I've got a 2004 Ford F-150. V8 5.4L. I need new tires - 255/65-17.

I've looked at Sam's, Costco, Walmart, and Gateway.

For whatever reason, my father-in-law says I need to get Michelins. The cheapest I could find them was for about $950 at Costco.

A buddy told me to check out tirerack.com. I've been looking at them today and am curious if anybody has experience with them.

If so, any recommendations on the best tire to get and at what price point?

Is it a difficult process if you have to get a tire replaced? Thanks!

Adam

 

On where to purchase, I would highly recommend visiting your local, friendly FoMoCo dealership service department.

Over the past 10+ years I've purchased several individual and entire sets of tires at several NC and MI dealerships and they have ALWAYS had the best prices and deals.

Most recent experience was last year - purchased a set of Firestone Destination A/Ts for less than anyone's discount tire-only price. Dealership's price included mounting, TPMS installation, balancing, road hazard warranty, and sales tax. On top of that, FoMoCo had $60 discount for a set of 4.
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All I hear from others is nightmare experiences and marked up prices from dealerships, so I've been wary of them. But I'll give them a call and see how they compare.

 

Tell your FIL to buy your Michelins then if he says you need them. Dont know why you "need to get" them.
Plenty of good tires for a cheaper price out there.
I've bought from Tirerack w/o any problems. They can ship the tires directly to the tire shop you want to have install them. Never had to worry about replacements as the tires never had problems.
I also bought from Discounttiredirect.com again w/o problems.

I'm pretty sure when you buy from Costco you get the full road hazard warranty and all other special perks. Buy online all the road hazard warranties are extra then you need a place to mount and balance, etc.
The difference between the both companies is about $2-3 per tire. Discounttiredirect is cheaper even though you pay for shipping were as Tirerack shipping is "free".
I've always ordered Yokohama Geolanders A/T's from these companies.

 

I've purchased all my tires from Tire Rack for about 7 years now. Through them you can also pre-arrange mount/balance, etc. at a local dealer (like Goodyear, Firestone, etc).

 

Michelin's are the best tire on the market no doubt but honestly there are a lot better bang for your buck tires. Cooper makes there ATP and HTP line of tires that have a great mileage warranty and are considerably cheaper than the Michelin. The general grabber HTS is another good tire with almost as good of a warranty.

Also do you not live near a discount tire? I would try to do that before I had tires shipped to me from tire rack or discount tire direct as the shipping just gets ridiculous.

Keep in mind that the "road hazard warranty" that everyone sells as an extra cost is for a pro-rated replacement. Discount tire gives you this at no cost. The extra warranty discount tire sells is for free replacement of the tire no matter how warn out it is, hence the considerably higher price of the warranty.

If nothing else get them from costco as they should have a decent price and you won't pay shipping.

 

Haha. He claims they're the best quality tire, but I don't know what he bases that on. He says based on his experience they'll last longer, thus justifying spending an extra $300+ for 4 tires.

Looks to me like the Firestone Destination A/Ts are rated similarly at about $40 cheaper per tire.

 

They are as far as ride quality, noise, carcass construction. However it doesn't really add up to a considerably noticeable difference that justifies the cost IMHO.

 

I looked into them, and unfortunately there are none near me. I'm in Memphis, TN and the closest is probably 200 miles away.

My only concern with Costco is they said their warranty is only covered as long as you remain a member. I can't guarantee that I'm gonna remain a member for the next 5-6 years.

Does this sound accurate?

 

Opinions are worthless. Costco puts all of their warranties online. You can read them yourself.

http://tires2.costco.com/CostcoAdvantage.aspx

http://www2.costco.com/Images/Content/Misc/PDF/TIRE.pdf

http://tires2.costco.com/Disclaimer.aspx