I am thinking about buying tires for a car of mine and I am wondering where the best place would be to buy them. Fleet Farm, Tires Plus… etc. And how high of quality should I or do I need to go with?
You can go to Sam’s Club, B J’s Wholesale club or Costco. Sam’s gives you road hazard coverage for as long as you are a member, free rotation and I forget about balancing but when I read the coverage I was impressed. Quality depends on what car you own to a certain point. How big an investment are your tires? A 245 16 inch passenger rated tire is at least $90. What is the recommended tire? Throw in some information here. Is it a Lexus or an old Pinto?
The car is a 1952 Mercury and I believe the original size as stated in the manual was a 7.10-15.
My suggestion is to ask everyone you know who they recommend. I did that and one name, a privately owned place in Nashua, kept popping up. It’s a broken down huge old building with a large and very busy parking lot. I’m really happy with the tires he recommended and his service has been truely outstanding. And, and this is a BIG criterion for me, I can stand and watch the work being done. I absolutely will not patronize shops that will not allow me to watch the work.
Here is a selection of 7.10-15 tires:
Ask what the manufacturing date is for each tire. A rare size might be on the shelf for years. The tires on your car will probably age out before they wear out so you might as well start out with fresh tires. Storage condition prior to and after sale is important too. Cool to cold and in a dark place is good.
Here is a vintage tire chart that provides various equivalencies for your tire, and expands the range of possibilities:
http://www.vintagecarconnection.com/vintage_tire_size_conversion_chart.htm
My first try didn’t post, so I’ll try again.
Find a place that can/will order Coker tires, or visit their website at www.cokertires.com. They make vintage tires in vintage sizes that meet all modern standards and requirements.
Yup, that’s the link in my previous post. Getting the correct tires for this car will not be cheap, there may be some modern tire size that is “close enough” if you plan on doing significant driving.
Exactly my point with tire equivalencies. Coker wants $141 per tire plus shipping, so about $171 per tire.
no one said owning a classic car was a CHEAP “hobby”. 
Would it be close enough for relatively daily driving to have the newer style tires though?
Look at jayhawkroy’s chart and you will notice that there are 70,75, and 80 series metric tires that match your Mercury tires. You can replace them with the new tires for everyday driving. Look at tirerack.com and you will see 4 pages of replacements in the P215/75R15 size alone. If you are serious abut showing the car, too you could get an extra set of rims and put the expensive replacement tires from Coker on them.