"JRapp: now as good as new again" (jrapp)
03/25/2016 at 19:17 • Filed to: None
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"JRapp: now as good as new again" (jrapp)
03/25/2016 at 19:17 • Filed to: None | 1
| 8 |
So let me tell you a story.
Spent a Saturday tire shopping locally, and decided that everything open on Saturday that can sell me tires in my size, even if they had to order them was overpriced. Went to TireRack and found a decent deal. Ordered them, paid for them, and chose some random place by my work to deliver them to to have them mounted.
Come Monday morning at 7:30 I get a call from the place I had chosen, that they can sell me the same tires for cheaper, and include the usual free rotation and balancing and all that for the life of the tire. Being the frugal bastard that I am, I of course jump on the opportunity to save a hundred something bucks and tell them to go for it. They cancel the order with TireRack, and order in a set from their source which gets there sooner than the TireRack ones would have.
Come Tuesday, the tires arrive and I schedule a time on Wednesday to install them. They upsell me an alignment, which I may or may not have needed - newish car to me, never had one under my ownership, install the tires and do the alignment, all is well.
But I can’t stop thinking that this is actually taking advantage of TireRack, who lost a sale to these guys. Seems a bit underhanded. Is this a regular thing with shops that do work for TireRack? Anyone else have this kind of stuff happen to them?
Oh, and the tires, they’re Kumho Ecsta STX’x in a 285/45/19. I’ve always had decent luck with Kumho’s, and they don’t cost an arm and a leg compared to most big name brands in the same size, but they’re not really a random bargain brand either.
Master Cylinder
> JRapp: now as good as new again
03/25/2016 at 19:28 |
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I wouldn’t be too concerned about it. The balance of sales that small shops lose to TireRack probably vastly outweighs the sales that TireRack loses to small shops. As long as you cancelled your order before TireRack shipped, they’re probably not out anything anyway.
crowmolly
> JRapp: now as good as new again
03/25/2016 at 19:30 |
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If it’s a decent shop, good on you for going local. Sometimes the local guy is an asshole but other times they can be really good at their jobs.
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JRapp: now as good as new again
> Master Cylinder
03/25/2016 at 19:40 |
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That’s a good point on small shops losing sales to TireRack on the regular. Never thought of it that way. Thanks!
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JRapp: now as good as new again
> crowmolly
03/25/2016 at 19:44 |
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Well.. I thought it was a small local tuner shop, but it turns out they’re an “all brands” shop with a creative name that’s tied to a local “brand specific” dealership. But at least it’s not a big dealer chain.
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> JRapp: now as good as new again
03/25/2016 at 20:13 |
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I'm a big fan of Kumho tires. Had several sets. Never had any issues. Great choice.
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JRapp: now as good as new again
> ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
03/25/2016 at 20:20 |
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This is my second set
personally
, and it may just be the widest tire I’ve ever bought. The last set lasted me a good 15-20k with barely any signs of wear until they Audi 4.2L went the way of the Audi and I had to get a new car.
gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
> JRapp: now as good as new again
03/25/2016 at 23:17 |
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tire rack wouldn’t hesitate to put them out of business. tire rack can sell so low because they don’t have to pay for a shop, so they can operate on a tiny profit margin.
His Stigness
> JRapp: now as good as new again
03/26/2016 at 16:15 |
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This isn’t unusual at all. I’m surprised a local shop was able to beat Tire Rack’s price because usually local shops can’t compete. But then, I’ve always found Tire Racks prices to be super high compared to Costco, America’s Tire, and even local shops (which use a local distributor). Don’t worry about Tire Rack, worry about your wallet.
And you may not have needed an alignment, but any good alignment tech will always recommend an alignment when you get new tires. That way you know the alignment is good and your new tires won’t wear out prematurely. Even if you’re not hitting curbs, the alignment will come out of spec on a full set of tires. Your suspension is constantly taking a beating, and it needs to be brought back into spec, even on a new car.