It was the middling, not the best of tires. They needed replacement on my vehicle.
I have about 48K on a set of "Yokohama Avid Envigor" on my Nissan Maxima that were installed in November 2010.
I looked up the sales receipt and I paid $836 out the door for that set of tires + installation at the not-aptly named local store "Tire Discounters".
In the last year or so I had become quite dissatisfied with the performance of these tires. Snow driving was a joke, more like a motorized sled. I'd slide on wet roads and spin out when starting from stopped without any effort. Lastly, the tread is quite thin, and I'm seeing some fine cracking in the rubber of these tires.
Time for new tires.
I was initially looking for a deal at the local Sam's Club, which would provide integrated purchase and installation services. Sam's seemed to beat the best prices from the local tire store chains.
The very "best" deal in terms of online reviews and tire specs I could find available at Sam's were "Kumho Ecsta PA31 Performance Radials" at about $93/tire plus installation services.
Then I started looking online. Of course, I wound up at the smuggest prick of alls' site... Amazon.com. These particular tires are currently $66 through Amazon, on Prime shipment.
OK, now I'm discarding local purchase as an option.
I'll certainly deal with a little hassle to save $100+. I can simply load the delivered tires up in my car and go to my local mechanic who charges $24 per axle for balance+install+discarding the oldie.
So what did I wind up buying and having delivered?
NOTE: I ONLY PAID $75/wheel for these tires! The price seems to have gone up $10 in the last week.
I ordered them on a Friday. They arrived the following Monday afternoon. 3 actual days. They're stacked in the garage awaiting my appointment for installation.
And pray tell, just for grins, what is the
local price for the same item?
One place ("Tire Discounters"):
How about another local chain? ("Bob Sumerel"):
And JUST FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES... What is a local dealer charging for the tires I am now driving which cost over 200 per axle installed?
So buy the commodity locally and pay from double to MORE THAN TWICE what the same item costs online.
And, see the asked price locally drop like a rock for something that you paid top money for a few years ago.
Each of these local chains has a "price matching" offer. But I am so far from their asking price for this item that I didn't bother. I would expect them to call bullshit and cite a limitation of their offer so it would not apply.
Also after seeing this I simply don't want to give the local chains my business. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
So what if Jeff Bezos forces his squat paid contractors to piss in bottles on the production line and prohibits injured employees from receiving help from co-workers?
I GOT CHEAP TIRES HOORAY! F*** SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
This is why anyone with a brain needs to move online ASAP for their livelihood. It's almost unreal how unrealistic local business has become in trying to squeeze a nickel out of anyone dumb enough to shop them.
