Where do people buy their tires around here (we live close to burke)? Need a new set for the explorer.

TIA

The tire store.

You cannot beat Costco price and service, if they have the tire you want. They balance and rotate for life of tire.

Be sure to make sure your new tires are not old.

124C41 Wrote:
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> You cannot beat Costco price and service, if they
> have the tire you want. They balance and rotate
> for life of tire.


That is a big 'if'...Costco's prices are decent, but their selection is pretty thin. I highly recommend Tire Rack (http://www.tirerack.com). Their prices are better than you are going to find anywhere at retail and even with shipping at around $8 per tire it is almost always a better deal. They will drop ship the tires to a local installer (select from a list on their site). We replaced Michelin's on our Chrysler Pacifica with a set of General's that are outstanding at 1/2 the cost of the OEM tires. I just ordered a set of tires for our Escape and saved more than $100 over getting them from either Merchant's or Mr. Tire.

I will second tirerack.com. I ordered from them about a month ago and had the tires in two days. Just take to your local mechanic for installation. And the tires were "new", manfactured just a few months ago.

why me Wrote:
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> I will second tirerack.com. I ordered from them
> about a month ago and had the tires in two days.
> Just take to your local mechanic for installation.
> And the tires were "new", manfactured just a few
> months ago.


Good deals on the site, how much was it to deliver to your home?

I've heard good things about tirerack (and at least costco website didn't have the explorer tires). I don't know much about tires; what parameters do you look for in a 'good one'. We take a lot of highway trips on our explorer so would prefer durability.

btw- has anyone ever used tirevan? someone on checkbook recommended them on an install.

Once they are delivered to your house.
How are you going to mount and balance them?
Unless you can do it yourself, It will cost you more in the long run.

Llantos Usadas on Columbia Pike.

Best selection of used tires in the area. Ask for Rodrigo and tell him Tubby sent you. (Beaners do used tires right!)

I recommend BJ's wholesale club. THey have a reasonable selection and reasonable prices. You also get a guarantee with them. I had a tire with a slow leak at the valve, They fixed it for free. As for which tires to buy it depends on what you use the car for. If you're never taking it off road, you shouldn't buy off road tires. There are shops that will sell them to you even though you know you don't need em.

A good all terrain tire works just fine in this area and will easily take you through all our weather and local roads. You can always just buy the same thing that's already on the car. THat's the easiest choice.

To price check, write down what it says on the sidewall of your tire, should say something like 265/75/15 and BF Goodrich, or Goodyear, etc. Then check at the different stores for price, make sure you ask if the price they give you includes mounting and balancing. If oyu buy online at tirerack, you need a tire mounting place that will mount the tires you bring. Call around and ask. Many will.

If you buy the llantas usadas, make sure to get teh ones with teh warranty. They will last about two weeks. the non-warranty used tires (the ones that cost $5 each) will blow out the moment your car's weight is put on them.

tubby Wrote:
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> Llantos Usadas on Columbia Pike.
>
> Best selection of used tires in the area. Ask for
> Rodrigo and tell him Tubby sent you. (Beaners do
> used tires right!)

Llantas Usadas on Columbia Pike near Lacey Blvd, used to be a royal hose job, maybe it's under new mangement and better now, I don't know.

I went there twice. The first time I needed a tire for a car I was selling,the Indian or Pakistani guy there "gave me a used tire for free" but charged for the install. This policy was so there would need to be no guarantee on the tire and no recourse if it was junk. I didn't care because I was just basically selling a POS car and needed something to get it rolling, but it seemed like a shakey business practice.

The second time I went there was because I was donating another POS to Mellwood and I gave this poor lady in my neighborhood the better tires off the car I was donating. I just wanted someone with more than one floor jack to swap the tires from one car to another. Llantas Usadas price was $50, I told them to forget it and went to a place in South Arlington off Four Mile Run and maybe Oxford or Oakland run by some Salvadorans - their price was $20 which was fair for a quick 5 minute job with air tools and two jacks.

If Llantas Usadas is under new management, I might try again for some petty little beater tire jobs, but I didn't like what I saw there before.

opa Wrote:
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> I've heard good things about tirerack (and at
> least costco website didn't have the explorer
> tires). I don't know much about tires; what
> parameters do you look for in a 'good one'. We
> take a lot of highway trips on our explorer so
> would prefer durability.


The advisors at Tire Rack are very helpful and in my experience don't try to push you into higher cost Michelin or Goodyear unless that is what you really want. Give them a call and they will walk through the options. You can also use the information on the website to narrow down the options. You don't say the year and trim level for your Explorer, but I would highly recommend the General Grabber HTS if they are available in the size you need. It has the highest rating in the Highway All Season category and is only $116 per tire. The Goodyear Fortera Triple Tred is rated #2 in the category and costs $60 more per tire.

Look for an installer on the Tire Rack website. I like WB Motors on Pickett. The installation charge is around $15, but they do excellent work.

Delivery Costs? Wrote:
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> why me Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I will second tirerack.com. I ordered from
> them
> > about a month ago and had the tires in two days.
>
> > Just take to your local mechanic for
> installation.
> > And the tires were "new", manfactured just a
> few
> > months ago.
>
>
> Good deals on the site, how much was it to deliver
> to your home?


Delivery is $6-8 per tire, but I would suggest having Tire Rack ship them directly to a local installer. You can find a list of recommended installers on the website. I have had very good experience with WB Motors on Pickett. They are a full service auto shop and their work is top notch and fairly priced. Probably not a fair comparison, but they charged me $350 less than Mr. Tire for front brakes (pads & rotors) and new tie rod ends.

Also, I don't think that Tire Rack charges sales tax, so the delivery is basically a wash. Their prices are really hard to beat...I tried to have Mr. Tire and Just Tires price match and they told me that the Tire Rack price was below their cost.

dont forget to pay the disposal fee so the store can pocket the money and throw the tires over the nearest hill

Just ordered the General Grabbers from tirerack to a local installer. Should be done next week. Will update everyone on the results. Thanks!

I use tire rack. Good deals. My buddy has access to the gear and gets them on the car for a beer or two. Can't beat that.

tirerack.com

Then take it to a local garage for install/balancing.

Will any garage do it or are some garages bitchy about it?

ITRADE Wrote:
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> Will any garage do it or are some garages bitchy
> about it?


They have a list of rated installers on their site.

ITRADE Wrote:
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> Will any garage do it or are some garages bitchy
> about it?


Some shops are better than others, but the recommended installers on the Tire Rack website welcome the business and some, like WB Motors, get 5-10 deliveries per week. Places like Mr. Tire, Merchant's and NTB make a lot of money on the tires and typically charge a much higher installation rate for "outside" tires since you are cutting into their margin.

Costco used to have the best deal...it was like $10 per tire to mount and balance, but then they increased it to $25 if you brought in your own tires and now they won't even do that - you have to buy them there which I have no disagreement with. The best thing about using a Tire Rack installer is that they will drop ship the tires which eliminates the need to schlep them in your car.

By the way, I only mention WB Motors since they have done great work for me over the past 18 months. They also have a good rating in Washington Checkbook.

Thanks....Actual, useful info from FXU!

the shell where the safeway is will install tire rack tires. They told me to get them from tire rack and so far I been happy.

sorry the shell in burke

Unless you are sure you want new tires, you can get excellent used tires.

I got a set of four from Rons in Centerville. Got 4 Yokohama Geolanders with about 70% of the tread left. I paid $200 balanced and mounted.

They would cost about $860 new for the same tires from TireRack with shipping, balancing and mounting.

Rons provides a 30 day money back guarantee in case on finds any problem with them after you get them.

Mine have been great so far.

Treaddepot.com had the best prices and they will ship it to the installer of your choosing

I used consumers reports to pick the best brand