Tires - online or local dealer?

stallhorn · #1 11-11-2012, 01:48 PM

Hi all,

I went to a local bike shop to see if I can get some PR3 tires at a decent price (and support my local bike shop) and I was surprised to hear they were significantly more at the shop. The owner went on to explain why the online tires are so much less - he said they are either the tires that were returned from tire dealers (because they sat on the shelf too long or have some imperfection).
He said he had someone who went out bought tires online and had to come back for another set in 6 months.

Is this theory true?

I buy my car tires from Tire Rack and never thought about it twice.

cyclesarge · #2 11-11-2012, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stallhorn

Hi all,

I went to a local bike shop to see if I can get some PR3 tires at a decent price (and support my local bike shop) and I was surprised to hear they were significantly more at the shop. The owner went on to explain why the online tires are so much less - he said they are either the tires that were returned from tire dealers (because they sat on the shelf too long or have some imperfection).
He said he had someone who went out bought tires online and had to come back for another set in 6 months.

Is this theory true?

I buy my car tires from Tire Rack and never thought about it twice.

Haha, B.S.. Find a different local dealer to do business with. The local dealer I buy tires from (he usually has to order them) can get them in and mounted within $10 of what it costs to order them and have them mounted and balanced locally. I can't help but think any tire you order is gonna be "fresher" than a tire a local dealer ordered (however long ago) in anticipation of your need.

fasteddiecopeman · #3 11-11-2012, 02:55 PM

I buy from the 'net (and mount them myself) and they've ALL been fresh manufacture.

MTS · #4 11-11-2012, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stallhorn

Hi all,

I went to a local bike shop to see if I can get some PR3 tires at a decent price (and support my local bike shop) and I was surprised to hear they were significantly more at the shop. The owner went on to explain why the online tires are so much less - he said they are either the tires that were returned from tire dealers (because they sat on the shelf too long or have some imperfection).
He said he had someone who went out bought tires online and had to come back for another set in 6 months.

Is this theory true?

I buy my car tires from Tire Rack and never thought about it twice.

Good lord! Let's hope not, think of the potential law siute!

cyclesarge · #5 11-11-2012, 05:59 PM

Did the dealer say how many miles the tires had in 6 months? I've worn out a set of tires in three months before, I'm sure there are a lot of folks on here that have used up the tread even faster on this forum.

genehil · #6 11-11-2012, 06:36 PM

I get my PR3s off of Amazon... No tax... Free shipping. A friend helps me mount them.

invader · #7 11-11-2012, 06:46 PM

Guaranteed new and flawless tires:

http://www.revzilla.com/product/mich...d-3-rear-tires

http://www.revzilla.com/product/mich...-3-front-tires

ScottyNeal · #8 11-11-2012, 08:20 PM

I'd check at a few more bike shops. My local Kawasaki shop (Scott Powersports, Coopersburg, PA) orders PR 3 tires, available in two or three days. Their prices are about $30 more than Revzilla for the two tires (they charges sales tax, Revzilla does not), but he will mount them for about $30 less (total) if you buy the tires from him. So, it's a wash, if you have them mount the tires. If you can mount them yourself, then you save the mounting charge and save another $30 ordering off the internet.

kenr74 · #9 11-11-2012, 08:44 PM

I'd say you just found a dealer to never spend a penny with. I don't mind paying the stealership fee for something I need in a hurry but when they BS or flat out lie to you that is over the line.

turn8a · #10 11-12-2012, 06:01 AM

I usually buy my tires from dennis kirk and mount them myself. If you use bill me later to pay and spend $250.00 ,they give you 6months to pay and no interest.

toofer · #11 11-12-2012, 09:29 AM

unless in stock, most tires get shipped directly from the warehouse - no matter who you purchase them from. Dealers get tires from the warehouse and internet dealers get tires from the warehouse. No difference whatsoever.

twowheels · #12 11-12-2012, 10:06 AM

The large online dealers buy in a large volume so get cheaper wholesale prices. They can also buy directly from the manufacturer where as the local dealers usually have to buy from a distributor which adds to their cost.

In Canada though the cost of shipping will effect the price and it is still usually cheaper to buy from a dealer than a cheap US based on line retailer (at least for tires) because of the enormous extra cost of shipping a tire.

I find most local dealers will install and balance a tire for $20-$25 if you bring in the wheel and buy from them. They may charge more if you supply the tire.

craigercj · #13 11-12-2012, 10:13 AM

Local mechanic told me the same story about how I was probably going to get 3 year old tires online and he wouldn't mount them cause it's a liability

So I mounted them myself and went back to show him my fresh tires from mc superstore. "Well you got lucky"

That set of PP's is going on 3K miles on my supermoto with quite a bit of life left.

Jehos · #14 11-12-2012, 12:12 PM

Agree, that's a line of bull from the dealer. They get them from the same warehouse.

My dealer (Grapevine Kawasaki, Grapevine, TX) has very competitive prices on tires, and they tend to keep a set of PR3s in Versys size in stock, I think maybe for when I wear mine out. Either way it's super convenient, I get online pricing but pick-up-today convenience.

peta8368 · #15 11-12-2012, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stallhorn

He said he had someone who went out bought tires online and had to come back for another set in 6 months.

I'm sure there are also people who bought from him, needed tires again in 6 months, and would not to return to him because the buyer felt ripped off.

Peter

stallhorn · #16 11-12-2012, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyclesarge

Did the dealer say how many miles the tires had in 6 months? I've worn out a set of tires in three months before, I'm sure there are a lot of folks on here that have used up the tread even faster on this forum.

This is really not a dealer, just a bike shop owned by a guy and his wife. He made it sound as if the tire was gone very prematurely.

cyclesarge · #17 11-12-2012, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stallhorn

This is really not a dealer, just a bike shop owned by a guy and his wife. He made it sound as if the tire was gone very prematurely.

I'm "all about" helping a local business as long as they are honest and trustworthy. It doesn't sound like this one is, or maybe he's just ignorant. Do they stock a lot of parts? Or just a few? One of the local MC shops (not a lot of parts, mostly just a service shop) only has parts on hand that people ordered, then never picked up. My brother and I were in the shop one day and noticed they had a tire on the shelf that was 5 years old. I guess kinda for THAT reason, I'd just as soon ORDER one through a local dealer (or shop). As has been said, they get them from the same places as an online source. The price is usually about $30 more per tire, but they mount and balance for FREE when I buy the tire through them. They charge $30 to mount and balance a tire that I bring in from another source. So the overall cost is pretty much the same. I COULD mount the tire myself, but figure $30 isn't too bad to save myself the hassle.

stallhorn · #18 11-20-2012, 03:49 PM

Went with Revzilla to get the tires and had a local shop put them on for me for $102 for both tires. I am a happy camper. Will give a report once I break them in.

Thanks all.