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Purchase wheels online / tires Local??

3K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  x26 
#1 ·
Hello all. Im fairly new here and have spent the last few hours searching the forums for advice on the following.

Im going to replace my current OEM runflat tires/wheels with non run flat and have seen a fair amount of recommendations for tirerack.com and a few other "online" dealers for package deals.

Would it be best to just get the wheels online have them shipped and then take them down to a local tire dealer (e.g. discount tire) and have them installed. My thinking is if i have a flat and need replacement I can get the tire same day rather than having to wait for warranty replacement from somewhere not local.

Can anyone give any advice either for or against this idea??

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#2 ·
Would it be best to just get the wheels online have them shipped and then take them down to a local tire dealer (e.g. discount tire) and have them installed. My thinking is if i have a flat and need replacement I can get the tire same day rather than having to wait for warranty replacement from somewhere not local.
You do know that tires.com is Discount's online store?

You do know that virtually all good local tire stores (Big-O, Discount, Les Schwab, etc.) pretty much will fix any flat for free?

IMO/IME, a replacement of a tire (under warranty) is extremely unlikely - they just don't fail. Unless you're talking about road hazard, which covers hitting something that causes a blowout; also pretty unlikely.
 
#4 ·
Hello all. Im fairly new here and have spent the last few hours searching the forums for advice on the following.

Im going to replace my current OEM runflat tires/wheels with non run flat and have seen a fair amount of recommendations for tirerack.com and a few other "online" dealers for package deals.

Would it be best to just get the wheels online have them shipped and then take them down to a local tire dealer (e.g. discount tire) and have them installed. My thinking is if i have a flat and need replacement I can get the tire same day rather than having to wait for warranty replacement from somewhere not local.

Can anyone give any advice either for or against this idea??
I don't think that you have to change your wheels just to go to RFTs but if you want new wheels too then Tire Rack is a great way to go.

If you order your tires and wheels from Tire Rack they will mount and balance the tires for you so they're ready to go when they arrive. If you have a jack and a 17mm deep socket this is a piece of cake. You just jack up each corner using the factory jacking points, remove the lug bolts, replace the wheel and reverse the process, just like changing a flat. Do this for all four wheels and you're styling in less than an hour. A torque wrench would be best but you could just drive to a shop and ask them to check the torque for you.

I did this with my S2000 when I went from the stock 16" wheels/tires to aftermarket 17" wheels/tires and it was the least time-consuming and easiest way to accomplish this. I've done this for previous cars as well.

If you don't have your own tools you can have the tires/wheel shipped to a tire installer. Because they're already mounted and balanced they'll probably just charge you a small installation fee. With a lift they should have it done in in far less than an hour. If you know someone with their own tools maybe you could have them do it for a six pack or two!
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the quick responses. My concern isn't getting the wheels on the car. I have the tools I need. My concern is focused on getting a flat (even if the risk is low) and having to wait for a warranty replacement instead of being able to take it to discount tire and have the tire fixed in an hour. No spare tire, etc. I'm replacing the wheels because I want to go with 19's and the rfts have 25k miles on them.

Seems like the response here is the deal(s) to be had at tirerack outweigh the low risk of having an issue that a warranty would cover in the event of a flat tire. Thanks again for the help.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Well, the key is price comparison and whether or not Tire Rack sells the wheels you want.

But assuming Tire Rack has the wheels you want and you don't have any problems installing them yourself, my guess is that you will save a lot of money buying from Tire Rack vs. a local discount tire store. Not to mention that I would trust the wheel/tire combo to come more expertly mounted and balanced from Tire Rack than from most run-of-the-mill discount tire stores.

Of course, this takes into account the fact that manufacturer tire warranties almost never come into play.

What is much more likely to come into play is damage due to road hazard issues which you may have insured for by buying road hazard insurance at the local tire store. And of course, you may have also bought lifetime rotation (a waste in my opinion) and balancing (not a waste in my opinion).

Of course, with the money you saved by going with Tire Rack and by not buying their insurance, you can simply purchase those services ala carte and likely finish significantly on the upside.
 
#16 ·
I ordered my 4 BMW oem stayle 196 wheels from Ticher BMW--Best Price-$75. for shipping.
Then went to my Local Discount tire to Have a set of Michelins installed.
I explained to Manager of Discount that it was important not to Scratch my New Wheels--He installed them personally for me. ;)
 
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