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Greenlit put down Tada! magazine long enough to type:
Where can I go for tires (for an 89 Nissan pickup) and not get raped on the price
Costco or Wal Mart.
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. - John Kenneth Galbraith
Some hole-in-the-wall places have good prices, but no warrentees, normally. And you can get a retreaded tire, which is just as safe as a new tire as it goes through rather vigorous inspections, for about $20-$30 cheaper, depending on the tire you need.
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This insanity brought to you by Karnaj:
Costco or Wal Mart.
Or check to see if a Strauss/Autozone/Napa/any of the chain suto stores run a deal on tires. At any given time one of them is bound to have good tires on sale. I got like 45% off My Bridgestones 2 years ago.
Also, investigate what warranty they'll give you on the tires over and above the maunfacturer's warranty. Something that will pro-rate the unused portion of the tread on the tire in case of non-repairable damage (ie, a nail in the sidewall) is good.
Finally, if you're gonna drop $200-300 on a set of tires, I'd highly recommend getting the wheels aligned. Some place will give a discount on the alignment if you buy a set of tires. And besides, nothing will burn up a set of new tire faster that being out of alignment. Plus most warranties are specifically worded NOT to cover damage to the tires for being out of alignment and they CAN tell when that's the case.
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Callalron probably says this to all the girls:
More great stuff!!
Firestone stores (Including Expert Tire and Tires Plus) offer a free "alignment check" with the purchase of tires (normally about $20) and they offer tire replacement certificates that prorates replacement of the tire down to 3/32nds of an inch of tread and you get free repairs. (never use one of those push in plugs, get the tire patched). (2/32nds is considered a 100% worn tire) This way you can at least see if your car is in alignment before shelling out the $50 to $75 to have it done. They'll also check out the front end of your vehicle before putting it on the alignment rack to make sure everything is tight and alignable.
IMO, stick with name brand tires, (Bridgestone, Firestone, Yokohama, Goodyear, Michelin are all decent) you really seem to get what you pay for. The Expert Tire I work at recently started selling a brand of tire called Primewell. They're made in China and they're pretty bad. Brand new tires that have a pull (meaning the tire has a defect that causes a perfectly aligned vehicle to drift to the right or left) or a horrible wobble or vibration at highway speeds. Some "off brand" or "store brand" tires are made by larger companies, for instance LeMans brand tires are made at a firestone plant that also builds Dayton tires. So ask who the tire is made by. There has been a large recall of some chinese tires (go figure 
) so keep away from those.
Tire packages (meaning mount/balance/stems) vary from store to store, if you get a printed estimate while shopping for tires, you can take it to other stores that will either meet or beat the prices. Tire disposal fees are either federally or state mandated and can vary from state to state. Our commercial accounts pay only $1.50 per tire disposal, while the general public pays $2.50. Many "shop fees" are a set percentage of the parts or labor (typically between 1 and 2%) to help pay for shop supplies such as tire mounting lube, whitewall cleaner, grinding wheels to clean rust or aluminum oxide off your wheel beads, bead sealer etc.
A few other things I'll say to those of you confused or intimidated by auto repair shops.
1) Look for a Motorist Assurance Program shop, these shops have set guidelines that keep things simpler for the consumer. Every person in the shop has to have passed the MAP Guidelines test in order to be allowed to have the MAP logo displayed on the door. (another shameless plug: All corperate run Bridgestone/Firestone stores are MAP approved) A shop with current MAP registration can be trusted a bit more than some that are not MAP approved, especially when you're in a strange town.
2) The shop CANNOT repair anything on your vehicle without your verbal authorization. In some cases you can tell them to call if the repairs are above a certain dollar amount.
3) If you don't believe the sales guy when he speaks to you about the estimate, ask to be shown what is wrong with your vehicle. Get a written estimate from them and ask them to put the vehicle back together.
4) Take your vehicle to another (MAP approved) shop and without mentioning the other shop or estimate, have them inspect your vehicle. After they have inspected your vehicle, pull out your estimate from the first shop and compare. The inspection sheets used under MAP guidelines are standardized and should be easy enough to understand for comparison. At that point you can make your choice about which shop to have your service done at. Keep in mind, many shops will meet or beat prices for general services, not just tires.
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Kaglaaz How'ler said:
offer a free "alignment check" with the purchase of tires
Here are your tires sir.
You're Chaotic Good.
Have a nice day.
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Mortious had this to say about Matthew Broderick:
Here are your tires sir.You're Chaotic Good.
Have a nice day.
Never!! I'm always Chaotic Evil!
quote:
Kaglaaz How'ler fell asleep and read just about every paragraph.
Never!! I'm always Chaotic Evil!
Hmmm... isn't "Always Chaotic" an oxymoron? 
