Tire Shopping

Think back to the last time you had to purchase a new set of tires for your car. By any chance, did you buy those tires online? I had to get a new set of tires for my wife’s car this week, and while I didn’t actually buy the tires online (although I have done so in the past), I got all the way to the shopping cart…

Buying a new set of tires is usually not done on impulse… and for most folks, it’s rarely an enjoyable experience.

But I’ll admit to being a gearhead. I’d been browsing for tires for a couple of weeks. I knew we were overdue. The car’s original-equipment (OEM) Goodyear tires lasted over 60,000 miles. While the rear pair still had plenty of tread, the rims in front were shod with baloney skins. After spending a couple of hours online, researching the best alternatives, I was prepared for the inevitable.

I could tell that something was wrong as we crossed the parking lot after Sunday’s soccer match. The car had that telltale lean. As we drew closer, I instinctively knew that the right rear tire was flat, even before I could see it. It took fifteen minutes to swap the flat tire for the donut spare (including the time spent unraveling the mysteries of the car’s spare tire storage system without the virtue of the manual, which just happened to be conveniently AWOL).

Driving with a donut spare is never reassuring. Doing so while barreling down the Interstate with a pair of battling siblings in the back seat is yet another passage of parenthood.

Once we got home, I jumped back online and double-checked my research on TireRack.com. (I’ve found TireRack’s pricing to be quite competitive in the past… by checking the pricing online, you can get a good idea of what the tires should cost locally.)

When looking for tires, I rely on the official ratings (they’re stamped right into the sidewall), as well as owner reviews. While the OEM Goodyears had served us well from the perspective of tread wear, they always felt more than a bit spongy. I liked what I read about the Michelins in the owner reviews, but they were simply too rich for my blood. I eventually decided on Yokohamas based upon their excellent ratings and reviews; halfway between the Michelins and Goodyears in price, the tires’ performance made the case.

While it seems like every town has a Goodyear or Firestone dealer, Yokohama dealers can be tough to find. With this in mind, I was more than ready to buy the tires from TireRack and have them installed at a local service station. I did a little sleuthing and discovered that a nearby TireRack approved garage also happened to a Yokohama dealer.

On Monday morning, I called the garage and the owner gave me a price including mounting and balancing that matched TireRack, including shipping, along with the charges for a local mount and balance. Having done my homework online, I knew it was an excellent price, so I made the appointment to have the tires done first thing on Tuesday.

The garage made quick work of mounting and balancing the new tires, and seeing the uneven wear on the front set, recommended a four wheel alignment. Knowing my wife’s predisposition for nailing pot holes and curbs, I gave them the green light for the alignment and watched in awe as they used their snappy Hunter WinAlign (woo hoo, wheel alignment in Windows!) system to true the wheels.

Now the car rides like a dream and my wallet is no lighter than necessary…

If you’ve ever wondered how your car would look with a different set of wheels, TireRack has a very cool interactive wheel selection tool in their “Upgrade Garage”… once you select the make and model of your car, you can pick and choose from dozens and dozens of gorgeous after market wheels. Click the wheel and you see what it looks like on your ride … you can even specify the size of the rim. I used this nifty Upgrade Garage feature when I bought a set of alloy wheels and tires for my wife’s old car (see aforementioned predisposition for nailing pot holes and curbs) a few years back and it worked out really well for us. There were no surprises when the wheels and tires arrived.