Had to buy a tire

[georgerkahn]

My wife's Ford Focus had a small leak in a rear tire. Shop "fixed it", but it continued to slowly leak. Mechanic advised it due to age (weather-checking) replacement of tire and also other tire on same axle. The pair of tires -- both of them -- came to $232.00 USD. HOWEVER, what kind of more than slightly irritated me is the total bill was $102.88 MORE! 'Specially was that when you purchased tires one needs pre-pay "disposal fee" -- and they charge it again (???) when they take them off? (Grrrrr re that!)
Attached you can see bill from last week's rubber.
geo

[lightman]

I worked in an old fashion service station all through high school. We hated plugs and never used them. I have seen too many of them develop leaks. I would even cut them off and patch the hole anytime I saw one in any tire I was working on.

Michelin tires used to be as good as it got. I can tell many a story about them. Many of them that I mounted and balanced took very little to no weight. I'm talking 1/4 to 1/2 oz of weight. We got 95,000 miles on a set on the Wife's Hummer2 and about the same on my Son's truck. But lately we've been having them separate pre maturely. The last time I put tires on my truck I went with Toyo.

We buy all of our tires from a small local shop here at home. He is only a little more expensive than shops in the city. And offers free balancing & rotation and and fixes flats for free for the life of the tire. The difference between their prices and the big city is about equal to the cost of gas going to the city. And he gives me weights for free!!!

[popper]

You think tires are expensive, wait till you get the LPG cost adjustment bill for 95$/mo. And 26$/mo for winter usage. Spike market pricing. Same kinda thing for Elec. Gonna be bad this summer.

[Gator 45/70]

If you think you're going to need tires best get em coming now.

[megasupermagnum]

I worked in an old fashion service station all through high school. We hated plugs and never used them. I have seen too many of them develop leaks. I would even cut them off and patch the hole anytime I saw one in any tire I was working on.

Michelin tires used to be as good as it got. I can tell many a story about them. Many of them that I mounted and balanced took very little to no weight. I'm talking 1/4 to 1/2 oz of weight. We got 95,000 miles on a set on the Wife's Hummer2 and about the same on my Son's truck. But lately we've been having them separate pre maturely. The last time I put tires on my truck I went with Toyo.

We buy all of our tires from a small local shop here at home. He is only a little more expensive than shops in the city. And offers free balancing & rotation and and fixes flats for free for the life of the tire. The difference between their prices and the big city is about equal to the cost of gas going to the city. And he gives me weights for free!!!

If you could somehow cut them off, whatever that means, then they were not tire plugs like they are today. Todays plugs go into the hole of the tire, then melt together with the rubber. You could not cut or poke them out if you wanted to.

[Idaho45guy]

That same tire is $185 on Amazon.

https://smile.amazon.com/Pirelli-Sco...s%2C184&sr=8-3


But, at only saving $15 per tire, I would definitely go with the local shop.

I tried a new AT "hybrid" tire last year on my 4Runner and will run nothing else as long as they are available. I actually go off-road occasionally and drive in everything from deep snow, sand, rocks, to mud and 3500 mile road trips.

I've had tires that did very well in one area, but horrible in another, or were good in most areas, but wore fast and were noisy.

Not these tires. Great in everything.

Goodyear Ultra Terrains.

I have around 6000 miles on these and they still look new. Lost 1/32" of tread so far.

Attachment 299852

Attachment 299853

[tinsnips]

In November I purchased two sets of 10 ply pickup tires for 2200.00 installed . The lady told me the other day I was lucky I paid for them in November because the same tires would cost 800.00 dollars more today.

[downzero]

Last set of tires I bought are Michelins LTX Defenders. I thought YOU DID WHAT???? When I found out what the total was but I had the money and I don't know about you but I got dead tired of buying cheaper tires only to find out how much out of rounds they are, and you cannot balance this "added feature" out despite the dealer claiming "that will balance out" and now you got this uneven ride for all the money you "saved."

The Michelins are a hard compound, they claim 70k miles (I'm like YA RIGHT!) at this point, but so far been the BEST tire decision I ever made. Whodathunkit?

Michelins are pretty much the gold standard. There are very few types of tires where I'd even consider a competitor's tire over the Michelin.

[jonp]

I patch tires all the time. We are not allowed to plug tires. We pull the offending road hazard out of the tire, ream the hole, and cement in a plug-patch from the inside. For those who are unfamiliar with them they look like a rubber toadstool with a very skinny stem. The “stem”passes through the hole and the “cap” is the patch. It’s the best of both worlds and will generally last the lifetime of the tire. The only issue is you can’t be too close to the sidewall due the how much that area flexes.

MetricMonkeyWrench, I have always heard the same thing about AWD vehicles but in my 16 years working as a Honda tech, I have never seen unevenly worn tires cause an issue with any AWD component. Completely different tire sizes, bad! But different tread depths on the same size tires, nope. My opinion is that’s a wives-tale that, while based on a true concept, is exaggerated to sell tires. Other manufacturers may have more issues but I have yet to see it.

Our shop does that with semi tires. I've got 20,000 on one with no problems. I put a plug in one of my pick up tires a few years ago. No problems but I marked it and make sure it's in the rear

[jonp]

Michelins are pretty much the gold standard. There are very few types of tires where I'd even consider a competitor's tire over the Michelin.

I got just about 80,000 on a set of Yokohama's and I wasn't gentil. Full load of wood on gravel roads etc.

Now we order tires online and Amazon drops them in the yard. $75 pays to get them mounted and balanced at the used tire place. Saved over $300 on the last set for the wife's car. Rotated every oil change they do fine. We buy off brand but they still have to meet certification for sale in the US. I've talked to some truck drivers with Korean, Vietnam or Thailand tires like Double Coin and they ok with them.

[rbuck351]

I order my tires online and get them shipped to my door. Then I mount and balance them myself. Saves quite a bit over going to a tire shop.

[Idaho45guy]

Michelins are pretty much the gold standard. There are very few types of tires where I'd even consider a competitor's tire over the Michelin.

Michelin's aren't even considered among the auto enthusiast crowd who actually go off-road. They are great for daily drivers that never go off gravel or dry dirt roads.

I drove up this logging road today in search of morel mushrooms.

Attachment 299875

Michelins are the gold standard for old guys with Costco accounts and Buicks.

[downzero]

I got just about 80,000 on a set of Yokohama's and I wasn't gentil. Full load of wood on gravel roads etc.

Now we order tires online and Amazon drops them in the yard. $75 pays to get them mounted and balanced at the used tire place. Saved over $300 on the last set for the wife's car. Rotated every oil change they do fine. We buy off brand but they still have to meet certification for sale in the US. I've talked to some truck drivers with Korean, Vietnam or Thailand tires like Double Coin and they ok with them.

If you want to run that trash, it's your life. I even have U.S. made tires on my trailer. I would not risk it, life is too valuable and precious.

Michelin's aren't even considered among the auto enthusiast crowd who actually go off-road. They are great for daily drivers that never go off gravel or dry dirt roads.

I drove up this logging road today in search of morel mushrooms.

Attachment 299875

Michelins are the gold standard for old guys with Costco accounts and Buicks.

That is the one exception. We have Nitto on one truck with 37s, Goodyear on another, and B.F. Goodrich on the third, although I'm probably going to switch to Michelins on the tow rig as well. We have Michelins on both of the other vehicles in the household, summer performance tires on one (which clearly lead the category by any measure by a long way) and all seasons on the other.

It is ridiculous to say that Michelins are just for Buicks and old people; there are many exotic cars that come with Michelins from the factory. Vipers came with them in the 90s and many Corvettes over many decades have had them from the factory as well. It really sounds like you just don't know what you're talking about because you drive a truck. Michelin does not lead the off road/maximum traction or all terrain categories, but they are leaders in virtually every other category of tire, including fuel economy/low rolling resistance, all aspects of high performance tires from all season to summer, and all season SUV and truck tires, which covers literally everything other than 4wd trucks.

[TyGuy]

If you want to run that trash, it's your life. I even have U.S. made tires on my trailer. I would not risk it, life is too valuable and precious.

To be fair, almost all of the Yokohama tires I install were made in the U.S.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Wifey hit a pothole in concretete pavement and popped a sidewall last week. Bit the boolit and got 4 new ones. About $1,000 installed. Like to have the car in ship shape.....

[farmbif]

rubber shortage causing tire prices to increase. it will probably get much worst before getting any better. latex producing trees dont grow in North America. most of the world supply comes from Thailand followed by Indonesia and Vietnam.
https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonval...s-16822846.php

[megasupermagnum]

I order my tires online and get them shipped to my door. Then I mount and balance them myself. Saves quite a bit over going to a tire shop.

I've been hearing this for years, and despite always searching, I have yet to find an online source of tires that can be shipped to my door for less. Heck, Tire Rack can't even break even what most local tire shops can have them mounted and balanced, with warranty for.

If you've found a way to buy for much less, and by that I mean they better be $600 for what are normally $800 tires, I'd sure like to know.

[M-Tecs]

Tires Made in The USA

https://buyusedtires.org/tires-made-...256a4cc03d41cc

[Idaho45guy]

If you want to run that trash, it's your life. I even have U.S. made tires on my trailer. I would not risk it, life is too valuable and precious.




That is the one exception. We have Nitto on one truck with 37s, Goodyear on another, and B.F. Goodrich on the third, although I'm probably going to switch to Michelins on the tow rig as well. We have Michelins on both of the other vehicles in the household, summer performance tires on one (which clearly lead the category by any measure by a long way) and all seasons on the other.

It is ridiculous to say that Michelins are just for Buicks and old people;

So, why do you think Yokohama tires are trash? What's your source?

And reading comprehension is key; I didn't say that Michelins were only for old people and Buicks. I said they were the gold standard for old guys with Costco accounts and Buicks. Which they absolutely are. They make great tires and most of their models are for sedate sedans, SUVs, and pickups. Yes, they make tires for everything, and if they decided to make an aggressive off-road tire in lifted sizes, I'm sure it would be a great tire.

[jgstrug]

I've been hearing this for years, and despite always searching, I have yet to find an online source of tires that can be shipped to my door for less. Heck, Tire Rack can't even break even what most local tire shops can have them mounted and balanced, with warranty for.

If you've found a way to buy for much less, and by that I mean they better be $600 for what are normally $800 tires, I'd sure like to know.

I order them mail order too, and my trusted tire shop usually tells me that that is less than his cost.

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