Of course I had to get a picture of the store's tire display! Along with the brands I'm sure everyone recognizes, they also sell Motomaster -- Canadian Tire's own store brand of tires. As far as I know, none of the US retail chains with auto centers attached (not counting standalone tire chains like Discount Tire) have store-brand tires, but I'm kind of surprised places like Costco don't -- I imagine Kirkland Signature tires would sell well!
The model car displays flanking the auto center entrance are cool too, though I think I'm more interested in the display design more than the models themselves!
Yeah, I knew about stores having specific cost-reduced models of tires. Costco does that with all sorts of things beyond tires, and I'm sure other big chains like Walmart do too.
ReplyDeleteLast time my parents had to buy new tires (which was quite a few years ago), they bought Discount Tire-specific tires too because the price and reviews were better than anything Costco sold for their car (and they had had some bad experiences with Costco's tire center when it came to repairs anyway). I think it might have even been a Discount Tire-specific brand, but I can't remember exactly. I can't really say how it worked out for them though, since they got a new car shortly after that, so the one with the Discount Tires doesn't get driven all that much any longer.
I remember a family member buying Bridgestone tires from Costco for their Passat wagon many years ago. That was so long ago that I can't say I know anything about it other than that it happened.
ReplyDeleteI really don't even look at Costco when I need tires. Until recently, they only had two locations in all of Houston. One is near me, but that really doesn't help me if I need a tire repair or something at work or getting to work. Sam's has more of a presence in Houston, so I do consider them, but I've never bought tires from them. My family did in Sam's Club's very early days in the 1980s, and I do remember that, but again, that was a long time ago.
Discount Tires are all over the place around here, including near where I live and near work. Their customer service is pretty good so they are usually my main choice. Sears was a top choice before since they were near where I live and work, but obviously that is long in the past now.
I'm usually pretty picky about tires! We get a lot of rain here and so wet traction is important here, as I'm sure it is where you live as well. I've been quite pleased with Continental tires. They're not cheap (it would have been marginally cheaper to have bought Michelins last time, believe it or not), but I got over 100k on the Continentals that came with my car and the ones I have now seem to be wearing about the same. It is hard to argue with results like that! Of course, my car is pretty easy on tires, brakes, and maintenance stuff in general and I do rotate my tires regularly and keep them inflated correctly.