Here's the story:
I went to discounttiresdirect.com and looked for tires for a Toyota 4Runner. O.E. size is P265 70R/16. I had my Consumer Reports magazine nearby and noticed that the Hankook was highly recommended for its price/performance ratio. Discount Tires Direct had the tires for $76/tire, plus $9/tire shipping and any applicable taxes. They also had the Road Hazard available, for an additional $9-$10/tire. All together, the grand total would probably come out to about $400 after all taxes.
So I called the local America's Tire Company close to my house and asked them how much it'd cost to have them installed. I told them that I'd be interested in the lifetime rotation/balance and flat repairs, and their labor fee came out to $106. So about $506 for 4 Tires installed, with road hazard. A good deal compared to the $560 I quoted by Les Schwab for a set of Toyo Open Country A/T tires with the same guarantee(s).
While I was still on the phone, I asked him if he could order the tires for me on his behalf (thought he could get them cheaper, even though they are the same company). He said that it'd be $86/tire installed (with the free lifetime rotation/rebalance and flat repairs), if he had gotten them for me. I also inquired about the Road Hazard, and it'd be an extra $13/tire; $3-$4 more per tire than Discount Tires Direct, but at least America Tire Company's policy doesn't force you to ship the tire back like Discount Tires Direct does. All together, counting in the lifetime rotation/rebalance, free flat repairs, and Road Hazard, the total came out to $440 "out the door, including any applicable taxes and fees." By the way, to note, the tires have to be special ordered directly from Hankook, and you'll see why this is important later.
It seemed to me that this price was too good to be true. So about 10 minutes later, I called back and got a hold of a different employee. Sure enough, this "other employee" quoted me the same price for the tires, $86/installed, but noted that there would be a $7/tire shipping charge since it?d have to be special ordered. So instead, the quote from this employee was $468 "out the door." A $28 difference. At this point, I start getting uneasy feelings about this place because it made me feel as though they were trying to screw me over. But nevertheless, I decided to give them another chance, so I gave them a third call back.
This time, I got a hold of the first person I talked to, the person who gave me the price $440 "out the door." I asked him the possibility of another shipping fees, and he said that there would probably be a $7/tire shipping fee. So I asked him whether the quote earlier including shipping fee, and he said no. He added though, that since he forgot to tell me about the shipping fee while quoting me the price earlier, he?d waive the shipping fee. At that point, I also asked him about the details of the Road Hazard program. He told me that if a tire becomes damaged to a point where it cannot be repaired safely, it?d be replaced free of charge. Then, I asked him if free flat repairs were included anyway with the purchase, he said yes, so I, at that point, told him that I might not get the Road Hazard. At that point, he jumps in and tells me that he?ll only waive the shipping fee on the tires if I order the Road Hazard program, so he said, ?that?s an incentive for you to consider the Road Hazard.? So basically, if you do the math, the Road Hazard now drops to $5.50/tire since if I had bought the 4 tires without the road hazard and was charged the shipping fee, it?d be $418. If I had bought the 4 tires with the Road Hazard, it?d be $440. Not bad. I left him my name and told him that I?ll call him back if I decide to proceed.
So what do you folks think?
$440 seems like an awesome deal to me for tires that are highly rated in a recent issue of Consumer Reports. If I go for it, I?d be saving $120 over Les Schwab?s Toyo Open Country A/Ts.
Michael
EDIT- Goofed on the math. It should be $5.50/tire extra for the Road Hazard, not $6/tire since the price difference is only $22, not $24 that I had thought initially.
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