Has anyone used this website before? Seems a lot like tire rack.

 

That's weird their default pricing is by the week. I chose cash price and compared them to TireRack on a set of Continental TerrainContact H/T and they were $37 more expensive per tire.

 

Yeah. The price by week is strange. The Toyo open country at3 I was looking at was same price as tire rack. Capital one has a pretty solid incentive with them right now but I haven’t seen much talk about them. Was curious if anyone has bought through them.

 

I read up on the co and the owner. It's a legitimate online retailer. Their angle is creative financing to help anyone get a new set of tires who needs it and to facilitate at-home installation. Those two factors are probably the angle used to get some investor money to build the business. It would be cool if they could provide a true end to end service and an installed price so buyers could finance the entire package. Not that I'm a fan of financing, but for some, if not many, managing cash flow is important.

 

So if one wanted to finance tires, why wouldn't they just use a credit card? Is their target customer someone with such poor finances that they can't get one?
Personally, I have a difficult time respecting those who choose profit from bad decision making as a business strategy. Rent to own stores, finance wheels, stereos, gambling, and all the rest.

 

While there are lot of people out there with poor finances, credit cards can be just as dirty. I'm not a fan of the financing you mentioned, however, as long as it's not predatory, financing has become a necessary evil in today's economy. Car loans are being extended out 7-years and sub-prime lenders like Santander and Credit Acceptance book loans with high risk-based rates. Tire Agent appears to leverage multiple lenders who loan out in the prime and subprime. They also offer different options, such as term loans, which at least provides a path to clearing out some debt when compared to revolving credit.

 

So I gave it a shot. The main reason was the Capital One offers that come with my venture card and comparable pricing to tire rack. The incentive was 28% back. So, once I receive my rebate, I will save 400+ on the new set.

If all works out, pretty solid deal.

 

that's a great perk!

 

Yes, subprime lenders often seem predatory. However, as noted, the loans are high-risk. Nobody makes a person go and buy something they cannot afford. Yes, people sometimes get overextended trying to make it day-to-day, but more often people get into trouble on the non-essentials they buy. The reality is that people are always looking for the stuff that these companies offer. If company A doesn't do the rent-to-own business, then company B will do it. There is a market for it.

One responsible company is Fingerhut. They offer products to subprime people. Once you pay it off, they give you more and more credit on products that are largely essentials. Lets people build a credit history.

Just watched a clip on NBC Nightly News about related topic. A couple wanted to buy a house, but had built up $15,000 in credit card debt. They accepted responsibility, and are determined to pay off the debt before buying a house. They acknowledged getting in over their heads, and their responsibility to pay off their debt before getting their first house. Too bad so many don't get that.

 

agreed. May be available on other capital one cards as well for anyone that is in the market for tires. Also currently running an 8 percent back on tire rack.