Tires for a mini van (Monroe, King: buy, maintenance, tax)

[njmdpanc]

Broke down and purchased 4 new tires for my mini van.
Did lots of price shopping and comparisons, what a difference. Granted that they were all different brands and mileage ratings. Hope this helps someone.

needed 215-65-16

Sams Club either $461.90 plus tax or $494.44 plus tax
Wal Mart either $475.00 plus tax or $415.00 plus tax
Firestone Auto (Monroe Rd) $451.60 plus tax
Firestone Auto (Hwy 51) $402.64
Tire Kingdom $454.49 plus tax (this was buy 3 get one free)
Carolina Tire $424.99 plus tax
Discount Tire $439.10 plus tax
Griffin Tire either $484.03 plus tax or $408.30 plus tax
Sears $440.00 plus tax
Chrysler dealer $374.00 plus tax

[mullman]

Unfortunately if they were 'all different brands and mileage ratings', then the prices do not mean that much.

[CouponJack]

were these all apples to apples (or apples to bananas) comparisons like mullman said?

[cball75]

So many options... 25k mile tires, 30k, 40k, 50k, 60k, and so on... Same brand and rating???

[lumbollo]

On a minivan I don't think the status of the tires makes much difference. It's still a minivan when you get done.

I would go for cheap as possible on this vehicle as long as it meets the manufacturer specs.

[CouponJack]

Originally Posted by lumbollo

On a minivan I don't think the status of the tires makes much difference. It's still a minivan when you get done.

I would go for cheap as possible on this vehicle as long as it meets the manufacturer specs.

that makes absolutely no sense. There are differences in tire manufacturers which affect the safety of the vehicle.....just like any other car.

[chicagomichauds]

Just replaced mine on my mini van. We went with Firestone Affinity (buy 3 get 1 free). I believe it was about $400 or so. We got them at the Firestone in Ballantyne. They are not the cheapest tires, but that mini van transports my kids, so I'm not skimping either.

[lumbollo]

Originally Posted by CouponJack

that makes absolutely no sense. There are differences in tire manufacturers which affect the safety of the vehicle.....just like any other car.

If it meets the manufacturer's specs, as I said in my post, I'm not sure why it doesn't make perfect sense. I don't see any need to put high end tires on a mini-van. Maybe you could explain further. People buy high end tires for one of these reasons:

1. Status - A mini-van is a vehicle of domestication, not status.
2. Performance - A mini-van should not be driven like a race car. It's a kiddie car.
3. Durability - this might possibly be a reason but tires wear out mostly due to heat and abuse. Mini-vans should not be driven to the point where this is a concern. The rest of it is proper maintenance.

I agree that I might be missing something on why price shouldn't be the only determinate on a vehicle such as this as long as the tire meets specs.

[CouponJack]

"Its still a minivan when you get done"


What does that mean?

[lumbollo]

Originally Posted by CouponJack

"Its still a minivan when you get done"....What does that mean?

I edited it into my previous post.