Tire talking - thoughts on when is the best time of year to buy tires?

[LuvOrlando]

What is the best time of year to buy tires, been looking at brands and holy moly, they are up 30% in cost! In 2019 I got Blizzak for the getting older Civic and the whole process was under $400 out the door, having some sticker shock.

Also thinking of going with winter tires again in the NE, I got Winter for our Jeep and while they aged a bit quick they handled well. I know winter age faster than all season but if they improve traction and prevent accidents is it a better decision?

 

[Skippy918]

I bought new ones last year and got lucky with Costco’s coupon of $150 discount.

 

[bcla]

Depends on what you're going to get. Dedicated winters or "all weather" that are kind of a compromise for winter conditions, but can be used year round.

Another issue is that you need adequate tread depth for winter driving in snow, but with all weather tires you're likely going to want to use up the tread depth outside of winter. But with dedicated winter tires you can just toss them when the depth is inadequate, as well as store them until winter.

Not sure you really want new ones installed until you really need winter tires.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I bought new ones last year and got lucky with Costco’s coupon of $150 discount.

This is the first place I looked but they were very pricey, do you remember what time of your you got the coupon and the brand?

I got a set of Michelin for my Jeep at Costco, but it was a process. They let you special order but it kept deleting my orders even after charging me. Eventually, I called and a manager forced the selection through, it was very odd - like why do they care? It took about a month but it was resolved.

 

[Skippy918]

This is the first place I looked but they were very pricey, do you remember what time of your you got the coupon and the brand?

I got a set of Michelin for my Jeep at Costco, but it was a process. They let you special order but it kept deleting my orders even after charging me. Eventually, I called and a manager forced the selection through, it was very odd - like why do they care? It took about a month but it was resolved.

It was last June. I got Michelin defenders.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Depends on what you're going to get. Dedicated winters or "all weather" that are kind of a compromise for winter conditions, but can be used year round.

Another issue is that you need adequate tread depth for winter driving in snow, but with all weather tires you're likely going to want to use up the tread depth outside of winter. But with dedicated winter tires you can just toss them when the depth is inadequate, as well as store them until winter.

Not sure you really want new ones installed until you really need winter tires.

The winter v all season is such a struggle for me.

The Civic is a tough vehicle to pick things for, I'm not sure if it is a the size of the tires or the lightness but it tends to grip poorly with water and is easy to hydroplane so I find myself going to great lengths to make sure the tires grip well. Last time I got winter tires and I just realized they lasted since 2019, I don't drive the car all that much but they didn't melt away like I thought they would, I read a lot about the tread depth going the be chewed down but it wasn;t too bad, although I really don't do highway with it so maybe that is why. Now I find myself trying to decide based on what is out in the market today, always difficult.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Believe it or not, the tire shop does not make a lot of money off of the tires. Their profit from the tire itself is generally less than $20 a tire. This is why they try to upsell you on everything under the sun.

Their profit comes from selling you tire warranties, nitrogen, "premium" mounting and balancing, etc...

Unless you're buying directly from the manufacturer, there isn't really a better time of the year to buy tires.

Also, buying winter tires in the summer will generally cost you more unless the tire shop just happens to have a set lying around that they need to get rid of.

Best thing you can do is shop around and look for the sales.

I worked in tire shops for a long time, if you want to see how little they're making off the tire itself ask the sales guy to show you their cost, most of them will be happy to do so.

 

[tvguy]

I bought Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires last year for $900. That seems to be about the average prices I have paid the last 10 years for new tires. Not aware of any time when tires are cheaper.
If you bought a tire for less than $100 each, I think you found a HUGE bargain. Just mounting, balancing and new valve stems is going to run you $25-$50 a tire.

 

[Micca]

Tough to say, tires are always subject to inflation

 

[bcla]

The winter v all season is such a struggle for me.

The Civic is a tough vehicle to pick things for, I'm not sure if it is a the size of the tires or the lightness but it tends to grip poorly with water and is easy to hydroplane so I find myself going to great lengths to make sure the tires grip well. Last time I got winter tires and I just realized they lasted since 2019, I don't drive the car all that much but they didn't melt away like I thought they would, I read a lot about the tread depth going the be chewed down but it wasn;t too bad, although I really don't do highway with it so maybe that is why. Now I find myself trying to decide based on what is out in the market today, always difficult.

I was thinking more what they call "all weather". They're winter rated tires that might actually have a treadwear rating and mileage warranty. I think Nokian was the first to use the term for its WR series. Michelin has their CrossClimate series I see a lot of those around here even when it's not that cold and almost never snows.
https://www.americastire.com/learn/all-weather-tires?storeCode=1482

Then there are dedicated winter tires that really shouldn't be used when it starts warming up. The tread is really soft and will wear prematurely when driven on dry pavement in warmer temperatures.

 

[bcla]

What size?

 

[Skippy918]

How much snow do you get that you need winter tires? Would all season tires work?

 

[LuvOrlando]

What size?

Our older Civic takes 205 55 R16

 

[LuvOrlando]

How much snow do you get that you need winter tires? Would all season tires work?

It's not the amount of snow exactly, it's that the Civic has just never been good in any sort of precipitation whether it is rain or snow or ice. As a result, I am searching for tires that will offer as much traction as possible and I think the winter ones are designed to offer the most traction I can find.

As I read it does seem that the lighter cars tend to hydroplane more so maybe this is why

 

[Skippy918]

It's not the amount of snow exactly, it's that the Civic has just never been good in any sort of precipitation whether it is rain or snow or ice. As a result, I am searching for tires that will offer as much traction as possible and I think the winter ones are designed to offer the most traction I can find.

As I read it does seem that the lighter cars tend to hydroplane more so maybe this is why

I drive a civic and haven’t had issues with heavy rain with the stock tires or defenders which I have now. With my old civic I was driving in snow and just had to go slow.

 

[Christine]

For me, it's whenever Costco has the deal on Michelins. But it seems no matter where I go, it's about $900 or more for my Toyota Camry.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I drive a civic and haven’t had issues with heavy rain with the stock tires or defenders which I have now. With my old civic I was driving in snow and just had to go slow.

Can I ask were are you located? Maybe the way the roads are treated changes something? I mean I could avoid going off the road by going slow before I had the winter tires but when I say I have to go slow I mean like a crawl in a rotary, our new state is full of rotaries so that is a thing and a crawl is no exaggeration like I would annoy myself.

 

[bcla]

Our older Civic takes 205 55 R16

In that case the Michelin CrossClimate 2 or Nokian WR G4. The Nokian might be better in snow.

https://na.nokiantyres.com/snow-winter-tires/nokian-tyres-wr-g4/

 

[easyas123]

Honestly, I get tires when I need them vs. what time of year it is.
I've honestly never thought about the best time of year to buy them!
Husband just got 4 new tires for his truck, F350 $1300 - but I don't know what kind/type of tires they were.

 

[cvjw]

We put Michelin defenders on all our cars. I used to buy all my tires at Costco, but it has gotten too hard to get in for an emergency repair. We now buy all our tires at Discount tire and have them match Costco’s prices. They are so easy to get into for flat repairs and rotations.