[La lamy]

Originally Posted by SoxOfRed

I'm a huge fan of Discount Tires. Now that there is one close-by in The Villages, would not hesitate to buy from them.
Dealt with many local tire places and dealers over the year and Discount is the only one that has constantly done a good job for us.
Their service has been great and pricing (which I always shop) has been competitive.

Two experiences that stood out for me. Once I had a nail in my tire, brought it in with no notice and they made a permanent repair it at no charge. They didn't even check to see if I was a customer. (note I didn't buy the tires from them)

The second problem I had was with a set of exceptionally quiet tires I got with a new car. Had shimmying on the front end, took them to the dealership and they balanced the tires but didn't fix the issue. Later, I decided to go to Discount Tire, they balanced them, charged me $30, I drove away and still had the same problem.
Drove right back to them and they figured out that the foam in one of the tires had come loose which made it impossible to be balanced. They removed the foam (the noise difference was tiny) and re-balanced then did the same for the rest of the tires. They refused to let me pay for any more than the $30 even though they didn't even sell me the tires.

WOW, that's amazing customer service!!!!

[derkster]

Originally Posted by jrref

I know many have asked this question and most recommend Sumter Tire.

What about Costco or Discount Tire or your car dealership when they are running a sale?

I always use Discount Tire. They provide good service and offer free rotations and they are locations around the country. They have good prices and their service is above average. No frills or upselling. There is a new store on 466A.
You can go to their website and order your tires and schedule an appointment.

[jrref]

What I'm always concerned about is going to a "discount" tire store and having a very low skilled person balance my tires. Although you don't need to be a skilled automotive tech to mount and balance tires, you want to have it done correctly. There are many youtube videos showing issues with some tire places hiring "kids" that have little training doing the work.

So, as the OP for this thread my choice is either Costco or Honda since they are running a sale. Costco gives you 5 year road hazard and is all over the country while Honda is a little more expensive and they give you a 2 year road hazard and I can get the wheel alignment checked at the same time. I'll let you know what I eventually decide.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by jrref

What I'm always concerned about is going to a "discount" tire store and having a very low skilled person balance my tires. Although you don't need to be a skilled automotive tech to mount and balance tires, you want to have it done correctly. There are many youtube videos showing issues with some tire places hiring "kids" that have little training doing the work.

So, as the OP for this thread my choice is either Costco or Honda since they are running a sale. Costco gives you 5 year road hazard and is all over the country while Honda is a little more expensive and they give you a 2 year road hazard and I can get the wheel alignment checked at the same time. I'll let you know what I eventually decide.

What are the tire size and specs for the tires you are looking to buy?

[dougawhite]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

We will be needing tires as ours are just over 5 years old and as it turns there is a Florida law that tire shops cannot work on tires that old.

No, there is no Florida law that prohibits tire shops from working on tires over 5 years old. However, many shops refuse to service older tires (typically past 6 to 10 years) as a safety best practice to avoid liability risks associated with age-related rubber degradation.

[retiredguy123]

Whenever I buy new tires, or even a new or used vehicle, I always check the DOT number on the sidewall of each tire. The last 4 digits will indicate the week and year when the tire was made. This is a Federal law. So, "1025" will tell you that the tire was made in the tenth week of 2025. Apparently, some unscrupulous dealers will actually switch tires on vehicles to an older tire than the original tire, especially on used vehicles.

Interestingly, when I bought a set of new Michelin tires, I checked for the DOT numbers, but two of the tires did not have the number. It turned out that the tires were asymetrical, and the tire store had mounted them on the vehicle backwards. They immediately corrected the issue and subtracted $50 from my invoice. Lesson learned.

[Joe C.]

If you are buying a "tire and wheel" package, Tire Rack (online) is hard to beat. The tires are on new wheels, balanced and inflated and shipped to your door. Their prices are great.

If you are looking for tires only, then Costco, BJ's or Sam's is just about the best. I like Costco for their price and fantastic tire service. They will fix your flat tire, rotate your tires and rebalance them as needed, and it's free. They also offer a road hazard guarantee on most tires.

Tire Rack is a great source of information on the various tires that will fit your vehicle, their performance test evaluations on different manufacturers, and validated customer reviews. You can learn a lot from them.

[Biskopski]

Wherever wheels are rolling
No matter what the load
The name that's known is
Firestone
Where the rubber meets the road

Remember Indy only runs Firestone

Firestone Complete Auto Care in the villages is running specials now

[Aces4]

Used Costco for the first time a week and a half ago. Excellent! Those new Michelins look great and have already had the lugnuts retorqued as suggested following installation and they were fine. We will definitely use Costco when the situation calls for new tires again on one of our vehicles.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by jrref

What I'm always concerned about is going to a "discount" tire store and having a very low skilled person balance my tires. Although you don't need to be a skilled automotive tech to mount and balance tires, you want to have it done correctly. There are many youtube videos showing issues with some tire places hiring "kids" that have little training doing the work.


...
.

In addition I look for two more things - a clean/organized shop floor.

And that their balancing and alignment equipment are from Hunter Engineering. Top of the line ($$$) equipment and the manufacturer provides training.

If you want to avoid or diagnose a tire pull or wheel balance issue, look for a shop using the Hunter Road Force wheel balancer.

[Michiganhopdevil]

Originally Posted by Rango

Costco

I'd stay away from Costco. I bought some tires last year from them and spend several months with them trying to get them balanced and the vibration out at speeds above 50mph. Since I was traveling and couldn't stay on top of this, time caught me and after 3 months of fooling around, they said I was out of warranty and told me it was my problem. I went to Discount Tire and they checked and said one tire was out of round. Since they are also a big Michelin dealer, they replaced the tire and re-balanced all tires. Costco just washed their hands of the problem. Tires are the only product that you can't return after owning them for a few months.

[Joecooool418]

Tire Kingdom in Oxford destroyed my wheels on my Corvette when they replaced the tires.

[Rocksnap]

Originally Posted by jrref

I know many have asked this question and most recommend Sumter Tire.

What about Costco or Discount Tire or your car dealership when they are running a sale?

Toyota dealer is running a special. Buy 3 get one free.
Tho I use Discount Tire. Stinks I need to travel to Clermont or Tavares. But they rotate for free, which is awesome.
When my tires needed replacement, 3-4/32nd, they didn’t meet the tires mileage and a new set was prorated. I’d call that a win.
Waiting for Mavis Tire to open in Deaton Plaza to see how their prices are.

[SoxOfRed]

Originally Posted by Rocksnap

Toyota dealer is running a special. Buy 3 get one free.
Tho I use Discount Tire. Stinks I need to travel to Clermont or Tavares. But they rotate for free, which is awesome.
When my tires needed replacement, 3-4/32nd, they didn’t meet the tires mileage and a new set was prorated. I’d call that a win.
Waiting for Mavis Tire to open in Deaton Plaza to see how their prices are.

Discount tire just opened a new store on 466A. Right next to Wawa off Powell.

[Indydealmaker]

Originally Posted by jrref

I know many have asked this question and most recommend Sumter Tire.

What about Costco or Discount Tire or your car dealership when they are running a sale?

Discount tire stores and dealers are notorious for the upsell tactics. Sumter Tire just offers competitive prices with authentic appreciation for your business.