Truck Tire Talk

[Reg Evans]

Well....it's actually for a motor home but it is a truck tire. I recently sold my old motor home and purchased a newer one. One of the rear outside tires has developed a bulge and some small cracks on the outer wall. The previous owner purchased all 6 tires new in 2006 from Bog O and I have the receipt. 5.5 years ago he paid ~$170 per tire out the door. I called Big O today and they want $270 for the same exact tire. It's a LT 225 75R 16 M&S load range E.

Here are my questions:

Have tire prices really gone up 157% in 5.5 years or is my local Big O ripping me off because I live in a small town. The tires were bought in San Diego in 2006.

I've heard that Big O extends a life time warranty on their tires. Is that true or do you have to purchase a warranty when buying them?

[Young Ed]

Reg I paid just under a $100 each for the cooper tires on my dakota. A few months ago when the tires were about 2y old I got a nail in one and had to have it replaced. I had to pay 50% of the new one with the prorated warranty and it cost me about $75. So yes its a combination of rubber prices going up and the US dollar going down.

[Dave72dt]

I'd be shopping around. Big O isn't the only place that sells tires. I'm sure you can buy online for much less than that.

[Plymouthy Adams]

any and all products that use petroleum in the mix..going sky high..and even batteries..look at their recent jump in price..

[Dave72dt]

I just checked Tires.com and found 34 different tires in that size all under 200/tire and as low as 88.

[41/53dodges]

if nothing else, try used. my truck tires were $85 for a set of four! i even got back there and they taught me to run the machine! now thats service!

[HanksB3B]

is to get last years model (like anything else except women). Tire Rack used to work really well for me when I needed high performance tires for my M3. Usually they were in excess of $200+, but I once got some Yokohama's that I really liked for $68 each. And yes tires have gone up substantially. If you want the best and don't feel like screwing around with the inferior garbage produced in China, expect to pay in excess of $1,000 for Michelin (if you are lucky you might get 5 tires). Plan well in advance, wait for sales. I'm not sure when the ideal month for buying tires is.

Hank

[John-T-53]

is to get last years model (like anything else except women). Tire Rack used to work really well for me when I needed high performance tires for my M3. Usually they were in excess of $200+, but I once got some Yokohama's that I really liked for $68 each. And yes tires have gone up substantially. If you want the best and don't feel like screwing around with the inferior garbage produced in China, expect to pay in excess of $1,000 for Michelin (if you are lucky you might get 5 tires). Plan well in advance, wait for sales. I'm not sure when the ideal month for buying tires is.

Hank

Sounds like a good strategy for buying a mattress too! Just saying that because I spent the past month looking for one. Ugh.

[Flatie46]

I've got a friend that owns a tire store he said there was anthor increase coming in Nov or Dec. He said every time oil goes up tires go up but if oil comes back down tires don't. I was looking for some for an old Jeep I bought and just couldn't believe the prices. I ended up buying a set of 5 used [Mickey Thompson] wheels and tires off of craigslist cheaper than I could buy 4 new tires. The tires on these wheels are 3/4 tread or better.

It may be me, but I don't think tires last as long as they used to. I know they're probably softer compound that grip and handle better but we put new a set on this Toyota we have as kind of a spare car. In 3yrs time I was seeing signs of dry rot. Also the tires on my zero turn mower were cracking pretty bad it's an '06.