Take Advantage Of These Tough Economic Times....

RX in NC · October 14, 2008

I'll soon need tires for my much-beloved 1999 Dodge Ram 1500-series pickup since it's current set of Dunlop Radial Rover A/T tires will be six years old in early November and are down to an average of 4/32 tread depth all the way around. Based on my very positive experiences with Firestone Destination LE tires on my wife's previous 2000 RX300 and my daughter's 2000 Grand Cherokee, I'm going to put a set of them on my Ram as well.

As always, I checked with tirerack.com first to establish a baseline. With shipping, I can get the P265/75R16 set that I want for about $502. I'll then have to pay about $40 to $50 to have them balanced and mounted.

Next, I called my local Firestone district office and asked for the store manager, not just a counter guy answering the phone. I then struck up a pleasant conversation with him about how pleased I've been with these tires on the two vehicles I've run them on in the past. When he responded by saying "Drive on over this afternoon and we'll put a new set on your Ram for only about $650", I purposely hesitated for a few seconds and softly said, "Well, that's why I'm calling you - in this tough economy our family has really tightened our belt and I'm checking all available sources for this tire including the on-line vendors and your price is way out of line right now." He responded with "What will it take to get your business?" I said, "Are you running any sales right now?" He said, "Yes, but not on that tire." I said, "But that's the best tire for my particular application and that's the tire I'm going to buy once I find the best deal, so what can you do for me?" He thought for a minute and said, "How about if you buy 3 of the Destination LE tires and I'll throw in 1 for free?" I said, "That sounds great - quote me a price including tires, taxes, valve stems, balancing and mounting. I don't need the road hazard or any of the other upsale fluff - just give me your best deal." So he ran the numbers and said, "$487 out the door, how's that sound?" I said, "Great, let me write down your name. Here's my name and number, get the tires in stock by next week and call me when they arrive so we can set up my appointment to install them." I finished by saying that I greatly appreciated his willingness to work with me and that I looked forward to seeing him next week.

In a nutshell, I saved more than $160 off the initial Firestone quote in an elapsed time of less than five minutes on the phone by being pleasant, stating that the tough economy is causing me to shop price points very carefully, and proving that I was already an informed consumer by indicating that I am going to check with all potential sources for the tires that I want.

This is not rocket science - automotive vendors and retailers in all categories are hurting for business and would much prefer to deal rather than lose a customer. I was pleasant but firm and made it clear that I had other potential sources to check. The store manager knew instantly that he had just a couple of minutes to either cut a deal or let me walk away. As it turned out, I'll be paying almost exactly the same price for a new set of Firestone Destination LE tires as I paid for my current set of Dunlop Radial Rover A/T tires in November 2002, and the Destination LE is a much better tire.

So if you plan to buy tires soon (regardless of the tire brand), do your homework on tirerack.com first, find a tire you like and can source there, then call around locally and take the same approach that I did. Use this tough economy to your advantage while you can - your checkbook will thank you....

SKperformance · October 15, 2008

ALways ask for a deal , tires are sold at msrp rarely which is 100% over cost prices.

So a $100 tire costs the retailer $50 as well they still make money on install and balancing.

steviej · November 2, 2008

I took your advice and went to my tire guy with several quotes in hand and print outs from TireRack.com. Personally, I want to keep my business at my local tire chain becasue they have always done right by me. He was able to cut some dollars from each part (tire cost, balance, TPMS gromet kits, disposal fee) to bring down my cost. He couldn't give me a 3 for 4 deal and he wasn't able to beat TireRack's great price, but he was able to throw in a free alignment. That sealed the deal.

I am dumping the runflat for a set of Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3.

They will be mounted 11/12/2008. I will post up some info then.

steviej