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Tires - not your typical thread


Sonor

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It is that time again to purchase tires and have them installed. Last set I purchased on-line and had my mechanic install them for me. After which we talked and he promoted his "tires" and said if you ever have problems with them I stand behind them. I know of other shops that will not even install tires purchased elsewhere, only the ones they sell. So my question is, do you think it is worth the extra $20 to purchase from your local guy vs. on-line? (Let me add, my local mechanic is not hurting for business)

 

Remember, I do not install tires for myself.

Edited by Sonor
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I would absolutely pay $20 more for each tire at my local dealer. But, is there tax on top of that? Yes, that is another story in itself: taxing online business so locals can better compete...

 

How much do they charge to mount the tires? That really is the deciding factor. If they are charging $40 per wheel to mount them, then they are making money on that ( as they should be ). Add $20 per tire on top of that, along with extra taxes, and the numbers might not support buying local.

 

If the dealer is busy, they are probably doing things right. So if I were comfortable with them, and since you do NOT mount and install tires yourself, I would try to make it work buying from them.

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It is that time again to purchase tires and have them installed. Last set I purchased on-line and had my mechanic install them for me. After which we talked and he promoted his "tires" and said if you ever have problems with them I stand behind them. I know of other shops that will not even install tires purchased elsewhere, only the ones they sell. So my question is, do you think it is worth the extra $20 to purchase from your local guy vs. on-line? (Let me add, my local mechanic is not hurting for business)

 

Remember, I do not install tires for myself.

 

Morning Sonor

 

Is that $20.00 total for the two tires or $20.00 each ($40.00 total)?

 

In any case it is kind of depending on each riders situation. Seeing as you need to have whatever tires that you buy mounted somewhere that could offset the price difference. Also how many tires do you go through a year (personally I don't get very good tire mileage so those extra $20.00's would add up quickly in my case)

 

I mount my own so tend to buy tries on-line from a top-tier tire seller as I get very recently built tires (sometimes less than a month old). Some dealers will sell you tires that have sat around for 2 years or more already.

 

If you like your local mechanic, & he gets you fairly recent tires, & a few extra $$$$ isn't going to take food away from your kids then that might be the best way for YOU to go.

 

Personally I wouldn't pay the extra, but as I mentioned, every riders situation is different so do what works out best for YOU in the long run.

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I'd be OK with buying tires if the prices were the same as online sources, and the mounting and balancing wasn't too outlandish. I started doing my own tires because retail prices were 50%-100% above online, plus $75-$150 to mount both tires (1 hour of shop time). This was back when internet buying was new, and a lot of local dealers (I think) thought it was a passing fad. I do buy tires from an in-state company (Dennis Kirk) because I get them next day, but I also have to pay MN sales tax (6.5%) plus a $5.00 per tire shipping charge. The local folks who sell tires and discount mounting are on the other side of the cities from me, so I'd have a lot of non-productive down time if I ran the rims over there. As it is, I can pull the rims and change tires, clean the guck out of the area in front of the shock, check the brake pads and give everything a 'once over', which is a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. If there was a local place within 15 minutes driving that would do the job for $20/tire and charge me close to what I pay at Dennis Kirk, I'd do that. So, I guess if you're not time or geography constrained like I am, I'd say buy from the local guy.

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The local folks who sell tires and discount mounting are on the other side of the cities from me, so I'd have a lot of non-productive down time if I ran the rims over there.

 

Who would that be?

 

 

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...So my question is, do you think it is worth the extra $20 to purchase from your local guy vs. on-line? (Let me add, my local mechanic is not hurting for business)

 

Remember, I do not install tires for myself.

 

$20 ain't hay but I'd go with a local guy who looks you in the eye and promises to stand behind them.

 

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Yes.

And the "stand behind" will hopefully never come into play.

But, if it does, priceless.

A tire fails, and you put it on yourself, depends on who "you" are. Could be an issue wrt product liability.

A tire fails that a shop installed, you have multiple safety nets in place.

Worth every penny to me.

YMMV

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Totally worth it. And I'm a cheapskate. It's so nice to have a shop, just down the road a bit, for all the stuff: Oil, filters, parts (sometimes), tools, helmets, whatever....

 

My local guy would install for free, if I bought the tires from him.

 

OTOH, it's surprisingly simple to install tires (and many other things) yourself, and it's worth learning if that's the reason you avoid it.

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Bob's Cycle Supply in St. Paul. They're pretty good with price matching, and I know they were charging $10/tire this spring.

 

Thanks! I've bought a lot of riding gear there, but didn't know they did tire mounting.

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Thanks all - I really appreciate the affirmation of where my thoughts were. I will be purchasing locally until such time that I magically gain mechanical ability. (which of course means from now on)

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