Cost of mounting/balancing tires locally?

[HaveGun]

My hometown has two tire service companies; Les Schwab and Point S Tire. I stopped buying tires from them years ago when they became absurdly expensive. Last year, I bought a set of tires online and took them to Les Schwab to have them mounted and balanced and they charged $90 for the service. Ridiculous. Plus, they didn't do it correctly and I had to take them to a different Les Schwab in a neighboring town and had them re-balanced.

When my girlfriend needed tires she bought online mounted and balanced in February, she went to Les Schwab and they told her $140. She walked out and took it to the Toyota dealer who did it for $110.

I stopped by the Point S store today and asked how much to mount and balance 4 new tires and they told me $150. What??

Are tire shops all over charging twice what they used to a year or two ago, or are my local shops gouging people?

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[Hemlock]

Tire shops don't like the idea of you getting a good deal on-line and having them do the work. So they charge big dollars for M&B labor because they didn't make any money on the tire sale mark-up. Years ago when I started working in a garage, M&B was part of the selling price. Now they charge you separate. A few years ago I bought a new tire and tube for my motorcycle on line. Mounted it myself and took it to a large well know Portland dealer to have it balanced. They quoted me two days to do it and $45 for labor plus weights. I don't think so! Oh and don't forget tire disposal cost.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

I use les cause the tires on my pickup will last 80,000 miles. One stop. Decent service. Nothing like they used to be at all. Thats due to the under 35 age crowd.

 

[HaveGun]

A couple of years ago, I bought the tires online for $100 cheaper each then bought new rims from Les Schwab since they were only about $15 more each. They mounted them on the new tires for free since they damaged one of the rims when they mounted them.

Now, the rims are about $40 more each from Les Schwab and I don't have time to deal with them screwing things up.

It's sad that shops like LS offer a multitude of other automotive services other than tire mounting and balancing and instead of trying to compete by vying for the growing business of installing online tires and wheels, drive customers away by gouging them on the most basic service.

I just called the local Meineke Muffler shop, who have done excellent work for me in the past, and their price is $88. Plus I get a 10% veterans discount. So $80, or nearly half, of what the local large chain tire shops charge. Looks like I'll have them do it.

 

[kmk1012]

As a former long time LS employee , there was a saying amongst each other. We always wondered why people would buy their burgers from McD's but take them to BK to have them cooked. You save $ on the tires online because the seller doesn't have the overhead and such to cover. A business that is open to the public actually has significantly more expenses to cover. Now, that being said, my last set of tires were purchased from the dealership because they were $700 cheaper for the set on the same tires.

 

[Mikej]

I saved over $250.00 buying Michelin from Costco over those Toyo things Schwabbies sells. Les Schwab isn't the same stores they were back 20 years ago. Though I don't know how long they've been messing up jobs with green new hires doing things they're not qualified to do.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Just got new tires at Discount Tires,
$100 extra for disposal fee, mount and install.

 

[HaveGun]

I called a local non-chain shop that my company uses for all of our vehicle tires and asked the young man who answered the phone how much for mounting and balancing tires not purchased there. $20 each. Great. I then asked how much to sipe each tire.

He paused, sounded confused, and asked what siping was. Seriously? You work in a tire shop in the Eastern Washington/North Idaho region and don't know what tire siping is?

I called Les Schwab and asked what the price was on siping new tires vs. tires that have been driven on. In the past, it was around $10 a tire for new tires and substantially more for used since the techs have to dig out any rocks that may be imbedded in the tread that would damage the blades on the machine.

They apparently don't do that anymore and it is now $18.99 per tire, new or used.

 

[made in china]

Oh man can I go on a long diatribe about how much Les Schwab blows (they tried to rip me off many years ago, super shady). They are horrible.

Sounds like you don't have a Discount Tire nearby. I have used Discount to mount wheels I bought online, but we both knew that Discount could not get that exact wheel I wanted (style, brand, offset, lug pattern, etc) HOWEVER I still bought tires from them because Discount basically carries all of the good brands at very reasonable prices.

When I've had loose tires mounted/balanced by Discount, it is $20 per wheel/tire.

I recently bought American (USA, have you heard of it?) made tires for my trailer (very rare these days) from Discount Tire. Maybe I could have saved $10 by going online? But, Discount had to special order the tires and deal with them being shipped to the correct store, I was able to get them in 3 biz days.

Why would anyone buy online (if they have a Discount available) you need to be able to transport the tires to a tire shop, AND you need to pay disposal fees. Neither my wife's car nor my coupe can handle a set of 4 tires in the trunk/cargo area, so I would guess that hassle applies to others who don't own spacious vehicles.

Point being, if I was a brick-n-mortar I would be very apprehensive about servicing online tires. What did the customer actually save with all the hassle on their end, then I don't get even the slightest margin.

However, as for LS, they can go pound sand. Hate them. If that's all you have in your town, I feel bad for you. I have heard that smaller, independent tire shops don't mind (and I've had good luck with them when I lived in AZ) and will give you a fair deal.

On a side note, I heard LS lost their Toyo contract. Toyo tires were the best I ever had on my truck, but LS wanted nearly $1600 for Toyo MT's for my truck. I went to Discount and got BFG KO2's for $1000, but I regret it. The Toyo's are way better than the KO2's I have now!

 

[HaveGun]

Why would anyone buy online (if they have a Discount available) you need to be able to transport the tires to a tire shop, AND you need to pay disposal fees. Neither my wife's car nor my coupe can handle a set of 4 tires in the trunk/cargo area, so I would guess that hassle applies to others who don't own spacious vehicles.

Discount's online price for the exact same tire vs. Walmart's online price was $219 vs. $161. That's $232 cheaper for the exact same set of tires delivered to my door. Plus, the nearest Discount tire is 70 miles away. For $200, I'll gladly put the tires in the back of my SUV and drive to town.

 

[made in china]

Fair enough, but the brick-n-mortars need to make money to stay in business so that they can be around to install your tires in the future.

 

[HaveGun]

Fair enough, but the brick-n-mortars need to make money to stay in business so that they can be around to install your tires in the future.

So, you're saying that if I refuse to pay 40% more for a product, and 100% more for a service, then providers of said product and service will disappear and no one else will figure out how to provide a needed service and product at a competitive rate?

I don't think that's how capitalism or the free market system works.

 

[made in china]

So, you're saying that if I refuse to pay 40% more for a product, and 100% more for a service, then providers of said product and service will disappear and no one else will figure out how to provide a needed service and product at a competitive rate?

I don't think that's how capitalism or the free market system works.

No. I said "fair enough" as in you have your reasons.

If nearly everyone decides to do things that way then you'll see traditional tire stores close up. Then there'll be consequences to that.

Kind of like how Amazon is so popular, seems like a good idea, right? Except Amazon doesn't have fitting rooms for when you are trying out new clothes. Sure, they have a good policy, but nothing beats getting what you want in one go, it's a PITA to send things back just because it didn't fit. Now, there are much fewer fitting rooms in USA because of Amazon. I don't see this as a positive development, I miss brick-n-mortar stores.

The equipment to service tires is expensive. The capitol required to operate an efficient business is high. I doubt anyone is going to go in to business just to mount tires. Remember, in most states, mounting tires also means you have to pay environmental fees to dispose of them.

Fortunately, most people don't want to bother with buying tires online. And the free market allows brick-n-mortar stores to "penalize" or surcharge for customer purchased tires. I wouldn't be surprised if some day (soon) the tire shops begin to have a "no tires from elsewhere" policy, they'll say it's for "safety and liability" reasons.

 

[HaveGun]

I get what you're saying, but it seems you are pulling more for the business than for the consumer when it comes to tires. I buy a lot of items online, simply because there are few choices locally for items. I drove around two towns and went to three different hardware stores trying to find an impact tool to remove a stripped screw from a Glock slide. Nobody had what I needed, so I had to buy one on Amazon. It wasn't that the local shop was more; they simply didn't have what I needed.

The only ammunition I have bought online is .450 Bushmaster because nobody sells it within 50 miles of me. I will happily pay a couple bucks more for what I need from a local small shop. I do it all the time.

But vehicle tires are hundreds of dollars cheaper online and I simply can't afford to crop up a failing local business model that relies on gouging the consumer on goods and services.

 

[made in china]

I hear ya on the tools thing. I too find myself either going online or to Harbor Freight when all else fails.

A few years back Les Schwab tried to rip me off, and from then on I avoided them completely. Not only are their prices really high, but they tried to cheat me on a service. Being a former ASE tech that didn't turn out the way they hoped it would.

I'm lucky, have 2 Discount Tires nearby, been using them since 1993 and have never been wronged by them. They have tried to convince me to fix my TPMS a few times (I intentionally disabled TPMS on one of my vehicles) but they are otherwise easy to deal with and have fair prices.

 

[Ramjet12]

For $650 you can do it yourself.

 

[oremike]

I buy tires from the tire store not on line for the service contract. I get my tires rotated every 5,000 miles for free with out an appointment. Flats are fixed for free and tires get replaced if not fixable.
I'm going to put new tires on before this winter so have been tire shopping. Here's the deal I found, Point S starting Sept 15th will be having a buy 3 get one free sale on Toyo tires, I'm not sure how long the sale lasts but I would guess at least until the end of the month. So I'm getting 10 ply all season three mountain/snowflake tires with a 50,000 mile warranty, mounted, balanced and installed on my pickup for $960.00 Tires are the Toyo open country A/T 3's.

 

[Poofelscotch]

I have found that, in my area, most tire shops are charging around $25 per tire for M&B. Seems like a fair price to me (fair price is subjective). But I think of it as a bigger issue for the company, they have employees they need to pay (loss of sales overtime will result in downsizing employees), they have real estate to pay for, operating costs, inventory to turn. So to an extent I am in favor of the company charging what they want..... Free market right? One can always go somewhere else, even if it is to another town or city to get a better price.

I am an account sales rep for a distributor and supply irrigation, waste water, plumbing, and electrical materials to contractors and the public. So, for instance, when someone buys a centrifugal pump for another store and comes to me for replacement parts I ensure a little more gross profit is put on the order than the normal rate. I also make sure they know our price of a "like item" pump, which is usually less or close in price, then what they can get it for anywhere else, just so they know we are competitve and hopefully think about my company next time they need to make a large purchase. For me its about commitment relationships, which most of my customers understand. I deliver above and beyond service to those who are committed to buying from me. Typically our prices are great, but not always, and my customers know that the service I provide and overall lower prices means they are ahead in the long run doing business with me.

If a customer only cares about the getting the lowest cost, and buys on the internet or from another store, but then needs our help, I know the customer is not committed to my store (wandering or hop around customers). Which means I am not committed to getting them a good price.

Many may not like that way of thinking, but for those type for "hop around" customers, I care more about the company at that point then a uncommitted customer.

- P

 

[Poofelscotch]

I buy tires from the tire store not on line for the service contract. I get my tires rotated every 5,000 miles for free with out an appointment. Flats are fixed for free and tires get replaced if not fixable.
I'm going to put new tires on before this winter so have been tire shopping. Here's the deal I found, Point S starting Sept 15th will be having a buy 3 get one free sale on Toyo tires, I'm not sure how long the sale lasts but I would guess at least until the end of the month. So I'm getting 10 ply all season three mountain/snowflake tires with a 50,000 mile warranty, mounted, balanced and installed on my pickup for $960.00 Tires are the Toyo open country A/T 3's.

I have had great service from Point S, not saying all of the franchises of Point S are the same. There prices seem fair, and I believe you can get a better tire at a better price than Les Schwab, with better service.

I have found over the years of buying tires that Les Schwab is selling "no-name" tires at premium costs. My last set of tires was from Les Schwab, only because I had two tires go flat at the same time. I was out the door with 4, LT265/65r17 Dean Tire Back Country A/T's at $1600.00 (Ouch). But I did it to get back on the road. If I can time my next tire purchase I will be going back to a Point S shop.

- P

 

[made in china]

For $650 you can do it yourself.

Balancing a tire is a whole 'nuther thing I could see not being able to get right in my garage/shop, if I chose to do this myself.

The other issue is tire disposal. It's as much of a PITA as disposing of a refrigerator or an old CRT TV. In WA state they are making everything more difficult these days. I recently hauled CLEAN brake calipers, rotors and a stainless muffler to the local metal recycle transfer station and they informed me they have a NEW "no car parts policy". I was like "hey, no worries these parts are good, clean, high-quality OEM metal" I was thinking they didn't want contaminated parts. NOPE. WA state, in their glorious wisdom, says "no more car part recycling due to chop shops". The transfer station guy admitted it is a stupid rule, and said something about car parts with a VIN stamp. Huh? Anyways, I asked him where am I supposed to take this kind of scrap? He shrugged, said "junkyard??" I was like "all of the junkyards are closed and out of business" Fortunately he was totally cool and let me recycle my car parts anyway. However, next time, different day, different person I may not be so lucky.

In the last 20 years, the Seattle-metro area has lost all but one or two in town junkyards, and I am sure they don't want droves of backyard mechanics dumping junk parts on them. I really hate all of the regs and rules, they make normal life so much more of a hassle.