/services it will come out to be expensive
8) Wheelworks: Its good too but still america’s tire leads in customer service
9) Firestone: Found that carries mostly firestone and bridgestone brands, doesnt seems to be more popular
What you pay:
In addition to tire price following are the other fees:
Installation fees: ~$14 to $16, some places
Old tire recycling fees: Usually $1 to $3 per tire
Warranty (optional): ~$15, adds protection against future tire failures and burst. We get a new tire in this case.
TPMS rebuilt kit (optional): ~$5/tire. From yelp reviews, not needed hence can skip it
What you get:
Milage/tread life warranty : From manufacture ranges from 30,000 to 90,000 miles depends on tire quality. (*Conditions apply) 🙂
More info: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=34
Free lifetime tire rotation: Most of the places including costco, america tires and others provide this free.
Free tire repairs: Will fix flat tire for free
Free air check: Check with your dealer
KV Responses:
It depends if you are looking for tires to last longer on your car or your horizon is 1-2 years and then sell the car.
If you are looking long-term then getting good tires at Costco, TireRack, Sears, Firestone may work well. Get tires with at least 50-60k warranty. Costco has the $70 coupon while other places do have buy 3 get 1 free (or $100 off) offers. Costco also offers free tire rotation and some of these other places might do so as well. Get a quote with all mandatory fees (such as mounting/rebalancing/recycling-old-tires) included from the shops so that you can compare the pricing equitably.
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I havent tried this yet but I’ve had a colleague talk about tirerack.com but i know installation is a problem once you get the tires. So far i’ve always installed at Americas Tires or Wheel Works.
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America’s tires/ discount tires is really good. Their pricing might b higher than costco but if you buy insurance it’s really great. I got a nail in 1 tire and they replaced it for free. I had bought the tires 2 yrs bk… No questions asked.
It also depends in the condition of your car n how long u intend to drive it
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I have used ace tire and wheel in Sunnyvale. Very good service and their prices are reasonable. They also match internet prices and provide free tire rotation every 7k miles. You can look it up on yelp.
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Sears is another place to look for deals.
Most dealerships have a Buy 3 Get 1 Free deals every now and then. Obviously dealerships provide the best service in terms of free tire replacement in case the tire does not work well with the vehicle, flat tire repairs and other warranties.
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American discount Tires … Www.tires.com
You can check Big-O-tires and Les Schwab also …
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You can call and check for prices at wheel works, pepboys, American Tires..
Just search on yelp and call for the prices for tires you need.
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American Tires. They match Costco prices and give a better discount. They also have free rotations for life (and there is never a 2 hour wait like Costco)
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Sum up:
I selected America’s tire as lots of positive reviews from KV and friends. Also its located very near to my office and home so will be good for future tire rotations/air check.
My experience was good, price its competitive and they answered questions and suggested tire options. Work was done within an hour.
I hope this post will be helpful, please add more info/comments.
Thanks for the helpful post Sumit.