OEM tires getting scarce? - Page 2

DonA · 01-14-2005, 01:43 AM

I ordered 4 OEM tires from TireRack on Dec 28 after getting a nail in one - they all had 45Kmiles - and am still waiting for them to arrive, so it seems that at least TireRack is running short.

Don Kenmore WA

Rai Ka · 01-14-2005, 02:32 PM

Well, my OEM tires are getting close to be replaced, and in a few months, I was going to just do it anyways...

... so, of course, I got a flat today... sigh.

Big giant hole at the side wall of my rear driver-side tire. I hope it's by natural causes, and not started by someone having a grudge. The flat occur while I was on the highway, and I drove at least 1/2 to a mile on the rim before I had a chance to stop. I hope that didn't ruin the rim. Would the tire place let me know if they think it's busted? Looking at it, it seems ok.

Anyways, I shopped around online and found Costco to be the best price advertised: at $60 each, and til Jan. 30, 2005, there is a $60 off any set of four Bridgestone tires.

Not wasting any time, I went there to special order the tires. The Costco service rep. called directly to their vendor (which I thought the automated message mentioned it being Bridgestone itself) and both the machine, and the live operator said that there is NO such tire left at the warehouse. Any tires ordered today will take 4 to 6 weeks, shipped from overseas. The Costco rep. says he can't order them for me, so I'm trying Discount Tires now, to see if a different distributor may stock them. They wanted $70 each, but I have some credit with them of past services, so I'm waiting for them to call me back, before I shop elsewhere.

Now that Firestone may be the last place for us to easily get such tires, I would recommend that all of us help each other out, and watch out for some kind of Firestone/Bridgestone promotion. I think it may be best that we stock a few of these tires, just in case, instead of need them in a hurry, and have to settle for an alternative.

At this point, if none of the local stores can get them, I guess I'll start shopping for the Dunlop 8000.

Any other alternative recommended?

Thanks.

Charles

jsanford · 01-14-2005, 05:07 PM

What about ordering them online from Discount Tires Direct? My boss here at work used them, had the tires delivered here, mounted and balanced at a nearby Big O.

They showed up in big baggies.

LoNOx 1 · 01-15-2005, 01:09 AM

You could try your local Firestone/Bridgestone store. Mine were ordered and installed in four days for $60 each plus installation, tax, etc... The following link will locate your closest store.
http://www.bridgestonetire.com/store...r/index_bs.asp

Rai Ka · 01-17-2005, 04:05 AM

I called the local Firestonre (MasterCare) store, and got the tires from the warehouse within the hour, and installed the same day. So I guess this could mean that Bridgestone distributor can't get the tires for 3rd party, but the Firestonre/Bridgestonre chain have plenty of such tires in stock?

I don't know if it's a mistake, but every vendor I called asked about the car, questioning which car would use "such a small" tire. I tell them it's the Insight. Could this have affected the final cost of the tire? Firestone quoted the tires to be $67.99 each. I asked about a discount for four, and he said that there is a sale; buy 3 get one free. Show up expecting a certain price range, but of course, I forgot about the extra fee and protection service, etc. etc. Cost about $20 extra per tire. After the "discount" and the "insurance", the final price of four tires is $321.

If Costco could have gotten the tires, plus the current promotion of $60 of a set of four tires, it would have been the best price around, even if one includes a brand new membership. The $60 per tire *includes* lifetime balance and the road hazard insurance.

In any case, it was quick turnaround that I had to pay for. I really wasn't going to wait possibly weeks for Costco or TireRack to get the tires back in stock. Put two on, and kept the other two. The last two OEM tires still have about another 5K to 10K of tread left, so I'll have them replaced when ready, or possibly be served as backups, if another major blowout occurs.

Oh, don't forget to check your spare tire pressure from time to time. Between the last time I used the spare and this time around, the spare lost 1/2 the pressure.

Charles

Rick Reece · 01-17-2005, 07:12 AM

As long as the Insight is in production the tires should be available. Perhaps since they only produce the insight for a few months at a time the restarting of the production line has soaked up a lot of the inventory. I have a Civic VX that was only produced for 3 years. Two years after production stopped the low rolling resistance tires were no longer available. Have fun, RIck