[awesomebase]

Well, I stopped by a Mr. Tire on the way to do the stupid recall problems (and hopefully get them to acknowledge and fix the front-differential grind and clunk noise from the rear axel) at the dealership. i asked about them getting in the Nitto Trail MT Grapplers in the 305/55r20s. He said right now that they can not get them in -- they can be ordered at a later date, but won't qualify for any kind of hazard warranty. So I asked what they had in the same size. Well Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs and BFG ATs were $389 and $429 each before the hazard cost ($44/tire) and balancing $89. Pirelli and the Scorpion ATRs for $339, but even those were going to be over $1720 out the door!! Am I crazy or is it just unbelievably expensive? I mean, I can get a set of 275/60r20 Michellin ATX2s installed at Costco with built-in hazard warranty for about $900 out the door (including the $70 rebate).
I just find it amazing how expensive these are. I want the Nittos because everything I've read so far make them look like the best bang for the buck and they seem to have good durability, grip/handling and decent longevity. Somehow I think they would be considerably cheaper than the alternatives, but the costs for the other items seem just ridiculous.
If anybody can recommend a good national installer that does this at a reasonable price that would be great! I will try Discount Tire to see what they can do, but I'm not sure that they offer a Road Hazzard warranty which is, in my opinion, a must-have for me (I've used it in the past with my previous vehicle and it saved me a ton of money). They also seem to nickel and dime you to death for every little thing. Sears seems like the absolute worst place to go - tons of complaints about poor service and high prices. I would try Costco, but I don't think they install non-oem sizes and probably can't order Nitto as they only really deal with a couple of brands.
Thanks in advance!

 

[smack]

Discount always has road hazard warranties. I don't even think I've paid extra for it lately. Been a lot of price wars, especially with Costco. I really like Discount, always good service.

 

[Barney_Fife]

Discount always has road hazard warranties. I don't even think I've paid extra for it lately. Been a lot of price wars, especially with Costco. I really like Discount, always good service.

yeah i think u paid for it one way or the other....but ive bought tires online and had them installed there and discount try to sell me certificates for the road hazards....kinda like an extended warrany or insurance i guess..they make money on the policies....i did buy the replacement certificates on one car's tires and they replaced one under the road hazard and it was an online (new) tire purchase from another retailer. guess its like going to handy toyota and getting an extended warranty for a truck you bought a dealer X

 

[los211]

Have you tried Tirerack?? I got mine throught them. A different type of tire but it was a lot cheaper than going to a local store. They also offer their own road hazard stuff. I did not get it in the 30 day window so I lost out on it but typically I have not had any tire issues on any of my cars other than a single bolt in my current set of tires. Tirerack has been good to me so far. They will ship to a shop of your choice from their list or you can have them shipped to your house. Granted you will have to pony up the installation price but its not that much anyway.

 

[Barney_Fife]

and on that note, go to walmart...they have by far the cheapest mounting prices around from what ive seen. its like 3 bucks to mount and 5 to balance i think....the other places wanted alot more.

 

[mendonsy]

Whatever you elect to do about tires, make sure that you are covered on the TPMS parts when you get them mounted. There have been several members who have had TPMS problems because their tires were not mounted correctly. The sensors are about $100 each so it is no small problem if one gets broken. I bought my Coopers from a local store and took them to the dealer to have them mounted. It cost me $20 per wheel for that.

 

[awesomebase]

Yeah, I know the TPMS transfer will be a bit of a headache, but hopefully I can get that done without too much of an issue. All vehicles after 07 are required to have them now, so more shops should be familiar with how to work with them.
Tirerack was the first place I looked at, but they only provide hazard warranties on some tires and ironically truck tires are mostly left out. Discount Tire seems to be one of the best places to look at so far, but they have a kind of sneaky catch to their hazard warranty. First off, they exclude a number of reasons most places generally accept for their hazard warranties. But the weird issue is that you still have to pay for an additional road hazard on the replacement. That seems unusual compared to what I've had before.
Anyhow, thanks for the suggestions! I'll check out the other places and maybe even give Walmart a try (though I loathe supporting them in any way) to see what they can do.

 

[mendonsy]

You could also try some of the discount clubs. (Sam's, BJ's, Costco) They sometimes have good price but not always!

 

[awesomebase]

Yeah, well Costco is my default and where I've been going, but they don't carry the Nittos or Coopers (neither does tirerack.com). So, I may just forego the trouble of finding a 305 tire, save some dough and get 275s again and not bother with the hassle of going to another place to get it done. I'll see if they have the Michellin MS/2 or ATX/2 in 275/60r20s for a reasonable price. Any preferences out there between these two tires?

 

[EVOL ARDNUT]

AT/2 NO MILEAGE warranty, MS/2 70,000 MILE WARRANTY.

I have AT/2 but should have waited till ms/2 came into production.

275/65 18 were 198 a piece with michellins 70 dollar rebate on top of that.

If you need A/T look at HANKOOK RF 10 A/T and onlinetires.com

 

[mendonsy]

You should be able to get at least 100 different opinions on tires. I went with Cooper ATRs because I have had good luck with them in the past. They were NOT the cheapest choice but my truck drives a lot better now than it did with the BFG's. Too early to tell about the wear.

 

[awesomebase]

Yeah, I like the Cooper Zeon LTZ as well and that may be a viable option, but it may end up being more trouble than its worth if it is difficult to find/get installed for a decent price. So far Discount Tire is the only place that carries them and the Nittos at a decent price. I've just never had Cooper tires before and am a little hesitant to get them, but have read/heard nothing but good reviews about them.