Managing Home Maintenance Costs

Looking for tires online can be quite rewarding. without leaving the comfort of your home, many people can now search for tires for their cars and make their purchases online, arrange for them to be delivered and then show up at the dealer to have them installed. This is a very convenient way to purchase tires, however there are a number of cautions that consumers need to be aware of when they purchase tires online in this manner. For example, where will you have the tires shipped? Who will install them and how much will you pay for the tires to be installed and balanced?  You may save on the purchase and lose out on the installation.

Tires Online – Pricing

First of all the price they pay for the tires may include shipping and taxes to the location where you can have the tires installed. However the price may not include installation or balancing of the tires before they are placed on your car. This extra cost can be as much as $20 or more for each tire and with taxes amount to over $100 in extra cost. Some tire stores will match prices including the installation cost to shop around for the total package before you make a decision.

Tires Online – Warranty & Services

Another concern is warranty and services. Some companies will offer free tire rotation every 12,000 miles , free tire balancing and checking of tire pressure. If your tires have nitrogen in them, this could include topping up as needed with nitrogen. All of these services are quite costly if you must pay for them individually.

Finding a great deal on a set of tires without these services and features can mean that your great deal is actually more expensive than some other online tire deals that do include all of these services. Compare carefully before you make your decision to purchase tires online.

What is the Total Cost of Owning Tires

We like to know what the total cost for buying a tire and then maintaining the tire on your car is. The cost for tires can include the following and this what we think you should be comparing before you make a purchase:

• Tire price
• Installation Price
• Balancing
• Fill with Nitrogen
• Tire rotation
• Rebalance tires when they are rotated
• Tire pressure check and top up
• Tire disposal charge for old tires
• All taxes, shipping and duties if applicable

As you can see there is a lot to take into account when buying tires for your car. Negotiate based on the final price and the services you want thrown in.

Personally we like the idea of having all of these services included in one price from a national dealer. I can use their services regardless of what city I might be in. I can have my tires balanced and rotated anywhere in the country for free. Because it was included in the price of the tire when I purchased it and I maintain my car properly!

For more about buying tires while on the road, tire sales, etc., click here.

Have you ever checked out some of these online tire web sites that cater to all kinds of cars and customers? Almost all of the major tire companies have online tire sales available. Customers can order their tires online and have them shipped almost wherever you would like. In fact you can order them to be shipped to the nearest dealer closest to you. Or you can even have them shipped to your home. You will have to pay shipping and tax of course. If you are crossing borders, you may have to pay brokers fees and import duties.

Before you decide to make your purchase find out what costs you will have to pay. Compare to the cost of buying locally at your closest tire dealer. These additional fees can add up in a hurry. It is always a good idea to take into account the total cost of your purchase. Also tire dealers will often have sales on as well which may in the end be the best buy!

Online Tires – Deals

Consumers can usually find pretty good deals for these online tire sales web sites. It is an easy way to shop for tires online and customers can easily compare prices. What consumers need to remember is that there is still the cost of installation to be added along with the cost to balance the tires.  This cost can add another $20 or $30 dollars to each tire. This is really the cost that you need to compare to and not just the cost of the tire, unless you have your own wheel balancing and installation equipment, which most people do not have.

Some of the larger chains will arrange for the tires to be shipped to the dealer located closest to your location where you can have them installed for an additional fee. Again include this fee for installation when you are comparing tires that your purchase online. When you ship to their store they will sometimes waive shipping costs.

Compare all Services and Features

Finally compare the services and features that you will receive when you purchase tires online. These may include free wheel balancing, free tire rotation and free top up with nitrogen for as long as you own the car. These services can be quite valuable and make the difference between purchasing a set of tires from one online tire company vs. another company. Almost all of the major tire stores such as Costco, Americas Tire and Canadian Tire support these types of services. They charge in different ways so consumers need to compare the total costs of purchasing and maintaining tires.

Free tire rotation can be worth as much as $60 when you consider that a lot of places will charge $15 per tire or even more to remove the tire, balance the tire and then reinstall the tires according to the rotation that is required by the manufacturer.  this is just one example of factoring costs into the price that you pay for tires.

We travel a great deal by car, so buying from a national chain is also important since it means I can take my car into one of their shops in any city and have the tires rotated for free.

For more about buying tires while on the road, tire sales, etc., click here.