Hello again, so I have a 2004 Honda Accord LX and I would like some new tires. Just to make this super quick and easy, all I’d like to know is getting tires the same thing as all other repairs. Meaning is it better to go to a local shop instead of a branded name place like a Jack Williams per se?
You’ll want to go to a store that specializes in tires. If you use the local shop, you’ll pay more because they have to go get them.
Depending on where you are, Discount Tire may be a good place. They even have a website to help you with the selection before hand. Plus, they are affiliated with Tire Rack which is also a good place to get a sense of what’s available.
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A BIG thing to think about is the quality of the tires you are about to purchase, not all tires are created equal… I always buy name brand (I prefer Bridgestone/Firestone myself, others may/will differ) tires with great wet weather traction and handling… A tire can make or break the ride of your vehicle… I stay away from directional tires (they have there place) as you can not cross rotate them and they tend to feather/cup more and can get noisy as the tread wears… Asymmetrical and symmetrical tires can be cross rotated, and have different advantages of there own…
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We have LOCAL SHOPS that specialize in tires. All they do is sell tires and tire related services (like alignments and TPMS replacements). Several of them have pooled their money for buying power. There are about 5-6 of them (all independent from each other) that have their own warehouse full of tires that they all can draw from. Kind of a co-op.
I’d personally stay away from the national chains. Their business model (volume and cheap) is a disaster waiting to happen. They usually have a high turnover rate. Place I go to…I’ve seen the owner on the floor doing tires along with his workers when things get busy. Many guys have been working there for years and years.
I buy tires from Tire Rack and have them delivered to my auto repair shop. They mount and balance the tires then do a 4 wheel alignment. I find that I can get exactly the tires I want on line and delivery is within 3 days. I prefer using my go-to shop because I trust them more than a store I rarely do business with. I’m not saying anything bad about any other place, only good about the shop I use.
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Places like Costco and Sam’s Club both sell tires. Not sure about BJ’s. All stock tires to some degree but you can order tires that fit your car, climate and budget. Talk to the salesperson and see what you fits your needs. Order them and schedule the install. Both offer free flat repairs, balancing and rotation after the sale.
Or if you want to shop for yourself.
Which tires do that? Head over to TireRack.com and search on the car you own. The tires that fit should match the size on the side of your present tires… look for something that looks like 205/60-16. Your size may be different. TireRack will list everything they carry that will fit and there are reviews so you can compare price versus performance plus customer reviews.
Now you have a few options and you can either order from TireRack and have them shipped to your local shop or order from Costco or Sam’s and have them installed when they arrive.
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BJ’s does. And for a while it was my go-to shop for tires. Then they turned over the tire business to Monro Tire. Not all BJ’s tire department were run by Monro. They were a sleaze outfit. Always trying to sell unneeded service and parts. Then about 5-10 years ago they kicked them out and started running the tire shop themselves again. I think there were to many complaints.
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Even some regional chains have a bad reputation. In my area, Mavis Tires was the lowest-rated chain in the entire US, in terms of customer satisfaction in a CR poll.
At this point, I buy my tires from Costco, because they only carry high-quality (Michelin, Bruiidgestone, BF Goodrich) tires, at very competitive prices. But, when I thought that I might have to replace the tires on my previous car before I traded it in, I had already lined-up a local independent shop that specializes in Hankook (decent quality, lower prices than Michelin & Bridgestone) tires.
I’ve been using Discount Tires for the last 20 years, no problems.
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Better to see the carmaker’s recommended tire size: on a sticker in the driver’s door jam. (It’s possible the tires on the car right now are not the recommended size.)
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Ok thanks fellas, I’ve only gotten new tires one time in my life but was in Georgia and went to a local tire shop. Kinda forget the process but really never knew if the big name chains were a good spot to go. I’ll look into all this.
How you do dat???
Before you buy any tires, you need to define the type of driving you do (mostly slow city driving, lots of highway miles, mixture of both, dirt and rutted roads, etc… ) and the location of your driving ( long winters, lots of snow, hot summers, wet rainy roads, etc…), as this will help the sales staff to recommend a type of tire.
Remember, the type of tire you choose is more important for your wallet (mileage and long wear) and your safety (traction…), and comfort (road-ability-smooth verse rough-ride), and noise; than the looks and “cool factor” of a tire…
And you should not have to buy new rims to install the tires…
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my #1 tire advice: stay away from Walmart. From what I understand, they sell a lower quality brand name tire. From my experience, they sell a lower quality name brand tire.
#2 advice: if you do a fair amount of travelling, Discount Tire is the palace to go. Very competitive prices, and they are all over, so if you are in a different city and need a tire warranty repair/replace, you have a much better chance of getting done with minimal hassle.
#3 advice- don’t go for the cheapest tire. You don’t have to get to slid gold, diamond encrusted ones either, but if you go cheap, you will regret it. Wear, ride quality, and performance are all tradeoffs for the savings, and that is not a tradeoff that is worth it.
at one point in your life, I bet you had only purchased one set of tires. 
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What if someone at some point put different wheels on it, you don’t even know how many 17" GM vehicles put the newer GM 20" pull off wheels from a vehicle that just installed 22" wheels… I have also seen dealers swap wheels just to make a sale… My daughters 2002 Corolla came with 14" wheels/tires and were about to need to be replaced, while my 2006 Corolla had almost brand new $600+ set of tires on it when it got rear ended and I ordered new wheels (steal) OE design and put my 15" tires on here car… They looked stock… I have seen this and been bit over it so many times… You HAVE to LOOK at the TIRES on the car to see what size wheel is on it 1st and then you can check your door, BUT sometimes like in Georges case where his car came with like a 155/80/13 that they don’t make anymore or very hard to get one (small selection) he is now running a 175/70/13 tire… So sometimes the door is wrong for the wheel and or the customer… Plus I used to run a 215/70/14 on my caravan instead of the 205/75/14 that came on it OE for better handling… I can post MORE examples if you would like as I have many more to share…
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Sorry, it probably isn’t going to be quick and easy. Best bet is to narrow down what tire make/model you want first. Consumer Reports has a tire rating article every year or so; I find that pretty good info.
As far as where to buy the tires, I’ve had good luck at Costco, so that would be a good choice if you want quick and easy. Note that Costco may not carry the size of tire your car needs in the make/model you want. For example, my early 90’s Corolla uses 13 inch tires, and Costco didn’t carry any 13 inch tire at all last time I checked.
If Costco isn’t in the plan, suggest to visit 4 or 5 local stores that only sell tires. Compare them one against the other both for price and for customer service. Pay a lot of attention to how long you have to wait for help, and how the staff answers your questions. Do they seem to want to change the subject, to avoid the topic you are interested in? Do they seem evasive? Do they say “no” to most any idea you have? Do they insist you use their shop for mounting/balancing services? How much is this service, per tire? If your experience is like mine was, you’ll find there’s a huge difference, tire store to tire store.
Finally, check the tire manufacturer’s website before going to the tire stores. They may have discount coupons you can print out, buy 3 get 1 free sort of thing. Less common post-Covid, but still good idea to check. Google can sometimes find discounts that aren’t posted on the manufacturer’s website, Google “Goodyear tire discounts” for example.
One more thing - you will find some extremely cheap tires. Don’t buy them. Stick with name brands. I’ve never regretted spending a bit extra on tires.
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Mavis is pretty large company with locations up and down the east coast. We have a couple local chains that have at most 4-5 locations.
STS Tire used to dominate the market in Northern & Central NJ, and they were… okay. Not the best, but “okay”.
Several years ago, Mavis bought them out, and things went downhill rapidly. I had never heard of Mavis until they moved into the local marketplace.