Why is my Dealer recommending BFG Rugged Trails again? I'm replacing my stock BFG Rugged Trails that I got 50k miles on. Even though I don't plan on buying the tires there, I asked them about prices when I was in for an oil change. They recommended the Rugged Trail again and didn't want to quote any other tire. Why would they be pushing these? I told them I was looking for a better tire and the guy tried convincing me that I was wasting my money and that the Rugged Trails were fine. I had my heart set on the BFG AT KO 305/65/18 or 285/65/18. The AT KO's are $75 - $100 more per tire than the rugged trails depending on where I look. I think I will still get the AT KOs somewhere else but I was wondering if anyone had any insight as to why the Dealer might be pushing the OE tires again.

Thanks,

Pat

 

1. Your dealer is not very intelligent
2. Your dealer has a huge profit margin on the Rugged Trails.
3. A combination of 1 and 2.

 

Did you ask them why?

 

HAHAHA, so true.

Dealers like you to stick to OEM parts because that is what they carry. Truth is, you will most definitely be more happy with more rugged tire. IMO, those rugged trails are horrible, squeaky soft and not good for anything but highway.

 

Shy away from dealer's tires. Typically they are of lesser quality. He's pushing the rugged trails on you because that is what he has the most of in stock. IMO, go with the K/O's. You'll be much happier

 

I did ask why. The guy making the recommendation said, "You got 50,000 out of the stock Rugged Trails". He also said the Rugged Trail is a great tire and that spending more on something better was not worth it. Basically he told me I'm wasting my money dropping $300 per tire for the AT KO when the Rugged trail is a little over $200 per tire. He also added that they would give free rotations with the tired purchased from the dealer.

My plan is to not purchase from the dealer. I'm going to another local place and getting a set of the 305/65/18 AT KO for ~$1250 installed.

 

The AT KO will perform much better in all conditions and will last 60,000 miles easily. Sounds like your guy is like most people I know who judge a tire based only on cost and treadwear. A family member once complained to me that the BFG AT KO's he had only lasted a little over 2 years. I had to point out that he drives about 30,000 miles a year so a little over 2 years was great milage.

 

For 200.00 a tire you can get alot better tire cheaper through most online tire places or even ebay. Thats not even a cheap price for those crap tires.. Maybe he smoked alittle too much..

 

I got 85K highway miles out of my stock RTs before I got the AT/KOs. I can't imagine how many more I'll get from the AT/KOs.

 

How on earth did you live with the Wrangler RTs for 85k miles? THey may be one of the worse OEM tires ever.

 

OOPS-When I wrote "RT"s, I was referring to the BFG Rugged Trails. Sorry for the confusion. You're right about those Wranglers. A buddy of mine had them on his Explorer and they would never balance right.

 

I deal with this all the time. Dealers will recommend what comes stock primarily because its all they know, and in may cases it's because it's what Ford TELLS them to sell to customers. If a dealer recommended tire ends up being the wrong choice for one of several reasons, Ford may be responsible for footing the bill to replace the tires under warranty, and they don't want to do that.

Bottom line is a service adviser isn't going to be able to ask you the questions it takes to help you make the best choice like I can. All they know is what's stock, so that's what they push. I joke with some of the advisers this way: I won't tell their customers when to change their plugs, and they should send them to us for tires.....RARELY are OE tires the best ones you can have on your vehicle.