Buying tires at dealership vs tire store?

Assuming coupons/discounts make the price the same, is there any advantage to buying tires for my Tacoma at the Toyota dealership over a place like Discount Tire?

I'm concerned about a few things when I get new tires:

1. Overtorque of lugnuts
2. Scratches to wheels
3. Damage to TPMS

Part of me wonders if a dealership tire bay would be better equipped to do good work, but at the same time I know the major tire stores probably work on Tacomas and 4Runners daily..

 

Its mounting and balancing tires man lol. I've always had great customer service and service at Americas/Discount. Then again I've had great luck at haji, cash only hole in the wall shops. Horror stories are found everywhere. There was a post from a couple months back on here; a guys wheel fell off of his taco after the dealer put new leafs on. Just check over there work before you leave.

 

i wouldnt trust a dealership with your truck as far as you could throw it...... fuck dealerships they hardly ever do anything proper.

A tire place (like discount / americas tire) does tires ALL day long. thats their job, they are V E R Y good at it and will do a better job than the dealership at a MUCH lower price.

 

First of all, you will NEVER get a better price from the dealer vs a tire store. For example, locally the Toyota dealer was advertising a "great deal" on tires which seemed better than the tire store's price. However, the dealers charge for mount/balance was way out of whack and would have made the tires much more expensive. In addition, the local store provides free rotation/balancing for the life of the tire. No way do dealer's do that.

 

Don't assume that a dealer wont damage your truck or will be able to handle the work, i have friends that work at dealers (some are techs) and I trust them when they say that the same monkeys that wrench at bad shops are the same ones working at your local stealership.
IMHO America's Tires will probably give you better service and better equipped to handle your tire needs. My friends and family have been going to my local America's tire for 20years with absolutely no complaints.

 

theres rookies everywhere. luck of the draw who works on your truck haha

 

Just this past winter I got a rear flat tire, it must have been a screw or nail or something. Anyway, it was pouring down rain and I was laying there in a huge puddle of water trying to position the jack under the axle, then I found that my OEM lug wrench wouldnt fit the lug nuts. I called the discount tire store and they sent one of their guys out (about a 20 mile drive) with a truck and put my spare on. I then drove the 20 miles back to the discount tire shop and they repaired my tire, balanced it and mounted it up on my truck for me all 100% free of charge. None of the ordeal costed me a single dime... It's a good bet the dealer wouldnt have done any of that for me.

 

America's/Discount tires over stealerships by a LARGE margin.

 

FWIW, the dealer is the only one (other than myself) who has removed the wheels from my truck (for rotations) and all my rims are now scratched around the lug nuts.

 

tirerack.com + cheapest install shop based on the published tire rack price listing is my style

 

I have the reverse experience. Dealership took care of not scratching my wheels when rotating with the Toyota Care but Discount Tires known as America's Tires in the West scratched up my aftermarket wheels around the lugs. Toyota service had to actually point that out to me before they rotated my tires.

 

Absolutely true but also longtime experienced techs/mechanics that don't give a crap or lazy haha

 

If you have a discount/americas tire near you, I'd go there. Story time

I bought some SCS blemished wheels from VIN, and one of them had a tiny nick in the lip. I took them to discount tire to get them mounted, and was hanging out in the parking lot watching them work because it was nice out. The manager was a super gung ho guy, and was stoked to get my new wheels and tires mounted on my truck because he thought it'd look bad ass. Anyways, he calls me over as they're mounting them and I think "well fuck, what'd they break". He points out that tiny blemish, and wanted me to see that it was on the wheel before they mounted them, and that they weren't the cause. I assured him I knew all about it, and complimented him for noticing. when they mounted them on the truck, every single one was torqued down with a torque wrench. That was my second experience with them, and the first was just as good. Highly recommend them.

 

why? Americas tire priced my Cooper AT3's at all of 5 bucks more per tire compared to tirerack... but that came with free mount and balance. Im sure if i asked them to pricematch tirerack they would of but at that point ill give em the 20 bucks extra cus ill be back for free balance and rotate.

 

I mount and balance my own tires. Costs me nothing!!!!! And I buy my tires from tire rack and pick them up from Denver on my yearly vacation to Colorado. My last set of 315/75/16 destination MT only set me back 900 bucks!!

 

I've had good luck with Discount Tire. They'll price match and I get the tire coverage plan. It's either $40 or $25 for a new tire, no questions asked. That is a win in my book, I've had to do this three times now for shredded and faulty tires.

I check my lugs after 50 miles, never found one more loose than expected, no damage to rims.

EDIT: Oh, free mount, balance, and rotations for life (even though I rotate them myself.)

 

ive found that a small tire dealer are more apt to help you in the event of a flat like plugging etc. Some guys will just do it. e.g. for years i went to town fair and their prices were good but never did anything extra for you. One time they wouldnt install OEM tpms into OEM tires i bought separately so i went elsewhere to a smaller chain. They match prices and would always go the extra mile. I bought a spare set of rims, snow tires and sensors and in the spring i went to have them program the codes back over, no charge. Most dealers i dont think would do that.

95% of the time, dealerships are more expensive

Luck of the draw who works on your car

Your experiences may vary.

 

I didn't know dealerships sold tires.

 

They buy the tires from somebody else and mark them the hell up!!!

 

yeah, they usually sell them 5 at a time....and usually come with a car/truck.