I have bought from the TR several times from wheels, tires and even wiper blades, while I to have had that thought about paying for shipping and mounting but more often then not I have made out better with the TR.
I ordered 4 tires for my travel trailer and they (TR) was $30.00 cheaper per tire then my local shop so the $120 I saved on the tires covered the shipping and mounting and I still have money left in my pocket.

 

I order a ton of stuff on the internet, but not tires yet. Buying locally usually means you get free rotations, free re-balancing if needed, free repairs, plus helping out a local business. I have asked before and some shops will charge extra to mount and balance because you didn't buy from them, they won't rotate for free, etc. I always compare tirerack prices but for me it hasn't been enough savings to make it worthwhile so far. Most shops will negotiate the price of tires any how (especially when you are spending $1200-1500!) to get your business.
A lot of people buy from them and are happy but for me it just hasn't been worth it to try it out. Maybe if they offered me some incredible deal.

 

Great question. The main point to keep in mind is that at the end of the day there's no free lunch, and that EVERYONE pays freight. I'm not going to make "shots across the bow" with Discount because they run a good operation and competition keeps everyone honest, but I can comfortably say that areas they save money they make up in other places. I will keep it at that. You guys are smart, think about it. Do you think they are really eating the freight on every order they take? No way, not for tires that are 50+ lbs. each. We prefer to call all the charges what they are and not hide them in other costs, or to make up the difference on other people because we didn't make it on you. I've said it before, there's no such thing as free shipping, as well as "buy 3 get one free" that is also popular. To us that's the same as a used car salesman on TV or the radio screaming "SALE TODAY ONLY, NOBODY BEATS OUR DEAL!!!!" Those practices are like nails on the chalk board and it's insulting to people's intelligence.

Discount has 600+ local stores, and we have 6 warehouses. Kind of hard to compete there for actual pickup at a company owned location. But we don't have nearly the overhead as a result. Logistically though is where we shine, and they have challenges we don't. East of Ohio they have no warehouses only stores, whereas we have most of our 5100 local installers. Almost anywhere in the country we have 15 installers nearby or are within a 10 mile drive to one. See for yourself. And, with us delivery is almost always within 2 days - and in many case just one. On the west coast the shipper we use (OnTrac) is cheaper than UPS and there the next day. Most of what we carry is in stock and ready to ship the same day as well. We inventory over a million tires and keep in stock what we can at all times. Tire manufacturer production schedules keep both of us from being able to inventory everything at all times. So in fairness, if a tire is difficult to find with them, it could be with us too.

We are both keeping close tabs on one another's pricing schedules as you can imagine, and on average we are very on-par with one another. I have seen the numbers. Bottom line, do your diligence and take the time to compare. Can they beat us in price? Sometimes. But not every time by a long shot.

We will never beat them on everything, and them likewise, but you can bet we will keep trying.

 

Check out Tirebuyer.com
Something i came across the other day, you order your tires, where you want them installed and all the prices are shown to you so no surprises when you take something somewhere to get installed. Might be worth a look.

 

A very classy reply.

 

indeed...Bravo!!

 

I agree 110 percent. It would be real easy to throw stones, and trash talk. I have always had excellent customer service, when any small issues have arisen. Including having parts Fed Exed (free) from another warehouse so I could get my wheels installed.

 

So before I begin with my update, I want to say once again that this is NOT a TireRack bashing post in any manner!!!

But I called my local Discount tire again to ask about what's included if I purchase my tires from Tire Rack and bring them there to mount & balance. The answer as expected was "nothing". Out the door on your own with none of the benefits that come with buying your tires there.

But since I mentioned that, the guy immediately piped up and said they'd match TireRacks prices, taking into consideration the mounting and balancing of course. So, long story short, the difference between the two OTD prices (before this phone call) was right at, and no more than $100 to begin with. Not enough to make me leave Discount. After this phone call, Discount Tire has eaten the $100!! That's why I stick with these guys.

I know not every situation and tire experience ends up this way, but it'd be downright foolish for me to go anywhere else.

 

X2 Discount tires have had my bussiness for the last 10 years and will continue. They have great prices and very good customer service.

 

I've bought from Tire Rack a few times before and I've been nothing but satisfied with them, I just wished they sold motorcycle tires

 

I bought my Hella headlights from them, as well as several wheel and tire packages from them when worked at my last job. I wouldn't buy wheels anywhere else.