Some Important Things You May Not Know About Buying Tires!
May 07 '01
The Bottom Line Buying new tires may not be as simple as you think if you are buying at Costco!
First of all, I do not buy tires. Secondly, I know very little about buying tires. My husband takes care of that, but I do have a general idea about size, length of wear, and the fact that the automobile dealer does not warrant your tires, instead the tire manufacturer. So, now that we have cleared up some of my basic qualifications for writing about buying tires, let me tell you a recent experience.
My car is a 1998 Honda EX Sedan with a V-6 motor. It is a great car, and came with Michelin MXV4 Radials, in a 205/65R15. They seemed to have been a decent product since we purchased the car, but we have not received the wear that we are used to getting out of our Michelins.
Recently we had the snow tires removed. When the local store employee came out and told us that two of the tires had worn so badly that they were no longer safe, we felt that at 45,000 miles, someone was just trying to make a sale. Upon returning home we examined the tires, and sure enough, they were just as the salesperson had said. That just didn’t make any sense to us, because we had always been getting at least 60,000 miles from a set of Michelin tires.
Next step was to check with the local Michelin dealer, and what to our amazement did we discover that this was a “high performance” tire which was rated at 147 miles an hour and to replace them would be about $200 each. We also were informed that they do not get high mileage like some of their other products. Well, my car, peppy as it is, would not in this lifetime ever go 147 miles per hour, nor would I attempt anything even close to that.
The Michelin dealer made several other suggestions of tires that would be more suitable for our driving and gave us prices ranging from $98 each to $112. That certainly made more sense economically, and the warranty would been between 65,000-80,000 miles depending on our purchase.
Okay, the next step was to check with our local Costco. They told us that they had to sell us the same tire that was put on at the factory. Now, wait a minute! This is a free country. So we contacted the Honda dealer, spoke with both sales and service, and they said there was no such requirement from Honda, and we could put any tire we wanted on our vehicle. Back on the phone to Costco informing them that they must be mistaken. They really dug their heels in, and said under no circumstances would they sell us any other tire than the one we had on it presently. After more checking, it turns out that Costco’s “corporate policy” is this restrictive rule, and I quote “to protect the consumer”. Spare me.
We will buy safe tires, in the proper size from the Michelin local dealer. As I said before, we all have a choice in brands, ratings, warranties, and service when we make a purchase. This experience must have happened to other people, and the “bought in to it”.
Consumer, remember, buy safe tires from a reputable dealer. Make sure your warranty is good if you relocate. However, do not let any dealer, salesperson, or the like tell you that “you have” to put a certain tire on your vehicle. That is utter nonsense, and as a consumer could damage your budget.
Thanks for listening to a woman's’ advice about buying tires.
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