Best Prices for Tires Online in US

[Guest ratchethack]

And RH, no offence taken but I'm pinchin' hundreds till I hit the lottery!

I'm right with you, Mike! MSRP for tires is merely that -- a suggestion. By all means let the market bring whatever price it's able to bring. I'm about due for a new set o' hoops for the thumper, and I'll be chasin' every reasonable break I can get on price meself. . .some kinda habit with me, I reckon.

 

Wot that means is that I bring 3 Web prices with me when I come in to put money down for my order. If my man gets too itchy about the numbers I give him as his "target", I might listen to his pitch about how oil prices have hammered the tire market for awhile -- and I never grind him too hard -- long as he gives me the "good buddy" discount.

 

FWIW, my small moto service/tire guy earns his living honestly by providing valuable services that I figure I've got a pretty good handle on from doin' most (but by no means all) of what he does for myself for so long. His is the kind of business that you hope to see grow, prosper & expand out from behind the shadows of the MEGA MOTO MARTS. . .

 

I'm either too cheap or too smart (hm... OK, maybe just too cheap ) for the lottery. In any case, I figure let the Philistines pay the stupidity tax.

[mznyc]

I wish I had one of those type of small ,independent shops near me but no dice.It's either get a fair deal from local dealer or doitmeself!I really would prefer the former.

[Greg Field]

I don't much bother with the tire business. Our techs hate changing tires, and unless you buy tires in huge quantities when they are on sale and then have 'em sit on the shelf all year (and they take up a lot of space for what you make on them), the margins are as slim as 20 percent for some of the brands. Give 10 percent off retail, and you're losing money on the tire, when you consider overhead and disposal of the old tire. And then every fifth tire changed or so, some clown tries to get us to buy him a new wheel by claiming an old scratch is new. Sometimes we can't prove it was an old scratch and have to buy 'em a new rim. As a business, it's a net loss. We stock tires for those who trust only us to do the work on their bikes and we are happy to do it on that basis. If somebody wants to dicker on the price, I give excellent directions to the discount place just up the road.

[Dan M]

We stock tires for those who trust only us to do the work on their bikes and we are happy to do it on that basis. If somebody wants to dicker on the price, I give excellent directions to the discount place just up the road.

 

 

Exactly right Greg. Unless a shop is willing to commit the space and dollars to a giant tire inventory, margins will be slim. If you are good enough to have a loyal following, those folks won't expect you to compete with on-line prices, they just want to be treated fairly and have someone they trust do their work. Some people measure everything on price, others are willing to pay for quality.

Service businesses make their money on profits from both parts and labor. If someone wants to provide their own parts (or tires), they are asking you to earn less than you normally would on a given job.

If a consumer buys tires on-line they should either mount them themselves or expect to pay a premium to have a professional do it.

[mznyc]

Here's a link to another tire changer at a more reasonable price.http://www.king-cart.com/n0m5rent/product=No-Mar+Tire+Changer/exact_match=exact

Dan I think your mind reading a little bit,I don't think anyone here has mentioned that they should purchase a part online and then go into a shop and ask them to install it.I know that's something I wouldn't think of doin' that and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Unfortunately we all don't have dealers such as MI or MPH,both who I patronize through mail order,who will do the quality of work of shops such as these.I am also a follower of buying quality over price,but because I own several bikes and ride high mileage/agressively, I burn through a fair amount of rubber trees.I dont have a lot of spare cash so saving a couple o hundred dollars a year would be welcome.My dealer makes a lot of money off me from parts/access/service so I'm not ready to start playing a tiny violin for them yet.I also try to support mom and pop shops locally and wherever I travel ,as feel they are the backbone of our local economies and try to avoid the national chains as much as I can.

Greg I would respect that your techs would prefer not to do tire changes as I'm a freelance audio tech and often do jobs for good loyal clients that I would prefer not to do ,and make less money on them,but because of the Big picture,I do most of them.

I also don't suggest in the practice of "dickering" as I had worked in retail for many years and couldn't stand people who were like an attack dog latched on to your leg until you relented to the price they wanted to pay.What I am saying,is that I PROPOSE a business deal for a GOOD customer(ME) who spends a lot of money at local dealer.This happens every second of every day all over the world,one party says "is this fair?" the other party says yes or no.End of story.That is how I do business.I'm sure you've seen the other side of the coin countless times.I have fantisised about owning a dealership,then I wake up and come to my senses!

The only reason I started the thread is the amount and regularity that I need tire service,and that it is something I can do at home with the proper equipment.Someone who does a tire change every 2-3 seasons ,it is not as much of an issue.

[Dan M]

Dan I think your mind reading a little bit,I don't think anyone here has mentioned that they should purchase a part online and then go into a shop and ask them to install it.I know that's something I wouldn't think of doin' that and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

The only reason I started the thread is the amount and regularity that I need tire service,and that it is something I can do at home with the proper equipment.Someone who does a tire change every 2-3 seasons ,it is not as much of an issue.

 

I'm no mind reader Mike. Ratchet in post#2 and Kevin in post #15 both talk about bringing tires in that were purchased elsewhere. I'm not condemning the practice (well maybe a little ), I'm just saying that if you do, you should be willing to pay a little more than if you had given the shop the tire business.

[Greg Field]

I'd just like to add that I meant no criticism of those who buy tires on line and change them. I did it for years myself. It's a great way tosave money if you burn through a lot of tires. And I also think that the combination of the Harbor Freight changer with that better wand someone linked to would be an excellent set-up for this work. The key is solid mounting for the changer and having that better wand or modifying the HF wand. I drilled into the concrete of my garage floor and put in permanent anchors for this.

[mznyc]

Oops Sorry Dan,didn't re-read posts.Went from memory.

Thanks for the info Greg,I'll check out that Harbor Freight model.

[mznyc]

****UPDATE******

I bought the Harbor Freight,the Mojo Bar,and blocks which protect the wheel.After a few hours of cursing and the bar slipping off ,when trying to mount the last bead,I got it and proceded to do the V11 and VFR in about an hour.Already had a balancer which takes several minutes per wheel.

Wheel mount and bar were about $225.00,so it's already paid for itself in the 2 changes!

I may try the NoMar bar as it looks like that design has some advantages over the Mojo.

[OldButNotDead]

NoMar bar + NoMar spray + NoMar goo =