# deals on winter tires



## joncnca (Jul 12, 2009)

anyone know where to get a deal on some winter tires?

season's almost over, should be some deals for next year, right?


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

where do you live?


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Used ones on craigslist/kijiji.


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

Used Rims from a wrecker are easier to get a hold of before everyone starts putting on winter tires in the fall.


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

If you want new, no one can beat Costco - they sell tires at cost.

Used, I would go with the already recommended auto wrecker, you shouldn't pay more than $25 a tire for anything half decent. May even be on rims that fit your vehicle.


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## joncnca (Jul 12, 2009)

live in mississauga.

little concerned about craigslist for tires...i don't know if i can catch all the flaws in a winter tire...why would someone sell a set that's working properly (unless perhaps they buy a new car or something...and then i'd have to include balancing, etc.). i get all seasons from simply tyre (started years ago, just habit now) and they sell some general altimax arctic, 215-60R16 with steelies, mount, balance, install for $810 new, tires rated well for price.

i know that's not as much of a steal as used/wreckers, but i'm a little concerned for the sake of my wife. what kind of prices are you looking at for costco? 2008 honda accord 4 dr ex-l v6.


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

Go to costco.ca and see for yourself. Like I said, you won't find anything cheaper as they sell for cost. You can get cheaper (as in quality) tires but you won't find the same tires any less expensive anywhere else.

EDIT: and the nice thing with Costco, if you buy online and ship to store, they make an appt for you rather than the usual show up and wait for a time slot


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Consider a road trip to the states.

Order your tires on tirerack.com. You can even schedule an install at the time I did that and saved about $600 on tires (i have an audi). Totally worth it - it was a nice vacation to seattle. 

There are online options for Canada too but not quite as good.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

joncnca said:


> live in mississauga.
> 
> little concerned about craigslist for tires...i don't know if i can catch all the flaws in a winter tire...why would someone sell a set that's working properly (unless perhaps they buy a new car or something...and then i'd have to include balancing, etc.). i get all seasons from simply tyre (started years ago, just habit now) and they sell some general altimax arctic, 215-60R16 with steelies, mount, balance, install for $810 new, tires rated well for price.
> 
> i know that's not as much of a steal as used/wreckers, but i'm a little concerned for the sake of my wife. what kind of prices are you looking at for costco? 2008 honda accord 4 dr ex-l v6.


Usually people buy new cars. You can often buy tires mounted on rims because they have no use for the rims on their new car...

There are many rim+tire sets for honda accords available.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

joncnca said:


> live in mississauga.
> 
> little concerned about craigslist for tires...i don't know if i can catch all the flaws in a winter tire...why would someone sell a set that's working properly (unless perhaps they buy a new car or something...and then i'd have to include balancing, etc.). i get all seasons from simply tyre (started years ago, just habit now) and they sell some general altimax arctic, 215-60R16 with steelies, mount, balance, install for $810 new, tires rated well for price.
> 
> i know that's not as much of a steal as used/wreckers, but i'm a little concerned for the sake of my wife. what kind of prices are you looking at for costco? 2008 honda accord 4 dr ex-l v6.


Here's the situation that my friend experienced on Ottawa Kijji. He was also looking for 4 used winter tires. He found them already mounted on rims, but the rims were so badly rusted from salt damage, that the rims were very risky to put on the car, because they could start leaking around the bead (edge of the rim).

He ended up buying 4 rims from a wrecker at extra cost to replace the questionable damaged rims, since he wanted to keep his all season
tires mounted on their original rims.

Buying used tires unmounted and not checking the tire out thorough to make sure it can hold air involves some risk. 
Your life and people in the car depend on all 4 tires and your brakes being trustworthy and in good condition.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Addy said:


> If you want new, no one can beat Costco - they sell tires at cost.


It's not really at their cost. Tires there may be somewhat cheaper than at the tire dealers, but they also want to sell you extra road hazard insurance.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

joncnca said:


> live in mississauga.
> 
> little concerned about craigslist for tires...i don't know if i can catch all the flaws in a winter tire...why would someone sell a set that's working properly (unless perhaps they buy a new car or something...and then i'd have to include balancing, etc.). i get all seasons from simply tyre (started years ago, just habit now) and they sell some general altimax arctic, 215-60R16 with steelies, mount, balance, install for $810 new, tires rated well for price.
> 
> i know that's not as much of a steal as used/wreckers, but i'm a little concerned for the sake of my wife. what kind of prices are you looking at for costco? 2008 honda accord 4 dr ex-l v6.


I'm going to order 2 all seasons from this place:
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/searchWinterTiresBySize.do?sw=true&cs=205&ar=60&rd=16

They ship UPS to Canada to your door and take care of UPS customs clearance and cdn taxes.
In my case a 205/55/R15 tire ($80US) is going to cost approximately $120 cdn shipped right to my door. However, this price does not include mounting/balancing on your own rims. 
If you have to buy rims, that's extra as well...so if you want new snows mounted on rims..the price you were quoted is not too bad of a price for
4 tires.


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## SpIcEz (Jan 8, 2013)

I looked at the costco website.

I honnestly dont think they have the best prices. Might be better than Canadian Tire, but not best. Also their selection is weak (3 brands.) Only the oldest and MOST expensive brands.

There are lots of newer excellent brands out there. (Hankook, Kuhmo, Falken, Toyo, etc...) and much better prices.

Also their website sucks. As the Original Equipment size for my vehicle was wrong.

Find a local smaller shop for better prices or as Carverman, go to http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/home.do.

They have some of the best prices, shipping is free (even to canada) and they charge a FLAT fee, which is very reasonable for taxes and brokerage. It still beats any price you'll find in Canada.

As for end of season specials, check out car part stores, like NAPA, or other local ones, as well as specialized tire garages, they might have overstock they want to get rid of for DIRT cheap prices.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

I bought my last set of winters at Costco - If you watch the quarterly flyers, they often have sets of 4 for $70 off. It was the first week of December last year. That $70 added to the $60 less than mom and popl shops quoted me for same tires. $130 to the good!

Their site showed the wrong stock size for my car too. Check the sticker inside the door.


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## Guigz (Oct 28, 2010)

There are many reasons why one would sell tires used on kijiji. For example, I sold the tires that came with my car because I upgraded to bigger wheels (and I did not want to pay the stupid price at the dealer). I also bought the bigger wheels off of kijiji for 1/3 the price.

If you learn to read the date codes on a tire sidewall, you can pickup some pretty good deals used. For 100-200$, you could pickup a set of 1-2 seasons old tires in very good shape. I would walk away from anything that is rusted, bald, cracked, bulged or more than 4 years old. Not any more "dangerous" than buying new. Buying new won't garantee that a tire won't burst due to a manufacturer defect. One could even argue that newish lightly used tires in good condition have been thoroughly tested and are safer....

I am surprised nobody mentioned 1010tires yet. I bought my winter tires from there (new this time) and paid just under 500$ for a set of 15 inch hankook tires. To save even more, you can look for different sizes that also fit your rim size (and are within specs of your car). Sometimes there is a sale on those. For example, 215/55R16, 205/55R16 and 225/50R16 are all within less than 2% difference in circumference and might be priced attractively. Don't forget that as your tire gets used, the circumference changes anyway.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I got hankook winter tires (16 inch) for under $500 new from a local tire shop a couple years ago. I bought them through a local car-specific forum, and they pre-sold a bunch of identical (same model car) tires in September.


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## SpIcEz (Jan 8, 2013)

1010tires is ok, but I find they are generaly more expensive than other sites.


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## Guigz (Oct 28, 2010)

If you can time it with a free shipping promotion (there is one currently), the total price is pretty attractive. Also, they are a Canadian based company, no duty fees.


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## joncnca (Jul 12, 2009)

hmm...i think the 810 for the well-reviewed general altaimax arctic, steelies, balance and install is pretty decent. i checked costco, 1010tires, discount direct, canadian tire, and they're all pretty much 180-200 per tire, just for the tire, if this brand is even available. costco has a small selection, the x-ice3 is 215 per tire only. the others are similarly priced for 215-60-16. those advertised prices are deceptive, they're usually for 14 inch tires or something that's too small for my car.

i wouldn't mind buying new all seasons off craigslist from someone who bought a new care and wanted to upgrade wheels/tires. i can understand that. but i can't see why someone (in basically all cases) would sell relatively new winter tires mounted on wheels. winter tires don't come with a new car. and i think the time it'd take to match up cheap wheels to decent tires would not be worthwhile....

thanks for all the suggestions!


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## praire_guy (Sep 8, 2011)

Tirerack for sure, but I'd also drive down to the us and see what you can get. 

I bought 4 winter tires (blizzak dm 73) for 535 usd installed. I caught a break. My tires weren't listed on the web site, but were "last years model". 

The tire guy said they were the same tire as the new ones, except the tread pattern was slightly different so they could call them. "New". 

Same tires in Canada were 1100 plus tax.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

SpIcEz said:


> I looked at the costco website.
> 
> I honnestly dont think they have the best prices. Might be better than Canadian Tire, but not best. Also their selection is weak (3 brands.) Only the oldest and MOST expensive brands.
> (edited)
> Also their website sucks. As the Original Equipment size for my vehicle was wrong.


I'm now a Costco fan.

Costco typically has a limited selection, they had Bridgestone WS70's and Micheline Xi3s which are both the most recent models.

As far as the OE size thing, many if not most online tire sizers are wrong.

They don't charge extra for the road hazard warranty or nitrogen fill.

Costco sells items at close to cost, look at their financials, their profit is basically just their membership fees. Some prices are better, some are not, but generally they're at the competative side. 
FWIW I got Blizzaks installed on my minivan for about $200 less than at the other 5 tire shops I checked, and they're great tires, much nicer than the Hankooks on my Malibu.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

MrMatt said:


> Costco sells items at close to cost, look at their financials, their profit is basically just their membership fees.


If you believe that..maybe I could interest you in some swamp land in Northern Ontario?


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

How about some costco shares?

It really depends what you mean by 'at-cost'. Grocery stores sell goods 'at-cost' except for their ~4% net profit margin (after you pay for the store, staff, etc.).


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

andrewf said:


> How about some costco shares?


Those are selling at about cost+ 20-30%.

Too expensive for me.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

andrewf said:


> How about some costco shares?
> 
> It really depends what you mean by 'at-cost'. Grocery stores sell goods 'at-cost' except for their ~4% net profit margin (after you pay for the store, staff, etc.).


Really? Have you done any food shopping lately? I can't see how a big grocery store chainwith a big overhead (electricity/A?C/Freezer costs and maintenance, staff costs, and
other costs) can survive with only 4% profit margin if they are traded publicly.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Sampson said:


> Those are selling at about cost+ 20-30%.
> 
> Too expensive for me.


Selling "at cost" is deceptive advertising. There is no way any large box stores can sell at their cost to the public and manage to stay in business...including Costco.
The way Costco sells for less, just like Walmart, is their huge retail and distribution network where they can buy huge quantities of a shelf product or promotion by the supplier and then pass on the discount savings to the public.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

@ carve - I meant the stock - and pricing based on my fundamental valuations. nothing to do with their retailing.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

Costco generally works on a 15% profit margin. There's a good documentary that airs every once in a while on Doc Zone I think. I just wish we could get the Kirkland wine in Ontario. 

I ordered some summer tires today from 1010tire.... good deal w/ free ship... an almost top of the line tire for about 40% less than cheapest Costco has in this size.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

carverman said:


> Really? Have you done any food shopping lately? I can't see how a big grocery store chainwith a big overhead (electricity/A?C/Freezer costs and maintenance, staff costs, and
> other costs) can survive with only 4% profit margin if they are traded publicly.


You didn't read what I wrote. I said after all such costs. Gross margins are closer to 25%.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

My 1010tires tires showed up Friday - look good. they shipped UPS from BC.


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## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

hystat;172017 I just wish we could get the Kirkland wine in Ontario. :([/QUOTE said:


> We drive regularly to Gatineau to buy Kirkland wine. Delicious.


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## 6811 (Jan 1, 2013)

Addy said:


> We drive regularly to Gatineau to buy Kirkland wine. Delicious.


I live in Aylmer and frequently shop at the COSTCO in Gatineau but never thought to try "Kirkland" wine. Are there different kinds or is it just decent no-name plonk?


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## SpIcEz (Jan 8, 2013)

Probably no name...


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