Tire Purchase Help - Local Store vs. Tire Rack (Mail Order)

Hi guys,

I'm about to get a set of four new tires for the 328. I know the tire I'm getting, now it's just a basic "economics" question of whether to get mail-order from Tire Rack or locally at Tire Source. The local shop is highly spoken of by the very well reputed Ferrari shop in town, one guy in particular (and this was the guy who helped me and gave me the tire quote).

Here's the price breakdown for the four tires. (This does not include any roadside hazard warranties or anything like that, just basic workmanship/materials/defects warranty.)


Tire Source (Local):
$660 for tires, including mounting and balancing
$10 disposal fee for existing tires
$723.60 total, after adding 8% tax


Tire Rack (Mail Order)
$560 for tires
$51 Shipping
$10 disposal fee paid to local store
$60 for mounting and balancing paid to local store (approx)
No sales tax
$681 total


So there's a $42 difference. My current feeling is, "not worth the hassle" to do the mail order vs. the support buying locally would get (which can be important if there's an issue with a tire). Thoughts?

Is there any bargaining room here? I might ask the guy to chisel 10% off the base cost of the tires (or "see if there's room to move 10%"). Maybe he could match the final Tire Rack price and we'd be done with it.

Any additional thoughts from folks who have "been there, done that"?


Thanks,

--Mike

 

I usually end up bargaining to some degree, annoying but I hate overpaying. However, for roughly forty dollars difference and to have a reputable shop do the work, I would say it is forty well spent.
With the tire rack you can have them drop shipped to the installer, however in the past I have had some very bad and expensive problems with some of their highly recommended installers.
If it were me, I would go with the local guy and for only forty dollars difference, you have yourself a great place for tires in my opinion.

 

Go local. In my experience, $40 is well worth it to have a name and a face to go back to in the event you have a problem. And if you are looking for the best price, perhaps not on this sale, but I have also found that repeat customers can often get a nice discount.

 

Local Definately!!! It will be cheaper in the long run.

Ciao...Paolo

 

I bought by Goodyear F1 GS-D3's at Discount Tire CHEAPER than through Tire rack. I did bring the Tire Rack web printout with me though, to prove their price.

 

I agree that if it's close($42 is acceptable) and they have the right equipment to not chip up the paint on the wheels, than go for it, especially if it's a shop that has a good reputation and equipment(good for later).

What tire, I'm curious. My guess, Bridgestones, RE-10R's, or maybe RE-A050 pole positions. I've thought about the tire purchase myself, and I'm redoing my wheels. The GY's F1's make sense but the age concerns me. What is two years from now they are NLA. Then I need a new set to match. I think the newest good tires make sence and the Bridgestones make sense. Both have good surveys and if I do any tracking the RE-10Rs make the most sense, if I want the best lasting, then RE-A050 pole pos are the ticket.

Jeff

 

So did they match the base price of the tire? The issue here is that the base price of the tire, INCLUDING shipping, NOT including mounting and balancing, is the same between the two.

 

I picked out a bunch. I choose Goodyear F1 DS-G3, based on my own research and then an independent suggestion from my reference at the local tire place. He also quoted some Michelin Piloti something or others (more $$$ and there was a sizing issue) as well as some lower end Khumos.


--Mike

 

I bought the Goodyears from Tire Rack last week for the t Coupe. I have a Hunter 3500 and 9600 balancer at the shop. I had "less expensive" Kumhos I had put on for the previous owner and the Goodyears are a revelation!

-Peter

 

YES, I believe the base price of the tire was cheaper. ( i'd have to dig out the receipt to verify but all I asked was that they match price, he actually beat it easily)
They had great mounting equipment too, NOTHING touches the rim during mounting.

 

I've used Tire Rack twice now, have had no problems.
My local installer is great (body shop that does a lot of MB's, Porsches, BMWs, etc).

My last look led me to the revealation (sp?) that Tire Rack and another chain, maybe just tires, basically have web sites that are almost identical.

BTW, I have the same Goodyears on the 308... very nice!

I found my local shops did not have the tires I wanted, but they offered to order them. I think you might have trouble bargaining if they have to order tires.

 

Go local, i've used Tire rack for yrs for the oddball sized tires. i found their pricing to be better on the larger tires or the oddballs. case in point, my wife nailed a curb and flattened the two rims and popped the two tires on one side of the A8. i had to go looking for two replacement Bridgestones, Audi used a odd Bridgestone, I think it's only used on a few Mfgs' cars. anycase Every local place i called did not have it and the Bridgestone dealer who could get it wanted $600 per tire!!! Tire rack had them for $380 a piece! The Bridgestone dealer wanted to know where i was getting them from becouse their wholesale cost was more!

But for the 17's on the Mondial I go local, works out close to the same if not cheaper. If I had my own mounting Eq. i'd use Tire rack all the time. it's the mounting cost for bringing in outside tires that get you.

 

From what I have heard many if not most of the independant shops order the tires from Tire Rack to begin with. I don't think they get them much cheaper than we do from Tire Rack if at all so they have to charge more to make a profit. Very slim profit margins, apparently. That's why I think most will match the price with Tire rack and then charge for the mount/balance to make a little profit.

Also, when they balance them, is it an option to mount the balancing weights on the inside of the wheel? Mine are outside and are a darker gray so they stand out. Are there any downsides to inside if that is possible? On my SUV that has a 6 inch lift kit and 35 inch tires I had them mounting inside and the tires never felt perfectly balanced. I had them put outer weights on and they were and are perfect. But, I figured the size of the tires contributed the most to the problem.

Jeff

 

I mentioned this. You're supposed to have the weights on the inside (at least from a Ferrari Concours POV!) The person I spoke with said they can remove the "tape on" ones from the outside and put 'em on the inside. That said, I would not hesitate to put them on the outside if that was what was required to get a proper balance. Balance is critical to driving experience--a shimmy in the front tires will translate to the steering wheel and will get very old, very fast.

 

Thanks, guys, for your help. My current stance is to go with the local shop. I may ask to match the final end price (shaving off about $10 per tire), effectively eating the tax.

Tires are funny. They ain't cheap but once you've committed yourself to doing them, earmarking funds etc., it's kind of exciting. I feel so... responsible! Looking forward to am improved ride (have no complaints now though--my hope is I will see with new tires the deficiency in the old ones).


--Mike

 

Spend the $40 and support a local business.

Weights on the outside should not be a deduct for show reasons. Ferrari put weights on the outside and so can you. Wheels have weights, thats just the way it is.

 

Good to know. Agreed, $40 is pretty much at the point of supporting a local business on principle alone.

 

I had my wheel weights mounted on the inside of the rim(stick-on), no balance problems at all. Stock 16" QV wheels, New F1 tires.

 

Mike,
I have bought from Tirerack for a number of years and then get them mounted at Discount or Big-O. Just verify they have touchless mounting equipment (I think they all do anymore) and to not use an air wrench. You want the bolts put back in with a torque wrench. Or you can avoid that by removing the wheels yourself and bringing them in. However, if $40 is worth paying to save the hassle, go for it. I probably would but the price difference has always been more than that when I've shopped. If the independent goes so far as to match up the heavy side of the tire with the light side of the wheel (thus saving weights), all the better. 328 wheels are not particularly well balnced, so you may have to get weights on the outside. The other thing you may wish to ask if you can get "road force balancing". It requires special equipment and costs more but it does make for a smoother ride and less wheel bounce than standard balancing. The GY's are a good choice for your purposes. I have them on my Subaru. They are very quiet for performance tires and wear decently. They are especially good on wet roads. I have found then to be a bit squishy feeling on track days but for road use they are all you could want.

Seeya,
Dave

 

Great thoughts Dave and as always very appreciated. I will be sure to confirm use of touchless mounting equipment and will also reiterate the concern to use a manual torque wrench.

I'll also inquire about road force balancing. I wonder if they can do this if I just bring in the wheels alone (without the car)?

 

Road force is done off the car and is the way to go.

 

Fact of the matter is that Discount will in fact meet or beat the mail order prices most of the time. They want the high dollar tire business. And they sell road hazzard really cheap if you will bargan with them. Your choice on who puts them on but I have had good success with them putting their best man on it with previous Ferrari experience...and I watch him really closely! Buying local is usually your best overall bet.

 

+1 to all. Researched at Tire Rack, went to my local Discount, was quoted a very high price, told them about TR, they looked up my customer record in their db (I've been a customer since late 80s) and they matched the price and threw in road hazard. In another instance, I dropped shipped TRX's from TR and as a long time customer, they installed for free and gave me a discount on road hazard.
there's a lot to be said for being a long time customer.

 

I always get 10% off on top of Tire Rack price match from Discount Tires in MI.

 

If it's a small tire shop that does a quality job, support them. If it's some big place like Discount Tire or another major franchise, I say buy on tirerack and enjoy $40 saved. I'm all for supporting local businesses but not if they're owned by huge corporations, in that case what do I care?

Regards,

Kevin