why must new tires be so frickin' expensve?

[jonathan_matos5]

ive got about 50,000 miles on my current ones, and the road seems to be getting slippery (exaggeration) so i started shopping for tires. i went to three different places today and the cheapest price i could find was $619 for a set of 4 and with that price i would have to wait for a week for the tires to be ordered. (Nissan's fault for putting such an absurd tire size on my car) im thinking ill have to buy my tires by the pair instead of all four looks like ill have to shop around some more.

[Fontaine]

rubber isn't cheap.

[FingeringAm]

Originally Posted by Fontaine

rubber isn't cheap.

but oh so effect

[Mike N]

Originally Posted by jonathan_matos5

Nissan's fault for putting such an absurd tire size on my car

That's why they're expensive.

[jonathan_matos5]

Originally Posted by Mike N

That's why they're expensive.

i guess i could spend about $1000 on rims and tires that would lower the price of tires however ultimately decrease the value of my car.

[Ripper]

get different ones than that size if u can and see how much they are... a more normal size might help...

i put ones on my truck for 200... bias-ply kelly superchargers and general grabbers that were taking up space on the back of the rack

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Originally Posted by Mike N

That's why they're expensive.

+1

I work in a dealership parts department and selling tires is very competitive. We don't mark them up by percentage and only get a small flat rate per tire. I hate what it does to my GP. But yeah, depending on the tire and the size they can be stupid money for a set.

The trend for the past few years on new cars has been bigger and bigger rim sizes. With that, bigger tires of course and if its' a sporty car it's usually a tire with a high speed rating.

I can tell you first hand. I just got a used Scion TC that was a lease return. The owner did a terrible job parking curb side and pretty much wiped out the rims. There was actually a big chunk of tire missing on the sidewall too. Up in storage was a like brand new set of 18" TRD rims with some Yokohama, Parada II's already mounted. Problem solved. For now, anyway. They're great tires and grip the road like nothing else, but I'll probably only get 30,000 miles on them.



Anyway. If you have a little time before you get your tires list the size here and I can do a little research for you. There are some brands out there that offer a happy medium with price and performance. You just have to know what to look for on the specs. The Tire Rack is a great source with great prices.

[lexxmexx]

The prices of tyres always amaze me - the thinner they are (presumably less rubber), the more expensive they get

[jonathan_matos5]

Originally Posted by Chunk-O-Funk

+1

I work in a dealership parts department and selling tires is very competitive. We don't mark them up by percentage and only get a small flat rate per tire. I hate what it does to my GP. But yeah, depending on the tire and the size they can be stupid money for a set.

The trend for the past few years on new cars has been bigger and bigger rim sizes. With that, bigger tires of course and if its' a sporty car it's usually a tire with a high speed rating.

I can tell you first hand. I just got a used Scion TC that was a lease return. The owner did a terrible job parking curb side and pretty much wiped out the rims. There was actually a big chunk of tire missing on the sidewall too. Up in storage was a like brand new set of 18" TRD rims with some Yokohama, Parada II's already mounted. Problem solved. For now, anyway. They're great tires and grip the road like nothing else, but I'll probably only get 30,000 miles on them.



Anyway. If you have a little time before you get your tires list the size here and I can do a little research for you. There are some brands out there that offer a happy medium with price and performance. You just have to know what to look for on the specs. The Tire Rack is a great source with great prices.

i drive a 2005 nissan sentra S-ER the tire is 195 55 16 H

it is a real pain int the #$% to find them locally.

firestone said that they could put 205 55 16 v on there but im guessing i shouldn't trust them.

[Rich L]

I have Goodyear 20's on my Dodge Ram and after 125,000 miles, I'm on my 3rd set. I spent less on the last 2 sets combined than if I had bought new from a tire store. How? Found 'em on Craigslist and paid $200 for each set, whereas they run about $200 EACH new! These days everyone is upgrading to larger rims and/or tires and both sets had less than a 1,000 miles on them, practically brand new! I bought the first set right after I bought my truck because they were so cheap and I couldn't pass up a deal like that.

[Trevorus]

The tires I am looking to get will cost me about 110 a tire plus installation and all that. Pretty pricey, but I need good snow traction in the winter, and good ride in the other seasons. The tires are BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A's.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Originally Posted by jonathan_matos5

i drive a 2005 nissan sentra S-ER the tire is 195 55 16 H

it is a real pain int the #$% to find them locally.

firestone said that they could put 205 55 16 v on there but im guessing i shouldn't trust them.

Yeah, the 195/55/16 is an odd size and that's one of the reasons they are a bit more money. The 205/55/16 is actually a wider tire, but that size is a little more popular, so cheaper.

http://www.tirerack.com/index.jsp has a set of BFGoodrich Traction T/A T at $78.00 each. They also charge about 10.00 shipper per tire. That would be for the 205's

It's a T speed rating (118 mph) not an H (130 mph), but it is known as a "touring tire" which basically means it's a high millage tire.

The 195's came in a bit more pricey. The cheapest being $91 per tire plus shipping. You also have to keep in mind if you go through the Tire Rack you still have to have someone install them, but you will be surprised a lot of independent shops will do it. I think the Tire Rack has some kind of search to help you find an installer as well.


Anyway, if you don't want to go through something like that I say check out some independent shops that sell tires. I'm sure there are much better deals than $619. That's almost $155.00 per tire.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by jonathan_matos5

ive got about 50,000 miles on my current ones, and the road seems to be getting slippery (exaggeration) so i started shopping for tires. i went to three different places today and the cheapest price i could find was $619 for a set of 4 and with that price i would have to wait for a week for the tires to be ordered. (Nissan's fault for putting such an absurd tire size on my car) im thinking ill have to buy my tires by the pair instead of all four looks like ill have to shop around some more.

What size are they?

You could check places like Costco and the Tire Rack (mail order / online vendor).

The tires on my car are 225/35R19, so I'm not looking forward to replacing those. Fortunately they have lots of tread, but the prices I've seen are quite a shock compared to the 175/70R13's on my old Golf.

[Mike N]

Originally Posted by Ripper

get different ones than that size if u can and see how much they are... a more normal size might help...

i put ones on my truck for 200... bias-ply kelly superchargers and general grabbers that were taking up space on the back of the rack

Mixing radials and bias ply tires isn't one of the smarter thing to do.

[gold_member_321]

I pay ~800 or so for all 4 on my Explorer.

[Deacon_Blues]

I bought two new back tires for about €240 about a month ago, it was the cheapest brand they had.

The last set of four retreaded tyres cost me about €300, and that was three years ago. Those were surprisingly good for the price and I would have retreaded tyres on now also if they would still have been available...

Tyres are indeed expensive...

[jeremyr]

Originally Posted by jonathan_matos5

ive got about 50,000 miles on my current ones, and the road seems to be getting slippery (exaggeration) so i started shopping for tires. i went to three different places today and the cheapest price i could find was $619 for a set of 4 and with that price i would have to wait for a week for the tires to be ordered. (Nissan's fault for putting such an absurd tire size on my car) im thinking ill have to buy my tires by the pair instead of all four looks like ill have to shop around some more.

i'll take $619 over the $1260 I had to pay for my 4

[FingeringAm]

buy used

[Croox]

the tires on my caliber are about 170 each installed. just replace two at a time. its easier on your wallet that way.

[peterbright]

I went to BJ's wholesale & got 4 with lifetime balance etc for 320 & 80 K warrantee.