Grex Consumer Conference

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Grex Consumer Item 69: Tire costs
Entered by mcpoz on Mon Jul 15 22:46:55 UTC 1996:

We needed to buy tires, so I did some comparison shopping.  The original tires
were Goodyear Invicta GL's so I thought I would start by getting prices on
that exact model.

I called Goodyear on Stadium.  4 tires cost $485.00.

I called Robey on North Main.  4 tires cost $263.00. (Invicta GL's same size)

Discount tire had Invicta GL's for almost the same price as Robey's, maybe
$10 higher total.

Sears did not have Invicta GL's but would sell a Yokohama for $330/4 and a
Michelin for $480/4.

How can people sell the same tire for that much difference?  

Robey's has my next business.

7 responses total.

#1 of 7 by kentn on Tue Jul 16 00:10:00 1996:

Probably because a lot of people won't comparison shop like you did.  One
might be tempted to say that the higher price on Stadium goes for more
freebies (like rotation, balancing, flat fixing, etc.) after the initial
installation, but I'm not certain if that is the case (at the very least,
Discount will fix flats for free, dunno about Robey, but it wouldn't
surprise me if they did also). Did you note any differences in installation
costs or free services later?

#2 of 7 by mcpoz on Tue Jul 16 01:23:05 1996:

Robey will rotate for free.  They would sell a road hazard guarantee
separately, not much money, but I said "no" before he finished explaining it.

When I priced tires, Robeys said "We want your business and we will match any
price you get."  (He had already quoted the price). 

When I left with new tires, he said "we really appreciate your business and
hope you will come back."

#3 of 7 by popcorn on Tue Jul 16 22:47:40 1996:

This response has been erased.

#4 of 7 by tao on Wed Jul 17 18:18:05 1996:

After checking out Firestone, Discount Tire, and Sears, I bought a set
of four Bridgestone tires for under $300, mounted/balanced/installed.
The deal included free tire rotaion and a 50,000 warranty.

Both Discount Tire and Firestone wanted more money for lower-quality
tires -- surpisingly, Discount Tire gave the most expensive quote.
Needless to say, I bought the tires from Sears.

#5 of 7 by omni on Thu Jul 18 06:17:12 1996:

  When I had to worry about things like tires, I always bought from Sears.
Solid work, and solid products.

#6 of 7 by srw on Fri Jul 19 02:57:31 1996:

I have had similar experiences to Valerie's consistently at Discount Tire
on W. Stadium .  They have my repeat business.

#7 of 7 by wh on Sun Jul 21 03:34:00 1996:

My experience has been that Discount and Robey's are nearly the
same price, very good service, and often lower than most. Robey
does more than just tires if you need anything else looked at while
having a bad car week. I have repeated good experiences with
Discount, which happens to be closer to where I live.

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