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Tires

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Moderator1, Apr 20, 2012.

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  1. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    or more musings from a very grumpy old man.

    I'm driving my daughter's car, a 2008 Scion XD, while she's in Honduras. Gets MUCH better mileage than mine, key while I live out here in the sticks.

    So it needs two front tires. I call to get prices. Guy gets back to me.

    "That'll be 167."

    "OK, that's a little more than I figured but I can do that. You mount and balance them for that."

    "Yes sir."

    "Good, so 167 plus tax is my final cost?"


    "Uh, well, for one. They're 167 each."


    "WHAT!?!?!?!?! I used to get FOUR for 167."

    "With all due respect sir, I'm going to guess it has been quite a while since you've bought tires."




    Yeah, I guess so. Called three other places, including Sam's Club. The 167 was the cheapest, by a considerable margin.

    Needed new brakes, too. Brakes broke me.


    When did tires became so damn expensive?
     
    Moderator1, Apr 20, 2012
    #1
  2. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    I'll get back to you after the hole in my ass resulting from my $700 brake job starts to heal.
     
    Starman, Apr 20, 2012
    #2
  3. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    Found out the same thing recently. I need at least one, maybe two new tires. (Hope not more than that.)

    Price I was quoted was like $159 per tire.

    Really couldn't find a better price no matter how many places I searched. Even when I found deals offering buy three get one free, or $20 off a tire or whatever, none of the tires they offered ever fit my car.

    Brakes, I just paid like $550 to get mine totally redone. At least it was basically the time for them to be done according to the maintenance guide. Three days later I slammed the brake pedal to the floor and stopped on a dime halfway through an intersection when a police car came flying through the other direction with lights flashing but no siren (that I heard). Stopped 10 feet from him. Thank you, new brakes.

    So pay up.
     
    TheSportsPredictor, Apr 20, 2012
    #3
  4. Beef03

    Beef03 Active Member

    I had to replace all four tires on my Jeep this past fall, I was in over $900 by the time it was all said and done. And those were the absolute cheapest tires I could find. Which pissed me off because they aren't so much what I wanted as it was what I could afford at the time.
     
    Beef03, Apr 20, 2012
    #4
  5. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    I just replaced all four of my tires, with free mounting and balancing and a lifetime of dealer-paid rotations, for $350. They're pretty solid tires too.

    Shop around and try some dealership places (I went through Toyota). If you're in the New England area, Benny's is pretty good for tires.
     
    schiezainc, Apr 20, 2012
    #5
  6. Tom Petty

    Tom Petty New Member

    i decided to go sporty this time around - see mid-life crisis - and bought a car with 17-inch rims. just for shits and giggles, i stopped by the tire store one day when it was slow and asked the fateful question ... "$250 per if you want good skins."
    i guess i'll be buying mine two at a time.
     
    Tom Petty, Apr 20, 2012
    #6
  7. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    They still make retreads?
     
    Moderator1, Apr 20, 2012
    #7
  8. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member

    Used to be that the price of a Costco membership was worth it even if you used it only once to buy tires. Now, they have skyrocketed. Michelins are about $700 a set.
    when I bought my previous set -- that have about 60,000 on them -- they were about $500 for the set.
     
    SoCalDude, Apr 20, 2012
    #8
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Rubber got super expensive on the spot market last year. It's partially that ALL commodities have seen inflation -- the inflation all the central banks have been telling you isn't happening. But it was also weather related. There was really heavy rainfall in the top rubber producing areas in Asia, which isn't good for output.

    I'd imagine tire prices have gone up significantly in the last year or two, as a result.

    The bad timing part is that rubber prices have been dropping recently--but very recently. It might translate to lower tire prices sometime later this year. It will be interesting to see.

    It's one of those weird things.
     
    The Big Ragu, Apr 20, 2012
    #9
  10. Zeke12

    Zeke12 Guest

    You should see if smallpotatoes will hook you up with his guy.
     
    Zeke12, Apr 20, 2012
    #10
  11. murphyc

    murphyc Well-Known Member

    How can a Scion tire cost that much? Is it some special size?
    One thing with cars getting bigger and bigger tires from the factory is replacement costs going up.
     
    murphyc, Apr 20, 2012
    #11
  12. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    The Big Ragu, Apr 20, 2012
    #12
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