Tire talk

[Classy Comanche]

Where do you guy get tires from? As silly as it may sound I wonder if any of you order from Coker Tire, Jeggs....etc. I need some tires for my Monte Carlo SS and I wanted some pencil thin white walls for them. No tire shops around me carry them. One shop did and had the audacity to estimate me $905 for the tires. I found some on coker tire for less than half the price and exactly what I wanted. Same for my jeep. Found a perfect set that's a direct fit for about $94 per tire. 

[89 MJ]

I haven't bought from there, but I've heard of quite a few people that have. You will have to make sure other tire shops will mount tires if you bring them in that you bought from a competitor.

[Smokeyyank]

eBay or online tire shops have been what I use. I either have the issue of the local places can't/won't get what I want or won't price match. Only issue I've run into is getting them mounted, some places flat out refuse to put on tire you don't purchase from them or charge a crazy amount. Les schwab once wanted to charge me 60 a tire to mount and balance because I didn't buy tires from them. Discount just charges more but they've been my goto for most things it a local tire shop if discount is being difficult. 

[Classy Comanche]

Oh interesting. I never knew that. I have shops around me that will put them on they just didn't have what I wanted. From what I read online people really like Coker Tire and what they have to offer

[DirtyComanche]

I know a guy at the Ford dealership, so that's the main way.  He gets me wholesale + 5%.  I don't let them mount and balance them though.

 

There is huge margins on tires, so the online suggestion is a good one too.

[gogmorgo]

I also typically go through a work wholesaler then mount and balance myself. Generally slightly better even than online, shipping costs less because they’re not shipping an individual set out. 
Honestly $905 mounted and balanced doesn’t sound that bad. $400 for tires, $200 mount and balance plus whatever shipping ends up as, we’ll say $700 all in buying them online. Sure, you’ll save $200, but if anything happens to the tires you’re on your own trying to track down warranty and paying to get the replacement mounted, vs the local shop that sold them to you probably wanting to make things right for you and taking care of everything. Again, it definitely is less headache on your part to just get whoever is doing the work on your ride to source the parts, because then they’re doing the legwork if something happens, and they’re installing parts they think will last. 
And also it’s one thing to save $200 on the same tires, but if the tires the shop wants to sell are better quality than the $94 tires, that’s also a factor. You’ve only got four bitty little patches of rubber holding you on the road. Cheap tires aren’t just magical less expensive tires that perform exactly the same, and if that extra traction from the better tires ever becomes necessary, the consequences of not having the better tires are likely going to be higher than the cost savings buying cheap tires. That’s not to say that paying more for the exact same product is going to do you any better, but… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory

[Classy Comanche]

No no it was 905 for the tires. Balancing and such not included. The tires I'm talking about that were $94 were for the jeep. It's what I already have on ironically. Or what my grandfather put on. The ones I ordered for the car were about $105 a tire. They were rated pretty high. The place I called to have my tires mounted and balanced estimated like 150. The brand is also travel star. Which is what I have coming for the car and have on the jeep since I bought it. I know they don't have a warranty through a dealership or anything but it's not like I'm ripping the car through corners, skidding tires and such. Just something to look nice, ride nice and do well. And those seem to fit the bill nicely without burning my wallet

[schardein]

Interesting to see the cost for mounting and balancing.  

I live in a rural area and do some business at a local place that is sort of a hardware store/feed store/State safety inspection/tires/oil change/minor repairs type place.  

I just had two sets of tires mounted and balanced, at $12 per tire.  One set, I brought the bare wheels and new tires to them.  The other set, I drove the truck in with the new tires in the bed.  They don't care that I didn't buy the tires there.  No difference in cost if I drove the truck in, or just brought in the wheels and tires.  

Got the tires at a discount through some volunteer work that I do.

[Classy Comanche]

Oh very nice! What I forgot to mention too is that I'm also having an alignment done and it's at my local Chevy dealership. So that's why the price is the way it is. The place that told me 905 for a set are high anyway. The fella I spoke to did tell me himself that for whitewalls that's a lot of money. He told me they could've knocked a little off but said that I'd be better off getting them online. I called the dealership and they said they'd happily put them on and balance/do an alignment as well. Granted I think the whitewalls they sourced was BFGoodrich

[Eagle]

Coker has been around forever, and I've never heard anything bad about them. I haven't bought from them myself, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so if I needed classic tires for a classic car.

 

[pizzaman09]

I also have not purchased from Coker but I know my grandfather did when he purchased a set of metric Michelin TRX tires.

For years I've purchased white wall tires for my Oldsmobile, they are definitely getting difficult to find.  I'm down to MasterCraft and Kuhmo who still offer them in the size.

I usually order from tire rack or easy tire or some other random place then take them one of many different shops to have them mounted and balanced.  I love my local Flynn tire, they are happy to mount and balance tube tires on the wire wheels of my Austin Healey.  There is also a local shop that has a road force balancer, I like going to them for my BMWs as they are particularly sensitive to tire balance, that shop doesn't even sell tires, they are a suspension and alignment shop who specializes in making anything ride super smooth.

I've never come across a shop that cares if you brought in loose tires or purchased from them, they all charge between $60 and $80 to mount 4 tires.

[Classy Comanche]

Yeah these are the ones I got for my Monte Carlo. In my area you can't find whitewalls or they want to charge you an arm and a leg for them. I know I spoke to one of my grandfather's buddies yesterday and he said he orders through Coker tire get tires for his '58 BelAir. He loves them. So I know if a old timer likes them and uses them they must be pretty good!

[pizzaman09]

Those will looks sharp.  I am partial to the 1" wide white stripe for my Oldsmobile as that is what it left the factory with in 1999.

[Classy Comanche]

I am very pleased and excited to have had these tires put on. Coker did a good job packing them. Wasn't really happy with how long it took for them to deliver. Overall I highly recommend Coker Tire. They have everything you want plus more!

[Keyav8r]

If you are ever in Chattanooga, TN you can tour Coker Tire and the Coker Tire Museum that is now associated with Honest Charley’s speed shop.  At the time I went (several years back) they had one or two guided tours on weekdays.  They have a large display of their tires and classic OEM style replacement wheels/wheel center caps/hubcaps.  There is also a custom built roadster powered by a Buick straight eight that was driven cross-country several times.  At that time, they also took you through the shop where they build and reconditioned wood wheels for antiques. Then there is the museum with Corky Coker’s collection of cars, trucks and motorcycles.  A very large number of vehicles that are in excellent condition.  I think they charge $8 admission now, but it’s well worth the price.