Well, that’s about the most gangsta I’ll get all day.
Last May I went out to Moab with some friends for a camping trip and while we where there a friend pointed out that my tires were getting kind of bald. Me being the responsible adult that I am did nothing about it for 8 months. I like to think that this in itself is an accomplishment because I was able to drive on bald tires for 8 months without getting a flat or in an accident.
The problem with my car is that it comes with fancy shmancy rims that have non-standard tires which I didn’t realize until I went to get new tires. I found the size and went online to Discount Tire and the cheapest tire I could find was $150/piece plus installation and 15 random fees. I know I appear to be wealthy due to my thick accent and many leather bound books but I actually try to stay on a budget and $800 for tires didn’t quite fit in.
In my search for tires I came across TireRack.com and found their site to be extremely helpful and easy to operate. Like most sites they took in my car make, model, year and also that I had specialized tires but what I found most helpful was how they then proceeded to ask how you would be driving on the tires. Would you drive on the snow? Would they be a dedicated snow tire? Do you like to drive fast? What is your favorite food? Then they made recommendations based on those answers. The tire they recommended for me was spaghetti.
After looking at the tires they recommended for me I was able to get tires at a price that was pretty fair ($115/each) that came highly recommended by previous buyers.I was a little skeptical of the reviews until I found a handful of tires that had terrible reviews so that leads me to believe they are real. I went with the Potenza G 019 Grid beacause they got good reviews, the test results looked favorable, they were reasonable priced and they looked kind of cool.
I’m sure a lot of you are thinking “But Luke, if you buy tires online how are you going to get them installed?” Well, I’ll tell you. TireRack.com actually has a list of installers in your area and you can ship directly to the installer. They also have previous customers review the installers so you know what you are getting into. I chose to use the installer they recommended in my area, The Tire Source. The installation charges were fair, they were really nice and they did a great job. I also wasn’t going to be able to pick it up before they closed so they agreed to lock my keys in the car and I would come back with a set of spare keys and take it when I was ready.
Moral of the story: I’m surprised you’re still reading this; it was boring. Oh yeah, sometimes doing things differently than you are used to can pay off. I had a great experience buying tires this way and would recommend it to others.