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All of those things minus shipping you have to pay for regardless. Most places will even give you free shipping. There is no reason not to buy online if its cheaper.
If you go with Tire Rack, you'll pay $50+ in shipping charges and most tire shops will nail you $20/tire between mounting, balancing, valve stems, and tire disposal. That's the rate I always see for installers affiliated with Tire Rack. Shipping tires UPS ain't cheap. If you're going with an internet retailer wiht free shipping, you'll pay a lot more for the tires. For Pilot Super Sports or Blizzaks, buying on the internet can make sense. For a $40 Chinese tire, I don't see how it can. This is somebody asking about used tires on a Hyundai.
Hi everyone I was wondering if any of you have had to deal with a hard to find tire size and where do you go to get them? Or do you just settle for a tire size that is not what your car calls for? My car has small tires size 175-70 R 13 and I have been told they are hard to find. Any advice on where to go to get the best price ? Also what do you think of getting some used tires in hard to find sizes instead of new tires?
My old Scirocco uses this tire size, I order Michelins from Tire Rack, as far as I can tell the Michelin Defender is about the highest specification tire currently made in this size, while I used Sumitomo HTR 200's when they were still being made during summer (a dedicated, sticky summer tire) now I use the Michelins year round.
They are OK.
V8 Vega makes a good point that if you can find a set of 14" wheels to fit your car, you would have a better selection of tires available.
Hyundai accent but I now also have to decide if I should get new tires or sell the car it is giving me problems. One front tire went flat on me a couple of days ago and I know I need to replace the other front tire immediately. I have been driving on the spare. I think the back tires may be okay for a while .
You would probably like to shop in the Spanish-speaking part of town at a used tire shop. We have this "bodegas" here in the PNW, if they have the tire size you want, they can be a good deal. Usually mount and balance for a reasonable price. Problem is, usually these guys won't have a less popular tire size in stock, because, not many people are running them anymore. You might as well give this a try, look in your Yellow Pages for a used tire shop. Since you only want 2, you might luck out.
I hate to recommend any cheap Chinese tire, but maybe that is what you want, if you are not keeping the car much longer.
I'd rather have a used Michelin than a cheap new Chinese no-name tire. Your mileage may vary.
My old Scirocco uses this tire size, I order Michelins from Tire Rack, as far as I can tell the Michelin Defender is about the highest specification tire currently made in this size, while I used Sumitomo HTR 200's when they were still being made during summer (a dedicated, sticky summer tire) now I use the Michelins year round.
They are OK.
V8 Vega makes a good point that if you can find a set of 14" wheels to fit your car, you would have a
better selection of tires available.
Well that brings me to my other question about having to use tires that are not what the car maker called for on the car is that a good idea? And is it true some places will refuse to put them on if they are not what is listed for the car?
You would probably like to shop in the Spanish-speaking part of town at a used tire shop. We have this "bodegas" here in the PNW, if they have the tire size you want, they can be a good deal. Usually mount and balance for a reasonable price. Problem is, usually these guys won't have a less popular tire size in stock, because, not many people are running them anymore. You might as well give this a try, look in your Yellow Pages for a used tire shop. Since you only want 2, you might luck out.
I hate to recommend any cheap Chinese tire, but maybe that is what you want, if you are not keeping the car much longer.
I'd rather have a used Michelin than a cheap new Chinese no-name tire. Your mileage may vary.
Orlando which is near to be has some places like that. What brands are Chinese tires? Do the Chinese tires have the same bad reputation as other Chinese products do ?
As to using a non-standard size - yeah, some shops will balk. If you have 13" wheels, you have to use a 13" tire. If you went to a smaller than 175 tire, you probably are looking at a tire with less weight carrying capacity. 175-70-13 tires are not that hard to find. I order them all the time from Tire Rack. But I have access to a mount and balance machine at a friend's house, and I keep the old tires in a barn till we have a free old tire disposal day every April. Most people don't have access to this stuff.
Chinese brands- many different brands. In fact some Chinese made tires are fine. I'm just saying I would rather have a main-line brand tire like Michelin, Sumotomo, Yokahama, etc. used than buy a cheap Chinese made tire new.
At the end of the day, you can buy two new or used tires of the correct size without breaking the bank, and if you want to keep or sell the car, you need to put at least 2 tires on it, and quit using your spare as a normal use tire.
If you call around or just go to the used tire shops around, you will see if they have anything in your size or not.
Hope this helps.
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