Tires

[Moderator1]

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?

 

[Starman]

I'll get back to you after the hole in my ass resulting from my $700 brake job starts to heal.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

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.

 

[Beef03]

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.

 

[schiezainc]

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.

 

[Tom Petty]

i decided to go sporty this time around - see mid-life crisis - and bought a car with 17-inch rims. just for ****s 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.

 

[Moderator1]

They still make retreads?

 

[SoCalDude]

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.

 

[The Big Ragu]

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.

 

[Zeke12]

You should see if smallpotatoes will hook you up with his guy.

 

[murphyc]

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.

 

[The Big Ragu]

The Google is a wonderful thing.

Found Modern Tire Dealer.

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/News/Story/2012/03/Goodyear-will-raise-tire-prices-up-to-6.aspx

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/News/Story/2012/03/Pricing-will-change-for-Double-Coin-tires.aspx

A bunch of links about price increases in 2012. All mention cost of raw materials.

 

[Starman]

I got my new set of tires last year, so I should be good for another couple.

I knew the brake job was coming so it wasn't any big surprise.

But it is nice to actually be able to stop again.

 

[Armchair_QB]

I always expect to spend at least $250 on anything that has to do with my car. That seems to help with the sticker shock.

 

[schiezainc]

I'm thankful in that I have only got 12 more payments on my car before it's totally mine but I fully expect that when I send that last check in a year from now, everything will go at once on it. Fingers crossed because I'd like to actually invest some of that money into other things. :)

 

[KYSportsWriter]

This is why I'm glad my dad works for a Chevy dealership. I get everything at employee pricing, and he knows who to go to for good deals on tires. I just replaced mine last spring for $200.

 

[Care Bear]

I just want to mention that the accelerator pedal in my car broke off in its entirety while driving through Nowheresville, WV on the way to Chicago today. My car is at a dealership in said Nowheresville, and I have absolutely no idea what to expect price-wise. I'm scared.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

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.

A/Ts?

I did four Mickey Thompson A/Ts and it was right there.

 

[kingcreole]

Replaced the van tires last year, and got a pretty good deal at walmart.com. Got all four, plus the mounting, disposal, etc., for less than $300. Solid tires too, up to this point.

Now, I'm in the market for new tires. I can find some brands at sears.com that I've never heard of for about $50 each, but still can find some Goodyear for about $75 each. Some tire dealers often have a "buy three, get one free" deal. A little patience can work a long ways when looking for tires, because yes, many are very expensive.

 

[Boom_70]

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.

A/Ts?

I did four Mickey Thompson A/Ts and it was right there.

Those are sweet tires. Don't know about the ride but they look great