Local vs online tires (long)

DeltaRed · Apr 6, 2015

We constantly hear of guys wanting 'cheaper online tires.I say buy local. Example: last year I ruined a good 18.4x38 tire. After
only one day the new (Harvest King) spun on the rim,ruining a new tube as well. 3 days later,same thing.This time they said I
needed a new rim.Since I was done plowing,I oped to use the old rim and find a good used.Found one in KS later that summer.Then
in the fall I was fall plowing and it spun AGAIN! They put the rim on and I finished fall plowing.In Decembewr,I bought a second
HK for the oppisite side to get a matcked set.Foreward to this sring.....Plowed for acouple of days and Guess what?Spun again!
this time the tire dealer decided that the first tire was bad.Too big around.So...He refunded me FULL purchace price on BOTH HK
tires. Got me a brand new set of American made Firestone SRT 23* 8 ply.. Mounted them for free.I only pd the difference. $250
each. I think they treated me very well. Now,Try that with 'Online' tires......These local guys are neighbors and friends. they
hire local people to work,provide jobs...Now who wouldn't want to help keep these guys in business? As I said before,Buy
local!The job you save may be your own....

the tractor vet · Apr 6, 2015

Went thru that a couple years back with a new set of Stone's only way to keep them from spinning was to take the welder and lay little stringers across the bead area . Way tomuch pony power and good traction Now they are staying seated to the rim . I have looked at ONLINE tire prices and even there best deal WITH OUT FREIGHT the local two guys that i deal with beat the ONLINE best price every time .

showcrop · Apr 6, 2015

The tires that came on my PJ trailer were supposed to be optional upgrade heavy grade. They started failing after eight years and not a lot of miles. The tread wear was very uneven. When I went to my regular tire store they showed me the difference between those and the tire that I needed to carry the rated weight of the trailer. It can be tough buying on line to be sure you are getting what you think you are.

Animal · Apr 6, 2015

I read your post and started to go on down the forum, but I just had to throw me 2cents in the mix. I agree 200%. The people that want to buy online and get the good deal probably do not have to make a living with their tractors. Two people that I need to keep happy is my bar tender and the tire man!

CenTex Farmall · Apr 6, 2015

No! Only buy from Large corporations with offshore headquarters that use cheap foreign labor! That way they can use some of the profits to keep the people in DC happy.

Ok now back to being serious. That is a GOOD tire dealer! We have a good local hardware store I go to and they back anything you buy in there. Somehow they keep their prices as good as any big box type store.

Used to in this area there was a small town about every 7 to 10 miles. Each one had a little micro-economy going. I think it's a more resilient model than the global mess we have now.

old-9 · Apr 6, 2015

We have a local tire place that has been in business longer than I have been alive. As a kid I remember going there on my bike, Sinclare gas station. Old Jim owned it and later his 2 sons, and now Jim's step grandson. I have been buying from this place for ever. And they take better care of me than walley mart or the on line places.
Our town also has a "Farm Store" localey owned, I buy as much as I can to help them stay open. I don't buy all that much but am on a first name basis with "both" guys that work there. The owner and employee! Old Jeff is like a coon dog on a trail if you need a part. I and a friend are the "go to"guys for Ford information, and I know jeff has several go to's for every make of tractor.
Yes cut your throat and buy everything on line. joe

JayinNY · Apr 6, 2015

I can agree but I also disagree. As cut throat as this state has become, my brother and I buy most stuff on line, main reason, NO SALES tax, and most times free shipping. Hell, our state don't care about keeping people employed, why the hell should we care?

RodinNS · Apr 6, 2015

I agree with you about buying locally... but I think you were extremely fortunate that they fixed you up in the way that they did. There's really no obligation for them to do that.
On another note, don't be surprised if the firestones slip the same way. I've got a set of 23 deg radials that have done that since they were new. I've gone to the point of mounting them tubeless so they don't rip the stems off the tubes when they spin. Granted, on this tractor it's considerably over ballasted and turned up quite a lot, then made to pull... so it's probably a bit more than the tires are made to take unless they're aired WAY up.

Rod

ObsoElitist · Apr 6, 2015

I figured that out long ago, I only buy motorcycle tires online and mount and balance them myself.
I go down off the mountain, the few area tire guys charge about 1/3 more,than Lodi Tire who has been a farmer's favorite for many years..

Ron-MO · Apr 6, 2015

I guess I have mixed feelings on this. I am all for buy local, IF the dealer can 1. Carry some stock and 2. Compete ($$). And charging excessive for mounting and balancing, tire repair, etc. on tires they did not sell, likely wont earn my business any time soon. I had this last winter, only place I could find a decent set of winter tires was online (unless I paid double the price). Mounted the tires myself, took to a local shop to balance and was charged $40, which likely means he does not care about earning my business in the future. My mistake for not asking the price before I carried them in (he did not even have to raise the car or carry them in). In some cases, there might be a good reason there are fewer small shops when some seem to go out of their way to run off customers rather than earn their business.

Traditional Farmer · Apr 6, 2015

For car tires and small truck tires I have a great small tire dealer that does things right is reasonable etc so I buy all of those tires from him.Just the opposite on tractor tires no dealer that is even close to being reasonable so I usually buy them on line or at a huge tire dealer a couple states away then have a really good local independent fellow that mounts them for me.Buying local is good but I'm not going to be ripped off just to buy local.

NCWayne · Apr 6, 2015

I use a local, family owned shop for everything. They don't stock a lot beyond car and pickup sizes, but they can have nearly anything the next day, from their supplier.

When it came time for new tires on my Freightliner, I called Dennis, and told him what I wanted. I had checked around, and he was nearly $30 per tire cheaper than the other places, and that was mounted and balanced. The other places wanted around $30 each to mount and balance them, on top of the extra cost. That saved me around $240 on 4 rear tires. When I needed some ATV tires Dennis was cheaper than anything I could find online by at least $10 per tire. So, another $40 saved, along with no shipping.

The other good thing is when you go to get tires put on, they get done FAST. These guys routinely stay covered up, but unless it's a really busy day, you rarely have to wait on more than one other vehicle. The last time they did my Freightliner, I had the four new rear tires on, and the truck back on the ground in less than an hour. Most of the other places wanted me to being it and leave it until they were done.

Great prices, and even greater service, you can't beat that online no way, no how.

gbs · Apr 6, 2015

we had two spin like that after being mounted for a month or so, didn't know what happened on the first one the valve stem was torn, son though he installed the tube wrong but couldn't understand how he done it,when the next one tore the valve stem out we went back to the dealer with our problem and he asked did you use murphy mounting compound I told him yes we bought it from him,he said that's your problem these newer tires don't fit the rim as tight as the old ones,he told us they had wrapped toilet paper around the rim before inflating them and it cured their problems,i didn't want to risk another problem so we used very little compound to get them on the rim then wash it off just before inflating them still didn't trust them not slipping so we didn't put any water in them until we ran them some they held so we filled them with water and haven't had any more trouble,latter mounted a set of titans and though they weren't going to seat the bead but they finally did after a couple attempts they haven't moved

VicS · Apr 6, 2015

Let us know if the new tires last more than 8 yes. (if any of us are still
here) mine just lasted 6 yes.

Traditional Farmer · Apr 7, 2015

My tire guy says not to use a high gloss paint on rims where the bead sets,no paint with a
little rust works good

Billy Shafer · Apr 7, 2015

I don't understand people buying needed parts on line.Man down here bought four truck tires. No tax free shipping. Waited four days for the wrong tires to show up.Sent them back. A week later the correct ones showed up. Then after making the local tire shop mad. Had to drive to the next town to get them mounted. But he still brags about what a good deal he got on them. I don't see it.

sms · Apr 7, 2015

My local tire guy/friend retired/sold his business. Last fall needed 4 tires for my pickup shopped around ended up at a big chain store because price was a little better and they advertised a tire company rebate($80.00). Called ahead to see if tires were in stock and to make an appointment, was told come in anytime, waited 4 hours to get my tires, had to drive an hour each way, so all day for tires, I was not happy about waiting. Except for the wait they were not bad but I will buy closer to home next time even if I pay more because my time is also valuable.

Bret4207 · Apr 7, 2015

It all depends on what you're doing and where you are. Someplace that has several dealers nearby might offer what you need at a competitive price. Out here, there's usually 1 guy to buy from and what he charges is what you pay. On other things the dealer may be ordering from the same place you'd order on line, only you don't get it delivered to your door and you have to pay his mark up. Things are too tight these days to just turn a blind eye to reality.

We all love the "Mom and Pop" shops, but the truth is Mom and Pop were often screwing over people on price or service or both. We had a rather large Mom and Pop hardware up here, everyone went there for everything. They were the most expensive place in town, they knew it and they didn't care. They finally went bust.

ASEguy · Apr 7, 2015

We use "Tire Stuf" from our local auto parts store. It's really slick for mounting and it gets sticky as it dries and acts like an adhesive.

sideconsole4020guy · Apr 7, 2015

I totally agree Steve. I always buy tires locally because If the tire shops aren't there any more what will I do. I even called our co-op at 4:55 one nite when I had got off work early because I had to go back to work later and they stayed late to fix 2 loader tractor front tires that I needed to feed cows the next day. We have another local tire shop that "Is the cheapest around". Well the reason is if you want load range "E" pickup tires they install 6 ply tires instead of 10 ply.

Texasmark1 · Apr 7, 2015

Just an FYI for what it's worth. Had a friend's granddaughter go to a Good Year dealer for a new front tire to match the one on the other side which was purchased at WM; no WM store in her city and had to get to work. Guy at the GY store said that he couldn't sell her that tire as it was a WM GY tire. He said that if she'd to go to a WM store and get the tire mounted and balanced, he'd align her front end and correct the cause of the replacement requirement.

So, apparently there is a difference to get the price break besides volume. Not sure but I think I have seen the same tire with 400 and 600 tread wear ratings, all other things being equal. Was not aware of the sources of these two tires. But it could be that the tread compounds are different which accounted for the lower price in manufacturing. I realize that the softer the tread the better a given tire grips the road, but also it wears out faster so what's in the price?

While we're at it answer this one: Where does all the tread rubber go? Millions of tires are sold due to missing tread and you see piles and piles of carcasses at tire dealers, but where is the black rubber powder from the disappearing tread?

Mark

JRSutton · Apr 7, 2015

I'm a buy local kinda guy, but Last time I bought truck tires I had to reconsider.

I found them at onlinetires.com, same exact tire just around $100 less per tire. Even with the shipping, I saved $400 on the set.

None of the local guys wanted to come down on their prices, they just got p#$#4ed off that I asked.

The local shops have a lot of overhead they need to cover, I get it. They also add the experience and customer service and all that, which IS certainly worth something.

Had they met me somewhere in the middle I would have re-considered it, but they chose not to discuss it.

It's unfortunate, but tire companies have to change their business models, or they will fail. You simply can't fight a free market. It ALWAYS flows towards lower prices, just ask walmart.

It's like deciding if I want to pay $80 to hear four different artist's songs on four different $20 vinyl records, or just listen to them all for free on the internet, and have them with me everywhere I go, and never worry about scratches.

It's not even a contest.

Yeah, I LIKE to support the artists, ... but ... not the point of foolishness.

Same with tires. I'd feel foolish spending an extra $400 just to keep it local.

Local vs online tires (long)

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